Associate Product Development Scientist

First Quality; Lock Haven (Clinton County); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive base salary

Bonus opportunities

Paid time off

Medical, dental and vision

401(k) with employer match

Paid parental leave

Tuition assistance

Wellness program

Job summary

First Quality is seeking an Associate Product Development Scientist for its McElhattan, PA site. You will create and implement absorbent-related product designs, support existing systems, and partner with suppliers to advance materials and technologies used in retail hygiene products.

You will work with senior staff to set project objectives, develop test methods, and contribute to patent-related activities while traveling 20–30% for trials domestically and internationally.

Qualifications

• Able to travel ~20-30% for product and process trials.
• Four-year technical degree in chemistry/engineering fields.
• 3+ years in R&D inventing and developing new products.
• Knowledge of materials in retail absorbent products.
• Knowledge of consumer product converting technologies.
• Experience searching, evaluating, and filing patents.
• Strong English communication and analytical skills.

Responsibilities

• Participate in Product Development projects and execute them safely and professionally.
• Design new products and improvements to meet consumer needs.
• Develop materials and technologies with suppliers; ensure safety testing clearance.
• Use DOE techniques to plan experiments.
• Support cost reduction through product redesigns.
• Provide technical support to reduce consumer complaints.
• Document proprietary ideas and support patenting activity.
• Develop test methods to predict product performance.
• Collaborate with senior scientists to set project objectives.
• Coach indirect reports to improve team performance.

Skills

Travel 20-30%

Analytical skills

Strong communication

English proficiency

Problem solving

Education

Four-year technical degree (Chemistry, Chemical Eng, Mech Eng, Material Science)

Job description

Founded over 35 years ago, First Quality is a family-owned company that has grown from a small business in McElhattan, Pennsylvania into a group of companies, employing over 5,000 team members, while maintaining our family values and entrepreneurial spirit. With corporate offices in New York and Pennsylvania and 8 manufacturing campuses across the U.S. and Canada, the companies within the First Quality group produce high-quality personal care and household products for large retailers and healthcare organizations. Our personal care and household product portfolio includes baby diapers, wipes, feminine pads, paper towels, bath tissue, adult incontinence products, laundry detergents, fabric finishers, and dishwash solutions. In addition, we manufacture certain raw materials and components used in the manufacturing of these products, including flexible print and packaging solutions.

Guided by our values of humility, unity, and integrity, we leverage advanced technology and innovation to drive growth and create new opportunities. At First Quality, you’ll find a collaborative environment focused on continuous learning, professional development, and our mission to Make Things Better.

We are seeking an Associate Product Development Scientist for our First Quality Products site located in McElhattan, PA.

This position is responsible for creating, developing, and implementing new and proprietary designs of absorbent-related product systems based upon business, customer, and consumer needs as well as provide support for the needs of present product systems to assure competitive performance and value.

Principal Accountabilities/ Responsibilities:

• Participate as a member of the Product Development team; execute projects in timely, diligent, safe, and professional manner, and contribute to the growth of the team and department.
• Design new products and product improvements to meet business and consumer needs.
• Develop new and improved materials and technologies with suppliers, and ensure all new raw materials obtain proper safety testing and clearance.
• Use basic Design of Experiments (DOE) techniques to develop experimental plans.
• Support the existing business product cost improvements through product redesigns.
• Provide technical support to reduce consumer complaints.
• Support corporate proprietary technology by documenting and patenting novel ideas.
• Develop new test methods to better predict and understand product performance in use.
• Work with more senior scientist or manager to help set project objectives.
• Coach and develop indirect reports to enhance team performance towards department objectives.

Education and experience requirements:

• Able to travel ~20-30% to US and International for product and process trials.
• Four-year technical degree (e.g. Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Material Science Engineering) or equivalent; additional business studies preferred.
• 3+ years in R&D inventing, developing, and implementing new products.
• Knowledge of and experience with developing product systems for the retail market, preferably hygiene products.
• Knowledge of materials used in retail absorbent products (e.g. pulp, super absorbent polymers, nonwovens).
• Working knowledge of consumer product converting technologies for pulp, paper, and nonwoven materials.
• Experience with the process of searching, evaluating, and filing patents.
• Experience providing direction for the physical testing of hypotheses, resulting in specific conclusions and recommendations.
• Able to speak, read and write the English language and have strong oral and written communication skills.
• Good analytical skills, with working knowledge of basic statistics.

What We Offer You

We believe that by continuously improving the quality of our benefits, we can help to raise the quality of life for our team members and their families. At First Quality you will receive:

• Competitive base salary and bonus opportunities
• Paid time off (three-week minimum)
• Medical, dental and vision starting day one
• 401(k) with employer match
• Paid parental leave
• Child and family care assistance (dependent care FSA with employer match up to $2500)
• Bundle of joy benefit (year's worth of free diapers to all team members with a new baby)
• Tuition assistance
• Wellness program with savings of up to $4,000 per year on insurance premiums
• ...and more!

First Quality is committed to protecting information under the care of First Quality Enterprises commensurate with leading industry standards and applicable regulations. As such, First Quality provides at least annual training regarding data privacy and security to employees who, as a result of their role specifications, may come in to contact with sensitive data.

First Quality is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identification, or protected Veteran status.