Senior R&D Manager

Job Summary: We are seeking a people-centric and forward-thinking Senior R&D Manager (People & Innovation) to lead non-development R&D functions, including QA, Business Analysis, Testing, and Innovation teams. This role focuses on people leadership, process excellence, and future-readiness, while maintaining sufficient technical language fluency to collaborate effectively with engineering teams and translate market trends into actionable innovation initiatives. BUSINESS CONTEXT Company is building its own ERP system from scratch (greenfield → full product). This role does not lead developers, but works very closely with them. Owns QA, BA, Testing, and Innovation teams. Focuses on people excellence, quality, and future readiness. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES (WHAT THE CANDIDATE WILL ACTUALLY DO) - Lead QA, BA, Testing, and Innovation teams. - Drive quality standards, testing strategy, and requirement clarity. - Build strong people development frameworks and career paths. - Lead innovation efforts: market research, IT trend analysis, competitor benchmarking. - Translate insights into innovation proposals and R&D recommendations. - Act as a bridge between technical teams, business stakeholders, and management. Requirements: - More than 10 years experience in QA; Business Analysis; Product / R&D Operations; Innovation or Digital Transformation roles - More than 5 years managing multi-disciplinary, non-technical teams. - Experience in tech-driven organizations or software companies. - Strong understanding of software development lifecycle (SDLC). - Ability to communicate confidently with technical teams using technical language. - Experience working alongside developers, architects, or product teams. - Understanding of Requirements translation, Testing strategies, and System quality and release readiness. - Coding is not required, but technical fluency is mandatory.