Technical Manager

Part of kdc/one, Zobele is a multinational, global leader in product development and manufacturing, key partner of the top Home & Personal Care FMCG´s companies.

To meet our growth challenges we’re looking for proactive, enthusiastic and talented professionals willing to join our team. For our North America Business Development Centre in Somerville (New Jersey), we are currently looking for a:

TECHNICAL MANAGER – INNOVATION

Our Innovation - Technical Manager will be part of our dynamic Innovation global Centre. This role will be starting up the innovation delegation in North America, being key for the business growth in the region. As a key member of the Innovation Department this role is responsible for the project management and coordination of the technical part of the product innovation process.

This position requires close interaction with other company personnel, especially Innovation Department team members and R&D engineers; but also, Customer Technical Managers, Business Development and Marketing key stakeholders.

Responsibilities:

• Identify new technologies and external partners as part of the Innovation Program
• Initiate, develop, and effectively manage the relationships with the technology provider companies, through setting common interest and goals
• Support business development initiatives
• Closely work with customers to define technical specifications
• Technical Leadership and co-ordination
• Manage the development of product functionalities and features in the conceptual phase of the project
• Participate in the generation of new concepts
• Costing estimation and project scheduling
• Monitor building of engineering prototype for testing and product approval.
• Facilitate communication to ensure that the innovation team has all the relevant questions answers and roadblocks cleared.
• Cooperate in patent filing and searching.

Requirements:

• Degree or above in Engineering (Electromechanical, mechanical, chemical engineering or equivalent)
• 5+ years of working experience in FMCG and/or small appliances development (electronic gadgets, toys, household, packaging, etc.), especially on low-cost/high volume products.
• Fluency in English
• Proven experience in integrating new external technologies
• Specialized technical knowledge
• Experience in managing product design and/or manufacturing processes design for plastic components and/or electromechanical assemblies, ideally with small appliances or packaging elements
• Open Innovation advocate, finding new technologies and external partners. Ability to create a partners’ network
• Project Management
• Strong technical communication skills and the ability to communicate with non-technical staff.
• Well organized, dynamic and able to multitask and change focus quickly when required
• Works efficiently with minimum supervision and operates independently on assignments
• Self-motivated
• Strong hands-on approach
• Team player
• Willing to travel

Join US! Apply now and join the kdc/one worldwide team!

Zobele by kdc/one is an Equal Opportunity Employer and as such, treats all applications equally and recruits purely on the basis of skills and qualifications.