Position Summary

The Director of Early Innovation leads early-stage scientific discovery and innovation across swine, poultry, and dairy research and development. This position identifies customer and industry needs, evaluates emerging technologies, develops research strategies, and advances high-potential ideas into actionable research programs that support the company’s innovation pipeline. The role is responsible for shaping early-stage innovation across swine, poultry, and dairy research and development.

This position serves as a player-coach, directly leading swine discovery initiatives while managing, coaching, and mentoring the scientific discovery leads for poultry and dairy. The Director of Early Innovation works closely with species leads, research and innovation teams, technical services, product management, regulatory, commercial teams, external collaborators, and academic or industry partners to ensure research programs are scientifically rigorous, commercially relevant, and aligned with business priorities.

The role transforms scientific ideas into research programs, designs and manages internal and external trials, evaluates research outcomes, and provides data-driven go/no-go recommendations for advancement into development. The position requires strong scientific expertise in animal nutrition, health, and production, along with the ability to communicate complex research findings to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Apply Now

Key Responsibilities

• Lead swine discovery and innovation initiatives by identifying customer needs, industry challenges, and emerging opportunities in swine nutrition, health, and production.
• Manage, coach, and mentor scientific discovery leads for poultry and dairy.
• Generate and evaluate new product, technology, and research concepts aligned with company priorities, customer value, and species strategies.
• Leverage internal and external innovation platforms to ideate, evaluate, manage, and execute research projects.
• Design and oversee internal and external research trials, including in vitro evaluations, in vivo trials, disease challenge models, and field-based research. Research trial execution may include internal and external studies, in vitro evaluations, in vivo trials, disease challenge models, and field-based research..
• Develop research protocols and project plans with clear objectives, timelines, budgets, milestones, success criteria, and decision points.
• Collaborate with research and innovation, technical services, product management, marketing, regulatory, and commercial teams to advance promising technologies.
• Assess external innovation opportunities through scientific and technical due diligence, including strategic fit, feasibility, data quality, intellectual property considerations, and commercial potential.
• Analyze and interpret research data using appropriate experimental design, statistical methods, and scientific judgment.
• Drive go/no-go recommendations for projects transitioning from discovery into development based on scientific evidence, technical feasibility, customer relevance, and business impact.
• Research disease transmission, health challenges, and intervention strategies to support practical solutions for producers.
• Prepare technical reports, trial summaries, presentations, and scientific communications for internal stakeholders, external collaborators, and industry audiences.
• Translate research outcomes into credible, accurate, and useful technical, marketing, and scientific content.
• Represent the company at scientific meetings, industry conferences, customer discussions, and partner engagements as a scientific subject matter expert.
• Maintain compliance with applicable research, animal welfare, biosafety, food safety, biosecurity, and regulatory standards.
• Travel up to 20% overnight to conduct research, evaluate technologies, support trials, and engage with partners or customers.

Additional Responsibilities

• Support intellectual property strategy by identifying novel findings, technologies, applications, or data with potential patent or trade secret value.
• Mentor and provide scientific guidance to team members, collaborators, and project contributors.
• Monitor swine, poultry, and dairy industry trends, scientific literature, competitive activity, and emerging technologies to inform innovation strategy. The role monitors industry trends, scientific literature, competitive activity, and emerging technologies across swine, poultry, and dairy.
• Recommend improvements to research processes, study design, data quality, and cross-functional project execution.

Work Environment

• Work is performed in office, laboratory, research, farm, production, and field environments. The role may require visits to production facilities, research sites, universities, customer locations, conferences, and partner organizations. Travel may include overnight stays and exposure to farm conditions, animals, biosecurity protocols, and variable environmental conditions. The work environment includes office, laboratory, research, farm, production, and field settings.

Minimum Qualifications

• PhD in Animal Science, Animal Nutrition, Veterinary Science, Microbiology, Immunology, or a related field; equivalent professional experience may be considered.
• Ten or more years of professional experience in animal nutrition, animal health, microbiome, or related research roles. The draft requires 10+ years of experience in animal nutrition, animal health, microbiome, or related research roles.
• Ten or more years of professional experience in experimental design, research methodology, and statistical analysis.
• Five or more years of experience leading R&D projects from concept through technical evaluation or development transition.
• Experience designing, managing, and interpreting controlled research trials.
• Strong understanding of swine production systems, nutrition, health challenges, and producer needs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with swine disease challenge models, gut health, feed additives, microbiome research, immune function, pathogen control, or related areas.
• Experience with external research partnerships, including universities, contract research organizations, technology providers, or industry collaborators.
• Experience supporting new product development, technical marketing, intellectual property development, or commercialization of animal health and nutrition technologies.
• Familiarity with regulatory considerations relevant to animal feed, feed additives, animal health products, research trials, and food safety.
• Experience leading or influencing work across multiple species, research functions, or matrixed teams.

Technical Skills

• Deep understanding of swine nutrition, health, production, and applied research.
• Proficiency in experimental design, statistical analysis, and interpretation of biological data.
• Ability to design robust research protocols with practical and commercially relevant outcomes.
• Strong project management capabilities, including management of multiple concurrent projects, timelines, budgets, collaborators, and decision points.
• Skilled in Microsoft Office for presentations, reporting, documentation, and data management.
• Competence in research data analysis; experience using statistical or data analysis software preferred.
• Ability to translate complex scientific findings into clear technical recommendations and business-relevant insights.

Non-Technical Skills

• Strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across research, technical, commercial, regulatory, marketing, and external partner teams.
• Flexibility to adapt to shifting priorities, new findings, business needs, and changing research conditions.
• Demonstrated problem-solving, planning, prioritization, and leadership skills.
• Ability to motivate others, build alignment, and inspire commitment to scientific goals.
• Experience working effectively in a matrix or shared-services organization.
• Team-oriented mindset with strong internal and external influencing skills.
• High level of scientific integrity, curiosity, accountability, and sound judgment

Licenses / Certifications

• None required.

Physical & Safety Requirements

• Mandated use of company-issued Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and adherence to all company safety procedures and regulations
• Ability to work in required office, laboratory, farm, research, production, and field settings
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs. occasionally.
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 20% overnight for research, evaluation, customer, conference, and partner engagement purposes. The role requires the ability to lift up to 50 lbs. occasionally and travel up to 20% overnight.
• Ability to follow applicable safety, biosecurity, animal welfare, biosafety, food safety, and regulatory requirements.

Apply Now

Disclaimer

Adherence to all food safety procedures as per FDA regulations, including the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) or any other applicable federal, state, or local food safety regulations.