Senior Product Development Engineer

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Job description

Hoffmaster is seeking a Senior Product Development Engineer, based in Oshkosh or Oconto, WI. This is a position within the Corporate R&D Team. Hoffmaster is a major converter of nonwovens, paperboard, and tissue in the Food Service and Consumer markets. The company produces food service napkins, guest towels, paper straws, as well as flexographic printed tissue, and flexographic printed paper plates. This person will create value by developing and implementing new products, materials, processes, or technology, and provide continued support for commercialized products. This opportunity will allow you to use your technical expertise, creativity, and entrepreneurship to have a direct impact on business performance. If you have a passion for Innovation, and R&D, this could be an excellent opportunity for you. This role works in close collaboration with Business New Product Development, Product Managers, Sales/Marketing, Operations, and Engineering Teams.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Conduct technology research, prototype development, and product testing.


• Provide functional support in materials identification/analysis, optimization and problem solving for fibers, polymers, inks, and additives used in production.


• Provide functional support in the initiation, design, and development of new raw materials


• Development of product design and specifications for use by product marketing, operations, technical support, and others.


• Lead raw material initiatives to support customer objectives related to improving cost, quality, and converting performance.


• Lead raw material initiatives to support cost of manufacturing objectives and production performance.


• Work closely with procurement to generate value propositions through materials testing.


• Monitor the market (domestic and international) to identify new product technologies to explore the potential to improve products/processes.


• Develop knowledge and skills to be recognized as an effective implementer of research principles, scientific analysis, and project management.


• Support scale-up trials and troubleshooting within production plants.


• Solve customer & consumer issues by using knowledge and resources from alternative categories internal and external to the company.


• Utilize the scientific method and data analysis with a creative approach to identify new opportunities and solve complex problems.


• Partner with operations and engineering teams to advance manufacturing capabilities and make impactful changes to how our products are made.


• Development of Intellectual Property, including existing patent investigations, and issuing patent applications.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree or higher in Paper Science, Chemistry or Engineering.


• Five (5) or more years of experience in nonwovens and/or tissue converting manufacturing.


• Experience working in a Research & Development environment with demonstrated results.


• Experience working with suppliers to manage the relationship and innovation execution to create value.


• Understanding of material properties and their impact on product performance.

Preferred:

• Advanced Degree (M.S. or PhD) in Paper Science, Chemistry or Engineering


• Ten (10) or more years of experience in nonwovens and/or tissue converting manufacturing.


• Materials Science experience and expertise in nonwovens and tissue.


• Experience with Stage Gate, Change Management, and Specification Ownership.


• Experience in working across the phases of the product development life cycle including to explore commercialization.

Physical Requirements:

The physical demands described herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

• Work is performed almost exclusively in an office environment.


• Ability to sit for extended periods of time.


• Regularly access other work centers (some walking, and bending, occasional stooping, lifting of light materials).


• Frequent mental and visual concentration required for computer usage and general office tasks.


• Safety hazards are minimal.

Hoffmaster Group Inc.

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We care about our employee's wellbeing which is why we offer a full benefits package that includes: Medical, Dental, Vision, Life and Disability insurances, student loan assistance, physical and mental wellness programs, Employee Assistance Program, and more!

Disclaimer:

The above information on this description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.

Reasonable Accommodations Statement: To accomplish this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation, each essential function satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to help enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)