Product Manager

Huhtamaki•De Soto, KS

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

This is a custom packaging role, not a consumer brand marketing role. You will work directly with FMCG customers to turn packaging requirements into products our plants can make profitably, at scale, and on time. The lines you would own — QuikSpread, Ultrakan, and Edgeprep (paper dairy containers) — are custom, technically demanding, and built around specific customers. Our customers are under real pressure: sustainability commitments, EPR regulation, and the shift from plastic to fiber. That pressure is the opportunity — this role helps FMCG brands make that transition, and owns the P&L for the products that result. Purpose: Define product, customer, and pricing strategy for the Custom Packaging product lines. Own the product line P&L and deliver against corporate sales and profit targets annually. Lead new product launches and new business onboarding from concept through commercialization.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in marketing, finance, engineering, packaging science, operations management, or equivalent.
Experience in product management, packaging development, technical sales, operations, or project management in a manufacturing or B2B context.
Demonstrated commercial ownership: pricing, margin, or P&L responsibility for a product, line, or account, and the ability to explain what drives a margin.
Ability to develop presentations that persuade senior management, stakeholders, and customers.
Willingness to travel up to 30%, including customer sites and manufacturing plants.
Proficient with MS Office 365 products, including MS Teams.

Nice To Haves

Working knowledge of paperboard, fiber-based, or converted packaging — how it is made, and what the process will and will not tolerate.
Experience working with FMCG / CPG customers on custom or bespoke packaging.
A track record of launching new products or onboarding new business, from concept through first commercial run.
Familiarity with the sustainability and regulatory landscape reshaping packaging — EPR, recyclability, plastic-to-fiber conversion.
The instinct to solve the problem rather than route it: the person others come to when a launch is stuck.

Responsibilities

Translate customer specifications into manufacturable, profitable product — and defend the margin when cost drivers move.
Work cross-functionally, with influence rather than formal authority, to achieve business objectives.
Develop deep command of key FMCG customers’ go-to-market strategies, work processes, and competitive environment.
Maintain expert knowledge of raw material markets, distribution scenarios, packaging formats, and cost drivers for fiber-based custom packaging.
Track sustainability and regulatory pressures (including EPR) shaping customer packaging decisions, and translate them into product opportunities.
Formulate product, promotional, customer, and pricing strategy for your lines, optimizing asset utilization and profitability.
Hold direct accountability for product line P&L; contribute to the development and tracking of financial metrics.
Manage pricing directly with customers to meet profitability targets and ensure fair practices.
Provide clear direction to cross-functional teams — Technology & Development, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Commercialization — to deliver projects accurately, on time, and within budget.
Partner with Sales and Sales & Operations Planning on demand forecasts, market intelligence, and capacity planning.
Act as a genuine advocate for the Sales team: responsive, technically credible, and present when a customer issue needs solving.