Director, Product Design & Development (Packaging)

Georgia-Pacific LLC; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 140,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Health Savings Account

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

Retirement Plan

Paid Vacation

Educational Assistance

Parental Leave

Adoption Assistance

Job summary

Anchor Packaging is seeking a Product Design & Development Director to lead our Product Design team and drive continuous improvement in product development across the organization. This role collaborates with Product Development, Engineering, Operations, Tooling, Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing, Sustainability, and key customers to move products from concept to market.

The ideal candidate brings deep thermoforming, tooling, and manufacturing expertise, with a track record of transforming how

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Packaging, Materials Science, Manufacturing, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of experience in product design, product development, packaging development, engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Leadership experience supervising and developing technical professionals.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and driving organizational change.
• Experience developing products from concept through commercialization.
• Experience working directly with customers to identify needs and develop solutions.
• Understanding of product realization, manufacturing processes, and commercial product development.
• Ability to travel up to 30%.

Responsibilities

• Lead, develop, and mentor a high-performing Product Design team, fostering collaboration, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Drive transformation initiatives that improve product development processes, tools, communication, and overall organizational effectiveness.
• Partner with Product Development, Engineering, Operations, Tooling, Manufacturing, Sales, and Marketing to improve speed, quality, and effectiveness of product commercialization.
• Champion best practices in product design, product realization, and new product introduction (NPI).
• Lead cross-functional efforts to identify and eliminate barriers that slow innovation, increase complexity, or impact execution.
• Apply expertise in thermoforming, tooling, materials, and manufacturing processes to solve technical challenges and improve product performance.
• Ensure product designs are manufacturable, scalable, cost-efficient, and aligned with customer requirements and business goals.
• Establish and improve technical standards, development methodologies, and design processes that strengthen organizational capability.
• Support product development projects from concept through commercialization, including prototyping, testing, tooling development, trials, and production launch.
• Work directly with customers and commercial teams to understand needs and translate them into innovative packaging solutions.
• Identify opportunities to improve quality, productivity, manufacturability, and speed-to-market.
• Influence and align cross-functional stakeholders to achieve business objectives and deliver successful outcomes.

Skills

People leadership

Change management

Cross-functional collaboration

Problem solving

Continuous improvement

Strategic thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Packaging/Materials Science/Manufacturing

Job description

Anchor Packaging is seeking a Product Design & Development Director to lead our Product Design team and drive continuous improvement in product development across the organization. This role collaborates with Product Development, Engineering, Operations, Tooling, Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing, Sustainability, and key customers to move products from concept to market.

The ideal candidate brings deep thermoforming, tooling, and manufacturing expertise, with a track record of transforming how