Technical Strategist - Product Testing

Kimberly-Clark • Neenah, WI

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

As the Product Testing Technical Strategist, you’ll serve as the strategic thought leader and end to end owner of product testing capability within the North America Innovation Capabilities and Transformation organization. This senior technical leadership role is accountable for defining, challenging, and advancing the product learning strategy across predictive, physical, and consumer testing, ensuring that testing insights directly enable business priorities, accelerate innovation, and strengthen decision quality. Beyond establishing strategy, the Product Testing Technical Strategist is also accountable for the full execution and continuous evolution of the product testing ecosystem, in strong partnership with the Business Unit Innovation teams. The role drives a shift from execution-focused delivery to integrated, future-ready capability leadership, setting clear direction while also ensuring operational excellence and measurable impact. Acting as the strategic integrator across the testing continuum, this role builds and deploys scalable tools, methods, and operating models that elevate learning agility – delivering more learning with the same or fewer resources. You'll proactively challenge existing norms, identify capability gaps, and champion transformative approaches that expand the value and influence of product testing. Success requires close partnership with all Business Unit product development teams, global R&D, and Innovation Capabilities leadership to ensure product learning is cohesive, strategic, and a competitive advantage.

Requirements

• Minimum of 10+ years of relevant experience, including a minimum of 3 years of recent experience leading product development for innovation projects in the business unit R&D function
• Bachelor’s degree in a scientific, engineering, or related field.
• Background in CPG or consumer innovation, particularly within a matrixed or global organization.
• Demonstrated success in leading multidisciplinary teams and delivering results through others in environments requiring cross-functional collaboration.
• Expertise in consumer research and product testing with a strong track record of enabling innovation and consumer-relevant solutions.
• Strong business acumen with proven competence in strategic planning, operational oversight, and financial management.
• Excellent communication, influencing, and stakeholder engagement skills at multiple organizational levels.
• Ability to travel up to 10% as needed for business meetings or partner collaboration.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree or additional training in consumer sciences, R&D management, or business administration.
• Background in agile product development in categories relevant or adjacent to Kimberly-Clark
• Experience providing product development leadership over a major, transformational product innovation program.
• Experience modernizing physical testing and sensory labs and capabilities including digital platform integration and change management.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a strategic partner for Business Unit R&D across all brands.
• Align testing plans with business timelines, innovation roadmaps, innovation risk and reward levels, and claims requirements.
• Ensure teams are consistently challenging the norms of how we test product innovation.
• Translate business needs into scalable, predictive, and agile testing strategies.
• Define, communicate, and lead the execution of the product testing vision.
• Lead development of new testing frameworks, methods, and tools that improve speed, confidence, and cost efficiency.
• Drive standardization where appropriate while enabling flexibility for innovation.
• Drive deeper integration across the broader testing function to strengthen end to end decision support.
• Break down silos and increase shared understanding of the full testing continuum.
• Mentor and coach team members to build strategic thinking, influence, and capability depth.
• Strengthen attraction and retention of talent.
• Champion adoption of digital, predictive, and AI-enabled testing approaches.
• Actively support culture transformation and champion ways of working evolution.
• Shape operating models that improve clarity, accountability, and efficiency across teams.
• Proactively look to solutions outside the team to solve business problems.
• Leverage external suppliers, industry organizations and academic connections to incorporate new technologies and gain access to needed resources to drive efficiency and manage workload of existing team.

Benefits

• Great support for good health with medical, dental, and vision coverage options with no waiting periods or pre-existing condition restrictions.
• Access to an on-site fitness center, occupational health nurse, and allowances for high-quality safety equipment.
• Flexible Savings and spending accounts to maximize health care options and stretch dollars when caring for yourself or dependents.
• Diverse income protection insurance options to protect yourself and your family in case of illness, injury, or other unexpected events.
• Additional programs and support to continue your education, adopt a child, relocate, or even find temporary childcare.

What This Job Offers

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