DDAI Product Leader: Strategy, Roadmaps & Impact

Short Intro and About the Job

Danone France is not trying to be the best company in the world, but the best company for the world! That's why all 26 of our brands in France are B Corp™ certified. B Corp is the compass that guides our CSR strategy. This certification allows us to challenge ourselves, continually improve and measure our social and environmental performance.

Danone's research and innovation (R&I) centre, located in Gif-sur-Yvette on the Saclay plateau, is a global centre of excellence dedicated to food innovation research. Inaugurated in 2023, this ultra‑modern centre is at the heart of one of the world's leading scientific hubs. It is home to more than 500 passionate experts of 40 different nationalities, working in the fields of life sciences, health and nutrition, consumer experience and the development of tomorrow's products. Equipped with laboratories and pilot facilities, it supports innovation and development.

The Danone R&I Center is part of a global research ecosystem designed to foster collaboration with food‑technology start‑ups and accelerate innovation in partnership with consumers and food and health stakeholders.

About Danone's DDAI Transformation in Research & Innovation

• At Danone, our Research & Innovation (R&I) division is at the heart of our mission to bring health through food to as many people as possible. To invent the future of food and become truly future‑fit, we have launched DDAI (Data, Digital & AI) , a transformative program designed to revolutionise our R&I landscape.
• Our DDAI strategy is focused on delivering significant value across six strategic flagships , including pioneering work in Gut Health & Microbiome, In Silico Modelling, Consumer Insights, and Digitisation & Efficiency.
• The DDAI Lab's mission is to accelerate the delivery of these initiatives, build the strong data foundations needed to power AI, and ensure we focus on the most valuable projects. We are currently driving our top 20 priority projects ; a dynamic portfolio composed of 14 high‑impact use cases and 6 foundational projects .

Join us to be a part of reshaping the future of food and wellness!

Position Overview

Reporting to the Senior Director of DDAI Programs, the DDAI Product Leader will:

• Lead the development and delivery of key DDAI programmes, co‑build the mid‑term (1–3 years) strategy.
• Act as a strategic partner to senior business owners within R&I, building product road‑maps and driving their execution (strategy to action).
• Inspire and engage teams behind the vision while infusing domain knowledge and technical expertise.

Key Responsibilities

• Contribute to the execution of the strategy by executing detailed product road‑maps and project portfolio within our key R&I flagships.
• Business Impact & Superiority: hold accountability for delivering measurable impact on business results. Demonstrate ownership on the product, acting as the guardian of product superiority.
• Serve as a key connector and business partner, able to lead, influence and negotiate in a matrix organisation. Deliver through others, including Product Owners and agile squad teams.
• Senior Engagement: act as a key strategic partner to senior business owners and experts, managing and arbitrating conflicting requirements to translate needs into actionable strategies.
• Market & Trends: understand R&I trends, market and consumer dynamics. Actively seek and exchange best practices with other Country Business Units and departments.
• Adaptation & Change: lead change and transformation programmes, acting fast, managing risk and building mitigation plans based on cross‑functional experts' input.

Our Employer Commitments

• A relevant, competitive and scalable compensation package, including fixed salary, an annual bonus and gain sharing.
• Flexibility of work and workplaces, such as weekly home‑working.
• Skills development for all, thanks to Danone Academy France and a year‑round managerial conversation cycle.
• The possibility to use up to 3 days a year of volunteering through the platform Vendredi.
• Parenting policy benefits, such as extended Parental Leave (14 additional maternity/paternity days covered) or the ability to convert some earnings into time off.
• Other benefits including a complementary pension scheme, health‑care plan, CSE and 100 % of the Navigo pass covered.

About You

The criteria below remain indicative. A candidate who has a different combination of experience and skills could also be considered:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in a relevant technical, scientific or business field.
• 10+ years of experience in digital data & AI product management , with a proven track record of bringing complex products to market.
• Deep domain expertise in a relevant field (e.g. life sciences, computational biology, AI/ML, digital health, consumer analytics) combined with a strong product vision.
• Proven expertise in Agile product management leadership, including experience with building road‑maps, feature prioritisation and managing product lifecycles.
• Demonstrated transverse leadership skills, with the ability to lead and influence cross‑functional teams and product owners without direct managerial authority.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with experience partnering effectively with senior business leaders to define product strategy.
• Experience working in a complex, matrixed organisation, preferably within an R&I, CPG or pharmaceutical environment.

*All nominations will be considered regardless of origin, background, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or any other protected characteristic.