Research Leader, Research & Innovation (R&I)

At AFA, innovation is at the heart of everything we do. As a research leader within our Research &
Innovation (R&
I) team, you will be the science and innovation instigator, by mentoring and driving researchers into adopting a scientific approach to projects, aiming to bring novelty into dispensing systems through different prisms such as technology, sustainability, user experience, business insight, etc.

You will have a double role to play as leading a team currently with 3 researchers but also in generating, exploring and implementing by yourself new ideas targeting feasible, functional, sustainable, desirable and viable solutions. In this role, you will be part of a multi-disciplinary team with researchers, mechanical and quality engineers, a designer and a product manager. You will also collaborate with outer partners, such as research labs, experts, technology suppliers.

You will report directly to the Research &
Innovation Director and operate as part of AFA's global R&
I organization, bridging creativity into science and science into technology.

Key responsibilities

As a team leader:
- Lead researchers through a scientific approach to innovation, with mentorship on research activities and tools, experimentation protocol definition, partnership development.
- Implementation of training and any necessary means allowing the team to work on a 360 product mindset, by reviewing patents, scientific content, business reviews, market insights and user experience.
- In collaboration with the team, identify research topics for future projects, based on scientific, technical, UX insights gathered through fundamental research that are responding to at least one of R&
I strategic pillars.
- Research projects relevancy and prioritization: in collaboration with R&
I stakeholders but also with our project manager, ensure that all projects are aligned with the teams' goals for R&
I short/mid/long term targets.
- Be the key contact within AFA for research activities.

As a researcher:
- For the projects you will lead, have the ownership of project performance exploration and validation, but also of designing and executing experimental protocols and creating structured reporting with project scope, timeline and risk analysis.
- Product benchmark and competitor analysis – technology, performance and usage.