Sr. Packaging Development Manager

A Day in the Life:

In the position of Sr Packaging Development Manager, you will own the end-to-end (E2E) packaging development (print & structure) and technical project management of innovation and change management initiatives for secondary (structural) packaging—corrugates, trays, pads, carriers—ensuring that brand intent is translated into manufacturable, print ready, and plant compatible solutions delivered on time, in spec, and on budget. Integrate with Project management, Innovation, Marketing, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality Control (QC) and Operations to achieve new packaging readiness and support any packaging related project for continuous improvement or productivity.

The Impact You'll Make:

• Lead gated project plans for secondary packaging (concept → design freeze → qualification → launch), driving cross functional deliverables, critical path, and risk registers. Own timeline, budget, scope control, and stakeholder updates; escalate deviations with data and mitigation options.
• Develop new packaging for liquid/powder and print/packaging support for Innovation team – secondary
  packaging/labels. Have vendor interaction to keep abreast of new technologies and drive continuous improvement
  projects for die line harmonization efforts or other initiatives sponsored by Innovation, Marketing, QC or Manufacturing Engineering.
• Translate approved graphics into print ready deliverables aligned with dyelines, board grades, flutes, coatings,
  adhesives, and pallet patterns. Define and control color targets/tolerances, press characterization needs, and
  substrate/print process selection (e.g., flexo/offset/digital).
• Plan and execute print trials, pre-production approvals, and first article inspections, capture learnings into standards and playbooks and ensure print specifications and associated documentation are maintained within the enterprise SPEC set (and linked in SAP Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) by partners in the PLM team).
• Partner with Manufacturing Engineering to validate runnability for new dyelines: case packers, tray formers, palletizers, and downstream logistics. Coordinate line trials and Factory Acceptance/Line Readiness activities; close gaps before scale up.
• Spec partnership with quality as part of project management and development: embed Critical to Quality characteristics (CTQs) (e.g., compression strength, board caliper, ink adhesion, scuff resistance) into project requirements; ensure methods, sampling plans, and acceptance criteria are applied during trials and launches. Support root cause analysis and corrective action for print/appearance or primary and secondary pack performance issues.
• Feed lessons learned into standard work (playbooks for color control, die design, pallet patterns). Drive complexity reduction (SKU rationalization, board standardization, reusable die lines) without compromising brand or operations.
  
  

Who You Are:

• Bachelor's Degree in the field of  Packaging, Mechanical, Industrial, Chemical, or other Engineering field preferred.
• Between 3-5 years of experience in Product Development, Process Engineering required.
• Between 3-5 years of experience in Project Management
• Experience with Smartsheet, Microsoft PM or other project management system. SAP
  experience preferred. Preferred Certifications: Project Management Professional (PMP) preferred