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 Purchasing to negotiate price, quality, and service with vendors.
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 absorbent hygiene category.
Reviews and provides recommendations on new idea submissions for absorbent products.
Reviews consumer complaint data to identify opportunities to improve product performance and consumer satisfaction.
Support Sales and marketing in presenting to customers.
The ideal candidate should possess the following
Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Science or Engineering; MS or PhD preferred
Minimum of 7 years of medical product development or related industry experience preferred, preferably in absorbent hygiene products.
Knowledge of 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.
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 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.
