Technical Manager - Papermaking (USA)

What We Offer:
•    Medical, Dental, Vision insurance effective the 1st of the month following start date
•    401K 100% match at 5% 1st of the month following start date
•    Health & Wellness reimbursements
•    Employee Family Assistant Programs
•    Product purchase program
•    Opportunities to take part in job-related training and development
•    Growth and progression opportunities within the larger J. D. Irving group of companies
•    Relocation cost (if applicable)   

Product Improvement

• Own the basesheet development initiatives that are part of the 3‑year papermaking product development roadmap for assigned categories

• Own trial design, success criteria, and recommendation

• Author trial charters and experimental plans with success criteria; execute validation runs and oversee sample/test plans

• Convert consumer and lab results into clear go/no‑go recommendations for product development reviews with Product Management/Quality/Marketing/Executive Leadership

• Define Specifications & Critical to Quality parameters

Innovation

• Execute & support Sales/Marketing product innovation initiatives

• Drive changes and develop processes to enhance products / margin

• Lead external trials and evaluations with suppliers and labs (chemistry, fabrics, papermaking, converting, analytical testing)

• Ensure NDA and data‑handling compliance with vendors

• Investigate and implement new technologies

• Influence changes, ideas, and developments

• Regularly benchmark vs. competitive/National brands to understand positioning and areas for improvement

Support

• Provide multi‑site technical support for quality and runnability

• Provide technical support to customers / quality systems

• Provide support for significant operational and quality issues directly at the sites

• Ability to analyze and interpret data to drive to root cause of technical issues

• Mentor junior engineers

• Engage and influence all levels of the company

• Lead technical seminars for our operational/process staff.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related technical field (Chemical or Pulp & Paper preferred), or equivalent experience
• 10–15 years of tissue/towel papermaking experience, including TAD technology, process optimization, and trial/experimental design
• Experience in R&D, Product Development, and/or Quality
• Strong knowledge of papermaking processes; pulp mill process knowledge is an asset
• Proficiency in experimental design, statistics, data analysis, visualization, and root cause problem solving
• Project management experience, including A3 and Gantt chart methodologies
• Strong leadership, coaching, mentoring, and communication skills across all organizational levels