Innovation Principal, Emerging Technology

Job Overview

The Innovation Principal works with designers, ecosystem partners, and other domain experts to reimagine the way eye care and eyewear are delivered to the world. The incumbent brings order, clarity, and thoughtfulness to project teams and can demystify complex, specialized topics. The Innovation Principal elevates understanding by presenting findings clearly to all levels of the enterprise, both in writing and verbally.

Responsibilities

• Design and lead projects that explore and scale concepts related to assigned domain area(s) with a clear business impact, including technology evaluation, business model innovation, prototyping, and proof‑of‑concept creation.
• Monitor assigned domain area(s) and build an understanding of their potential, maturity, and impact to the business.
• Build on existing experience to quickly understand new technology, business models, markets, consumer trends, and other relevant areas to maintain domain expertise.
• Proficient in concept testing and validation, user research, or other related experimentation methodologies.
• Evaluate and compare products using custom scorecards that highlight capabilities and fit for specific business problems.
• Identify and define problems and opportunity areas, develop hypotheses, and select appropriate testing methods to validate assumptions.
• Develop and pitch new project ideas and opportunities.
• Present project findings to all levels of the enterprise.
• Maintain cross‑functional relationships with internal and external partners that deepen current and future knowledge between the company and emerging markets.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, or equivalent experience; Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum 6 years of experience in relevant topics including Innovation, Emerging Technology, Research & Development, Product Design, or another relevant domain.
• Industry experience in healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and technology is preferred.
• Deep expertise in a relevant subject‑matter domain and broad understanding of adjacent spaces, including healthcare, business models, and technology.
• Experience in moving projects forward despite uncertainty and knowing when to pivot.
• Creative problem‑solving with a “Swiss army knife” approach to problems.
• Experience working in creative cultures in either consulting or large corporate environments.
• Excellent presentation and communication skills, including writing research briefs and presentations (PowerPoint).
• Ability to discuss technical concepts with non‑technical people, including the relevance to their work or business.
• Enjoys developing and sharing project pitches.
• Skilled at providing and receiving thoughtful and constructive feedback.
• Remote or hybrid work experience: Must demonstrate a high level of engagement in virtual environments, including maintaining camera presence during meetings to support effective communication and team alignment.

Preferred Skills

• Experience in corporate innovation environments, with familiarity navigating ambiguity, structured decision‑making processes, and the transition of pilots into scaled business outcomes.
• Proven ability to monitor technology and business trends to create an informed point of view of where the trend is headed and how it could impact the business.
• Demonstrated expertise in one or more emerging technology domains, such as Artificial Intelligence, Spatial Computing, Health Technology, Wearables, Oculomics.

Salary

Salary Ranges: $84,000.00 – $141,750.00

EEO Statement

VSP Vision is an equal opportunity employer and gives consideration for employment to qualified applicants without regard to age, gender, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. We maintain a drug‑free workplace and perform pre‑employment substance‑abuse testing.