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Innovation and Product Manager

Innovation and Product Manager

HotspexGreater Toronto Area, Canada
11 days ago
Job type
  • Full-time
Job description

About Us

Hotspex is a globally recognized, award-winning market research consultancy, known for pioneering innovative methodologies that drive brand success. Our work empowers blue-chip clients to develop, optimize, and position ideas, brands, products, packaging, and communications that resonate deeply with consumers.

As an organization, we thrive on innovation, but we also recognize the need for structured processes to translate ideas into scalable, efficient solutions. We are seeking an Innovation & Product Manager who will bring technical expertise, operational discipline, and strategic thinking to ensure our solutions deliver maximum impact.

Our team :

The team you will be joining is the Innovation and Product Team. Our team prides ourselves on versatility and a willingness to learn new skills and seek out new information to solve any problems that we encounter. Thinking outside of the box is inspired by pulling information from diverse and sometimes surprising sources, hence we encourage multi-disciplinary curiosity and utilizing knowledge and experience from many diverse sources. On our team, you will have exposure to improving and implementing new processes and automation, reimagining our methodologies and their applications, as well as generating new ideas and designs for new products

About the Role

This role sits at the intersection of technology, research, and process optimization. It requires a blend of leadership, technical proficiency, problem-solving skills, and project management to maintain and evolve our research tools and methodologies.

You will take ownership of product and automation developments, troubleshoot and refine research tools, and lead engagement and adoption across teams. Additionally, you will play a crucial role in translating innovation into structured execution—ensuring that we not only develop cutting-edge tools but also integrate them effectively into research and operations.

Key Responsibilities

1. Product Development & Process Optimization

  • Oversee the design, development, and enhancement of research tools and automation solutions.
  • Drive the productization of innovation, ensuring ideas translate into tangible, scalable, and impactful solutions.
  • Prioritize and document development requirements, including APIs, functionality, and cost-benefit analyses.
  • Identify inefficiencies in research execution and develop automation and process improvements.
  • Ensure structured project management, breaking developments into manageable sprints and maintaining a prioritized backlog.

2. Agile & Scrum Leadership

  • Lead weekly scrum meetings, tracking progress and addressing bottlenecks.
  • Maintain a structured development backlog, ensuring projects align with strategic priorities.
  • Act as the bridge between developers, research teams, and stakeholders, providing clear requirements and decision-making support.

    • 3. Quality Assurance & Technical Troubleshooting

  • Oversee testing and validation of new tools, automation, and platform updates before deployment.
  • Ensure data integrity and research methodology robustness by proactively identifying and resolving issues.
  • Serve as the escalation point for product troubleshooting, managing urgent technical inquiries.

    • 4. Leadership & Team Enablement

  • Train and onboard new team members on tools, methodologies, and best practices.
  • Provide ongoing coaching and mentorship, fostering a structured yet agile approach to innovation.
  • Create and maintain training modules to institutionalize knowledge and streamline onboarding.

    • 5. Product Engagement, Usage & Strategic Reporting

  • Monitor and analyze research tool usage, identifying opportunities to improve adoption and effectiveness.
  • Drive engagement across research teams through training, internal marketing, and best practice sharing.
  • Develop LT presentations and strategic reports to communicate product impact and drive stakeholder alignment.

    • 6. Research Technology & Innovation Strategy

  • Contribute to strategic discussions on emerging research technologies, methodologies, and automation opportunities.
  • Translate insights from behavioral science, implicit research, and AI-driven analytics into research applications.
  • Identify and advocate for new tools, processes, and approaches that enhance research effectiveness and efficiency.

    • Who You Are

    Technical & Research Expertise

  • Strong understanding of survey programming (Alchemer preferred) and research methodologies.
  • Technical proficiency in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SQL, React, Vue.js, or C# is a major asset.
  • Experience with research automation, APIs, and data processing tools is highly desirable.
  • Familiarity with implicit testing methodologies, emotional mapping, and behavioral science-based research is an asset.

    • Structured Thinker with a Problem-Solving Mindset

  • Ability to bring structure to a dynamic, fast-moving environment while fostering creativity and innovation.
  • Exceptional problem-solving skills, with the ability to diagnose technical and operational challenges and implement solutions.
  • Strong project management skills, with the ability to prioritize, execute, and measure impact.

    • Leadership & Stakeholder Management

  • Strong communication and leadership skills to align research, product, and technical teams.
  • Ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive the adoption of new tools and methodologies.
  • Experience in leading agile processes (Scrum, Kanban, etc.) and managing cross-functional projects.

    • Autonomous & Adaptable

  • Self-motivated and comfortable working with minimal supervision in a dynamic environment.
  • Comfortable managing ambiguity, making trade-offs, and driving clarity through structured thinking.

    • Why Join Us?

  • Work at the cutting edge of research technology, innovation, and behavioural science.
  • Be part of a culture that celebrates curiosity, agility, and creativity.
  • Enjoy a hybrid work model, combining collaboration with autonomy.
  • Shape the future of research by bringing structure and scale to groundbreaking methodologies.

    • If you're passionate about blending technology, research, and operational leadership to drive innovation at scale, we’d love to hear from you!

    At Hotspex, diversity and inclusion are more than just words! They are the guiding principles that shape how we build our teams, develop leaders, and create an inclusive workplace where everyone belongs.

    We appreciate all applications; however, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. If you require any accommodation during the recruitment process, please let us know.