Senior Packaging Engineer & Sustainability Lead

Job description

Help shape the future of food packaging at one of the fastest-growing brands in refrigerated and frozen foods. Kevin's Natural Foods is seeking a strategic and technically skilled Senior Packaging Engineer to lead packaging innovation, sustainability, commercialization, and compliance across our growing portfolio. This is an opportunity to influence everything from next-generation packaging technologies and consumer experience to automation strategy and enterprise sustainability roadmaps. Working across Operations, R&D, Quality, Procurement, and Mars Food & Nutrition, you'll turn bold product ideas into scalable packaging solutions that drive growth, reduce environmental impact, and strengthen operational performance. If you're passionate about solving complex challenges and building the future of packaging, we'd love to meet you! What You’ll Do: Packaging Strategy & Program Leadership - Own Kevin's packaging strategy and multi-year roadmap, balancing consumer experience, food safety, operational performance, sustainability, regulatory compliance, and total delivered cost. - Lead enterprise packaging initiatives across innovation, renovation, productivity, supply continuity, and sustainability programs. - Develop and execute Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) mitigation strategies, including regulatory assessments, fee reduction opportunities, packaging redesign initiatives, and compliance planning. - Serve as the packaging technical authority, influencing cross-functional decisions and guiding long-term packaging investments. Packaging Qualification & Validation Leadership - Design and govern the company's packaging qualification process, including standards, protocols, decision criteria, documentation requirements, and commercialization readiness reviews. - Develop risk-based qualification strategies for new materials, packaging formats, suppliers, equipment, and manufacturing processes. - Establish testing frameworks that evaluate package performance across product quality, shelf life, distribution, manufacturability, sustainability, and consumer use requirements. - Lead cross-functional qualification planning from concept through commercialization, ensuring alignment across R&D, Quality, Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement, and Marketing. Package Development & Commercialization - Lead development and implementation of primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging solutions across refrigerated and frozen product categories. - Own packaging specifications, BOMs, technical drawings, and engineering standards to support scalable growth and strong change management practices. - Evaluate emerging packaging technologies, materials, and supplier innovations to improve performance, sustainability, and cost. - Provide technical leadership during plant trials, scale-ups, and commercialization events to ensure successful launches. Qualification Execution & Performance Validation - Develop and execute package test plans covering shelf-life performance, seal integrity, transportation durability, environmental conditioning, and consumer use requirements. - Lead packaging capability studies to evaluate manufacturing performance, equipment compatibility, dimensional control, critical-to-quality attributes, and operational readiness. - Analyze qualification results, identify risks, and make data-driven recommendations regarding commercialization readiness and long-term package performance. - Partner with Quality, Operations, Procurement and suppliers to investigate failures, implement corrective actions, and validate sustainable solutions. Operational Excellence & Supplier Partnership - Evaluate packaging solutions for manufacturability, automation compatibility, labor efficiency, line performance, and OEE impact. - Lead packaging-related root cause investigations and continuous improvement initiatives to reduce waste, improve reliability, and lower total cost. - Build strategic supplier relationships that drive innovation, improve performance, and ensure supply continuity. - Collaborate across Operations, R&D, Quality, Procurement, Supply Chain, and Mars Food & Nutrition to deliver scalable packaging solutions that support business growth. Continuous Improvement & Capability Building - Develop packaging standards, governance processes, and best practices that support organizational growth and operational excellence. - Mentor team members and cross-functional partners on packaging technologies, qualification methodologies, and commercialization processes. - Establish scalable systems for packaging documentation, change management, and knowledge transfer. - Stay ahead of industry trends, emerging technologies, and regulatory developments to inform packaging strategy and business decisions. - Other duties as assigned and necessary. What You’ll Need: Required Qualifications - Bachelor's degree in Packaging Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or a related technical field. - 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 food industry regulations and standards, including FDA, USDA, SQF, HACCP, and GMP requirements. - Proven ability to lead cross-functional projects and influence stakeholders across multiple functions. - Strong analytical, problem-solving, and root cause analysis capabilities. - 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. Preferred Qualifications - Advanced degree in Packaging, Engineering, Materials Science, or related discipline. - Experience leading packaging sustainability initiatives. - Experience with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs and packaging regulations. - Knowledge of recyclability assessments, PCR content strategies, and circular packaging design principles. - Exposure to packaging automation, equipment integration, and manufacturing optimization initiatives. - Lean Six Sigma certification or equivalent continuous improvement experience. Healthy, Diverse Teams Breed Innovation: Kevin’s Natural Foods is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We deeply believe that diverse backgrounds and experiences make better teams, and we seek to attract talent from all walks of life. The team at Kevin’s is smart, humble, and passionate and we value a work environment that fosters personal development and opportunities to move within our small, but quickly growing organization. More About Kevin’s Natural Foods: Kevin's Natural Foods is a line of refrigerated and frozen meals, sides, soups, and sauces on a mission to empower even the busiest people to eat clean without sacrificing flavor. Co-founded by Kevin McCray who battled an auto-immune disorder for years, Kevin's Natural Foods was born from his desire to make clean eating seamlessly fit into any lifestyle. Shockingly delicious and made with clean ingredients, Kevin’s products are ready in minutes and always free from gluten, soy, and refined sugar. I n 2023, Kevin’s Natural Foods joined the Mars Food & Nutrition family, allowing us to expand our reach, accelerate innovation, and bring our mission to even more households while staying true to the quality and integrity that define our brand. A true market disruptor, Kevin's is the first clean refrigerated entrée brand working to prove every day that proper nutrition can be as delicious as it is healthy. Salary Range: $130,000.00- $165,000.00 annually + benefits + bonus Compensation within this salary range is dependent upon the candidate's experience, education, and relevant qualifications Kevin's Natural Foods uses E-verify to confirm employment eligibility. For more information, please see the links below: https://www.everify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/IER_RightToWorkPoster%20Eng_Es.pdf https://www.everify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/EVerifyParticipationPoster.pdf