Senior Innovation Principal

Role Description

The Senior Innovation Principal brings thought leadership, deep expertise, and senior judgment to the Global Innovation Center (GIC) to reimagine the way eye care and eyewear are delivered to the world. This position is responsible for identifying, assessing, advancing, and activating innovation opportunities within their assigned domain area(s) that will have a clear impact on the future success of the enterprise and the various stakeholders we serve. As a recognized authority in their assigned area, the incumbent develops relationships with internal and external partners, quantifies the value of new opportunities to the enterprise, and guides ideas through the full innovation lifecycle.

• Develop points-of-view and promote understanding of assigned domain area(s) by monitoring trends, solution maturity, and impact to our business.
• Quantify potential value to the enterprise from innovation opportunities in assigned domain area(s).
• Identify and define problems and opportunity areas, develop hypotheses, and select appropriate testing methods to validate assumptions.
• Lead and advise multiple project teams on project design, execution, and when to pivot, close-out, or transition an initiative.
• Projects may involve technology evaluation, business model innovation, prototyping, proof-of-concept creation, and/or pilot execution.
• Design and lead initiatives requiring concept testing and validation, user research, or other related innovation methodologies, ensuring evidence and proof are acquired through iterative development.
• Seek out new technologies, business models, markets, and consumer trends and translate them into insights that can be shared broadly.
• Establish rapport and confidence with senior internal and external stakeholders, and represent GIC in internal and external meetings, presentations, and conferences.
• Document insights, learnings, and recommendations from projects to inform future innovation initiatives and business decisions.
• Identify, evaluate, and mitigate risks across initiatives, applying sound judgment to balance ambition with feasibility.
• Nurture our culture of innovation to encourage all members of the team to pitch new project ideas and help them develop them into projects.
• Maintain cross-functional relationships with internal and external partners that deepen current and future knowledge between the company and emerging markets.
• Mentor junior team members.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field; or equivalent experience. Master’s degree or PhD highly preferred.
• Minimum 8 years of experience in relevant topics including: Innovation, Emerging Technology, Research & Development, Product Design, Pilot Execution, or another relevant domain.
• Industry experience in healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and technology is preferred.
• Demonstrates superior expertise in a relevant subject matter domain and broad understanding of adjacent spaces, including healthcare, business models, and technology.
• Experience leading projects and initiatives in creative cultures in either consulting or large corporate environments.
• Brings order to projects in undefined opportunity areas or with gaps in information. Able to clarify, prioritize, and guide teams to meaningful and measurable outcomes.
• Strong execution mindset with the ability to drive results and manage complex initiatives from concept through validation and transition.
• Exemplary presentation and communication skills, including writing research briefs and presentations (PowerPoint).
• Strong facilitation skills with an ability to balance conversation in mixed groups and manage political dynamics.
• Demonstrates mastery at teaching or explaining complex concepts to non-technical people, including the relevance to their work or business.
• Highly skilled at providing thoughtful and constructive feedback to others and helping ideas grow and move forward towards realization.
• For roles that are remote (i.e., Work From Home (WFM)) or hybrid (i.e., partial onsite at a VSP location and WFM), must demonstrate a high level of engagement in virtual environments, including maintaining camera presence during meetings to support effective communication and team alignment.

Requirements

• Experience engaging directly with the startup ecosystem, including venture capital firms, accelerators, incubators, and early-stage companies.
• Experience evaluating startups, including sourcing, screening, and assessing strategic fit and potential for partnership or investment.
• Experience designing and managing external-facing innovation programs such as innovation challenges, including developing scalable processes that build and accelerate a pipeline of potential partners.

Benefits

• Compensation range for the role is listed below: $105,000.00 - $165,375.00.
• Actual pay will be determined based on experience and other job-related factors permitted by law.
• This role may include eligible bonuses and commissions.