What are the responsibilities and job description for the Product Development Raw Materials Scientist position at First Quality?
We are seeking a Product Development Raw Materials Scientist for our First Quality Baby Products site located in Macon, GA. This position will be responsible for development and innovation of current and new products that meet and exceed customer/consumer needs while still meeting required cost targets. This position reports directly to the Product Development Leader and plays a crucial role in driving innovation and ensuring the successful launch of high-quality products.
Primary responsibilities include:
- Leads the development of new products from concept through commercialization. Benchmarks competitive products, creates initial specification, produces concept samples, scales up process, confirms process capabilities, and finalizes specifications as needed to ensure successful commercial production.
- Works in close collaboration with Sales/Marketing, Engineering, and Operations in order to identify opportunities for new products and improvements to current products.
- Researches and maintains up-to-date information on competitive products and relevant research and patent literature.
- Works closely with suppliers’ technical staff on development efforts.
- Works with Process Engineers and Quality Assurance to optimize the technical and economic performance of existing products.
- Maintains extensive contacts with material suppliers to allow development of new materials and optimizes the performance of current raw materials.
- Responsible for coordinating, analyzing, & documenting Product Development trials while interacting with Process Engineering, Operations and Quality Assurance.
- Organizes trials from the planning stages, monitoring runs and post-trial requirements.
- Ability to leverage Design of Experiments; Test products to assess product performance and attributes, New raw materials to evaluate their properties and determine their impact on finished goods, and Competitive products (benchmarking). Maintains a historical database, and provide summaries as needed.
- Responsible for interpreting data for such purposes as quality control, process control, cost savings, and/or product development.
- Assists in Consumer Usage Testing through product preparation and record keeping as well as data compilation and basic analysis.
- Maintains excellent data collection and research records.
- Devises/revises procedures, work instructions, and specifications (raw material, in-process, and finished goods).
- Ensures that all pertinent FQ GMP and Design Control requirements are met and maintain the necessary records.
- Prepares product samples for Sales, independent lab assessments, and product safety evaluations.
- Establishes effective working relationships with other departments (Engineering, Quality, Production Planning, & Production) to achieve product improvement, new product development, cost saving, and/or quality initiatives.
- Provides recommendations for improvements to our products, testing methods, processes, and potential cost savings.
- Assists the Product Development Leader with other responsibilities, as requested.
The ideal candidate should possess the following:
- Four-year technical degree (e.g. Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering) or equivalent; additional business studies preferred.
- Two years Product Development experience in the Consumer Products or Medical /Healthcare industries, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
- Excellent project management skills, with the ability to prioritize tasks, meet deadlines, and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
- Strong analytical skills and attention to detail; strong written and oral communication skills.
- Self-motivated and proactive attitude, with a passion for innovation and continuous improvement.
- Proficiency with computer applications, including Microsoft Office.
- Knowledge of statistical applications preferred.
- Knowledge of GMP, FDA, ISO 13485, and other applicable quality standards and regulations is preferred.
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.
