Product Developer

Specialty Engineered Materials | Greenville, NC

At Avient, our people power our performance. As a Product Developer, you turn customer and market needs into robust, manufacturable products, taking them from ideation and feasibility through development, scale-up, validation, and handover to the business. One week you may be developing a new product concept with a customer. The next, you may run a production trial, solve a manufacturing challenge, validate performance, or prepare a commercial launch. You will work directly with operators, engineers, scientists, suppliers, customers, and business stakeholders across a global organization.

What You'll Do

• Own new and improved Dyneema® Composite Fabric developments from concept through commercial launch
• Translate customer and market needs into clear product requirements and practical development plans
• Plan, execute, and interpret trials on production equipment, working hands-on with operators and engineers
• Scale products from lab or pilot stage to robust, reproducible commercial production
• Define product and process specifications and support a disciplined handover to manufacturing and the running business
• Develop test plans and evaluate whether products meet application and customer performance requirements
• Engage directly with customers, support product evaluations, and translate feedback into improvements
• Coordinate cross-functional work involving manufacturing, technology development, quality, sourcing, and commercial teams
• Support complex production troubleshooting beyond routine operational support
• Identify innovation and intellectual property opportunities and contribute to patent activities
• Work safely and consistently follow applicable SHE and company requirements, especially during plant trials

What You Bring

• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD degree in engineering, materials science, chemistry, physics, or a related technical field
• 3-7 years of experience in product development, manufacturing, engineering, process development, technical consulting, or applied R&D
• A demonstrated record of taking ownership and delivering meaningful results
• Strong analytical, conceptual, and practical problem-solving ability
• Clear communication and effective stakeholder management skills
• Strong personal drive, initiative, and ambition to make a visible impact
• An ownership mindset: you identify what is needed, take action, communicate proactively, and follow through
• Curiosity and learning agility, with the ability to build expertise quickly in unfamiliar areas
• Structured problem solving, sound judgment, and comfort making progress with incomplete information
• Resilience when experiments, trials, or projects do not go as planned
• A hands-on and pragmatic approach: you want to make things work, not stop at theory
• Confidence working with customers and colleagues at different levels, functions, and locations
• The ability to balance technical rigor with speed, practicality, and business priorities
• A collaborative style combined with the willingness to challenge assumptions constructively

Preferred, Not Essential

• Experience in manufacturing, scale-up, product development, or process improvement
• Experience planning or executing trials on production equipment
• Experience working directly with customers or translating application needs into technical requirements
• Knowledge of composites, polymers, textiles, or advanced materials
• Familiarity with statistics, experimental design, or data analysis
• Experience leading cross-functional projects across multiple sites or functions
• Responsibility and Decision-Making
• Propose and execute product development projects, including required investments
• Plan and execute development trials
• Engage suppliers for critical raw materials and new equipment, coordinating with sourcing and technology teams
• Initiate and support new patent work

Why Avient
• Visible impact across multiple sites and businesses
• Strong partnership with business and enterprise leadership
• Opportunity to lead change
• Growth-focused culture that values innovation, collaboration, and accountability

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