RD&I Technical Leader

ANDERSEN CORPORATION

At Andersen, we pride ourselves on our core values of Excellence, Integrity, Innovation, Partnership and being a leader in Corporate Citizenship. Headquartered in Bayport, Minn., Andersen Corporation is the largest window and door manufacturer in North America. Newsweek recognized Andersen as one of "2023 America's Greatest Workplaces."

We're focused on bringing more light into people's lives by helping them create healthier, happier spaces to build memories and do what they love. This applies to our team, too. Andersen embraces our nine Employee Resource Networks to celebrate our differences and to champion diversity. We are named as a Forbes "Best Employer for Diversity 2022."

Earning the 2023 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year-Sustained Excellence Award, Andersen is also committed to environmental health and sustainability. No matter your role, you'll have the opportunity to make a difference at Andersen.

SUMMARY:

Want to shape the future of materials at Andersen? Andersen is looking for an experienced and innovative Technical Leader that will be responsible for leading the centralized R&D materials development team focused on Wood, Treat, Profile Wrapping, and Assembly Adhesives. This person will be responsible for leading a team of engineers that develops and evaluates new or optimizes existing materials and processes (specific to above) for Andersen's extensive portfolio of products.

The ideal candidate is highly motivated, passionate, and has a strong technical background with a proven track record of developing, optimizing, and implementing materials and process for various applications. This position is accountable to ensure technical rigor is applied to the portfolio of projects they own, including investigating, developing, and commercializing new material and processing technologies, enhancing existing materials and processes, improving quality, reducing cost, reducing waste, and building resilient supply chains. This role is the voice for their technical competency area that will influence technical decisions for the business, operations, and product teams ensuring a world class customer experience. This role requires strong technical expertise, leadership skills, and the ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment. Beyond the technical work, a large component of this role is to coach and mentor a team of direct reports and thereby grow the next generation of leaders.

Position will be based at Andersen's Corporate Research and Development center located in Bayport, MN.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead and manage the R&D team focused on wood, wood treatment, profile wrapping, and assembly adhesives
• Act as the technical voice of this competency area with outside suppliers, trade organizations, industry groups, or other parties outside of Andersen Corporation.
• Develop and manage a portfolio of projects that not only meets the needs of the business today, but also enables the technologies that will be needed tomorrow.
• Be a subject matter expert with significant knowledge depth within technical competencies that is recognized and valued by the business units, its customers, our suppliers, and even the industry.
• Collaborate with multiple business units to understand their needs and translate these needs into a technical project strategy that delivers value and drives sustained competitive advantage.
• Foster a collaborative and innovative environment on their team.
• Use and teach science-based approaches and tools to solve complex technical problems with practical solutions (e.g., Design of Experiments, process mapping, process capability analysis, Pugh matrix, FMEA, MSA, control plans)
• Provide coaching to technical employees not only on their team, but across the organization - particularly those at the engineer level.
• Develop, promote, and defend the enterprise's intellectual property in their technical field.
• Participate in cross-functional teams to advance project recommendations and technical decisions using appropriate methodologies and rigor
• Proactively identify and resolve technical risk with competency area.
• Establish and sustain strong collaborative relationships with key partners and suppliers
• Stay abreast of industry technology developments and explore their use in Andersen products
• Enable the long-term success of developed solutions by defining the material specification requirements, including the process windows, design limitations, material interactions, and control plans necessary in the manufacturing environment.

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS

MUST HAVE QUALIFICATIONS:

• B.S. Materials Science, Polymer Science, Chemical Engineering, Composites Engineering, or similar Engineering degree with 8+ years relevant materials experience and 3+ years of demonstrated leadership experience
• Self-motivated with a demonstrated track record of scientific and data-based problem-solving skills for complex technical challenges
• Proven track record of successful project portfolio management and team leadership
• Deep knowledge of material science across the industry with preference to wood and adhesives
• Strong technical curiosity with ability to handle ambiguity
• Passion to coach and mentor at several levels within the organization
• Demonstrated track record of building and sustaining relationships with internal and external customers and suppliers
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Excellent problem-solving skill, analytical skills, and attention to detail
• Experience working on chemical processes, materials technology, and/or materials testing
• Experience working and driving results with collaborative, cross functional teams

NICE-TO-HAVE QUALIFICATIONS:

• Familiarity with industry standards and regulatory requirements for wood, wood treatment, and adhesives
• Involvement/familiarity with industry advocacy groups (WDMA, FGIA, etc.)
• Mechanical aptitude and a willingness to be hands on
• Advanced degree in relevant field
• Experience with specific technologies or materials relevant to the company's products.

CULTURE AND BENEFITS:

"Be Orange. Be You" is how we express our belief that by embracing our differences and empowering you, we'll be a stronger team able to accomplish what otherwise wouldn't be possible. This Orange spirit has helped us become the #1 innovative window and door brand* and the one homeowners love the most.** It's also why we're committed to supporting you to approach each day with a bright outlook.

Benefits include, and are not limited to:

* Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

* Health Savings Account contributions

* Paid holidays plus PTO

* 401(k) plan & contributions

* Professional development and tuition reimbursement opportunities

* Charity contributions

* Nationwide career opportunities

We look forward to seeing how your unique skills, background and experiences will inspire our team and help us continue to be the leader we are today.

In 2024, Andersen has set a profit-sharing target of $4,000 per eligible employee, prorated as appropriate. Profit sharing will be paid out in quarterly installments to provide eligible employees with payments throughout the year, with payment amounts tied to quarterly operating profit performance.

Andersen is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, disability, marital status, national origin, citizenship, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Andersen Corporation will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of all applicable federal, state and local laws.

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