Innovation Analyst

Salary Range: $70,304 - 83,750 per year

Position Summary

The Innovation Analyst supports Foster Farms’ Prepared Foods innovation pipeline by owning core project execution and contributing analytical and organizational support across new product initiatives. This role plays a key part in keeping innovation projects on track – managing timelines, coordinating cross‑functional work, supporting sample reviews, assisting with consumer learning, and helping teams move efficiently from development through launch readiness.

Key Responsibilities

Innovation Project Management

• Own and maintain innovation timelines, trackers, and milestone documents, proactively flag risks, dependencies, and upcoming needs.
• Schedule and run recurring cross‑functional meetings (R&D, Operations, Finance, Packaging, Marketing, Business Unit), including publishing agendas, capturing meeting minutes, and tracking follow‑ups to closure.
• Coordinate innovation samples and cuttings in partnership with R&D
• Capture tasting notes, decisions, and next steps; consolidate feedback and distribute clear summaries to the broader team.
  
  

Costings, Budget & Commercial Support

• Coordinate costing inputs across cross‑functional partners and manage item setup documentation in our systems
• Support innovation budget maintenance by tracking spend and assisting with forecasting of remaining needs.
  
  

Packaging, Artwork & Launch Support

• Review packaging and artwork and help consolidate feedback from the innovation team. Synthesize team input into clear, actionable feedback to share with Creative Services to create or refine artwork.
• Track artwork timelines and key milestones to ensure alignment with overall project schedules.
• Support Regulatory and Legal workflows by organizing inputs and ensuring feedback is reflected accurately.
  
  

Consumer Learning & Desk Research Support

• Assist with consumer learning for assigned initiatives, including drafting research briefs and survey questionnaires.
• Conduct desk research on various areas not limited to competitive products, retailer assortments, pricing, claims, and packaging.
• Pull and summarize insights from tools such as Numerator and publicly available sources to identify trends, consumer segments, and opportunity areas.
• Synthesize findings into clear, concise takeaways to support internal discussions and project decisions.
  
  

Process & Team Support

• Maintain organized project folders, trackers, templates, and documentation to support team efficiency.
• Contribute ideas to improve tools, dashboards, and ways of working as familiarity with the business grows.
  
  

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, or a related field.
• 2–4 years of experience in product or project management, innovation, or consumer research.
• Demonstrated excellence in project management and organizational skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and follow through on commitments.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools, including Excel and PowerPoint.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Must be in PST, MST, or CST time zones
  
  

Preferred

• CPG marketing experience
• Experience supporting new product development or launches.
• Familiarity with consumer or shopper data tools (e.g., Numerator, Nielsen, IRI, retailer portals).
• Experience working with packaging, artwork, or regulatory processes.
  
  

What Success Looks Like In This Role

• Innovation work is well organized and reliable, with strong attention to detail across timelines, notes, tracking, and deliverables.
• The analyst is a self‑starter who takes initiative and ownership of workstreams, follows through on commitments, and proactively keeps projects moving forward.
• The analyst is eager to learn and grow while building effective working relationships with cross‑functional partners and contributing positively to team collaboration
  
  

Foster Farms ACTION Guiding Principles

• Accountability: Deliver on commitments.
• Collaboration: Achieve more by working as a team.
• Truth-Seeking: Be open-minded and act with humility.
• Initiative: Be proactive and lead with a growth mindset.
• Ownership: Take responsibility for results.
• Nimble: Operate with speed and agility.
  
  

Why Join Foster Farms?

This is a high-impact opportunity to shape the future of the ready-to-eat business at a leading food company, directly supporting our mission, vision, and values. You will play a critical role in delivering safe, high-quality food and great moments for millions of families.