H-1B Visa Director Of Innovation Jobs
Director of Innovation roles qualify for H-1B visa sponsorship when the position requires a bachelor's degree or higher in a directly related specialty field. Employers must file a Labor Condition Application before your petition, certifying the role meets prevailing wage requirements. Most hiring happens at large tech, consulting, and R&D-driven organizations with established H-1B filing history.
Find H-1B Visa Director Of Innovation JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 430+ Director Of Innovation jobs
See all 430+ Director Of Innovation Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Director Of Innovation roles.
Get Access To All JobsAbout Kerry
Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment. As a part of Kerry’s Global Health & Therapeutics Group, Kerry Therapeutics is Kerry pharmaceutical focused business, delivering critical raw materials enabling our customers to develop and produce lifesaving therapeutics in Small Molecule, Biologics, Vaccines and Advanced Therapies & Medicine Products (ATMP).
About the role
The Senior Manager, Application and Innovation Enablement is responsible for leading the strategic development, commercialization, and innovation enablement activities for Kerry’s Biopharma portfolio across key therapeutic markets, including Advanced Therapies & Medicinal Products (Cell & Gene Therapy), Vaccines, Biologics, and Small Molecule Pharmaceuticals. This role serves as the commercial and market-facing leader responsible for translating customer needs, market opportunities, and competitive insights into actionable innovation programs and application solutions. The position owns the development of innovation roadmaps, business cases, and commercialization strategies while acting as the critical bridge between commercial teams, customers, and Technology stakeholders within Kerry.
Key responsibilities
As a key leader within the Therapeutics EUM RD&A, the Senior Manager will collaborate closely with Marketing, Technology RD&A, Business Development, and Commercial teams to accelerate growth, drive market adoption, and maximize the value of Kerry's capabilities, technologies, and innovation investments. The role will have a strong focus on innovation enablement, application development, sales enablement, marketing deployment, customer advocacy, and commercialization excellence.
REQUIREMENTS
- Master or Doctoral degree in a Science discipline, Business, or related field.
- 7+ years of experience in product management, innovation management, marketing, commercial sales or business development.
- Proven track record of leading complex projects, products and portfolios with cross-functional teams.
- Proven success in product lifecycle management, from concept through commercialization.
- Strong business acumen and ability to develop compelling business cases and financial models.
- Excellence in gathering and synthesizing Voice of Customer insights.
Qualifications and skills
SKILLS & ABILITY
- Strong communication and presentation abilities across all organizational levels.
- Experience developing and executing product launch strategies and go-to-market plans.
- Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making capabilities.
- Ability to balance strategic thinking with tactical execution.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite, especially Excel and PowerPoint.
- Project management skills to coordinate multiple concurrent initiatives.
- Customer-centric mindset with deep understanding of market dynamics.
- Up to 20-30% of travel required, including international.
- Knowledge of relevant scientific/technical domain preferred for specific product lines.
- Understanding of quality and regulatory requirements for applicable markets.
The typical hiring range for this role is $146,800.00 to $231,000.00 annually and is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, certifications, location, etc. In addition to your pay, Kerry offers benefits such as a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and retirement contribution (all benefits and incentives are subject to eligibility requirements).
About Kerry
Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment. As a part of Kerry’s Global Health & Therapeutics Group, Kerry Therapeutics is Kerry pharmaceutical focused business, delivering critical raw materials enabling our customers to develop and produce lifesaving therapeutics in Small Molecule, Biologics, Vaccines and Advanced Therapies & Medicine Products (ATMP).
About the role
The Senior Manager, Application and Innovation Enablement is responsible for leading the strategic development, commercialization, and innovation enablement activities for Kerry’s Biopharma portfolio across key therapeutic markets, including Advanced Therapies & Medicinal Products (Cell & Gene Therapy), Vaccines, Biologics, and Small Molecule Pharmaceuticals. This role serves as the commercial and market-facing leader responsible for translating customer needs, market opportunities, and competitive insights into actionable innovation programs and application solutions. The position owns the development of innovation roadmaps, business cases, and commercialization strategies while acting as the critical bridge between commercial teams, customers, and Technology stakeholders within Kerry.
Key responsibilities
As a key leader within the Therapeutics EUM RD&A, the Senior Manager will collaborate closely with Marketing, Technology RD&A, Business Development, and Commercial teams to accelerate growth, drive market adoption, and maximize the value of Kerry's capabilities, technologies, and innovation investments. The role will have a strong focus on innovation enablement, application development, sales enablement, marketing deployment, customer advocacy, and commercialization excellence.
REQUIREMENTS
- Master or Doctoral degree in a Science discipline, Business, or related field.
