Director, Technical Consumer Research

Location(s):

United States of America

City/Cities:

Atlanta

Travel Required:

00% - 25%

Relocation Provided:

Yes

Job Posting End Date:

November 5, 2025

Shift:

Job Description Summary:

Consumer-centric insights are paramount to building a truly global, multi-year innovation pipeline. The role of the Technical Consumer Research function is to create, translate and connect sensory, consumer, and technical insights to support and enable the mission and vision of R&D and Innovation at The Coca-Cola Company.  The Principal Sensory & Consumer Scientist will be an integral part of the Global Technical Consumer Research team reporting to the Group Director of Global Technical Research.

Role Summary

This position will be responsible for the design and project management of sensory & consumer research as well as synthesizing, translating & connecting sensory, consumer & technical insights to enable business continuity, innovation & growth.  There are also critical and emerging digitization aspects to the scope of this role that includes leveraging state-of-the-art Data Science/data analytics tools to generate key insights and drive data-based decision making.   

What You’ll Do for Us  

• Lead sensory & consumer research initiatives spanning the Total Beverage Portfolio within the Sparkling category. 

• Design, develop, conduct (or supervise), analyze and report sensory and/or consumer testing studies conducted to guide product/process/ package /equipment Research & Development.

• Work in partnership with Global Category teams (Marketing & Innovation), Global Research & Development, to define research needs to fuel multi-year pipeline

• Provide mentoring to our global Technical Consumer Research talent

What You’ll Need

• BS, MS or PhD in Chemical Engineering, Food Science or equivalent with a concentration in sensory science, behavioral psychology, data analytics or applied statistics

• 15 or more years of experience in CPG field, preferably in the Food and Beverage industry. 

• Innovation and Research & Development: must be highly creative and possess analytical skills necessary to effectively assess ideas from both internal and external sources

• Delivers Results: must be self-motivated and have ability to effectively focus and motivate resources

• Cross-Functional Relationships:   must be able to build good working relationships with Technical colleagues around the world and from functional business partners

• Knowledge of Food and Beverage industry a plus

• Experience using Design Thinking and Agile methodologies is a plus

• Project and program management skills required with ability to lead and manage multiple projects simultaneously. 

Critical Skills:

• Must be an effective influence manager capable of getting the stakeholders/cross-functional partners to do the correct sensory and/or consumer studies at the right time thereby increasing the success rate.

• A proven track record of turning complex business issues into simple and actionable recommendations.  Expert skill in Data visualization and storytelling. Must be skilled at transforming complex data and/or technical information into engaging & easy to understand content for non-technical audiences and drive decision making.

• Deep expertise in Consumer Science & Sensory Science application. Strong working knowledge of statistics including the appropriate use of statistical techniques to analyze and interpret data (including parametric and non-parametric methods, ANOVA, and modeling tools, etc.)

• Strong technical and analytical skills, and a passion for learning and developing new research methodologies.  Expert knowledge of quantitative & qualitative research techniques and proficiency applying techniques, including creation of the research design, implementation and data gathering, data analysis, and trend analysis, interpretation, implications, and next steps.  

• Past hands-on experiences executing analytics or modeling type of projects is a must.  Competent in Data Science and big data/text analytics understanding. Direct, hands-on experience leading AI and cognitive technology projects and leveraging state-of-the art data science tools to develop robust consumer behavior models is a plus. 

• Strong communication skills including ability to write concise, informative reports and verbally present complex technical information to non-technical audiences. Ability to listen and identify project objective and influence research plan.

• Working knowledge of sensory assessment of food/beverage ingredients and sweeteners.

The Coca-Cola Company will not offer sponsorship for employment status (including, but not limited to, H1-B visa status and other employment-based nonimmigrant visas) for this position. Accordingly, all applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis and must not require The Coca-Cola Company's sponsorship to continue to work legally in the United States.

Skills:

Chemistry, Communication, Continual Improvement Process, Data Compilation, Environmental Science, Food Safety and Sanitation, Food Sciences, Food Technology, Green Solutions, Laboratory Testing, Microbiological Test, Product Development, Quality Control (QC), Research and Development Operations (Inactive), Sensory Testing, Waterfall Model

Pay Range:

$149,000 - $173,000

Base pay offered may vary depending on geography, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. A full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position, is offered.

Annual Incentive Reference Value Percentage:

30

Annual Incentive reference value is a market-based competitive value for your role. It falls in the middle of the range for your role, indicating performance at target.

Our Purpose and Growth Culture:

We are taking deliberate action to nurture an inclusive culture that is grounded in our company purpose, to refresh the world and make a difference. We act with a growth mindset, take an expansive approach to what’s possible and believe in continuous learning to improve our business and ourselves. We focus on four key behaviors – curious, empowered, inclusive and agile – and value how we work as much as what we achieve. We believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive after 130+ years. Visit Our Purpose and Vision to learn more about these behaviors and how you can bring them to life in your next role at Coca-Cola.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class. When we collect your personal information as part of a job application or offer of employment, we do so in accordance with industry standards and best practices and in compliance with applicable privacy laws.