Principal Engineer, Thermoform Plastic Packaging

Job Purpose

As theRigidThermoformPackagingEngineeryou will contribute technicalexpertiseto help develop and advance rigid packaging material and format solutions for the North American portfolio. Theobjectiveof the role is to support development and validation of functional cost-competitiverigid packaging solutions that meet sustainability requirements while enabling innovation compliance and value engineering initiatives. You will collaborate with Innovation Process and Platform packaging teams and cross-functional stakeholders to translate technical and sustainability requirements into commercially manufacturable solutions under the guidance of technical leadership.

Essential Functions & Responsibilities

• Support execution of rigid packaging technical initiativesby completing assigned research development andvalidationworkstreams that balance technology exploration withproof of conceptneeds.

• Contribute to technical assessments and business case inputsfor packaging technologies/applications by gathering data summarizing learnings and documenting technical risks and opportunities.

• Support external collaboration activitiesacross the value chain (e.g. resin coating material suppliers; universities; institutes; start-ups; open innovation networks; scouting partners industry partnerships) by coordinating samples/trials tracking actions and documenting outcomes.

• Apply enterprise standards and manufacturability considerationsby following established guidance to ensure design decisions align with enterprise standards manufacturability needs sustainability needs and platform direction.

• Provide technical problem solving on rigid packaging projectsby using structured troubleshooting data analysis and experimentation to resolve technical hurdles.

• Apply Design of Experiments (DoE) statistics and technical problem-solving practicestoresearch development andvalidationwork.

• Support prototyping development for consumer testingandassistwith pilot line setup and scale-up to industrial production asto enable commercialization.

• Contribute to knowledge sharing and capability buildingby documenting learnings creating technical summaries and supporting training content or informal coaching as needed.

Key Outputs & Deliverables

• Contribute to execution of the rigid packaging technology strategythrough technical work products (data packages trial results recommendations) that support sustainability innovation and value engineering initiatives.

• Deliver technical workstreams for rigid packaging projectsfrom concept through proof of concept and handover support meeting committed timelines and technical performance targets for assigned responsibilities.

• Support compliance with sustainability and regulatory requirementsby incorporating requirements into experimental plans and design recommendations including:

• MinimizingExtended Producer Responsibility (EPR)fee impacts (as applicable to design choices)

• Supporting designs that help avoidmaterial bans and regulatory risks

• Supportingrecyclable reusable and compliantpackaging formats aligned with enterprise sustainability goals and legislative requirements

• Support delivery of packaging designs to Performance-Based Specifications (PBS)to meet defined functional quality shelf-life consumer experience and manufacturing performance outcomes.

Expected Experience & Required Skills

• BS/MS/PhD degree in Engineering Materials Chemical or Packaging Engineering preferred or related discipline.

• 6 years ofR&Dpackagingtechnology development commercialization experience withexposure to rigidplasticthermoformpackagingandproject leadership experience (consumer goods food & beverage pharma or similar preferred).Experience working at converter or upstream resin or technology provider ideal.

• Working technical knowledge of materials (polymersbarriersand additives etc.) and thermoforming plastics understanding manufacturing constraints including converting processes (e.g. lidding molding extrusion form-fill-seal).

• Demonstrated ability to support end-to-end development activities including planning/performing experiments documenting results and coordinating with cross-functional partners.

• Demonstrated capabilityofdesign ofexperiments and statisticsand technical problem solving.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; ability to influence across functions and levels.

• Working knowledge of project execution disciplines (e.g. task planning risk identification stakeholder updates) and comfortoperatingwithin PMO expectations/templates.

• Exposure tosustainable packaging solutions material/package industrystandardsand regulations.

• Ability to support pilot line activities and scale-uptoindustrial production as.

• Willingness and ability to travel up to 25% of the time.

Work Environment & Scheduleisposition operatesprimarily in a hybrid work environment and is based at the Kraft Heinz R&D Innovation Center in Glenview IL. Our hybrid model provides flexibility based on business needs allowing employees to work virtually up to two days per week with an expectation to work on-site at least three days per week at the Glenview Innovation Center (Chicago IL).

Physical Requirements

Physical demandsinclude butnotlimited to

• Regular office work

• Physical presence at labs and manufacturing sites (internal and external) to perform experimental and validation testing

This job description is not designed to cover orcontainall duties or responsibilities that are requiredofthe role. Duties or responsibilities may change or be added with or without notice.