R&D Engineering Manager

Position Description

Department: Research and Development

Status: 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.

• 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 rhythm.
• Provide performance feedback and career development support to the R&D process team; build a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and professional growth.
• Partner 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 initiatives.
• Build strong vendor relationships; lead vendor evaluations, technical reviews, and collaboration to accelerate prototyping and problem‑solving.
• Oversee R&D’s technology pipeline and ongoing capabilities including capital deployment and asset management.
• Drive continuous innovation by evaluating new technologies and processes, making recommendations, and initiating proof of concept testing.
• Apply Design of Experiments (DoE), statistics, and advanced analytics to plan experiments, interpret results, and guide decisions.
• Establish strong technical documentation practices; experimental plans, run logs, interpretive reports, work instructions, and clear recommendations.
• Utilize project management skills to define, plan, schedule, and control the tasks that must be completed to reach project goals.
• Ability to work with a union and facilitate teamwork, open communication and compliance with the current collective bargaining agreement.

• Bachelor’s degree in a related engineering field.
• Master’s degree in engineering or management is preferred.
• 10+ years of engineering experience and 3+ years of supervisory experience.
• Strong competency with digital tools that support digital transformation and data analysis.
• Strong mechanical aptitude with industrial mechanical process systems.
• Experience with extrusion, mixing, coating, and packaging processes is preferred.
• Innovative, organized, self‑starter with great problem‑solving skills.
• Collaborative interpersonal style.
• Strong technical and non‑technical communication skills, including written and verbal reports, and presentations to diverse audiences.

We offer competitive pay, extensive benefits that support you and your family, and exciting career development opportunities. Whether you are looking to enhance your skills or advance your career, we offer ongoing training and the support you need to succeed.