Product Developer, Baby Pants

Role Overview

• Coordinate and contribute to the development, validation, and implementation of product, raw material, and packaging initiatives within the Baby Pants category
• Ensure execution of innovation and/or design-to-value projects across North America manufacturing locations (Tijuana, Mexico and Stokesdale, NC), aligned with Innovation Process and FTR principles.
• Deliver key outputs including product and raw material specifications, BOMs, quality control plans, safety documentation, and validation reports.
• Lead and coordinate trial runs, laboratory testing, and consumer panel evaluations to validate new concepts and developments.
• Build knowledge and maintain specifications for new and existing raw materials, ensuring alignment with supplier validation processes, Quality standards, and sustainability objectives.
• Engage with cross-functional and international teams (Marketing, Sales, Procurement, Supply Chain, Engineering, Manufacturing) to translate strategic plans into actionable product developments.
• Support cost-saving initiatives under the Ontex Design-to-Value program and contribute to the company’s sustainability strategy.
• Participate in the Innovation process (Stage Gate), design and development and FTR processes, while supporting the creation of master specifications for new products, including technical drawings, quality recommendations, CTQs, Cpks, and safety files.
• Provide input to CAPEX requirements and collaborate with legal counsel to assess patent landscapes, safeguard intellectual property, and ensure freedom to operate.
• Build product-level market intelligence through competitive benchmarking and reverse engineering exercises.
• Gather, evaluate, and develop ideas for new concepts, features, materials, packaging, and machine processes.
• Support the design and prototyping of mockups to accelerate product innovation and validation.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry or a related field
• 5 years of progressively responsible experience in the job offered or a related research and development occupation developing personal hygiene products
• 5 years of experience in research and development
• 5 years of experience in industrial production environment
• 5 years of experience with disposable absorbent products, raw materials, and production processes
• 5 years of experience developing and reviewing specifications including designs, patents, test methods and management of specification agreements
• 5 years of experience creating mechanical drawings for hygienic products
• 5 years of experience developing physical prototypes based on mechanical drawings to understand physical characteristics and technical feasibility of product design and development
• 5 years of experience producing technical reports outlining materials required for new prototypes
• 5 years of experience navigating complex IP constraints to ensure freedom to operate and/or designing around existing patents to enable market access managing risks
• 5 years of experience implementing new products in a manufacturing setting, including scale up and validation of products and processes.

Benefits

• 40 hours/week