Senior Scientist Product Innovation / Incubator at Kimberly-Clark USA, LLC in neenah, Wisconsin

Job Description:

Senior Scientist Product Innovation / Incubator

Job Description

You’re not the person who will settle for just any role. Neither are we. Because we’re out to create Better Care for a Better World, and that takes a certain kind of person and teams who care about making a difference. Here, you’ll bring your professional expertise, talent, and drive to building and managing our portfolio of iconic, ground-breaking brands. In this role, you’ll help us deliver better care for billions of people around the world. It starts with YOU. 

In this role, you will serve as the product development lead in the product development space for Incubator projects within KCNA Incubator BU, driving innovation from early-stage exploration (FEI) through to commercialization. The role involves leveraging Agile methodologies, competitive insights, and consumer learning to develop robust product pipelines, while collaborating with cross-functional teams and external partners. You will ensure compliance with quality and safety and standards, manage financial aspects, and mentor junior scientists, significantly impacting the company’s market positioning and product innovation while also interfacing with other KCNA or Global Research and Engineering resources, Marketing, Product Supply, External Contract Manufacturers, Supply Chain, Finance, Go-to-Market, Sales, and Mill Operations.  Other accountabilities include:

• Conduct testing and benchmarking of competitive products to develop and implement effective product development strategies.




• Lead cross-functional teams in collaborative R&E product development with external partners, fostering innovation and ensuring timely delivery of high-quality products.




• Interface effectively with other work stream teams to ensure business success.




• Manage quality documentation to meet and comply with relevant criteria for Family Care and Personal Care and ensure all work complies with Corporate Safety, Regulatory, Product Safety, and Quality requirements.




• Engage in claims substantiation, patent reviews, and product code cost assessments.




• Protect and defend proprietary product and technology through the appropriate use of patents and trade secrets.




• Partner with business and market research team members to develop and execute plans to gather consumer insights and drive product innovation in support of strategic business plan goals.




• Build and maintain relationships with key internal and external manufacturers.




• Document key learnings and significant research findings in a searchable, retrievable format.

About Us

Huggies®. Kleenex®. Cottonelle®. Scott®. Kotex®. Poise®. Depend®. Kimberly-Clark Professional®. You already know our legendary brands—and so does the rest of the world. In fact, millions of people use Kimberly-Clark products every day. We know these amazing Kimberly-Clark products wouldn’t exist without talented professionals, like you.

At Kimberly-Clark, you’ll be part of the best team committed to driving innovation, growth and impact. We’re founded on more than 150 years of market leadership, and we’re always looking for new and better ways to perform – so there’s your open door of opportunity. It’s all here for you at Kimberly-Clark.

Led by Purpose. Driven by You.

About You

You perform at the highest level possible, and you appreciate a performance culture fueled by authentic caring.  You want to be part of a company actively dedicated to sustainability, inclusion, wellbeing, and career development.
You love what you do, especially when the work you do makes a difference. At Kimberly-Clark, we’re constantly exploring new ideas on how, when, and where we can best achieve results. When you join our team, you’ll experience Flex That Works: flexible (hybrid) work arrangements that empower you to have purposeful time in the office and partner with your leader to make flexibility work for both you and the business.

In one of our professional roles, you’ll focus on winning with consumers and the market, while putting safety, mutual respect, and human dignity at the center. To succeed in this role, you will need the following qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university




• At least 8 years or more experience in product development, technology development, executing consumer and/or technical/scientific studies




• Strong communication skills and ability to influence leadership across all levels of the R&E and cross-functional organization




• Proven understanding and application of Agile methodologies.




• Experience in leveraging both internal and external manufacturing capabilities.




• Extensive experience in competitive analysis, consumer products, materials, and/or product development.




• Strong analytical skills with technical expertise in product quality, test methods, and laboratory techniques.




• Demonstrated strengths in: scientific experiment methods/analysis, planning/organizing, developing learning plans, comprehension of technical literature and executing consumer research




• Experience in executing consumer research through various market research methodologies and test methods




• Demonstrated ability to provide work direction to team members not in a direct reporting relationship




• Ability to travel up to 25% within North America

Preferred (not essential, but desired):

• Significant experience in product development and demonstrated ability to execute various stages of product or technology development




• Work experience across a range of Research & Engineering or Marketing disciplines




• Strong understanding of Family Care and Personal Care products, brands, business, and technologies




• Established external connections across various industries and trade associations, enabling effective collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Total Benefits

Here are just a few of the benefits you’d enjoy working in this role for Kimberly-Clark. For a complete overview, see www.mykcbenefits.com.
 

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.

To Be Considered
Click the Apply button and complete the online application process. A member of our recruiting team will review your application and follow up if you seem like a great fit for this role.

In the meantime, please check out the careers website.

And finally, the fine print….

For Kimberly-Clark to grow and prosper, we must be an inclusive organization that applies the diverse experiences and passions of its team members to brands that make life better for people all around the world.  We actively seek to build a workforce that reflects the experiences of our consumers.  When you bring your original thinking to Kimberly-Clark, you fuel the continued success of our enterprise. We are a committed equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, pregnancy, genetic information, citizenship status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The statements above are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this classification. Statements are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities and skills required for this position.

Employment is subject to verification of pre-screening tests, which may include drug screening, background check, and DMV check.

Additional information about the compensation and benefits for this role are available upon request. You may contact 866-444-4516 – when prompted for employee ID, say “OTHER CALLER” - or kcchrprod@service-now.com for assistance. You must include the six-digit Job # with your request.

Veterans and members of the Reserve and Guard are highly encouraged to apply.

Kimberly-Clark will support in-country relocation for the chosen candidate for the role.  The benefits provided will be per the terms of Kimberly-Clark’s applicable mobility policies. The benefits/policy provided will be decided at Kimberly-Clark’s sole discretion.

Primary Location

Neenah - West R&E Office

Additional Locations

USA-GA-Atlanta-Roswell

Worker Type

Employee

Worker Sub-Type

Regular

Time Type

Full time

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