Product Development Engineer

Founded over 35 years ago, First Quality is a family-owned company that has grown from a small business in McElhattan, Pennsylvania into a group of companies, employing over 5,000 team members, while maintaining our family values and entrepreneurial spirit. With corporate offices in New York and Pennsylvania and 8 manufacturing campuses across the U.S. and Canada, the companies within the First Quality group produce high-quality personal care and household products for large retailers and healthcare organizations. Our personal care and household product portfolio includes baby diapers, wipes, feminine pads, paper towels, bath tissue, adult incontinence products, laundry detergents, fabric finishers, and dishwash solutions. In addition, we manufacture certain raw materials and components used in the manufacturing of these products, including flexible print and packaging solutions.

Guided by our values of humility, unity, and integrity, we leverage advanced technology and innovation to drive growth and create new opportunities. At First Quality, you’ll find a collaborative environment focused on continuous learning, professional development, and our mission to Make Things Better®.

We are seeking a Product Development Engineer for our First Quality Baby Products facility located in Macon, GA.

The purpose of this job is to lead product development projects and select technologies to use to meet customer and consumer demands. Works with and provides technical expertise for continuous improvement activities for new and existing products within the FQBP facility. This role will work in collaboration with engineering, process, innovation, and marketing to create, develop, and implement new and proprietary designs of absorbent-related product systems to assure competitive performance and value.

Responsibilities include:

• Participate as a member of the Product Development team; execute projects in timely, diligent, safe, and professional manner, and contribute to the growth of the team and department.
• Investigates new technologies and applies them to baby diapers and pants.
• Assists in planning, conducting, analyzing, and interpreting technical services.
• Responsible for project planning and execution on commercial and pilot line trials.
• Responsible for evaluating analytical data and relaying the information to non-technical personnel.
• Develops proprietary technology with equipment and/or process changes to meet evolving customer needs with the lowest cost solution.
• Responsible for organizing Product Development pipeline and consumer testing plans.
• Responsible for Product Development capital projects
• Support corporate proprietary technology by documenting and patenting novel ideas.
• Work with Product Development Leader to help set project objectives, budget, and timelines.
• Coach and develop indirect reports to enhance team performance towards department objectives.

Education and experience requirements include:

• Four-year engineering degree (e.g. Chemical, Biomedical, or Mechanical Engineering) or equivalent; additional business studies preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years in Project, Product, or Process Engineering experience
• Minimum of 2-5 years in R&D or Product Development inventing, developing and implementing new products.
• Experience in a lean manufacturing environment preferred.
• Knowledge of and experience with developing product systems for the retail market, preferably hygiene products
• Knowledge of materials used in retail absorbent products (e.g. pulp, super absorbent polymers, nonwovens).
• Working knowledge of consumer product converting technologies for pulp, paper and nonwoven materials.
• Experience with the process of searching, evaluating and filing patents.
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to develop and organize multiple projects.
• Ability to work with a diverse, cross-functional team of professionals to deliver against key objectives and timelines.
• Able to speak, read and write the English language and have strong oral and written communication skills.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel, Minitab, as well as other office systems.
• Knowledge and use of Design of Experiments and statistical analysis.
• SAP knowledge preferred.
• Able to travel ~20-30% to US and International for product and process trials.

What We Offer You

We believe that by continuously improving the quality of our benefits, we can help to raise the quality of life for our team members and their families. At First Quality you will receive:

• Competitive base salary and bonus opportunities
• Paid time off (three-week minimum)
• Medical, dental and vision starting day one
• 401(k) with employer match
• Paid parental leave
• Child and family care assistance (dependent care FSA with employer match up to $2500)
• Bundle of joy benefit (years' worth of free diapers to all team members with a new baby)
• Tuition assistance
• Wellness program with savings of up to $4,000 per year on insurance premiums
• ...and more!

First Quality is committed to protecting information under the care of First Quality Enterprises commensurate with leading industry standards and applicable regulations. As such, First Quality provides at least annual training regarding data privacy and security to employees who, as a result of their role specifications, may come in to contact with sensitive data.

First Quality is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identification, or protected Veteran status.

For immediate consideration, please go to the Careers section at to complete our online application.