Location(s):
JapanCity/Cities:
TokyoTravel Required:
00% - 25%Relocation Provided:
NoJob Posting End Date:
March 27, 2026Shift:
Job Description Summary:
âLocation: Tokyo, Japan
Role Type: Individual Contributor
Immediate Manager: Director, Process, GDI
Please note: The selected candidate will need to be based in Tokyo, Japan. This is an Individual Contributor position.
Our APAC Innovation Centers sit at the heart of The Coca-Cola Companyâs next chapter of growth. We are committed to transforming and evolving our organization and ambitions â bringing our people closer to the consumer, continuously raising the bar, and embracing digitalization to enable sustainable growth. We are looking for a highly driven individual contributor who thrives on ownership and impact, and who fuels the innovation pipeline with bold ideas that translate into real-world results. This role is not about maintaining the status quo; it is about challenging assumptions, unlocking opportunity, and personally driving valuable breakthrough innovation. You will apply deep process development expertise to lead ideas from concept to execution, contributing to a strong and diverse portfolio of meaningful innovation â accelerating growth and helping shape the future of the organization.
The Process Development Manager is a critical technical leader within the JSK Operating Unit, responsible for guiding the design, optimization, and commercialization of beverage processes that deliver superior quality, efficiency, and scalability. This role unlocks innovation by ensuring our future back and present forward product ideas can be manufactured reliably and cost effectively, both in the pilot plant and across bottling partner facilities.
Operating as an individual contributor with system wide influence, the Process Manager partners closely with global GDI, bottlers, suppliers, and cross functional teams to deploy the right technologies, troubleshoot challenges, accelerate commercialization, and strengthen digital and simulation capabilities for the future.
What Youâll Do for Us:
Process Innovation & Technical Leadership
Provide expert guidance on process design from concept through commercialization, ensuring manufacturing feasibility, product stability, quality, and regulatory compliance.
Translate futureâback innovation (new ingredients, formats, technologies) into clear process requirements and manufacturing pathways.
Anticipate and solve complex technical barriers - formulation, mixing, thermal/aseptic processes, filling, CIP/SIP, and shelfâlife performance - to enable firstâtimeâright launches.
Identify opportunities to simplify, optimize, or modernize processes to enhance efficiency, sustainability, and product quality.
Commercialization & Bottler Support
Act as the key technical interface between GDI and our bottling partners, ensuring the right process design, equipment capability, and validation steps are in place.
Support scaleâup, line trials, commissioning, and troubleshooting to ensure smooth commercialization of new products and packaging formats.
Provide clear, practical technical guidance to bottlers to ensure consistency, compliance, and highâquality performance across the system.
Pilot Plant Strategy, Capability & Execution
Support the Process Director in shaping the longâterm pilot plant strategy, capability roadmap, and technology investment priorities.
Lead the technical aspects of pilot plant process design, trials, and scaleâup programs.
Play a central role in CAPEX planning related to process technology, equipment upgrades, and layout optimization.
Fully own pilotâplant vendor and supplier management for project scopes (solution alignment, technical evaluation, negotiations, installation, commissioning, performance assessment).
Digitalization, Modelling & Simulation
Lead the advancement of digital process capabilities, including virtual modelling, digital twins, line simulation, predictive analytics, and DOEâdriven process optimization.
Apply digital tools to accelerate learning cycles, reduce trial costs, strengthen risk assessment, and improve decision quality.
Help establish digital best practices and build foundational capability across the R&D technical community.
Troubleshooting & Operational Excellence
Provide rapid, scienceâbased troubleshooting for manufacturing issues in bottler plants and the pilot plant - addressing material interactions, thermal processing, equipment performance, microbiology risks, and packaging - product compatibility.
Create and maintain bestâpractice libraries, troubleshooting databases, and process playbooks to strengthen operational excellence.
Ensure all new processes incorporate strong EHS, GMP, and quality principles, even without direct EHS ownership.
Global Collaboration & System Connectivity
Build deep connections with Atlanta Process team and other global process experts to ensure consistent standards, shared learning, and adoption of global best practices.
Contribute to global technology platforms, knowledge sessions, and crossâmarket collaboration forums.
Bring outsideâin thinking from global networks, universities, OEMs, and technology partners to elevate our capability.
Capability Building & Influence Leadership (No Direct Reports)
Enhance process capability across GDI and bottler teams through coaching, training, and knowledge sharing.
Promote modern engineering practices, digital fluency, rigorous rootâcause analysis, and continuous improvement.
Foster a culture of curiosity, high standards, technical discipline, and collaborative problem-solving.
What Weâre Looking For:
Bachelorâs or Masterâs degree with 5â7 years of handsâon experience in process development or engineering in the food & beverage industry.
Strong expertise in beverage process design, thermal/aseptic processing, equipment selection, scaleâup, and commercialization.
Experience with digitalization tools: process simulation, modelling, digital twins, data analytics, predictive modelling, DOE.
Proven ability to troubleshoot manufacturing issues quickly and effectively using sound scientific principles.
Strong collaboration and communication skills; ability to influence bottlers, suppliers, and cross-functional teams without authority.
Language proficiency: Native or Business fluency in English & Japanese
Ability to travel 5â30% based on project needs.
What We Can Do for You:
Purpose With Impact
We take a purposeâdriven approach that empowers our people to protect the environment, strengthen the communities we serve, and deliver safe, highâquality products every day. Your work will contribute directly to creating positive changes.
Global Collaboration & Learning
Youâll be part of a globally connected organization where ideas, expertise, and innovation flow freely across regions. This environment enables you to learn from others, accelerate your growth, and contribute to solutions that scale worldwide.
A Community of Belonging
We foster a culture where people feel safe, valued, and empowered to bring their best selves to work. We believe that diverse perspectives and an inclusive environment drive better outcomesâfor our people and our business.
Competitive Rewards & Benefits
We offer a comprehensive and competitive compensation and benefits package, with core benefits beginning on your first day. We are committed to supporting your wellbeing, growth, and longâterm success.
Candidate Attributes:
Critical to our growth is the development and recruitment of modern technical leaders who will demonstrate specific growth behaviours. The key candidate attributes we will be seeking are:
Curious â Keep seeking, never settle.
Staying curious about what is outside, and two steps ahead inspires us to challenge the status quo. Having the courage to look and leap is the way we grow. Because asking âwhat if?â pushes us to the next level as people and as a company.Â
Empowered â Make it happen.
True empowerment is the result of taking responsibility. This means giving yourself permission to see it, say it and do it, and owning the outcomes. Because we move forward faster when we all take action.Â
Agile â Push for progress, not perfection.
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