R&D Engineering Manager

Position DescriptionTitle: R&D Engineering ManagerDepartment: Research and DevelopmentImmediate Supervisor: R&D DirectorStatus: Exempt

Position Purpose: Responsible for leading the development, transition, and integration of new technologies and process platforms from R&D into production. The R&D Engineering Manager will provide engineering leadership and people leadership to the R&D process team as well as leading process and product development projects.

Principle Accountabilities

Create and sustain a safe work environment; support safety programs, encourage incident reporting, and support investigations/corrective actions.Lead, coach, and develop the R&D process team; set direction, expectations, and an execution rhythmProvide performance feedback and career development support to the R&D process team; build a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and professional growthPartner across R&D, Operations, Quality, Sales, EHS, Supply Chain, Finance, and other stakeholders to align priorities and execute project plans in support of strategic corporate initiativesBuild strong vendor relationships; lead vendor evaluations, technical reviews, and collaboration to accelerate prototyping and problem-solvingOversee R&D's technology pipeline and ongoing capabilities including capital deployment and asset managementDrive continuous innovation by evaluating new technologies and processes, making recommendations, and initiating proof of concept testingApply Design of Experiments (DoE), statistics, and advanced analytics to plan experiments, interpret results, and guide decisionsEstablish strong technical documentation practices; experimental plans, run logs, interpretive reports, work instructions, and clear recommendationsUtilize project management skills to define, plan, schedule and control the tasks that must be completed to reach project goalsAbility to work with a union and facilitate teamwork, open communication and compliance to the current collective bargaining agreement

Essential Skills and Experience

Bachelor's degree in a related engineering fieldMaster's degree in engineering or management is preferred10+ years of engineering experience and 3+ years supervisory experienceStrong competency with digital tools that support digital transformation and data analysisStrong mechanical aptitude with industrial mechanical process systemsExperience with extrusion, mixing, coating, and packaging process experience is preferredInnovative, organized, self-starter with great problem-solving skillsCollaborative interpersonal styleStrong technical and non-technical communication skills, including written and verbal reports, and presentations to diverse audiences