Packaging Engineer: Design, Validation & Sustainability

Smalley; Lake Zurich (IL); On-site; USD 95,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision

401k match

Tuition Reimbursement

Paid time off

Job summary

Smalley is seeking a Packaging Engineer in Lake Zurich, IL to design, validate, and standardize packaging solutions that protect products and meet customer needs. This role collaborates with Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and customers to integrate packaging requirements into product design and launch, while enhancing efficiency and sustainability.

The ideal candidate has a Bachelor's in a packaging-related field and 3+ years in packaging engineering, with strong analytical

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Packaging, Industrial, Mechanical, or related field.
• 3+ years in packaging engineering or related roles.
• Experience developing packaging specs and validating performance.
• Knowledge of corrugated packaging, palletization, and transport packaging.
• Strong analytical and project management skills.

Responsibilities

• Design and maintain packaging specifications, standards, and documentation for products and shipments.
• Ensure packaging solutions comply with applicable regulatory requirements including DOT, CPSC, and PPWR.
• Collaborate with Engineering and Product Development teams to incorporate packaging requirements during design and launch of new products.
• Review customer packaging specifications and translate requirements into internal packaging standards and processes.
• Develop and standardize packaging configurations including inner pack, master pack, and pallet quantities.
• Evaluate packaging materials, carton designs, dunnage, palletization methods, and shipment configurations.
• Lead packaging redesign initiatives to improve standardization, sustainability, quality and cost effectiveness.
• Coordinate packaging testing, validation, and performance evaluations to ensure compliance.
• Investigate packaging failures and customer complaints; implement corrective actions.
• Analyze packaging performance, material utilization, and transportation costs to identify improvements.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives focused on packaging optimization and waste reduction.

Skills

Packaging engineering

Analytical

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Packaging/ related field

Tools

Microsoft Office

ERP systems

Job description

Smalley is seeking a Packaging Engineer in Lake Zurich, IL to design, validate, and standardize packaging solutions that protect products and meet customer needs. This role collaborates with Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and customers to integrate packaging requirements into product design and launch, while enhancing efficiency and sustainability.

The ideal candidate has a Bachelor's in a packaging-related field and 3+ years in packaging engineering, with strong analytical