Product Design & Development Director - GP Foodservice Solutions

Georgia-Pacific; Neenah (WI); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Georgia-Pacific seeks a Product Design & Development Director to lead our Product Design team and advance capabilities across the organization. You will collaborate with Product Development, Engineering, Operations, Tooling, Manufacturing, Sales, and Marketing to move concepts to market.

Ideal candidate has deep thermoforming and tooling experience, a track record in continuous improvement, and a passion for transforming how work gets done to deliver customer value.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, packaging, materials science, manufacturing, or related field.
• 10+ years in product design, development, packaging development, or 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 organizational effectiveness.
• Partner with cross-functional teams 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 to innovation and execution.
• Apply expertise in thermoforming, tooling, materials, and manufacturing processes to 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.
• Support product development projects from concept through commercialization, including prototyping, testing, tooling development, trials, and production launch.
• Work with customers and commercial teams to translate needs into innovative packaging solutions.

Skills

Thermoforming design

Tooling development

Mold design

Design for Manufacturing

Packaging development

Leadership

Education

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

Job description

Product Design & Development Director - GP Foodservice Solutions

Location(s)

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 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, and may also include infertility assistance, paid parental leave and adoption assistance. Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region.

Additionally, everyone has individual work and personal needs. We seek to enable the best work environment that helps you and the business work together to produce superior results.

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. Please click here for additional information. (For Illinois E-Verify information click here , aquí , or tu ).