Product Development Manager

Founded over 35 years ago, First Quality is a family-owned company that has grown from a small business in McElhattan, Pennsylvania into a group of companies, employing over 5,000 team members, while maintaining our family values and entrepreneurial spirit. With corporate offices in New York and Pennsylvania and 8 manufacturing campuses across the U.S. and Canada, the companies within the First Quality group produce high-quality personal care and household products for large retailers and healthcare organizations. Our personal care and household product portfolio includes baby diapers, wipes, feminine pads, paper towels, bath tissue, adult incontinence products, laundry detergents, fabric finishers, and dishwash solutions. In addition, we manufacture certain raw materials and components used in the manufacturing of these products, including flexible print and packaging solutions.

Guided by our values of humility, unity, and integrity, we leverage advanced technology and innovation to drive growth and create new opportunities. At First Quality, youll find a collaborative environment focused on continuous learning, professional development, and our mission to Make Things Better.

We are seeking a Product Development Manager for our First Quality Retail Services located in Lewistown, PA . This position develops and introduces new products and modifies existing products to meet customer needs. Collaborates with Business Unit to identify customer needs and interacts with Operations (Process Engineers, Production Planning, Project Engineers and Quality Assurance) and Marketing to implement new products in a timely manner. Must maintain an up-to-date information base on relevant new product developments (i.e. via commercial, professional, professional contacts & patent literature) and represents First Quality on professional technical committees.

Primary responsibilities include:

• 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 corporation (patents/trademarks/industry news/etc).
• Benchmarks competitive products and develops strategies to maintain effective advantages.
• Conduct periodic review of technology patents, industry trademarks, as well as keeping abreast of new product introductions into the category.
• Develop new products from concept through commercialization. Comprise initial specifications developed in collaboration with customers, concept demonstrations, product/process development steps, scale up and final spec for product and process acceptance by customers.
• Work in a close collaboration with Business unit, Engineering, Marketing and Operations to identify opportunities for new products and improvements to current products.
• Work closely with customers and suppliers technical staff and present to them our appropriate technical capabilities.
• Work with Engineering, Process and Quality Assurance teams to optimize the technical and economic performance of existing products.
• Maintain extensive contacts with material suppliers to allow development of new raw materials and optimize the performance of current raw materials
• Maintain contacts with academic institutions and outside labs to augment the technical capabilities of First Quality.

The ideal candidate should possess the following:

• Minimum of a Bachelors degree in Engineering or Science; MS preferred

• Minimum of 7 years of product development related absorbent hygiene products industry experience preferred, preferably in adult incontinence hygiene 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, especially with regards to absorbent products and materials
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to develop and organize multiple projects.
• Ability to manage and lead a diverse, cross-functional team of professionals to deliver against key objectives and timelines.
• Ability to assess process and raw material impacts on product performance and consumer satisfaction.
• Ability to interact with customers on all levels in both technical and sales capacities.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office, Microsoft Project, Minitab, as well as other office systems.
• Able to travel domestic and international to manufacturing plants, conferences, suppliers for product and process trials, customer meetings and other business

What We Offer You

We believe that by continuously improving the quality of our benefits, we can help to raise the quality of life for our team members and their families. At First Quality you will receive:

• Competitive base salary and bonus opportunities
• Paid time off (three-week minimum)
• Medical, dental and vision 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 (year's worth of free diapers to all team members with a new baby)
• Tuition assistance
• Wellness program with savings of up to $4,000 per year on insurance premiums
• ...and more!

First Quality is committed to protecting information under the care of First Quality Enterprises commensurate with leading industry standards and applicable regulations. As such, First Quality provides at least annual training regarding data privacy and security to employees who, as a result of their role specifications, may come in to contact with 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 identification, or protected Veteran status.