Senior Packaging Innovator & Sustainability Leader

Kevin's Natural Foods; Stockton (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Kevin's Natural Foods seeks a Senior Packaging Engineer to lead packaging innovation, sustainability, commercialization, and compliance across our refrigerated and frozen portfolio. You’ll shape multi-year roadmaps, drive regulatory alignment with FDA/USDA, and guide cross-functional teams from R&D to Operations.

The role emphasizes scalable packaging systems, cost-down ideas, and enterprise sustainability roadmaps.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Packaging Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, or Chemical Engineering.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in packaging engineering, packaging development, or packaging commercialization.
• Experience within food, beverage, refrigerated, frozen, protein, meal-kit, or consumer packaged goods industries.
• Demonstrated success leading packaging projects from concept through commercialization.
• Deep technical expertise in packaging materials, structures, converting processes, and manufacturing systems.
• Experience developing and executing packaging qualification and validation programs.
• Strong knowledge of FDA, USDA, SQF, HACCP, and GMP requirements.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional projects and influence stakeholders across multiple functions.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Willingness to travel up to 20-30% for supplier engagement, testing, and plant support.
• Passion for the clean-eating, better-for-you food space and a desire to contribute to a mission-driven brand.

Responsibilities

• Own packaging strategy and multi-year roadmap across product categories.
• Lead enterprise packaging initiatives in innovation, renovation, productivity, supply continuity, and sustainability programs.
• Develop and execute EPR mitigation strategies and compliance planning.
• Serve as the packaging technical authority to influence cross-functional decisions and guide long-term investments.
• Design and govern the packaging qualification process, standards, protocols, and commercialization readiness reviews.
• Develop risk-based qualification strategies for new materials, formats, suppliers, equipment, and processes.
• Establish testing frameworks for shelf life, seal integrity, distribution, manufacturability, sustainability, and consumer use requirements.
• Lead cross-functional qualification planning from concept through commercialization.
• Oversee packaging specs, BOMs, drawings, and engineering standards to support scalable growth.
• Evaluate emerging packaging technologies to improve performance, sustainability, and cost.
• Provide technical leadership during plant trials, scale-ups, and commercialization events.

Skills

Packaging strategy

Regulatory compliance

Cross-functional leadership

Data-driven decisions

Sustainability

Supplier engagement

Education

Engineering degree

Packaging science

Job description

Kevin's Natural Foods seeks a Senior Packaging Engineer to lead packaging innovation, sustainability, commercialization, and compliance across our refrigerated and frozen portfolio. You’ll shape multi-year roadmaps, drive regulatory alignment with FDA/USDA, and guide cross-functional teams from R&D to Operations.

The role emphasizes scalable packaging systems, cost-down ideas, and enterprise sustainability roadmaps.