Research Lead, R&D Rigid Packaging

Job Purpose

As theRigid Packaging Technical Research Lead you will provide technical leadership to develop and advance rigid packaging material and format solutions for the North American portfolio. The objective of the role is to develop and lead technical strategies and deliver novel functional cost-competitive rigid packaging solutions that meet sustainability requirements while supporting innovation compliance and value engineering initiatives. You will partner with Innovation Process and Platform packaging teams and cross-functional stakeholders to translate technical and sustainability requirements into commercially manufacturable solutions including identifying material/polymer/packaging technology solutions and research pathways leading proof of concept technology scale-up and transition to business units.

EssentialFunctions &Responsibilities

• Lead and prioritize rigid packaging technical initiatives balancing technology exploration with proof of concept of novel technologies and building clear business cases for applications that address technical hurdles drive speed to market and enable competitive advantage.

• Build coordinate and manage external partnerships across the value chain (e.g. resin coating material suppliers; universities; institutes; start-ups; open innovation networks; scouting partners) to support rigid packaging technology developmentand external industry partnerships to influencerecycling standards.

• Provide technical leadership and oversight to ensure design decisions align with enterprise standards manufacturability sustainability needs and long-term platformstrategy.

• Develop and leadNorth American R&Drigidpackagingtrainingand act asa technical expert for packaging developers and direct technical problem solving as needed on rigid packaging projects.

• Mentorandcoach project team members and contribute to PMO best practices and templates.

• Partner with Legal to build robust IP strategies including exploration to build an IP portfolio to drive competitive advantage.

• Apply Design of Experiments (DoE) and statistics and strong technical problem-solving practices to research development and validation work.

• Supportprototyping development for consumer testingpilot line setup and scale-up to industrial production as required to enable commercialization.

People Management Responsibilities

• Individual Contributor

Key Outputs & Deliverables

• Deliver and execute rigid packagingtechnology strategyand help prioritize a portfolio of complex packaging technology/format initiatives supportingsustainability innovation and value engineeringinitiatives.

• Lead technical delivery of complex rigid packaging projects fromconcept through proof of concept and handover meeting committed timelines budgets and technical performance targets.

• Ensure full compliance with evolvingsustainability and regulatory requirements including:

• MinimizingExtended Producer Responsibility (EPR)fees

• Designing solutions that avoidmaterial bans and regulatory risks

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

• Deliver packaging designs toPerformance-Based Specifications (PBS)to meet defined functional quality shelf-life consumer experience and manufacturing performance outcomes.

Expected Experience& Required Skills

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

• Minimum 11yearsof R&D technology development and commercialization experiencewith extensive experience in rigidpackaging and project leadership (consumer goods food & beverage pharma or similar preferred).Experience working at converter or upstream resin or technology provider ideal.

• Demonstrated experience managing end-to-end development projects identifying and driving packaging technology initiatives leading external partnership relationships and coordinating cross-functional teams.

• Strong technical knowledge ofmaterials(polymers barriersand additives etc.) andmanufacturing constraints including converting processes (e.g. filling labeling molding injection molding extrusion blow molding thermoforming) bottle closure and dispensing systems

• Provenproject management/PMO skills including project governance risk management budget management and stakeholder reporting.

• Expert knowledge ofdesign of experiments and statisticsand technical problem solving.

• Excellent communication negotiation and interpersonal skills; ability to influence at all levels.

• Previous experience leading complex multisite or global packaging or technology launches.

• Advancedknowledge ofsustainable packaging solutions material/package industry standards and regulations.

• Experience withpilot line setups and scaleupto industrial production.

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

Work Environment & Schedule

This positionoperatesprimarily 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 (Glenview IL).

Physicaldemandsinclude 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 or contain all duties or responsibilities that are required of the role. Duties or responsibilities may change or be added with or without notice.