Job Description

PURPOSE OF THE JOB

Lead new product development, innovation, and renovation for Owens Corning Fiberglass Building Insulation business. This role is responsible for owning product development and innovation opportunities through optimizing and improving existing products and developing new products. This work will include planning and coordinating trials with operations, collecting and analyzing data, developing new test methods and equipment, and leading Intellectual Property strategy. Also, the Scientist is accountable for the design, coordination and execution of ethnographic, qualitative, and quantitative research methods to define end-user needs and the technical requirements necessary to drive Owens Corning's Residential, Commercial and Industrial Insulation business. This position works closely with Product Managers, R&D, Legal and Manufacturing.

Join an organization that believes that every employee owns a piece of our bold growth goals and ultimate success. We are a market-leading innovator that has placed on the Fortune 500. Owens Corning is devoted to delivering sustainable solutions across our three business segments while striving to ensure our people and products make the world a better place. We take pride in having an inclusive and diverse workplace with employees around the globe. A holistic sense of community exists across our entire organization as our talent grows globally. We are a company that fully recognizes the importance of paving a path to a sustainable and safe enterprise through investing in our people. Our desire to make an impactful difference in the world flows from top down to all levels of the organization. By being a company that instills pride within every employee, we aspire to build market-leading businesses; global in scope - human in scale.

Reports to: Product Research and Development Leader (R&D)

Span of Control: Individual Contributor

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Product Research and Development & Innovation/Product Improvement

* Drive for innovation, product development and product differentiation to enhance product portfolio and establishes current and new products as a competitive advantage from consumer and financial perspectives with focus on innovation or renovation.
* Assist in generating technical insights which can lead to discovering product intellectual property and novelty
* Utilize qualitative and quantitative tools to translate customer needs into product improvement recommendations and new product development
* Apply insights into actionable items to provide value propositions and project direction
* Conceive, plan, design, and conduct independent research on processes related to the development of fiberglass insulation products. Apply advanced scientific knowledge to projects. Follow direction provided by project goals and experimental design.
* Prepare prototypes in lab and trials in the plant. Coordinate testing-to include monitor, organize, and interpret results. Draw conclusions, make adjustment, suggest direction for, and implement improvements to process and products. Recognize problems and initiate corrective actions. Communicate technical results to project teams. Author summary reports on technical findings, when applicable
* Interact with cross-functional teams, including Legal, QA, Purchasing, Operation/Manufacturing, Marketing, Sales to ensure creations meet business standards and project criteria.
* Interact with top technical leaders, suppliers, and industry organizations seeking new innovative solutions and technologies to address complex challenges.
* Develop mechanistic understanding based on customer needs to develop new technologies/products which deliver irresistible superiority

Superior Understanding of End-User habits, choices and unarticulated needs

* Identifies, understands and models the habits, choices and unarticulated needs of both our customers and end-users.
* Translates customer and end-user needs into winning product development strategies including new and improved product manufacturing practices leading to superior product performance.
* Drives innovative products and performance claims to the marketplace.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

* Advanced degree in Engineering or related Scientific or Technical Field
* Experience in consumer branded product development and/or process
* Knowledge and familiarity of developing and maintaining intellectual property portfolios including patents and technology licenses
* 2-3 years managing all aspects of product development/innovation from (a) concept development, to (b) project engineering and (c) cross functional program management to launch the new products on time.
* Experience planning and conducting ethnographic fieldwork, qualitative research, and quantitative research. Experience with diverse data collection methods such as participant-observation, semi-structured interviewing, audiovisual techniques and survey methods. Familiarity with statistical analysis, data analysis and reporting
* Ability to travel up to 25-40% of the time (varies depending on project need) is required

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE:

* Proven experience and capabilities in designing and leading execution of consumer testing or research studies
* Demonstrated project management effectiveness in R&D and/or Manufacturing environments is strongly preferred (developing learning plans, communication plans, coordinate between vendors and multifunctional teams, awareness of budget restraints, etc.).
* Demonstrated track record of project leadership from concept to commercialization of large cross-functional teams
* Familiarity with a wide variety of Qualitative and Quantitative test methods
* Ability to translate research findings into concise meaningful and actionable insights and next steps to diverse audiences
* Multi-functional leadership skills (ability to manage across functions from product marketing, operations and other R&D functions)

OTHER:

* Ability to build strong relationships, collaborate and work across multi-functional and discipline boundaries in a dynamic, multi-project environment
* Self-motivated with the ability and desire to work independently. Strong desire to innovate and ownership of work. Team oriented, with high energy and desire to achieve results.
* Attention to detail and ability to present data to multifunctional audiences and drive the decision-making process
* Excellent written, presentation and verbal communication skills
* Out of the box thinking and new approaches to existing challenges.
* Practices safety-conscious behaviors in all operational processes and procedures
* Ability to adapt to an ever-changing environment and business

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:

* End User Centered - Strives for a deeper understanding of End-User context, unarticulated needs as well as articulated needs, wants and desires.
* Focus on Fast Prototyping and Field Testing - Self-starter who focuses on building the simplest possible research tools required to obtain meaningful end-user's insights to drive timely project decisions.
* Accountability - Knows what needs to be done and gets it done. Willingly takes responsibility for project outcomes as a whole; unafraid of owning the results, actions and decisions of self or organization. Committed to follow through to completion.
* Judgment and Decision Making - Recognizes issues, problems, or opportunities and determines whether action is needed. Chooses appropriate action by formulating clear decision criteria and evaluates options by considering implications and consequences. Implements decisions or initiates action within a reasonable time.

About Owens Corning

Owens Corning is a global building and industrial materials leader. The company's three integrated businesses are dedicated to the manufacture and advancement of a broad range of insulation, roofing and fiberglass composite materials. Leveraging the talents of 19,000 employees in 33 countries, Owens Corning provides innovative products and sustainable solutions that address energy efficiency, product safety, renewable energy, durable infrastructure, and labor productivity. These solutions provide a material difference to the company's customers and make the world a better place. Based in Toledo, Ohio, USA, the company posted 2020 sales of $7.1 billion. Founded in 1938, it has been a Fortune 500 company for 66 consecutive years. For more information, please visit www.owenscorning.com.

Owens Corning is an equal opportunity employer.