# Innovation Team Manager > Innovatrics · Bratislava, Slovakia (Hybrid) · — · Posted 2026-05-26 **Workplace:** hybrid **Department:** Innovations ## Description ### Why This Job Is Exciting At Innovatrics, we equip you with the tools, context, and trust to thrive, and a clear path to grow and make a meaningful impact throughout your journey with us. We're hiring the manager who will lead our Innovation Team — the people who explore new biometric ideas, turn the promising ones into validated proofs of concept and demos, and carry Innovatrics' presence in standards bodies, academia, and EU-funded research. **In your first weeks, you'll explore...** - The team — the AI/ML and cryptography engineers you'll lead, and the product, engineering, and leadership partners they work with - Innovatrics' biometric products and the team's research focus areas, including palm-based recognition, face morphing detection, and revocable biometrics - Where things stand — the current roadmap, the work in flight, and the standards, academic, and EU-funded commitments already underway **As you settle in, you'll start contributing by...** - Taking over the day-to-day leadership of the team, and starting to hire the innovators still to join - Stepping into the innovation roadmap and Innovatrics' external commitments, with support from the people who hold them today **By the end of your first six months, you'll...** - Run the team and its roadmap end-to-end, and work with the CTO and CSO on which research directions become Innovatrics' strategic bets - Represent Innovatrics in its standards, academic, and EU-funded research commitments in your own right ### **What You'll Help Build** At Innovatrics, we build biometric technologies for phygital identity, elections, border control, law enforcement and secure remote onboarding in 80+ countries. Our algorithms have reached over a billion people. The Innovation Team is where new ideas are pressure-tested before they become product commitments — and where Innovatrics' external influence, through standards bodies, academic partnerships, and EU research, is built. As its manager, you own both sides: the team that builds the proofs of concept and demos, and the strategy that turns them into a competitive edge. We're a small team, so ideas move fast — from concept to demo in short cycles. Join us if you're motivated by applied research, by growing the people who do it, and by solving problems where the solution isn't obvious from the start. ### What You'll Own This role carries five distinct areas of responsibility: - People & team leadership. Line-manage the team, grow each engineer, and hire the software engineers still to join — alongside the existing ML and cryptography engineers. - Innovation roadmap (Product Owner). Own and prioritise the innovation backlog — deciding what the team builds, setting success criteria, and making the kill-or-scale calls. The team takes ideas as far as a validated proof of concept or demo and hands them over to product and engineering — it does not take them into production. - Standards & ISO representation. Hold Innovatrics' seat in biometric standardization work (e.g. ISO/IEC, CEN), and translate where standards create risk or opportunity for the roadmap and products. - Academic & research partnerships. Own university and research-institute relationships as a managed portfolio, and set up and steer academic pilots so they feed the roadmap. - EU-funded research projects. Lead Innovatrics' participation in EU research consortia (e.g. Horizon Europe) — proposals, consortium relationships, deliverables, reporting, and hiring for project-funded roles. ### Working Hours & Location We prefer candidates based in Bratislava or Brno, where our core R&D teams and HQ are located. We are also open to remote candidates based anywhere in Europe — in which case roughly 15% travel to our Bratislava HQ is expected. The role also involves regular travel to standards-body (ISO/IEC) working groups and to academic partner meetings. ## Requirements ### About You You are an experienced applied-ML or research leader who is energised by ambiguous problems and by growing the people who solve them. You combine research curiosity with pragmatic engineering judgement, and you communicate your thinking clearly — to your team, to leadership, and to external partners. You are comfortable wearing several hats at once: leading a team, owning a roadmap, and representing Innovatrics externally. You thrive in a culture built on Innovatrics' values — collaboration, accountability, respect, excellence, and a shared mission. ### Qualifications - Several years of applied machine learning experience with a genuine research background — enough to frame research directions and engage credibly with the team's technical work - Experience leading people — line management, coaching, hiring, and growing engineers - A track record of taking research from idea to a validated proof of concept, including framing ambiguous problems and owning outcomes end to end - Background in biometrics, computer vision, or a related applied-AI domain - Clear communication skills and experience representing a team's work to leadership and external stakeholders - Bonus: participation in standards bodies (ISO/IEC, CEN); experience with EU-funded research (e.g. Horizon Europe) — proposals, consortia, reporting; an academic network; PhD or published research ### Level This role is open at M1 (Manager Track). At Innovatrics, levels reflect scope, impact, and autonomy, not just years of experience. M1 is the entry level of the Manager Track: you deliver outcomes through one team, owning team performance, delivery, and a short- to mid-term horizon. This role pairs that M1 team-leadership scope with broader external and strategic responsibility — representing Innovatrics in standards bodies and EU research. Level and compensation are aligned during the interview process based on demonstrated scope & impact. ## Benefits ### Compensation At Innovatrics, we offer competitive compensation aligned with role level, experience, skills, and location. Salary (indicative, Bratislava-based): starting from €5,000 / month and up to €6,000 / month, depending on the assessed seniority level. Beyond base salary, this role is eligible for Innovatrics' company-wide Variable Pay program with a target of 30% of annual guaranteed pay, tied to Innovatrics' net profit margin and paid based on company performance. We also provide a comprehensive benefits package. Details are available at [careers.innovatrics.com](http://careers.innovatrics.com). ### Interview Process - Introduction Stage (~30 min.) - Recruiter Screen - Team & Leadership Interview Stage (~90 min.) - A single interview with the hiring team, covering both sides of the role: - Leadership & stakeholders — people management (hiring, coaching, growing engineers, performance), and representing Innovatrics externally (standards bodies, EU projects, academic partners) and across teams - Technical & roadmap — research credibility and judgement, and how you'd run the innovation backlog: prioritisation, success criteria, kill-or-scale gates, and handover to product and engineering - Final Stage (~30 min.) - CARES Interview to ensure alignment with our values: Collaboration, Accountability, Respect, Excellence, and Shared Mission - Reference checks and background verification Candidates are welcome to request additional conversations with Innovatrics team members. ## Apply [Apply at Innovatrics](https://apply.workable.com/innovatrics/j/DCF7C3EAE0/apply) --- Powered by [Workable](https://www.workable.com)