Packaging Design Engineer

Driving Force; East Midlands; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension

Life Assurance

On-site parking

25 days annual leave

Career development

Job summary

Hawk 3 is seeking a Packaging Design Engineer in Derby, UK, for a permanent full-time role offering up to £50,000 plus benefits. The engineer will manage packaging design, development, and related services for a Global Aerospace OEM, driving innovative and sustainable solutions across packaging and logistics operations.

The successful candidate will work closely with customers, travel nationally and internationally, and bring experience from automotive or industrial sectors to challenge legacy

Qualifications

• Proven track record in packaging development.
• Strong understanding of packaging functionality and materials.

Responsibilities

• Partner with customers to identify improvements in packaging and logistics.
• Develop concepts including returnable systems and sustainable designs.
• Travel to UK and overseas sites to assess feasibility and capture requirements.
• Create technical drawings and oversee prototype production for production initiation.
• Apply automotive/industrial experience to challenge legacy solutions and propose scalable approaches.
• Share expertise to mentor team members and promote best practices in packaging design.

Skills

Packaging development

Customer-facing communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Engineering degree

Tools

SolidWorks

SolidWorks PDM

Job description

Job Title: Packaging Design Engineer

Location: Derby

Job Type: Permanent, Full Time

Salary: Up to £50,000 depending on experience, plus benefits

The Opportunity

For an experienced Packaging Design Engineer to join the principal partner of a Global Aerospace OEM for the management of packaging design, manufacture, and associated services. As part of a high-performing programme team, we are recruiting a Packaging Design Engineer with a proven track record of success—ideally gained in the automotive, aerospace, or manufacturing sectors.

This role is about more than packaging. It’s about delivering fresh thinking, smart engineering, and sustainable innovation to a customer environment that welcomes new ideas and proven expertise from other industries. You’ll have the autonomy to challenge the status quo, backed by a team that values initiative, results, and creativity.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner directly with the customer to identify areas for improvement and drive continuous innovation across packaging and logistics operations.
• Develop new concepts and designs, including returnable systems, simplified single-use packaging, and sustainability-driven designs.
• Travel to customer sites both within the UK and abroad to capture customer request and assess the site(s) suitability for the implementation of proposed design(s).
• Explore innovation by pushing creative boundaries for fresh design solutions to meet evolving needs.
• Obtain the requirement from the customer (internal or external), design, oversee prototype production, test, validate and provide technical drawings to initiate production.
• Use experience from automotive or industrial sectors to challenge legacy solutions and propose new, scalable approaches.
• Share your expertise to support team members and promote best practices in packaging design and supply chain integration.

The Successful Candidate Will Demonstrate

• Proven success in packaging development, ideally within automotive, aerospace, industrial manufacturing, or logistics environments.
• Experience bringing innovative packaging solutions to life—from concept to implementation.
• Strong understanding of supply chain, packaging functionality, and material use.
• Excellent communication skills and confidence in customer-facing roles.
• Qualified to degree level in an Engineering subject or equivalent experience.
• Experience in 3D design software, preferably SolidWorks.
• Experience using PDM or PLM software, preferably SolidWorks PDM.
• Exposure to OEM or Tier 1 supplier environments.
• Eligible to travel nationally and occasionally internationally.
• Full UK driving licence.
• Must be eligible for UK Security Clearance.

Benefits

• A chance to work with a global OEM on meaningful, high-impact projects.
• Competitive Pension and Life Assurance package.
• Free on-site car parking
• 25 days annual leave after qualifying service.
• Career development in UK and across the Group.

Closing date 12.12.2026