Product Development Engineer

About the role

As a Product Development Engineer, you will drive value for your designated category by creating and improving product designs that align with the category strategy. You will lead projects of increasing complexity, navigate trade-offs between market demands and operational constraints, and oversee research, design, claims substantiation, machine trials, and testing procedures. This role requires a deep understanding of the competitive environment and the ability to bring innovative products to market successfully.

Responsibilities

• Execute against the category strategy in collaboration with cross-functional teams, balancing innovation, cost, and continuous improvement projects.
• Drive innovation and product improvements to maintain competitiveness in the marketplace, leading changes from concept to commercial implementation.
• Provide technical evaluation of products, including process understanding, equipment requirements, intellectual property considerations, and product costing and specifications for new designs.
• Participate in cross-functional product teams to develop and qualify new product features and upgrades, ensuring projects are delivered on schedule and within budget.
• Conduct product evaluations, including bench testing, product fit simulations, and consumer testing.
• Prepare and oversee developmental machine trials to qualify new product concepts and materials.
• Control, own, and manage the Finished Product Specification and Raw Material Specification Systems.
• Collaborate with material suppliers to explore new technologies and materials suitable for finished products.
• Support sales and marketing functions with customer meetings and technical requests.
• Fulfill test requests from insights, product design, and commercial teams, coordinating testing with the quality department or conducting specialty tests.
• Deliver results on schedule, including coordination of product repack, shipping, quality testing, product release, and data entry/analysis for consumer panel testing.
• Participate and present in various meetings and forums.

Requirements

• 2-3 years of experience in product design/development.
• Technical Bachelor’s degree (Mechanical Engineering or Chemical Engineering preferred).
• Demonstrated history of delivering and launching product development projects.
• Knowledge of statistical techniques for data-driven decision-making.
• Aptitude for understanding complex manufacturing processes.
• Ability to lead projects using strong project management fundamentals and techniques.
• Capability to manage multiple active projects and responsibilities simultaneously.
• Knowledge of data storage, reporting, and analysis.
• Familiarity with quality control techniques.
• Detail-oriented with strong data collection and organization skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Proficiency in MS Office.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience using product evaluation methods, including bench testing, fit modeling, and consumer testing.
• Knowledge of raw materials used in disposable personal care products.
• Understanding of disposable personal care products converting processes.
• Familiarity with absorbent hygiene test methods and lab procedures.
• Experience with project management software (e.g., MS Project, SmartSheet).