Product Design & Development Director - GP Foodservice Solutions

Georgia Pacific; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

Flexible spending

Health savings accounts

Life insurance

ADD

Disability

Retirement

Paid vacation/time off

Educational assistance

Infertility assistance

Paid parental leave

Adoption assistance

Job summary

Anchor Packaging is seeking a Product Design & Development Director to lead the Product Design team and advance our product development capabilities, partnering with engineering, operations, tooling, and commercial teams to move concepts to market.

The ideal leader brings deep thermoforming and tooling experience, a passion for continuous improvement, and the ability to coach and align multiple functions toward innovation and faster delivery of packaging solutions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor level technical degree required.
• 10+ years in product design or packaging development.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and customer engagements.
• Experience bringing products from concept to commercialization.
• Willingness to travel up to 30%.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes related to packaging.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a high-performing Product Design team.
• Drive transformation of product development processes and tools.
• Collaborate with Product Development, Engineering, Operations, Tooling, Manufacturing, Sales and Marketing to accelerate commercialization.
• Champion best practices in product realization and NPI.
• Identify barriers to speed and reduce complexity in projects.
• Apply thermoforming and tooling expertise to improve product performance.
• Ensure designs are manufacturable, scalable, and cost-effective.
• Establish technical standards and design methodologies.
• Support projects from concept to production launch.
• Translate customer needs into innovative packaging solutions.
• Drive quality, productivity, and speed-to-market improvements.
• Influence stakeholders to achieve business goals.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Product design

Thermoforming

Tooling development

Manufacturing processes

Continuous improvement

Education

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

Tools

NPI/Stage-gate processes

Job description

Your Job

Anchor Packaging is seeking a Product Design & Development Director to lead our Product Design team while driving the continuous improvement and transformation of product development capabilities across the organization.

This role is responsible for developing people, improving processes, advancing technical capabilities, and strengthening collaboration across functions to accelerate innovation and commercialization. The Product Design & Development Director will work closely with Product Development, Engineering, Operations, Tooling, Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing, Sustainability, and key customers to ensure products move efficiently from concept to market.

Success in this position requires a leader who is equally comfortable coaching teams, solving complex technical challenges, and influencing cross-functional stakeholders. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in thermoforming, product design, tooling development, and manufacturing processes, along with a passion for continuous improvement and transforming how work gets done.

If you enjoy building high-performing teams, improving systems and processes, and creating innovative packaging solutions that deliver real value for customers, this is a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact in a growing business.

What You Will Do

• Lead, develop, and mentor a high‑performing Product Design team, fostering a culture of 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 teams to improve the 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‑effective, and aligned with customer requirements and business objectives.
• 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.

Who You Are

• A people‑focused leader who enjoys coaching, developing, and empowering technical teams.
• A change agent who thrives on improving processes, systems, and organizational effectiveness.
• A collaborative leader who can influence across functions and build alignment without relying solely on organizational authority.
• A creative problem solver who challenges conventional thinking and develops innovative solutions.
• A technically strong professional with expertise in thermoforming, product design, tooling, and manufacturing processes.
• A strategic thinker who can connect customer needs, technical requirements, manufacturing capabilities, and business goals.
• A continuous improvement advocate who seeks better ways of working and drives measurable results.
• An execution‑oriented leader who turns ideas into action and delivers outcomes.

Who You Are (Basic 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%.

What Will Put You Ahead

• Extensive experience in thermoforming design and manufacturing.
• Strong knowledge of tooling development, mold design, and part realization.
• Foodservice packaging experience.
• Demonstrated success leading process transformation, continuous improvement, or organizational change initiatives.
• Experience implementing or improving new product introduction (NPI), stage‑gate, or product development systems.
• Expertise in Design for Manufacturing (DFM), Design for Performance, and commercialization processes.
• Knowledge of plastics processing, materials science, and packaging performance requirements.
• Experience leading technical teams in a fast‑paced manufacturing environment.

At Koch companies, we are entrepreneurs. This means we openly challenge the status quo, find new ways to create value and get rewarded for our individual contributions. Any compensation range provided for a role is an estimate determined by available market data. The actual amount may be higher or lower than the range provided considering each candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location.

Hiring Philosophy

All Koch companies value diversity of thought, perspectives, aptitudes, experiences, and backgrounds. We are Military Ready and Second Chance employers. Learn more about our hiring philosophy here.

Who We Are

At Koch, employees are empowered to do what they do best to make life better. Learn how our business philosophy helps employees unleash their potential while creating value for themselves and the company.

Our Benefits

Our goal is for each employee, and their families, to live fulfilling and healthy lives. We provide essential resources and support to build and maintain physical, financial, and emotional strength - focusing on overall wellbeing so you can focus on what matters most.

Our benefits plan includes

• medical
• dental
• vision
• flexible spending and health savings accounts
• life insurance
• ADD
• disability
• retirement
• paid vacation/time off
• educational assistance
• infertility assistance
• paid parental leave
• adoption assistance

Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region.

Equal Opportunities

Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. Except where prohibited by state law, some offers of employment are conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test. This employer uses E‑Verify.