Lead Application Engineer, Flexible Packaging

Henkel; Madison Heights (MI); Hybrid; USD 105,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Work-Life Balance

Financial: 401k matching & bonus

Family Support & scholarships

Career Growth & tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Henkel is seeking a Lead Application Engineer to partner with customers and internal teams, delivering practical solutions for the Laminating Adhesives and Coatings business in Flexible Packaging. The role emphasizes field support, demonstrations, line trials, troubleshooting and training.

You will be a key technical resource, providing product recommendations, issue diagnosis, and value quantification while traveling up to 60% across US and occasionally MX/CAN.

Qualifications

• BS ChE, ME, MatE, Chemistry or similar degree/experience.
• Typically 5–10+ years of technical service or engineering experience.
• Hands-on coating/converting expertise in laminating adhesives/coatings.
• Excellent organizational, documentation, communication and follow-up skills.
• Willing to travel up to ~60%, primarily in the USA; MX/CAN occasional

Responsibilities

• Lead customer-facing demonstrations, line trials, start-up support, troubleshooting, and training activities.
• Serve as the technical liaison between customers and internal teams including Product Development, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Sales, and Marketing.
• Provide timely technical support for regional customers including product recommendations and field issue diagnosis.
• Plan and execute laboratory evaluations and field trials that support demonstrations and value quantification.
• Prepare visit reports, troubleshooting summaries, and technical recommendations; communicate findings to stakeholders.
• Develop and deliver customer training programs and technical presentations on laminating adhesives and coatings.
• Provide market-specific expertise through customer interactions and industry engagement.
• Lead by example in Safety and ensure all site and field safety requirements are met.
• Develop technical capabilities through mentoring and internal/external communities.

Skills

Coating & converting expertise

Troubleshooting

Customer communication

Project coordination

Travel readiness

Education

BS ChE / ME / MatE / Chemistry or similar

Job description

At Henkel, you’ll be part of an organization that’s shaping the future through innovation, sustainability and collaboration. With our trusted brands like Persil®, ‘all®, Loctite®, Snuggle®, and Schwarzkopf® and our cutting-edge technologies, you’ll have countless opportunities to explore new paths and grow.

The Lead Application Engineer partners with customers and internal teams to deliver meaningful, practical, and value-added solutions within the Laminating Adhesives and Coatings business for the Flexible Packaging market. This role is focused on field support activities, including product and technology demonstrations, line trials, troubleshooting, customer training, technical presentations, and value quantification. The position serves as a key technical resource for assigned regional customers by providing application expertise, problem solving, complaint resolution, and support for successful implementation of Henkel technologies.

Dare to learn new skills, advance in your career and make an impact at Henkel.

What You´ll Do

• Lead customer-facing demonstrations, line trials, start-up support, troubleshooting, and training activities to validate product performance, solve customer challenges, and drive adoption of Henkel technologies.
• Serve as the technical liaison between customers and internal teams including Product Development, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Sales, and Marketing to resolve technical issues and communicate customer needs.
• Provide timely technical support for assigned regional customers including product recommendations, complaint investigations, field issue diagnosis, and analytical problem solving.
• Plan and execute laboratory evaluations and field trials that support customer demonstrations, troubleshooting activities, value quantification efforts, and technology adoption.
• Prepare visit reports, troubleshooting summaries, value quantification analyses, and technical recommendations; effectively communicate findings and conclusions to internal and external stakeholders.
• Develop and deliver customer training programs and technical presentations on laminating adhesives, coatings, application methods, troubleshooting techniques, and industry best practices.
• Provide market-specific expertise through customer interactions, industry engagement, professional societies, and technical associations.
• Lead by example in Safety, completing all necessary site and field safety requirements.
• Develop technical and professional capabilities through ongoing learning, mentoring, and participation in internal and external technical communities.

What makes you a good fit

• BS ChE, ME, MatE, Chemistry or similar degree / experience required.
• Typically, 5-10+ years of technical service, engineering, or industry experience; relevant experience in the Flexible Packaging industry is a plus.
• Hands‑on coating and/or converting expertise (mechanical / application equipment aptitude) in laminating adhesives and/or coatings technology area is highly valued.
• Experience in troubleshooting complex / difficult problems.
• Excellent organizational, documentation, communication, and customer follow-up skills; able to manage multiple customer support activities and field priorities.
• Excellent people skills; able to work effectively with a range of individuals from manufacturing operators and laboratory technicians through senior management both at customers and within Henkel.
• Willing to travel up to ~60%, primarily in the USA and occasionally MX/CAN; with advance planning and support to enable sustainable work‑life balance.

Some benefits of joining Henkel

• Health Insurance: affordable plans for medical, dental, vision and wellbeing starting on day 1
• Work-Life Balance: Paid time off including sick, vacation, holiday and volunteer time, flexible & hybrid work policies (depending on role), and vacation buy / sell program
• Financial: 401k matching, employee share plan with voluntary investment and Henkel matching shares, annual performance bonus, service awards and student loan reimbursement
• Family Support: 12-week gender neutral parental leave (up to 20 weeks for parents giving birth), fertility support, adoption & surrogacy reimbursement, discounted child and elderly care, and scholarships
• Career Growth: diverse national and international growth opportunities, access to thousands of skills development courses, and tuition reimbursement

The salary for this role is $105,000.00- $125,000.00. This is the range that we in good faith anticipate relying on when setting wages for this position. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and this range. This salary range may also be modified in the future.

Henkel does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms or employment agencies. Unsolicited referrals and resumes are considered Henkel property and therefore, Henkel will not pay a fee for any placement resulting from the receipt of an unsolicited referral.

Henkel is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, genetic information, and other legally protected categories.