Product Manager- Manufacturing & New Product Development (NPD)

Job Details: Job Location: Vonore (VFP) - Vonore, TN, Salary Range: Undisclosed, Job Shift: Day, Position Overview

The Product Manager – Manufacturing & New Product Development serves as the strategic bridge between product development, manufacturing operations, sales, quality, and customers at Genera. This is a physical-product manufacturing role focused on molded fiber packaging—not software or technology product management. This includes tracking and generating competitor insights and market trends, setting strategic direction for product portfolio evolution, defining customer needs and product specifications, prioritizing existing product improvements, and commercializing new products. The ideal candidate brings deep commercial and technical understanding of molded fiber products alongside strong cross-functional collaboration skills.

Key Responsibilities

Product Documentation & Specifications

• Own and manage all product specifications, spec sheets, and associated documentation across the portfolio.

• Define pack-out configurations including bag, box, pallet, and truck loadout standards.

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date product records to support sales, operations, and quality teams.

Product Development Support

• Define and manage proactive and reactive product sample shipments.

• Establish clear product use cases and communicate requirements to NPD.

• Assist in scoping new product needs across the portfolio including Genera classic,

• Help define necessary performance testing protocols for new and existing products.

• Act as the primary bridge between New Product Development (NPD) and Sales during customer trials, ensuring clear communication and timely resolution of technical questions.

Voice of Customer & Market Intelligence

• Capture and synthesize customer feedback to align product development priorities with real market needs.

• Support sales calls with technical product expertise, helping translate customer challenges into product solutions.

• Monitor competitor actions, investments, and product offerings to maintain awareness of Genera's competitive position.

• Collect and apply market intelligence to inform NPD roadmap and identify opportunities for growth and differentiation.

• Define performance changes required in the marketplace to support Genera's growth and competitive advantage.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with operations to create new items, develop bill-of-materials, and support smooth new product introductions.

• Collaborate with quality on FDA compliance, compostability certifications, and other regulatory requirements.

• Manage third-party testing relationships for compliance validation and competitive benchmarking.

• Other duties as needed.
Qualifications: Qualifications

• 3–5+ years of product management, product development, or technical sales experience in packaging, foodservice, or a related manufacturing industry.

• Familiarity with molded fiber, sustainable packaging, or paper-based foodservice products strongly preferred.

• Experience with product specification management and pack-out/supply chain documentation.

• Ability to read and communicate technical performance data; experience defining testing requirements a plus.

• Strong cross-functional collaborator — comfortable working with NPD, sales, ops, and quality simultaneously.

• Customer-facing experience with the ability to support sales calls and translate technical details for non-technical audiences.

• Proficiency with packaging optimization tools preferred (CapePack, TOPS, etc).

What Success Looks Like

• Product specifications are complete, current, and accessible across teams.

• New product introductions move efficiently from customer need to commercialization.

• Sales has reliable technical support during customer calls and trials.

• Genera maintains a clear and current picture of its competitive position in molded fiber foodservice packaging.

• Customer feedback is consistently captured and used to shape the NPD roadmap.