Senior Packaging Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

At-a-Glance:
Join an international food and beverage company as a Senior Packaging Engineer.

Position Type:

• Contract
• On-Site
• Candidates must be able to live within a 50-minute commute of the work location, including by residing with family in the area.

Required:

• Experience in the food or beverage industry relevant to the role.
• Bachelor's degree in Packaging Science, Packaging Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Plastics Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 4-10 years of relevant packaging experience in food, beverage, and consumer packaged goods, or a closely related industry.
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging materials, with an understanding of package-equipment interactions.
• Strong working knowledge of corrugated shipping cases and corrugate performance, including material selection, structural design, specifications, supplier/converter capabilities, manufacturing constraints, and distribution testing.
• Experience planning and executing plant, co-packer, laboratory, or supplier trials and translating results into clear technical decisions.
• Strong project management skills, including management of timelines, budgets, technical risks, and cross-functional dependencies.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and presentation skills.
• Ability to build effective working relationships with internal teams, suppliers, converters, and other external partners.
• Ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities, and deliver in a fast-paced, consumer-driven environment.
• Ability to travel domestically approximately 15-25%.

Preferred:

• Experience with packaging innovation, including new materials, formats, technologies, or design concepts from early feasibility through commercialization.
• Experience with corrugate optimization, case-right-sizing, pallet pattern or unit-load optimization, e-commerce or alternative distribution channels, and total delivered-cost analysis.
• Familiarity with corrugate and distribution test methods such as compression, vibration, impact/drop, and environmental conditioning.
• Experience supporting packaging productivity, sustainability, quality improvement, or supplier qualification programs.
• Working knowledge of packaging specifications, technical drawings, data analysis, and project tracking tools.
• Demonstrated interest in the food or beverage industry.

Responsibilities:

• Provide technical packaging expertise to support the foods business.
• Develop, qualify, and commercialize packaging solutions that enable productivity, protect product quality, and improve total system performance.
• Partner closely with Packaging R&D, Product Development, Marketing, Sales, Operations, Procurement, Finance, manufacturing sites, co-packers, and suppliers to advance both new and established business initiatives.
• Lead the design, testing, qualification, and commercialization of primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging solutions from concept through launch.
• Apply strong knowledge of corrugated packaging, including board grades and combinations, flute profiles, box styles, converting processes, print options, compression performance, unit-load interactions, and distribution hazards. Translate business and product needs into fit-for-purpose corrugate specifications.
• Build package development plans and test strategies; evaluate functionality, product protection, shelf life, machinability, palletization, warehousing, transportation, and customer requirements.
• Develop, approve, and maintain clear packaging specifications, drawings, test requirements, and technical records.
• Coordinate project timelines, risks, decisions, budgets, and deliverables across multiple internal and external partners. Communicate technical recommendations clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Partner with plants, co-packers, equipment teams, converters, and material suppliers to troubleshoot issues, complete trials, and ensure reliable implementation.
• Identify packaging opportunities that reduce material or system cost while maintaining product protection, operational performance, quality, and consumer experience.
• Maintain awareness of packaging technologies and supplier capabilities, and apply relevant developments to business needs.
• Follow the applicable technical stage-gate process and provide timely documentation, recommendations, and escalation of risks.