Product Development Manager

First Quality; Lewistown (Mifflin County); On-site; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive base salary and bonus opportunities

Paid time off (three-week minimum)

Medical, dental and vision coverage starting day one

401(k) with employer match

Tuition assistance

Wellness program with potential savings on insurance premiums

Job summary

A reputable manufacturing company is seeking a Product Development Manager in Lewistown, PA. The role involves leading product improvements, investigating new technologies, and developing new products in the absorbent hygiene market. Ideal candidates have a Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Science and 7+ years in product development, along with strong analytical and leadership skills. Competitive compensation and benefits are offered.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of product development experience in absorbent hygiene products.
• Knowledge of absorbent hygiene markets, products, and trends.
• Ability to assess impacts on product performance and consumer satisfaction.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional teams to implement product improvements and new introductions.
• Investigate new technologies relevant to absorbent products.
• Develop new products from concept through commercialization.

Skills

Product Development

Cross-Functional Leadership

Statistical Inference

Design of Experiments

Customer Interaction

Microsoft Office Suite

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Science

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Minitab

Microsoft Project

Job description

Overview

Talent Acquisition - First Quality Enterprises, Inc

First Quality is a family-owned company with over 35 years of history, employing over 5,000 team members with corporate offices in New York and Pennsylvania and eight manufacturing campuses across the U.S. and Canada. We produce personal care and household products for large retailers and healthcare organizations, including baby diapers, wipes, feminine pads, paper towels, bath tissue, adult incontinence products, laundry detergents, fabric finishers, and dishwash solutions. We also manufacture raw materials and components, including flexible print and packaging solutions. We strive to Make Things Better® through humility, unity, and integrity, with a collaborative environment focused on continuous learning and professional development.

Position: Product Development Manager for First Quality Retail Services, located in Lewistown, PA.

Responsibilities

• Leads a cross-functional team to plan, develop, and implement product improvements and new product introductions from Operations through to the Marketplace.
• Investigates new technologies (materials & equipment) and their applicability to absorbent products.
• Works with Marketing to plan, conduct, analyze, and interpret consumer/market research studies.
• Plans, conducts, analyzes, and interprets product use tests to benchmark competitive product performance.
• Works with Patent/Trademark attorney on intellectual property considerations (patentability, infringement searches, right-to-market reviews, etc.).
• Prepares preliminary product costing for new products.
• Provides market intelligence to the corporation (patents/trademarks/industry news, etc.).
• Benchmarks competitive products and develops strategies to maintain competitive advantages.
• Conducts periodic reviews of technology patents and industry trademarks and keeps abreast of new product introductions in the category.
• Develops new products from concept through commercialization, including initial specifications, concept demonstrations, product/process development steps, scale-up, and final specs for customer acceptance.
• Collaborates with Business Units, Engineering, Marketing, and Operations to identify opportunities for new products and improvements to current products.
• Collaborates with customers’ and suppliers’ technical staff and presents First Quality capabilities.
• Works with Engineering, Process and Quality Assurance teams to optimize technical and economic performance of existing products.
• Maintains extensive contacts with material suppliers to develop new raw materials and optimize current raw materials.
• Maintains contacts with academic institutions and outside labs to augment technical capabilities.

Qualifications

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Science; MS preferred.
• Minimum of 7 years of product development experience in absorbent hygiene products, preferably in adult incontinence products.
• Knowledge of absorbent hygiene markets, products, competition, consumers, trends, etc.
• Knowledge and use of Probability and Statistical Inference.
• Knowledge and use of Design of Experiments.
• Knowledge and use of Patents/Trademarks related to absorbent products and materials.
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to develop and organize multiple projects and lead a diverse, cross-functional team to meet objectives and timelines.
• Ability to assess process and raw material impacts on product performance and consumer satisfaction.
• Ability to interact with customers on technical and sales levels.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office, Microsoft Project, Minitab, and other office systems.
• Able to travel domestically and internationally for manufacturing plants, conferences, supplier trials, and customer meetings.

What We Offer

We offer competitive compensation and benefits, including:

• Competitive base salary and bonus opportunities
• Paid time off (three-week minimum)
• Medical, dental and vision coverage 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 (free diapers for new babies)
• Tuition assistance
• Wellness program with potential savings on insurance premiums
• And more!

First Quality is committed to protecting information under the care of First Quality Enterprises, with training on data privacy and security for employees handling 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 identity, or protected Veteran status.

For immediate consideration, please go to the Careers section at www.firstquality.com to complete our online application.