We are seeking a creative individual to lead and drive packaging initiatives for the Consumer Products Group (CPG). This individual will establish the packaging process working cross-functionally with exceptional project management skills. This individual will be responsible for supporting all brands sold in various channels, across a variety of projects, including primary and transportation package design, die line creation, internal and regulatory testing, sustainability reporting, and documentation. The role will work with multiple cross-functional teams and contribute individually to create and maintain a packaging process.
As the Packaging Engineer, this individual will design and develop structural packaging solutions to support product launches, lead the internal testing and manage external testing partners to validate solutions, and manage existing legacy items from technical support to cost savings.
Key Duties & Responsibilities
Packaging Development. Lead packaging engineering, design, development and testing across all CPG brands to meet milestones and schedules.
Vendor Management. Must have proven experience in die line creation, to lead programs while managing external supplier and vendors in development, prototyping, testing, and production validation.
Process Creation. Establish a packaging engineering process to support various brands, retailer and regulatory requirements and initiatives. Recommend opportunities for improvements or efficiencies across platforms.
Sustainability. Work closely with the Sustainability & Regulatory to ensure compliance with all current and future regulations, customer and internal requirements, ad hoc sustainability initiatives, and to support corporate Sustainability Goals
Program Management. Collaborate with Brand, Marketing, Purchasing, Engineering, Industrial Design, Operations, Sustainability, and Regulatory teams to create and validate artwork of primary and transport packaging
Key Results Areas
Identify and determine feasibility of new sustainable materials and technologies.
Provide awareness of consumer and regulatory trends by maintaining connection with industry thought leaders, industry groups and policy makers.
Support development of claims and communication and assessment of packaging certifications related to product sustainability.
Create die lines for primary and secondary packaging
Specify materials and create RFQ documents to support the Supply Chain function
Manage the entire lifecycle of the package development
Collaborate with Marketing, Industrial Design, Sustainability, Engineering, and Regulatory to meet project timelines.
Support continuous improvement initiatives
Stay up to date on industry advancements in materials and processes to meet our sustainability goals
Be the subject matter expert on ASTM/ISTA testing and other retailer requirements
Effectively work in a team environment while also maintaining individual project responsibilities and timelines
Present ideas and solutions for improvements and more efficient solutions to management and peers
Create standard engineering drawings and manage the document control system
Have direct experience working with chip, corrugated, PVC, etc.
Experienced in consumer goods packaging requirements for brick & mortar and direct-to-consumer
Exceptional time management skills to support work across multiple business units at various stages of package development
Proficiency in industry standard design software ArtiosCAD and TOPs
Experience with ISTA and ASTM testing related to primary and transport package testing
Ability to manage supplier and vendor relationships regarding development and testing
Knowledge of common packaging materials, specifically corrugate, chipboard, and plastics
Proven success of working on multiple projects concurrently
Comfort with working through unique challenges that require creative problem solving to identify information that may be in multiple locations or need to be created new
Ability to present and communicate packaging ideas, problems, and solutions to cross-functional teams with various levels subject knowledge
Experience in creating and managing packaging specifications, standards, and drawings
Knowledge of brick and mortar vs. direct-to-consumer regulatory requirements
Working understanding of CAD software SolidWorks and PDM document management is a plus
Education Required
Bachelor's degree Packaging Science/Engineering with a minimum of 7-10 years related packaging experience.