Director, Process Research & Beverage

Role Overview

The Director, Process Research & Beverage Application is a key leadership role within Flavor & Ingredient Research and Application (FIRA) and Research to Experimentation (RtE). This position leads process research and beverage applications across ingredient and flavor teams, identifying and developing new processes in partnership with GDI’s process innovation team to ensure the right process technologies are selected, developed, and applied to deliver robust beverage performance from early research through commercial readiness.

Working closely with GDI (Global Development and Innovation), Technical Innovation & Supply Chain (TISC), and process innovation partners, the candidate will bridge science, application, and scalable manufacturing technologies to accelerate impactful innovation.

• Develop beverage applications for sweetener, flavor, and functional innovations.
• Evaluate beverage process technologies in application development, recommending and selecting optimal scalable solutions.
• Monitor new external process technologies, identifying relevant technologies to enhance beverage application, especially to deliver functional benefits and taste superiority.
• Partner with GDI process innovation team to develop or adopt technologies for scale‑up in the Coca‑Cola System.
• Identify and update the skills and competencies of the team and collaborators to leverage the latest external technologies and digital tools for research and development.
• Build foundation beverage application knowledge and competencies, providing the Center of Excellence on beverage application.
• Shape the future beverage application research agenda to meet consumer, customer, and regulation needs, driving short‑, mid‑, and long‑term growth.
• Provide inspirational thought leadership to inform flavor and ingredient research and application strategy globally.
• Influence industry, academia, and research institutes to develop relevant technologies and tools (including AI/ML) to advance scientific research.
• Partner with internal stakeholders across RTE, R&D, scientific & regulatory affairs, marketing, and category leadership to align strategy and execution on sweetener system application.
• Influence external stakeholders—including suppliers, universities, and technology partners—for joint development.
• Build compelling business cases to secure investment and organizational buy‑in.
• Implement structured processes for early‑stage experimentation through commercial delivery, maintaining clear routines to track milestones, budgets, and success metrics.
• Communicate progress and achievements to senior leadership across the organization.

• Strategic Thinker:
  Capable of envisioning future possibilities and integrating science, consumer insights, and business priorities.
• Influence & Business Acumen:
  Ability to shape and implement strategic agendas across the Coca‑Cola system, influencing industry standards.
• Agile Innovator:
  Comfortable taking calculated risks and pivoting based on market and science‑led opportunities.
• Inspiring People Leader:
  Proven ability to lead, build, and motivate global teams.
• Connector:
  Strong ability to bring stakeholders together across functions, geographies, and disciplines.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Food Science, or related field.
• Advanced degree (Ph.D., M.S., or equivalent experience) preferred.
• 10+ years’ experience in beverage processing, application, and scale‑up, with demonstrated leadership across research and applied innovation environments.
• Proven ability to influence without authority across research, supply chain, and innovation organizations.
• Deep understanding of beverage systems, ingredient functionality, and process‑driven performance outcomes.
• Track record of translating research into commercially scalable solutions.
• Strategic thinker with hands‑on problem‑solving capability and passion for advancing technical innovation.
• Deep understanding of system economics, value chains, risk management, and mitigation, with an agile and iterative mindset.
• Proficient in project management principles, able to plan, manage, and execute projects within set…