- 7+ years of experience in product management, innovation management, marketing, commercial sales or business development.
- Proven track record of leading complex projects, products and portfolios with cross-functional teams.
- Proven success in product lifecycle management, from concept through commercialization.
- Strong business acumen and ability to develop compelling business cases and financial models.
- Excellence in gathering and synthesizing Voice of Customer insights.
Qualifications and skills
SKILLS & ABILITY
- Strong communication and presentation abilities across all organizational levels.
- Experience developing and executing product launch strategies and go-to-market plans.
- Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making capabilities.
- Ability to balance strategic thinking with tactical execution.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite, especially Excel and PowerPoint.
- Project management skills to coordinate multiple concurrent initiatives.
- Customer-centric mindset with deep understanding of market dynamics.
- Up to 20-30% of travel required, including international.
- Knowledge of relevant scientific/technical domain preferred for specific product lines.
- Understanding of quality and regulatory requirements for applicable markets.
The typical hiring range for this role is $146,800.00 to $231,000.00 annually and is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, certifications, location, etc. In addition to your pay, Kerry offers benefits such as a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and retirement contribution (all benefits and incentives are subject to eligibility requirements).
See all 430+ H-1B Visa Director Of Innovation Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new H-1B Visa Director Of Innovation Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding H-1B Visa Sponsorship in Director Of Innovation
Map your degree to the role
Director of Innovation petitions face RFE risk when the specialty occupation connection is unclear. Document how your degree field directly underpins the innovation function, not just general management, using the O*NET occupation profile as a reference framework.
Target employers with R&D budget mandates
Companies with dedicated R&D spend or federal innovation contracts file H-1B petitions more predictably than those where the role is discretionary. Search Migrate Mate by employer to surface organizations with verified LCA filing history for innovation-adjacent titles.
Verify prevailing wage before salary negotiations
Your employer's LCA must certify a wage at or above the DOL prevailing wage for your specific job zone and location. Run the OFLC Wage Search before your offer conversation so you can confirm the posted range satisfies Level III or Level IV requirements.
Negotiate H-1B premium processing into your offer
Director-level roles often come with tight start-date expectations. Request that your employer file with USCIS premium processing, which reduces the adjudication window to 15 business days and protects your start date if you're transitioning from another status.
Confirm cap-exempt status for university or nonprofit roles
Innovation director positions at universities, nonprofit research institutions, or government-affiliated entities are cap-exempt, meaning your employer can file outside the annual lottery. Confirm the organization qualifies under INA 214(g)(5) before counting on cap-exempt filing.
Prepare evidence of specialized expertise early
USCIS scrutinizes Director of Innovation petitions for evidence that the role genuinely requires specialized knowledge rather than general leadership. Assemble publications, patents, keynote invitations, or board memberships before the offer stage so your employer's attorney can build the petition immediately.
H-1B Visa Director Of Innovation: Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Director of Innovation role qualify as a specialty occupation for H-1B purposes?
It can, but USCIS reviews these petitions carefully because the title spans both management and technical functions. The role qualifies when it demonstrably requires a bachelor's degree or higher in a specific field, such as engineering, computer science, or design strategy. A job description that lists a degree as preferred rather than required weakens the petition significantly.
How do I find employers who actually sponsor H-1B visas for Director of Innovation positions?
The most reliable method is searching DOL Labor Condition Application disclosure data, which shows which employers have filed for innovation-related titles and at what wage levels. Migrate Mate filters this data by role and employer so you can identify organizations with a documented H-1B filing track record, rather than relying on job postings that may not reflect actual sponsorship willingness.
Can my employer count me toward the H-1B cap if I'm already on a valid H-1B with another company?
Yes. If you already hold H-1B status, your new employer can file an H-1B transfer petition without subjecting you to the annual cap or lottery. The transfer lets you begin work as soon as the new petition is filed, not after approval, provided the new employer's I-129 is submitted before your current authorized period ends.
What happens to my H-1B status if my Director of Innovation role is eliminated or restructured after I'm sponsored?
You have a 60-day grace period from the date your employment ends to find a new sponsoring employer, transfer your H-1B, or change to another valid status. During that window, you can't work, but you can interview and negotiate an offer. Filing a transfer petition before the grace period expires preserves your status while the new petition is pending.
Does the DOL prevailing wage requirement apply differently for a director-level role versus a manager-level role?
The prevailing wage is determined by the specific SOC occupation code and job zone assigned to your role, not the title alone. Director of Innovation positions typically map to higher wage levels, usually Level III or Level IV, because they require substantial experience and independent judgment. Your employer must certify this wage in the LCA before USCIS will approve the H-1B petition.