Sr. Product Engineer- Paper products

Job Id: R0000448981

The pay range is $95,000.00 - $171,000.00

Pay is based on several factors which vary based on position. These include labor markets and in some instances may include education, work experience and certifications. In addition to your pay, Target cares about and invests in you as a team member, so that you can take care of yourself and your family. Target offers eligible team members and their dependents comprehensive health benefits and programs, which may include medical, vision, dental, life insurance and more, to help you and your family take care of your whole selves. Other benefits for eligible team members include 401(k), employee discount, short term disability, long term disability, paid sick leave, paid national holidays, and paid vacation. Find competitive benefits from financial and education to well-being and beyond at https://corporate.target.com/careers/benefits.

About us:

Working at Target means helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. We bring that vision to life through our values and culture. Learn more about Target here.

A role with Engineering and Technical Design means being on a team of engineers and technical designers who create products that truly embody the intent of Target-owned brands. Can you ensure that each product has that just-right mix of style, quality and value? Do you love to create technical product solutions that help meet strategic business goals? Then you’ll have success on our talented and innovative team. Here, you’ll partner with our quality and compliance teams to understand performance testing protocols and develop products that meet them. Your work can help identify technical specifications and quality standards like raw materials, fit and function, construction details and dimensions. You’ll leverage collective expertise to suggest improvements to cost of goods, assembly, sustainability and ROI. You’ll also collaborate with vendors to ensure that the brand vision is clearly understood and successfully brought to life with every product we offer.

As a Sr. Product Engineer Paper Products, you will independently develop and execute the technical development process while ensuring product adherence to the quality standards established for Target-owned brands. This includes creating and interpreting concepts; ushering product through its development lifecycle; and providing technical product guidance to design, sourcing, quality, and merchant teams. You’ll own and lead the technical design and development process through a diligent approach to workload; maintaining timely communication with your team; and articulating/executing the business initiatives, product quality requirements, and performance expectations. You will also lead Technical Design/Engineering as part of a cross-functional team focused on taking owned brand products to appropriate levels of styles, quality and value. In partnership with internal and external partners, you will be responsible for the execution of brand vision, resolution of manufacturing issues, and development of products – while remaining accountable for all deadlines. Likewise, in collaboration with the director, you will develop and lead strategic research and development projects. This will include understanding benchmarks to ensure Target product meets or exceeds the performance of competitors’ product and executing plans for improvements, developing innovative product solutions, and leading guest research initiatives to influence strategic product direction.

Candidates may bring direct paper experience or relevant expertise from adjacent industries such as nonwovens, absorbent products, fiber-based materials, packaging, or converting.

Key Responsibilities

Product & Technical Leadership

• Lead product development, innovation, quality improvement, cost optimization, and supplier initiatives.
• Apply strong knowledge of materials, manufacturing, product performance, specifications, testing, and supplier capabilities.
• Translate consumer insights, product performance, and business needs into clear product and technical requirements.
• Identify technical risks, challenge assumptions, and use data and judgment to solve complex product and manufacturing problems.
• Bring forward new product, technology, supplier, and performance opportunities.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Lead work across Product Development, Sourcing, Merchandising, Quality, Packaging, Supply Chain, Finance, Insights, and suppliers.
• Drive ideas from concept through decision and execution, not simply complete assigned technical work.
• Build alignment and influence decisions without direct authority.
• Navigate competing perspectives and organizational complexity while keeping work moving.
• Communicate complex technical topics clearly to both technical and business audiences.

Business & Consumer Thinking

• Understand the business behind product decisions, including consumer needs, competitive positioning, cost, margin, and supplier economics.
• Use consumer feedback, research, competitive benchmarking, and product data to inform product decisions and identify opportunities.
• Balance performance, cost, speed, sustainability, manufacturability, and supply risk.
• Partner with business teams to help shape category, innovation, and supplier strategies.

Prioritization & Execution

• Independently manage a high-volume portfolio of projects, quality issues, and supplier initiatives.
• Determine what requires immediate attention, what creates the greatest value or risk, and what can wait.
• Maintain clear visibility to priorities, milestones, risks, and decisions.
• Proactively surface resource constraints, escalate risks, and ask for support when priorities cannot reasonably be met.

Core responsibilities of this job are described within this job description.  Job duties may change at any time due to business needs. This role works in office 4 days/week from our Downtown MN campus.

About You:
• Four-year degree in Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, Product Development, or related field, or equivalent experience
• 8+ years of relevant experience
• Advanced expertise in a specific category or business
• Knowledge of testing, safety and legal requirements for consumer products
• Knowledge of raw materials and manufacturing process
• Strong knowledge of various 2-D and/or 3-D CAD software packages
• Advanced knowledge of product manufacturing process
• Ability to build relationships to successfully work in a team environment
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision

Preferred Experience

• Strong experience in paper products, tissue, towels, nonwovens, absorbent products, converting, packaging, fiber-based materials, or a related manufacturing field.
• Strong business judgment and ability to connect technical decisions to consumer and financial outcomes.
• Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams and drive decisions without formal authority.
• Strong prioritization, project management, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience working directly with suppliers and manufacturing partners.
• Clear, concise communication and a collaborative, low-ego leadership style.
• Ability to operate independently and create clarity in ambiguous situations.
• Tissue, towel, paper converting, embossing, fiber, or related manufacturing experience.
• Consumer products, retailer-owned brands, or private-label product development.
• Experience using consumer research, benchmarking, or product testing to guide product decisions.
• Quality investigations, supplier qualification, value engineering, or cost optimization.
• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in paper science, engineering, materials science, packaging, or a related technical field.

Team Members in the Target General Merch Inc operating company are prohibited from working more than thirty (30) days per calendar year in any of the following states: AL, AR, DE, FL, IN, IA, LA, MD, MS, MO, NC, OK, PA, SC, TN and VA. If hired, you will be prohibited from working remotely from any of the states listed above for more than thirty (30) days per calendar year.

Benefits Eligibility

Please paste this url into your preferred browser to learn about benefits eligibility for this role: https://tgt.biz/BenefitsForYou_E

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

In compliance with state and federal laws, Target will make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please reach out to candidate.accommodations@HRHelp.Target.com. Non-accommodation-related requests, such as application follow-ups or technical issues, will not be addressed through this channel.  

Application deadline is : 08/28/2026