Sr. Manager, Product Development

Job ID: 11914 

Newell Brands is a leading $8.3B consumer products company with a portfolio of iconic brands such as Graco, Coleman, Oster, Rubbermaid and Sharpie, and 25,000 talented employees around the world. Our high-performance culture, unparalleled curiosity about the world around us, and talented people fuel our success. Our culture is enabled through our core values which guide all we do and how we win as One Newell. They are Integrity, Teamwork, Passion for Winning, Ownership & Leadership.

Position Title: Sr. Manager, Product Development & Industrialization

Location: São Paulo – SP / Pouso Alegre-MG / Balneário Piçarras-SC

Reports to: ERA LATAM Sr. Manager

The Sr. Manager, Product Development & Industrialization is responsible for leading the end-to-end development and industrialization of manufactured products produced in our plants in Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. This role focuses on core categories such as Home Appliances, Outdoor & Recreation, Baby and Commercial Products, ensuring that new and existing products meet consumer needs, quality standards, cost targets and manufacturing requirements.

The Sr. Manager will build capability in people, processes and technology, driving robust product development practices, with special emphasis on plastics (injection molding, extrusion, thermoplastics), project management, technical drawings, and multi-site team leadership. The role will partner closely with local plant teams, global R&D, marketing, sourcing, quality, operations and PEAK/Continuous Improvement teams to deliver strong business results through reliable, scalable product and process solutions.

Job Duties

Product Development Leadership

•  Lead the full product development lifecycle (concept to launch) for manufactured products in LATAM plants, including feasibility, design, validation, industrialization and post-launch support.

•  Ensure designs are optimized for plastics manufacturing (DFM/DFA), including material selection, wall thickness, draft angles, gates, ribs, tolerances, and aesthetics.

•  Own and drive critical product deliverables: specifications, BOMs, 2D technical drawings, 3D models, prototypes, test plans and validation reports.

•  Coordinate design reviews and technical sign-offs with cross-functional teams and regional stakeholders.

Manufacturing & Plant Interface

•  Partner with plant engineering, maintenance and operations to ensure robust manufacturability and smooth ramp-up of new products.

•  Support tooling and equipment specifications for plastic parts (molds, fixtures, jigs, gauges) in collaboration with internal and external toolmakers.

•  Lead process capability discussions (cycle time, scrap, OEE, quality) to ensure product and process requirements are aligned.

•  Promote standardization of components, materials and design platforms across plants and categories where feasible.

Project & Portfolio Management

•  Lead cross-functional project teams across Brazil, Argentina and Colombia to deliver projects on time, within budget and to defined quality targets.

•  Manage a portfolio of product development and value-improvement projects, balancing innovation, productivity and regulatory/compliance needs.

•  Develop and track project plans, timelines, risk registers, mitigation actions and communication routines.

Provide regular updates to leadership on project status, risks, resource needs and key decisions.

Technical Excellence & Documentation

•  Ensure high-quality creation and maintenance of technical documentation (drawings, models, specs, test methods, engineering changes).

•  Develop and deploy best practices and standards for plastics design, tolerance stack-ups, GD&T, and drawing release processes.

•  Drive root cause analysis and problem solving (e.g., DMAIC, 8D, fishbone) for product- and process-related issues.

•  Support continuous improvement of testing and validation protocols to ensure compliance with safety, performance and regulatory standards.

People Leadership & Capability Building

•  Lead, coach and develop a multi-country team of product engineers and project leaders, building strong technical and leadership capabilities.

•  Provide clear priorities, feedback and career development plans; model high standards of safety, ethics, accountability and collaboration.

•  Build training content and deliver sessions on core topics such as plastics design, DFM, technical drawings, and project management.

•  Foster a culture of innovation, continuous improvement and customer focus across the engineering and plant teams. 

Strategic Alignment & Stakeholder Management

•  Align product development roadmap with category strategies (Home Appliances, Outdoor & Recreation, Baby and Commercial Products) and with plant capabilities.

•  Work closely with Marketing, Category, Finance and Sourcing to define product requirements, target costs, value propositions and business cases.

•  Ensure projects and engineering priorities are clearly linked to business objectives, productivity targets and PEAK/Continuous Improvement initiatives.

•  Represent LATAM plants in global technical forums, sharing best practices and leveraging global knowledge and standards.

 Minimum Qualifications

•  Bachelor's Degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Plastics, Materials, Manufacturing or related field).

•  Significant experience in product development for manufactured goods, with strong exposure to plastics and high-volume production.

•  Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional projects and timelines in a manufacturing environment.

•  Hands-on experience with technical drawings and GD&T (creating, reviewing and approving 2D drawings and 3D models).

•  Proven team management or people-leadership experience (direct or project-based), including mentoring and developing engineers.

•  Experience working in an organization with a Continuous Improvement methodology (TPM, Lean, Six Sigma, PEAK or equivalent).

•  Fluent English

•  Up to 60–70% travel to plants and offices across LATAM (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia) and periodically to North America.

Preferred Qualifications

•  Master's Degree in Engineering, Product Development, or Business (MBA).

•  Experience in at least one of the target categories: Home Appliances, Outdoor & Recreation, Baby Products or Commercial Products.

•  Direct experience with plastics tooling and mold development (injection molds, prototyping tools, etc.).

•  Formal Project Management training/certification (e.g., PMP, Prince2).

•  Experience in multi-country, matrixed organizations.

•  Fluent Spanish

Skills & Abilities

•  Strong technical foundation in plastics, product design and manufacturing processes.

•  Excellent project management skills with the ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously.

•  Ability to work seamlessly from the shop floor to senior leadership, building credibility at all levels of the organization.

•  Strong leadership skills: able to motivate, engage and develop people across different sites and cultures.

•  Outstanding communication, influencing and stakeholder-management skills.

•  Analytical and data-driven mindset, with strong problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.

•  Well organized, disciplined in time management and follow-through.

•  Open-minded, adaptable and comfortable leading changes in dynamic environments.

Newell Brands (NASDAQ: NWL) is a leading global consumer goods company with a strong portfolio of well-known brands, including Rubbermaid, Sharpie, Graco, Coleman, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Yankee Candle, Paper Mate, FoodSaver, Dymo, EXPO, Elmer's, Oster, NUK, Spontex and Campingaz. We are focused on delighting consumers by lighting up everyday moments.