Product Manager

Product Manager – Packaging Innovation & Product Safety

6 month contract

Hybrid (4 days onsite) in Seattle, WA

This role leads the development of new products and packaging-related marketing opportunities within a defined category, with a strong focus on food packaging quality and product safety. You will develop strategic assessments for new and existing products, oversee packaging innovation initiatives, and manage product performance against operating plans and budgets to achieve financial and business objectives. The position blends product management, supplier quality, and cross-functional collaboration with R&D and innovation teams to bring safe, compliant, and scalable packaging solutions to market.

• Lead the development of new products and packaging-related marketing opportunities within the assigned category, ensuring alignment with business objectives and brand strategy.

• Develop strategic assessments for products and packaging solutions, evaluating market opportunities, risks, and financial implications.

• Manage product performance against operating plans and budgets, monitoring key metrics and taking action to achieve financial and business goals.

• Support packaging innovation initiatives through a quality and product safety lens, partnering with R&D and cross-functional stakeholders to identify risks, assess feasibility, and enable safe, scalable adoption of new materials, designs, and technologies.

• Lead the onboarding and qualification of new suppliers and manufacturing sites, ensuring compliance with internal food safety, GMP, and packaging quality requirements through risk assessments, audits, and readiness evaluations.

• Collaborate closely with R&D and Packaging Development teams to establish material, process, and performance qualification standards, ensuring packaging solutions are robust, fit for use, and compliant prior to commercialization.

• Provide quality oversight during pilot runs, scale-ups, and first production, identifying gaps early and driving corrective actions to minimize downstream risk to retail operations.

• Assess manufacturing process capability, including Cp/Cpk, control plans, and validation activities, to confirm suppliers can produce consistent, high-quality packaging before transitioning to full-scale manufacturing.

• Act as a trusted quality advisor on innovation governance, balancing speed-to-market objectives with a strong commitment to product safety, quality, and customer trust.

• Lead and participate in regular supplier meetings to review packaging project requirements, confirm technical specifications, and align on qualification plans and testing protocols.

• Ensure suppliers clearly understand quality, safety, and performance expectations for new and innovative packaging materials.

• Partner closely with R&D and innovation stakeholders to review development samples, analyze testing results, and support evaluation of trial and simulation outcomes.

• Provide quality engineering input throughout the development lifecycle to identify risks, recommend improvements, and support sound design decisions.

• Support the setup and qualification of new supplier manufacturing sites by gathering and reviewing required documentation, including quality systems, certifications, and process flows.

• Coordinate and support supplier audits to ensure compliance with quality, food safety, and manufacturing standards prior to supplier approval.

• Create, complete, and maintain Product Safety Review data for all active innovation projects, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and traceability of safety assessments to support internal approvals and regulatory compliance for new packaging solutions.

• Maintain regular communication with supplier Food Safety & Quality (FSQ) teams to provide updates on program milestones, development changes, and testing progress.

• Proactively address quality or food safety concerns with suppliers and internal partners to keep innovation projects on track and aligned with launch timelines.

• Engage broadly across cross-functional teams, maintaining a moderate to high level of daily interaction to drive alignment and project success.

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