Lead Packaging Engineer, Defense Manufacturing

Mach Industries; Huntington Beach (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare

Dental plan

Vision plan

Retirement plan

Paid time off

Equity options

Job summary

Mach Industries in Huntington Beach, CA seeks a Lead Packaging Engineer to own inbound, in-plant and inter-plant packaging strategies. You will design, validate, and mentor a team to ramp production quickly while preserving quality, safety and cost. Travel up to 25% and US-ITAR compliant.

Join a defense tech leader shaping scalable packaging solutions. Lead cross-functional packaging initiatives across Design, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain, delivering cost-efficient, crash-proof packaging for

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Packaging, Industrial or Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, Logistics, or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of packaging engineering experience in automotive, aerospace, defense or other hardware manufacturing, including leading projects end to end.
• Hands-on experience designing racks, returnable containers, dunnage, expendable packaging and material handling solutions.
• Proficiency in 3D CAD (Siemens NX, SolidWorks, CATIA or similar), including GD&T and tolerance stack-ups.
• Strong knowledge of packaging materials (steel, aluminum, plastics, foams, corrugated, wood) and related processes (welding, sheet metal, machining, thermoforming, injection molding, foam fabrication).
• Experience validating packaging to ISTA and ASTM standards.
• Experience with PFEP, material flow mapping, packaging cost modeling and supplier management.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and aggressive timelines in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills, and comfort presenting to operators, suppliers and senior leadership.
• Willingness to travel up to 25%.
• Must be a U.S. Person, as defined by ITAR.

Responsibilities

• Own the packaging engineering roadmap for inbound, in-plant and inter-plant packaging across Mach's product lines and factories.
• Lead packaging projects from concept through validation, supplier production, plant trials and launch, in line with NPI and production-ramp milestones.
• Partner with Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, Material Flow, Quality and EHS to define packaging requirements early in product development. Review engineering drawings and specifications to set packaging, quality, safety and material requirements.
• Design custom racks, returnable containers, dunnage, kitting carts and expendable packaging that protect parts, maximize pack density and support ergonomic line-side presentation. Release the designs as production-ready CAD and drawings, including tolerance stack-ups.
• Use virtual packaging evaluation tools (such as Pack Studio or PackAssistant) to import part CAD and define each part's orientation and protection requirements. Compare options such as knockdown crates, pigeonhole racks and bulk bins before committing to prototypes or capital.
• Define and run packaging validation, including ISTA, ASTM D4169, drop, vibration and compression testing. Apply UN, safety, ergonomic and sustainability requirements, including for inbound lithium batteries, hazardous materials and ESD-sensitive electronics.
• Own PFEP (Plan for Every Part) and packaging master data. Map material flow within and between plants to improve handling, storage and replenishment.
• Evaluate returnable versus expendable packaging on total cost of ownership, including freight, storage, handling, repair and disposal. Build packaging cost models and capital forecasts for new programs, and present cost drivers and recommendations to leadership.
• Select and manage packaging suppliers, and communicate packaging requirements to component suppliers. Approve designs and first articles, resolve nonconformances, and support Purchasing on quotes and negotiations.
• Establish packaging standards and supplier packaging requirements. Track KPIs (damage rate, pack density, cost per part, cube utilization) and drive continuous improvement, including expendable-to-returnable conversions.
• Mentor packaging engineers and technicians, and help hire and build the team.

Skills

Packaging engineering

Project leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Packaging, Industrial or Manufacturing Engineering

Tools

Siemens NX

SolidWorks

CATIA

Job description

Mach Industries in Huntington Beach, CA seeks a Lead Packaging Engineer to own inbound, in-plant and inter-plant packaging strategies. You will design, validate, and mentor a team to ramp production quickly while preserving quality, safety and cost. Travel up to 25% and US-ITAR compliant.

Join a defense tech leader shaping scalable packaging solutions. Lead cross-functional packaging initiatives across Design, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain, delivering cost-efficient, crash-proof packaging for