What are the responsibilities and job description for the Innovation Principal (E6021) position at IEEE Corporate?
Job Summary
The Innovation Principal will lead the day-to-day operations of IEEE’s Office of Innovation, translating strategic business visions into tangible outcomes. This dynamic role oversees the execution of innovation programs, the development of internal tools, and the seamless delivery of high-impact initiatives. Acting as the operational anchor of the innovation portfolio, the Principal will manage execution details, align cross-functional stakeholders, and serve as the go-to expert for innovation tools and processes.
A central responsibility will be advancing IEEE’s internal GenAI capabilities—crafting synthetic personas, generating innovation prompts to fuel ideation across the innovation funnel, and overseeing the QMarkets innovation portal. The Principal will also play a pivotal role in designing and facilitating workshops that spark momentum, surface insights, and strengthen IEEE’s innovation culture. Success in this role requires a strong consulting background and deep expertise in design thinking.
Key Responsibilities
Operationalizing the Office of Innovation
- Manage daily operations of the Office of Innovation, ensuring initiatives progress against defined milestones and deliverables.
- Support the Director of Innovation in executing on the innovation strategy and managing the broader portfolio.
- Translate high-level strategy into actionable project plans, coordinating activities across multiple teams.
- Serve as the operational “nerve center” for innovation projects, escalating risks and clearing blockers.
Internal GenAI Toolkit Development
- Build and maintain synthetic personas to simulate diverse member, customer, and stakeholder perspectives for use in innovation design.
- Develop a library of innovation prompts and GenAI-driven methods that increase ideation volume and quality across the funnel.
- Apply GenAI internally to accelerate problem framing, solution exploration, and opportunity mapping for innovation projects.
- Continuously refine AI-enabled tools to ensure they deliver value and align with IEEE’s ethical and professional standards.
Innovation Portal (QMarkets)
- Own the ongoing management of the QMarkets innovation portal.
- Define workflows for idea submission, evaluation, and selection to ensure transparency and consistency.
- Drive adoption and engagement across IEEE members, volunteers, and staff.
- Monitor portal analytics and continuously improve processes for greater participation and impact.
Workshop Facilitation
- Support design, facilitation, and documentation of innovation workshops (e.g., ideation sessions, problem-framing workshops, prototyping sprints).
- Apply structured methods such as design thinking, futures thinking, and systems mapping to guide participants through innovation processes.
- Capture insights and translate outcomes into actionable next steps for the innovation portfolio.
Cross-Functional Execution
- Lead workstreams within innovation initiatives, coordinating subject matter experts and project teams.
- Provide consulting-style problem solving, business analysis, and structured recommendations.
- Document learnings, playbooks, and frameworks to scale innovation practices across IEEE.
- Measurement & Reporting
- Track and report on initiative-level KPIs, adoption rates, and outcomes for GenAI toolkit outputs and QMarkets.
- Provide regular updates to the Director of Innovation, including risks, lessons learned, and recommendations.
Travel Information
- 25% Domestic and International
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
- Master's or other advanced degree Pref
- 7-10 years 7–10 years of experience in consulting, strategy execution, innovation management, or related roles. Req
- Prior consulting experience required, with demonstrated ability to deliver structured problem solving, stakeholder alignment, and measurable results. Req
- Hands-on experience with design thinking or similar human-centered innovation methodologies; workshop facilitation expertise strongly preferred. Req
- Proven experience managing day-to-day execution of cross-functional projects and programs. Req
- Familiarity with digital innovation platforms (e.g., QMarkets, Spigit, Brightidea, etc.) or enterprise collaboration tools. Req
- Understanding of generative AI technologies, prompt engineering, and persona design strongly preferred. Req
- Strong organizational skills with ability to manage multiple concurrent initiatives. Req
- Excellent communication and facilitation skills to engage both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Req
As defined in IEEE Policies, individuals currently serving on an IEEE board or committee are not eligible to apply.
PLEASE NOTE: This position is not budgeted for employer-sponsored immigration support, this includes all persons in F (both CPT and OPT), J, H, L, or O status.
For information on work demands and conditions required for this position, please consult the reference document, ADA Requirements. This position is classified under Category II – Mobile Positions.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.
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Disclaimer: This job description is proprietary to IEEE. It outlines the general nature and key features performed by various positions that share the same job classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties and qualifications required of all employees assigned to the job. Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or re-assign duties to this job at any time due to reasonable accommodations or other business reasons.
Salary : $138,000 - $172,000
