Job ID: 16597
Alternate Locations: United States-Georgia-Atlanta; United States-Tennessee-Maryville-Tennessee; United States-Tennessee-Shelbyville
Job Summary:
The Sr. Lead, Supply Planning - Writing Systems (L&D) is a central, capability-focused role responsible for driving integration and synergy of the Writing Systems manufacturing capability across Newell's plants - the high-speed assembly, ink and filling, tip/point technology, molding and decoration that produce writing instruments (pens, markers, highlighters and related L&D products). Traveling across plants, the SPI harmonizes writing-systems standards, process and automation practices, drives cross-plant synergies (common components, inks and tips, assembly and decoration standards, tooling and automation), and feeds capability intelligence back into the MDC / NPC and ERA / DFM organizations.
This is an influence-and-integration role: the SPI does not hold change-control authority, but instead aligns, recommends and coordinates to keep the Writing Systems capability consistent, modern and cost-effective across sites. Reporting in the MDC Director, the SPI acts as the connective tissue between plants, NPC design, ERA / DFM and tooling / automation / sourcing, capturing synergy opportunities and ensuring that standards, technology and learnings flow across the network.
Job Duties:
Cross-Plant Writing Systems Integration & Synergy
• Drive synergy of the Writing Systems capability across plants - common components (barrels, caps, tips, inks), assembly and automation standards, decoration and suppliers.
• Identify, quantify and champion synergy and cost-reduction opportunities (component commonality, ink/tip harmonization, automation, scrap and OEE improvement).
• Harmonize writing-systems standards, specifications and process practices across sites.
• Share and scale best practices, lessons learned and proven solutions across the network.
Writing Systems Standards & Process Consistency
• Ensure writing-systems standards, specs and process / writing-quality requirements are consistently understood and applied across plants - without owning change control.
• Provide writing-instrument manufacturing expertise (assembly, ink and filling, tip technology, decoration) to plant teams.
• Flag process gaps, quality risks and deviations to the relevant owners (plant / NPI / ERA-DFM) and support resolution.
Assembly Automation, Ink & Decoration Technology
• Support harmonization of high-speed assembly automation, ink / filling and decoration technology across plants.
• Promote adoption of advanced automation, process control and writing-quality improvements.
• Partner with equipment builders and ink / tip / component suppliers on standards, feasibility and cost.
Capability Intelligence & DFM Linkage
• Capture writing-systems capability intelligence (OEE, scrap, writing quality, line performance) and feed it back into NPC design and ERA / DFM.
• Ensure new product designs leverage the network's writing-systems capabilities and standards (design for high-speed assembly and molding).
• Maintain a capability-level view of writing systems across the network.
Cost & VAVE Synergy Support
• Support cost analyses and VAVE by surfacing writing-systems commonality and synergy (components, inks and tips, automation).
• Partner with Cost Engineering, sourcing and the laboratory on should-cost, benchmarking and cost-reduction that scales across sites.
Key Deliverables:
• Cross-plant Writing Systems synergy and commonality pipeline
• Harmonized writing-systems standards, specifications and process practices
• Writing-systems capability intelligence feedback to NPC / DFM
• Best-practice and lessons-learned playbooks
• Synergy / cost-reduction results (influenced across the network)
Minimum Qualifications:
• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Manufacturing, Chemical / Materials or related).
• Strong experience in writing-instrument or high-speed / high-volume assembly manufacturing (or closely related precision automated production).
• Understanding of assembly automation, ink / filling or decoration processes, molding and product / writing-quality.
• Proven ability to influence and drive alignment across teams and plants without direct authority.
• Advanced English (written and spoken).
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively across plants.
Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience working across multiple plants, sites or regions.
• Writing Systems / writing-instruments experience (pens, markers, highlighters), including inks, tips / nibs and decoration.
• Knowledge of high-speed automation, DFM, VAVE and tooling cost / should-cost.
• Lean Six Sigma and/or project management background.
• Spanish and/or Portuguese.
Skills & Abilities:
• Deep writing-systems / high-speed assembly manufacturing expertise.
• Strong influence, collaboration and stakeholder management across sites and cultures.
• Ability to see the big picture across a capability and connect the dots between plants.
• Comfortable operating without formal authority - leading through expertise and relationships.
• Self-directed and mobile; analytical, cost-aware problem solver.
Travel:
• Extensive travel across plants, with periodic global travel, is a core requirement of this role.
Date Posted: Aug 10, 2026
