Product Development Operations Technician --MEHDC

• Onsite role supporting live production and development activities.
• Typical weekly hours
  :
  Variable depending on project.
• Duration: Typically 6–12 months, with potential extension based on project load.

Must follow all safety, quality, and regulatory requirements

Duration- 12 Months

10+ years of experience required

The Make/Pack & Primary Operations Contractor provides technical, mechanical, and process‑focused support across the Make, Pack, and Primary areas. This role ensures equipment reliability, supports product development runs, assists in quality and process troubleshooting, and helps develop or maintain training and operational documentation. Work involves hands‑on interaction with machinery, support for novel processing needs, and collaboration with cross‑functional teams.

• Perform hands‑on mechanical support for Make/Pack and Primary equipment, including makers, packers, conveyors, feeders, conditioning equipment, and processing systems.
• Diagnose equipment issues and apply corrective actions consistent with expectations described for packing/mechanical roles.
• Perform changeovers, adjustments, and set‑ups required for test runs, product development trials, and daily operational needs.
• Support equipment evaluations, test plans, and OEM‑related technical meetings as needed.

• Support execution of production requests within Pilot and Semiworks environments
• Assist operations personnel during prototype builds, product development cycles, and limited‑run manufacturing.
• Ensure compliance with PM USA Quality Systems, safety requirements, and regulatory expectations.

• Identify process inefficiencies, equipment constraints, and improvement opportunities.
• Work with engineers, technicians, and product developers to optimize processes in both Make/Pack and Primary work streams.
• Contribute to performance data collection, interpretation, and improvement recommendations.

• Support development or updating of operational and training documentation, consistent with the documentation needs outlined for Training Development.
• Assist in capturing best practices, changeover procedures, equipment settings, and troubleshooting guides.
• Provide feedback to training and production support teams to maintain accurate SOPs, training manuals, and operator aids.

• Partner with Primary Workstream teams to support new product launches and operational scaling.
• Engage with engineering, maintenance, quality, and product development to ensure cohesive operational alignment.

• Experience in Make, Pack, Primary, or similar tobacco/consumer‑goods processing environments.
• Strong mechanical aptitude with proven ability to troubleshoot production equipment.
• Ability to work onsite in Semiworks or ACL environments.
• Experience assisting with documentation or technical communication.

• Prior experience in Pilot Plant or semi‑commercial production environments.
• Familiarity with QMS, change control, and safety practices.
• Hands‑on knowledge of maker/packer machinery, Primary processing systems, or Semiworks operations.