Senior R&D Product Development Manager

Avient • Avon Lake, OH

1d

About The Position

The Senior R&D Product Development Manager leads multi-million-dollar programs from concept through commercialization, driving cross-functional integration and customer collaboration to accelerate material innovation. The role ensures strategic alignment of research initiatives with business growth objectives, balancing technical rigor with market impact across global teams and external partners.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Marketing, or a related field (Master’s or Ph.D. a plus).
• 7+ years leading complex R&D programs from concept through commercialization, including experience in cross‑functional integration and customer collaboration.
• Proven record of launching multiple successful new products.
• Demonstrated application of Stage‑Gate governance in R&D and commercialization, including planning, gate readiness, and milestone delivery.
• Ability to manage multi‑million‑dollar programs with strong governance, risk mitigation, financial acumen, and strategic prioritization.
• Strong understanding of material science and engineering principles, including scale‑up and process optimization for commercialization.
• Proven leadership and team management experience, with the ability to inspire, influence, and motivate cross‑functional and geographically dispersed teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex information clearly to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Proven ability to build and maintain strategic relationships with key customers and external partners to drive joint development initiatives.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to anticipate and resolve challenges in a dynamic research environment.
• Proficiency in project management and collaboration tools (MS Office, Teams) and data analysis platforms (Excel, Tableau, Sigma) for informed decision‑making.

Nice To Haves

• PMP or similar project management certification.
• Experience with Agile methodologies in R&D settings.
• Extensive experience with new product commercialization.
• Knowledge and experience driving projects using the Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) methodology.
• Experience leveraging digital tools and data analytics to optimize R&D processes and portfolio decisions.

Responsibilities

• Lead and govern multi-million-dollar R&D programs across global teams from concept through commercialization, ensuring compliance, risk mitigation, financial stewardship, and delivery of stage ‑ gate milestones.
• Prioritize and advance high ‑ value material development projects aligned to strategic growth objectives; shape portfolio decisions and resource allocation based on business value and technical feasibility.
• Collaborate with product development, engineering, manufacturing, and quality to accelerate scale ‑ up, improve process capability, and optimize production efficiency. Leverage expertise and business background to execute deliverables to accelerate innovation and drive momentum.
• Serve as the primary R&D liaison for key customer accounts and external partners; drive joint development initiatives and oversee third ‑ party laboratory trials (planning, raw material sourcing, and hands ‑ on testing).
• Provide clear, executive ‑ ready updates on program status, risks, and milestones; influence strategic decisions through data ‑ driven insights.
• Build and manage relationships with suppliers, research institutions, and technology partners to enable innovation and de ‑ risk development.
• Enhance R&D processes, tools, and ways of working to improve speed, efficiency, and scalability across programs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior