Food Product Development Assistant Jobs Near Me

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Product Development Engineer

Position Reports to: Sr Manager/Associate Dir Product Design

Current Job Grade: 6

Supervisor Name/Title:  Various

Location: Various

Relocation Available (y/n):

Date: May 2026

Travel Required:

less than 25%         25%-50%        50%-75%                             more than 75%

Job Summary:

The primary responsibility of the Product Development Engineer is to drive value for their designated category by creating and improving product designs that deliver against the category strategy.  This person will be the product lead on projects with increasing complexity and participate/ lead in project cross functional teams.  The development engineer is to navigate the tradeoffs between satisfying and exceeding the market consensus (category trends, consumer insights, customer requirements, margin/revenue growth aspirations, etc.) and the internal operational consensus (efficiency, cost, capacity, service, etc.) by creating and improving product designs that meet the business needs.  This role will also oversee research and design activities, support claims substantiation, direct machine trials and testing procedures.  An individual for this role is expected to understand the competitive environment and bring innovations to the organization that ultimately launch into market success.

Key responsibilities and percentage of time spent on each:

Key Responsibilities

Percentage

Execute against the category strategy in collaboration with cross-functional teams.  The category roadmap is a balance between innovation, cost and continuous improvement projects.

15

Drive innovation and product improvements that keep products relevant and competitive within the marketplace. Lead these product changes from concept to commercial implementation. Expected to provide technical evaluation of product, understand the accompanying process and necessary equipment, intellectual properties, and generate product costing and specifications for new product designs.

15

Participate in cross-functional product teams.  Assist in the development and qualification of new product features and upgrades with a focus on delivering project on schedule and within budget.

15

Participate in product evaluations.  Includes bench evaluation, product fit simulations and consumer testing.

5

Prepares developmental machine trials to qualify new product concepts and materials.  Work with business support teams to execute.

25

Participates and presents in various meetings and forums.

5

Controls, Owns, and Manages the Finished Product Specification and Raw Material Specification Systems. 

5

Works with material suppliers to understand new technologies and materials that are suitable and desirable in our finished products.

5

Support the sales and marketing functions with customer meetings and technical requests.

5

Suppport in all additional task as follows:  Fulfill test requests from insights, product design and commercial teams.   Coordinate the testing with quality department and/or conduct specialty tests.  Deliver results on schedule, the coordination of product repack, shipping, quality testing, product release, and data entry/ analysis for consumers panel testing.

5

Scope of job including impact on the business, operating budget, direct reports, sales budget, etc:

Operating Budget

$ 0

# of Total headcount

  0

Sales Budget

$ 0

# of Direct Reports

  0

Required Qualifications/Professional Experiences Years of Experience/Education/Certifications:

• 2-3 year's experience in product development
• Technical Batchelor's Degree (ME or ChE preferred)
• Demonstrated history of delivering/ launching product development projects
• Knowledge of statistical techniques to make data driven decisions
• Aptitude and ability to understand complex manufacturing processes
• Ability to lead projects and utilize strong project management fundamentals/ techniques
• Ability to maintain multiple active projects/ responsibilities at the same time
• Knowledge of data storage, data reporting, and data analysis
• Knowledge of quality control techniques
• Detail oriented, ability to collect and organize data
• Demonstrated strong oral and written communication skills
• Proficient in MS Office

Preferred Qualifications/Professional Experiences/Years of Experience:

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

Critical Competencies for Success (Leadership, Technical, Innovation and Work Complexity):

• Knowledge of "design of experiments" and fundamental problem-solving techniques.
• Knowledge and utilization of project management software (SmartSheet)

• Demonstrates high degree of Proficiency in MS Office
• Communication and working effectively in multi-functional groups
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written
• Knowledge of statistics and quality control techniques
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Ability to analyze data and make data-driven decisions
• Analytical thinker and creative problem solver
• Can effectively present findings to executive groups, customers and plant personnel
• Effectively plan and execute machine trials
• Effectively multi-task by maintaining a number of projects active at the same time
• Self-motivated and desire to understand how things work to make them better
• Deliver design team responsibilities while embodying Attindas values and mission
• Comfortable on the machine floor working directly with operations staffing
• Personality that promotes a positive and inclusive work environment

Physical Requirements:

Activity

Frequency

0%

1% - 25%

26% - 75%

76% -100%

Lift up to _30_lbs.

X

Stand

X

Walk

X

Sit

X

Use hands to handle or touch

X

Reach above shoulders

X

Climb or balance

X

Working at heights (wear safety

harness)

X

Stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl

X

Talk or listen

X

Use foot/feet to operate machine

X

Personal Protective Equipment:

PPE

Frequency

0%

1% - 25%

26% - 75%

76% -100%

Wear respirator

X

Wear safety shoe

X

Wear earplugs/muffs

X

Wear eye protection (glasses, goggles or face shield)

X

Wear hand protection (gloves)

X

Wear head protection (hard hat or

bump cap)

X

Wear fire protection (arc flashing clothing)

X

Note: If available, please attach organizational chart. If Org Chart is not available and this is a newly created position, please list supervisor, titles of anticipated direct reports, team members, along with peers with titles (if not already provided above).

Approved by:

Trent Ottery

Date approved:

May 2026

Reviewed:

Candidates must successfully complete a selection process that includes interviews, aptitude tests (for some positions), references verification, drug screening (US), and required background checks (including criminal). Attindas is an Equal Opportunity Employer, EEO/AA Employer.

Revised 08/01/2016