CA Wood - Material & Innovation Developer

Company Description
IKEA is a global retail company with the vision to create a better everyday life for the many people. Alongside each other, across roles and departments, we have always challenged designs, processes or technologies in rebellious ways to get to better solutions. Our culture is entrepreneurial and based on trust. We have the space to lead, explore and learn from mistakes.
Welcome to Category Area Wood, the home of five wood related categories. With about 300 co-workers and 200 suppliers across the world, we create a strong wood supply chain for more sustainable and affordable IKEA products. Wood is an essential material and important part of the IKEA heritage. We can proudly say that around 60% of our sales in IKEA are connected to wood-based products. In Category Area Wood, we procure and source wood-based articles that our many customers enjoy amongst which are iconic IKEA families such as BILLY, PAX, IVAR, KALLAX, POÄNG and our kitchen ranges.
Are you ready to be part of a journey towards affordable sustainability for our customers? Right now, we are looking for a curious and creative wood enthusiast to join our team as Material & Innovation Developer.
Job Description
Based in the Material & Innovation development department, you will be our specialist in wood and wooden furniture elements. You will lead the development of new materials and technologies, looking into all aspects of IKEA Democratic Design: quality, function, form, affordability and sustainability. Your key challenge is to identify, evaluate and build up an innovation portfolio that will meet IKEA future needs as well as secure its successful deployment.
Among others, you will:
Identify innovation and business opportunities
Lead innovation projects based on your knowledge of wood material and wooden furniture elements and understanding of material selection and properties from a cost perspective
Develop design and construction and choose the best manufacturing technology to optimise all aspects of Democratic Design
Work with external partners to develop, test and validate solutions
Be deeply involved in setting the development plans
Be responsible for executing all the way from the idea to deployment

Qualifications
You have a passion for front end development and for leading radical change. With your creativity as well as analytic and structured approach, you enjoy connecting ideas from different fields and creating new solutions.
You have university degree in engineering and a deep knowledge of wood material and wooden furniture elements as well as general understanding of how different materials and technologies are connected to costs. You understand the market trends, future demands and technologies and have an awareness about the international business, product development processes and the total value chain. You are familiar with automation and manufacturing technologies.
With your strong leadership skills, you can lead internal and external stakeholders indirectly, in order to reach common goals. You can rely on your experience with leading strategic and innovative technical development projects, from preferably several parts of the value chain. You are a strong communicator and influencer – capable of getting ideas and solutions understood by stakeholders.
Additional information
This is a permanent position based in Älmhult, Sweden, an inspirational working environment which gives you the opportunity to work and interact with people from all around the world. Älmhult has excellent commuting possibilities with hourly trains to Malmö, Lund and Växjö, and an IKEA shuttle bus running back and forth to Helsingborg two times a day.
For more information about the role, please contact Niklas Johansson, Material & Innovation Area Manager, niklas.johansson5@inter.ikea.com. If you have questions about the recruitment process, please contact People & Culture recruiter Zuzana Vackova, zuzana.vackova1@inter.ikea.com.
If you are interested to apply, please send us your CV and motivational letter in English at latest by 21st May.