Technical Readiness Leader, Iowa City Beauty Care Plant

P&G • Iowa City, IA

2d • Onsite

About The Position

The Technical Project Leader owns end-to-end technical readiness and successful commercial launch of new product and packaging designs at P&G’s Iowa City Beauty Care Plant. The role bridges design concepts and manufacturing requirements, leading cross-functional engineering, R&D, and operations teams to deliver innovations on time, within budget, and with right-first-time quality.

The position represents plant operations and manufacturing feasibility to commercial, brand management, and executive R&D stakeholders. It directs technical readiness through formal Stage-Gate milestones, identifies and mitigates technical risks, and plans and oversees validation activities from pilot production and tooling tests through production-scale runs. The role also coordinates test-market materials, manages engineering changes and compliance readiness, and works with internal plants and external contract manufacturers to confirm equipment capability, capacity, and operational readiness.

The leader is responsible for project manufacturing economics, including capital expenditure planning, start-up budgets, and Total Delivered Cost modeling. The role develops feasibility and financial assessments with engineering hubs and builds critical path schedules that support speed to market while limiting scrap, inventory exposure, and business disruption. Candidates should be prepared to consider relocation opportunities over the course of their careers as business needs and development opportunities arise.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in an engineering discipline such as Mechanical, Chemical, Industrial, Packaging, or Materials Science, or a related technical field.
• 3–5+ years of direct experience in manufacturing, engineering, packaging development, or new product introduction within consumer packaged goods, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, or food and beverage.
• Hands-on experience using Microsoft Project or equivalent enterprise scheduling software to manage multi-workstream critical path schedules.
• Understanding of manufacturing cost drivers, capital expenditure management, and line-efficiency metrics such as OEE.
• Strong verbal and written executive-level communication skills, including the ability to translate technical data into business-relevant decision points.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex technical, chemical, or mechanical challenges into actionable manufacturing plans.
• Ability to influence cross-functional partners across R&D, Brand Marketing, Operations, and Finance.
• Strong analytical and root-cause problem-solving skills, including experience addressing manufacturing scale-up bottlenecks.
• An owner’s mindset and urgency in meeting launch milestones without compromising safety, compliance, or product quality.
• Preparedness to consider relocation opportunities throughout the career as business needs and development opportunities arise.

Responsibilities

• Represent plant operations and manufacturing feasibility to commercial, brand management, and executive R&D leadership.
• Own and direct the Technical Readiness Master Plan across the project lifecycle and guide projects through formal Stage-Gate qualification milestones.
• Quantify, communicate, and proactively mitigate technical risks involving new formulations, packaging geometries, and high-speed filling-line changes.
• Design and execute technical validation plans, including pilot plant production, tooling testing, line demonstrations, and production-scale validation runs.
• Coordinate production of test-market materials and finished consumer test products to validate performance before mass rollout.
• Lead engineering change management and ensure product specifications, material approvals, and quality control systems are compliant before first shipment.
• Partner with internal manufacturing plants and external contract manufacturing partners to ensure equipment capability, line capacity, and operational readiness.
• Own project manufacturing economics, including capital expenditure planning, start-up budgets, and Total Delivered Cost modeling.
• Partner with engineering hubs to develop project feasibility and financial assessment models.
• Build integrated Critical Path Schedules to protect speed to market while minimizing scrap, inventory exposure, and business disruption.

Benefits

• Total rewards include salary, bonus if applicable, and benefits; specific benefits are not itemized in the posting.

What This Job Offers

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