Senior Packaging Cost Specialist

Job Title: Senior Packaging Costing Specialist

Classification: Exempt

Location: Newton, NC

Position Type: Full Time

Department: Packaging Solutions Group / 'War Room'

Pay Grade: TBD

Reports To: Head of Sales

Effective Date: 08/25/2026

The Senior Packaging Costing Specialist owns and leads the costing and estimating function within the Packaging Solutions Group, serving as the company's primary technical authority on pallet, crate, and custom packaging pricing. This role is responsible for developing accurate, competitive cost estimates, maintaining up-to-date raw material and labor cost data, and building standardized costing tools and procedures used across the company's manufacturing locations.

Working as a peer to the Senior Packaging Design Specialist, this position ensures that design decisions are grounded in accurate cost and margin implications, and that every quotation reflects current market conditions and production realities. The Senior Packaging Costing Specialist also provides technical mentorship to other Packaging Solutions staff working on costing-focused projects, helping build estimating capability and consistency across the group.

• 1.Own and lead the costing and estimating function within the Packaging Solutions Group, serving as the primary authority on pricing methodology for pallets, crates, and custom industrial packaging.
• 2.Develop accurate, competitive cost estimates and quotations by analyzing material usage, labor, throughput, waste, and production constraints across the company's manufacturing locations.
• 3.Monitor and maintain current market pricing on lumber, hardware, and other raw materials to ensure costing assumptions remain accurate and up to date.
• 4.Build and maintain standardized costing models and tools within Pallet Design System (PDS), Microsoft Access, and Excel to ensure consistent estimating practices company-wide.
• 5.Partner with the Senior Packaging Design Specialist to align design decisions with cost, margin, and manufacturability implications.
• 6.Review and validate complex or high-value quotes prepared by other Packaging Solutions staff for accuracy and margin integrity.
• 7.Analyze plant-level throughput, waste percentages, and labor and man-hour data to refine costing assumptions and improve estimate accuracy.
• 8.Identify cost-reduction opportunities and pricing risks, communicating findings and recommendations to sales and leadership.
• 9.Serve as the primary technical resource for sales and customers on pricing, quoting, and cost-related questions.
• 10. Coordinate with purchasing to track raw material cost trends and flag pricing shifts that impact active or pending quotes.
• 11. Develop and maintain costing documentation, procedures, and best practices to standardize the estimating process across locations.
• 12. Provide technical guidance and mentorship to Packaging Solutions Specialists and Analysts working on costing-focused projects.
• 13. Troubleshoot discrepancies between estimated and actual production costs, working with operations to identify root causes.
• 14. Maintain organized, well-documented records of quotes, pricing reviews, and costing data to support internal audits and transparency.
• 15. Perform other related duties as assigned to support departmental, operational, and strategic business objectives.

• High school diploma or equivalent required; bachelor's degree in business, finance, accounting, industrial engineering, or a related field preferred.
• Significant experience in cost estimating, pricing analysis, or manufacturing costing, ideally within pallet, crate, or wood packaging manufacturing.
• Strong understanding of raw material markets, including lumber and hardware, and the ability to track and apply current pricing.
• Ability to analyze throughput, waste, and labor data to build and maintain accurate cost models.
• Proficiency with, or the ability to quickly learn, Pallet Design System (PDS), Microsoft Access, and Excel.
• Strong analytical, quantitative, and problem-solving skills with high attention to detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across sales, purchasing, operations, and customers.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and take ownership of a functional area with minimal oversight.

• Bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, business, industrial engineering, or a related field.
• Five or more years of experience in cost estimating or pricing within a manufacturing environment.
• Experience estimating or costing across multiple plants or production locations.
• Specific familiarity with lumber, hardware, or other packaging raw material markets.
• Experience mentoring or providing technical direction to junior estimating staff.
• Advanced Excel modeling and analysis skills.
• Familiarity with ERP or MRP systems.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) is a plus.

• 1.Humility (lacks ego, team agenda, transparent,…