Technical Engineer - Packaging

Technical Engineer
- Packaging

Chicago, Illinois, United States;
Remote

The Role

As a Technical Engineer
- Packaging at Green Thumb Industries (GTI), you will be responsible for designing, developing, and optimizing packaging and packaging automation solutions for our production processes across multiple facilities. In this role, you will balance various factors, including product protection, cost, regulatory requirements, and brand standards. Working collaboratively with GTI's Brand and Product Development team, you will transform packaging concepts into scalable production-ready solutions and develop automation systems that align with local volume requirements.

Additionally, this role will support local facilities by addressing packaging and automation challenges. Our ideal candidate has expertise in equipment selection, equipment troubleshooting, and implementing automated packaging production processes within a manufacturing environment. We are open to finding the right candidate who is willing to travel for this role. Our priority locations are Chicago HQ, Mid-Atlantic region or near one of our manufacturing facilities with close proximity to a hub airport.

Packaging Design and Development:

• Collaborate with Brand to design, develop and validate packaging solutions that provide adequate protection for products during transportation, storage, and handling.
• Consider factors such as product fragility, size, weight, and shelf life when designing packaging.
• Collaborate with Process Engineer and Operations team to determine automated manufacturing processes for new GTI product packaging
• Coordinate with cross-functional team line validation studies for new packaging selections to determine the best option for the business.

Automation System Design & Implementation:

• Research and select packaging automation solutions which fit the local sites' volume, staffing, and regulatory needs.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to conceptualize and design packaging automation systems that align with production requirements and quality standards.
• Conduct financial analysis on automation solutions to ensure capital is spent efficiently and ensure the highest return on capital investment.
• Lead the integration of packaging automation solutions into existing manufacturing processes, ensuring seamless implementation and minimal disruption to operations.
• Serve as SME for packaging automation technology; execute equipment-level tech transfer including controls training and commissioning support, enabling site teams to maintain and operate new automation solutions independently.
• Work with the site team to ensure Autonomous Maintenance and Planned Maintenance systems are in place for new automation solutions.
• Lead IQ, OQ, and PQ validations for new and modified packaging equipment and processes; execute technical transfers to site production teams in partnership with Quality.
• Own the hardware side of label printing and marking equipment across all sites, including printer fleet selection, installation, qualification, and uptime; partner with the Director of Packaging & Process Optimization on label accuracy and compliance outcomes

Technical Support & Continuous Improvement:

• Provide ongoing technical support for packaging automation equipment, troubleshooting issues, and implementing corrective actions to maximize efficiency and minimize downtime.
• Ensure the local teams are trained on the equipment through extensive technical knowledge transfer to promote a culture of Autonomous Maintenance.
• Provide engineering startup support for new facilities, including:
• Equipment layout and requirements definition
• Construction handoff coordination
• Regulatory compliance requirements for equipment
• Best-practice process development for new lines
• Equipment technical transfer and controls training
• Maintain up-to-date as-built records, drawings, and SOP documentation for all packaging equipment deployments.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Provide engineering input to Product Development, Operations, Supply Chain, and Marketing on packaging equipment capabilities, constraints, and automation options, supporting overall packaging strategy.
• Work…