Product Design & Development Director - GP Foodservice Solutions

Product Design & Development Director - GP Food service Solutions

Location(s)

Anchor Packaging is seeking a Product Design & Development Director to lead our Product Design team while driving the continuous improvement and transformation of product development capabilities across the organization.

This role is responsible for developing people, improving processes, advancing technical capabilities, and strengthening collaboration across functions to accelerate innovation and commercialization. The Product Design & Development Director will work closely with Product Development, Engineering, Operations, Tooling, Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing, Sustainability, and key customers to ensure products move efficiently from concept to market.

Success in this position requires a leader who is equally comfortable coaching teams, solving complex technical challenges, and influencing cross-functional stakeholders. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in thermoforming, product design, tooling development, and manufacturing processes, along with a passion for continuous improvement and transforming how work gets done.

If you enjoy building high-performing teams, improving systems and processes, and creating innovative packaging solutions that deliver real value for customers, this is a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact in a growing business.

• Lead, develop, and mentor a high-performing Product Design team, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Drive transformation initiatives that improve product development processes, tools, communication, and overall organizational effectiveness.
• Partner with Product Development, Engineering, Operations, Tooling, Manufacturing, Sales, and Marketing teams to improve the speed, quality, and effectiveness of product commercialization.
• Champion best practices in product design, product realization, and new product introduction (NPI).
• Lead cross-functional efforts to identify and eliminate barriers that slow innovation, increase complexity, or impact execution.
• Apply expertise in thermoforming, tooling, materials, and manufacturing processes to solve technical challenges and improve product performance.
• Ensure product designs are manufacturable, scalable, cost-effective, and aligned with customer requirements and business objectives.
• Establish and improve technical standards, development methodologies, and design processes that strengthen organizational capability.
• Support product development projects from concept through commercialization, including prototyping, testing, tooling development, trials, and production launch.
• Work directly with customers and commercial teams to understand needs and translate them into innovative packaging solutions.
• Identify opportunities to improve quality, productivity, manufacturability, and speed-to-market.
• Influence and align cross-functional stakeholders to achieve business objectives and deliver successful outcomes.

• A people-focused leader who enjoys coaching, developing, and empowering technical teams.
• A change agent who thrives on improving processes, systems, and organizational effectiveness.
• A collaborative leader who can influence across functions and build alignment without relying solely on organizational authority.
• A creative problem solver who challenges conventional thinking and develops innovative solutions.
• A technically strong professional with expertise in thermoforming, product design, tooling, and manufacturing processes.
• A strategic thinker who can connect customer needs, technical requirements, manufacturing capabilities, and business goals.
• A continuous improvement advocate who seeks better ways of working and drives measurable results.
• An execution-oriented leader who turns ideas into action and delivers outcomes.

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Packaging, Materials Science, Manufacturing, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of experience in product design, product development, packaging development, engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Leadership experience supervising and developing technical professionals.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and driving organizational change.
• Experience developing products from concept through commercialization.
• Experience working directly with customers to identify needs and develop solutions.
• Understanding of product realization, manufacturing processes, and commercial…