Senior Director – Design Engineering & Materials Family Care

Job Description

About Us

Cottonelle®. Scott®. Kleenex®. Kotex®. Poise®. Huggies®. 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.

What You’ll Do (Role Purpose)

Lead the Materials and Design Engineering team to deliver innovative materials, equipment/machine, process, packaging and technology solutions. This role provides leadership for delivering disruptive and transformational technology platforms for the Family Care and Professional businesses.The incumbent is accountable for driving ongoing improvements in breakthrough engineering, process technologies, and materials innovation to drive accelerated business growth. To be successful in this role, the leader will manage a team of 70+ Process, Materials, Machine Innovation, and Product Design experts.Additionally, this role will focus on developing external partnerships, particularly with 2nd tier suppliers, and will partner closely with R&E peers to seamlessly transfer validated new technologies to their development teams.This leader will build a strong management team and also collaborate closely with cross-functional peers managing Central Research, Global R&E Teams, Supply Chain, and Regional and Global Procurement teams. 

The Impact You can Make

Design and Materials Engineering: Develop and execute strategies for materials, equipment/machine, process, packaging and new or emerging technology solutions.Leadership: Build and lead a high-performing team of engineers and scientists. Provide ongoing coaching and feedback, and create opportunities for growth and development.  Manage a team of 70+ Process, Materials, Machine Innovation, and Product Design experts.Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with R&E leadership, product developers, and cross-functional teams to align on goals and drive initiatives.Technology Integration: Ensure the integration of new materials and technologies into product development processes.  Maintain and build our scientific competitive advantage in fabrics, tissue manufacturing platforms, chemistry and treatments.First-of-a-Kind Asset Design: Lead the design, development, and deployment of first-of-a-kind assets to drive innovation and business growth.  Deliver programs in 2025-2027 summing >$100M in capital.Long-Term Innovation: Develop and guide long-term innovation pipeline opportunities, focusing on a 3+ year horizon.  Build strategy for next generation tissue manufacturing to support growth agenda.Pipeline and Technology Integration: Ensure connectivity between materials and design engineering initiatives and long-term technology development teams and corporate research initiatives.External Partnerships: Develop and strengthen partnerships with preferred suppliers and 2nd tier suppliers to enhance innovation capabilities.Capital Team Collaboration: Partner with global and KCNA capital teams to ensure alignment and successful execution of engineering projects.Culture of Innovation: Foster a culture of open and end-to-end innovation across the organization, introducing new ways of working. Build a culture of bringing the outside in, speed/agility, and experimentation.Technical Expertise: Maintain technical and scientific expertise in relevant areas and communicate the impact of developments on Kimberly-Clark. Implement strategies to protect novel technology solutions to sustain identified advantages in the market.Safety and Compliance: Maintain best practices for engineering design that leads to leading edge safety and compliance for technology solutions.

About You:

You’re driven to 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.

Experiences We’re Looking For

Bachelor’s DegreeMinimum of 15 years of R&D/R&E experience, with at least 10 years management experienceProven experience building an innovation and material/process technology strategy and pipeline across a portfolio of products that is consumer led and a significant driver of growth over time.Experience working with Tissue or exposure to Tissue industry is highly preferred.Passion for the consumer and demonstrated ability to turn consumer insights into powerful and meaningful innovation, including leading market-disruptive, innovative solutions that have delivered growth as a result.Proven people leader who inspires teams and builds capability while fostering diversity and inclusivity.Ability to bring new ways of working and organizational capability that will allow us to unleash our talent at pace to drive growth.Master at strengthening R&E capabilities and our leadership bench.

Location

Appleton/Neenah, Wisconsin

Ways of Working and Leadership Competencies We Value

Focus on Consumers. We keep the needs of customers and consumers at the center of our work. Building strong customer relationships and delivering consumer-centric solutions. Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies that delight our consumers.Play to Win. We aim high, measure our results, and live our values because winning with integrity matters. Setting aggressive goals and consistently achieving results, even under tough circumstances. Pushing past status quo to create new and better ways to solve problems and win.Move Fast. We turn decisions into action, remove barriers and seek progress over perfection. Stepping up to champion ideas, address difficult issues and say what needs to be said. Tackling challenges with a sense of urgency, seizing new opportunities and scaling winning solutions.Grow our People. We champion inclusion and encourage our people to ideate, innovate and contribute to their growth. Encouraging diverse perspectives, experiences and backgrounds that enable our winning culture. Placing a high priority on developing self and others to meet career goals and the organization’s goals.

Total Benefits

Here are a few of the benefits you’d enjoy. For a complete overview, see www.mykcbenefits.com.

Great support for good health with medical, dental, and vision coverage options. 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. The benefits provided will be per the terms of Kimberly-Clark’s applicable mobility policies. The benefits/policy provided will decided in Kimberly-Clark’s sole discretion.

#LI-Onsite

Primary LocationNeenah - West R&E Office

Additional Locations

Worker TypeEmployee

Worker Sub-TypeRegular

Time TypeFull time