R&D Food Applications Technician

Sealed Air; Charlotte (NC); On-site; USD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Sealed Air is seeking an R&D Food Applications Technician for our Charlotte R&D center. You will provide hands‑on support to the Food Applications Development team, conducting physical property testing, evaluating packaging systems, building prototypes, and applying lab techniques to advance product concepts.

You will travel up to 20% for field trials, customer visits, and conferences, collaborating with Sales and Technical Service to deliver customer‑focused packaging solutions across

Qualifications

• Strong mechanical aptitude and hands‑on troubleshooting skills.
• Knowledge of packaging equipment operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
• Ability to perform physical property testing, equipment evaluations, and laboratory techniques.
• Ability to read rough sketches or plans and build prototypes, fixtures, or machine modifications.
• Strong mechanical and electrical troubleshooting capabilities.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
• Knowledge of food packaging equipment, particularly tray lidding or thermoforming, is a plus.
• Knowledge of PLCs, VFDs, robotics, motor controls, I/O devices, and pneumatics, with structured troubleshooting.

Responsibilities

• Provide hands‑on technical support to the Food Applications Development team from concept through commercialization.
• Conduct physical property testing and apply analytical methods to support product development.
• Evaluate packaging equipment and determine optimal machine set‑points and performance.
• Build prototypes and fixtures from sketches to support development and testing.
• Operate, maintain, and troubleshoot laboratory equipment and tooling.
• Collaborate with Sales, Technical Service, Applications, and other teams to design packaging concepts.

Skills

Mechanical aptitude

Hands-on troubleshooting

Physical property testing

Reading rough sketches

Prototype building

Electrical troubleshooting

MS Excel, PowerPoint, Word

Food packaging equipment knowledge

Tray lidding / thermoforming knowledge

PLCs, VFDs, robotics, motor controls,

I/O devices, and pneumatics

Tools

PLC basics

VFDs

Robotics

Motor controls

I/O devices

Pneumatics

Job description

R&D Food Applications Technician

SEE Headquarters - Charlotte

Requisition ID: 56905

Sealed Air designs and delivers packaging solutions that protect essential goods transported worldwide, preserve food, enable e-commerce and digital connectivity, and help create a global supply chain that is touchless, safer, less wasteful, and more resilient. We strive to foster a caring, high-performance growth culture that will deliver consistent, sustainable profitable growth and accelerate our performance - a culture where accountability is clear and aligned, and where we reward business outcomes and impact. That culture guides everything we do, including how we partner with our customers and suppliers, how we attract and retain top talent, and how we create and deliver value to our stakeholders. In 2025, Sealed Air generated $5.4 billion in sales and has approximately 16,100 employees who serve customers in 119 countries/territories. To learn more, visit www.sealedair.com.

What will you do as an Applications Technician at Sealed Air?

As an Applications Technician, you will provide hands‑on technical support to the Food Applications Development team, helping advance product development projects from concept through commercialization. You'll conduct physical property testing, evaluate packaging equipment, build prototypes, and apply laboratory and analytical techniques to support new product development. You'll also troubleshoot and maintain laboratory equipment and collaborate with Sales, Technical Service, Applications, and other teams to develop packaging concepts that address customer needs across retail, case ready, and thermoform applications. This role is based at Sealed Air's R&D center in Charlotte and may require up to 20% travel for field trials, customer and supplier visits, meetings, training, and conferences.

Why do we need you?

• Advance product development projects from concept to commercialization through hands‑on testing, experimentation, and application activities.
• Conduct physical property testing and apply supporting analytical and instrumental methods to generate insights for the product development process.
• Evaluate packaging equipment across multiple platforms to determine optimal machine set‑points and performance.
• Build prototypes and fixtures from rough sketches or plans to support product development and testing activities.
• Operate, maintain, and troubleshoot laboratory equipment and tooling, applying strong mechanical and electrical troubleshooting skills.
• Collaborate with Sales, Account Representatives, Technical Service, Applications, and other internal teams to design and produce packaging concepts that address customer requirements.
• Represent R&D on cross‑functional projects involving Systems Engineering, Supply Chain, and other Sealed Air product development teams.
• Maintain a clean and safe work environment, report issues to leadership, and support field trials, customer and supplier visits, meetings, training, and conferences as needed.

What do you need to succeed?

• Strong mechanical aptitude and hands‑on technical troubleshooting skills.
• Knowledge of packaging equipment operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
• Ability to perform physical property testing, equipment evaluations, and laboratory techniques.
• Ability to read rough sketches or plans and build prototypes, fixtures, or machine modifications.
• Strong mechanical and electrical troubleshooting capabilities.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
• Knowledge of food packaging equipment, particularly tray lidding or thermoforming, is a plus.
• Knowledge of PLCs, VFDs, robotics, motor controls, I/O devices, and pneumatics, along with the ability to diagnose complex technical problems using structured and creative troubleshooting approaches.

Relocation:No

Sealed Air is committed to attracting, selecting, and developing talent that reflects the diversity of the communities and customers we serve. We take pride in our selection process to identify, infuse, and grow talent to align with our culture, values, and norms. Sealed Air prioritizes talent development, fostering a culture of continuous growth and career progression. The company is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants for employment and to all employees, without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, protected disability, veteran status, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.

Information at a Glance

WHY WORK AT SEALED AIR?

It is our responsibility to leverage what we have to affect positive and meaningful change for our communities and planet using Sealed Air's global resources and expertise.

Corporate sustainability - it's about improving the lives of people around the world by addressing pressing needs in the communities where we and our customers operate.

Customer Success - meeting our customers' needs. At Sealed Air it's more than a goal, it's an integral part of our business practices, our innovative solutions, and our values.

Leaving our communities better than we found them through dedication of time, talent and resources.