Packaging Engineer

The Packaging Engineer leads scale-up, validation, and commercialization of packaging innovation, renovation, productivity, sustainability, and business-continuity projects across Danone North America. Working within Processing Excellence & Scale-Up, the role integrates package design, materials, product-process conditions, equipment, quality, and supply-chain needs to deliver robust, first-time-right manufacturing solutions.

• Co-lead primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging scale-up from concept through validation, first production, and launch stabilization.
• Support innovation, renovation, productivity, sustainability, capacity, and business-continuity projects across food and beverage platforms.
• Translate consumer, product, quality, sustainability, cost, and manufacturing needs into clear success criteria, validation plans, specifications, and recommendations.

• Identify packaging and material-machine risks early through structured assessments, design reviews, equipment capability, prior learning, and supplier/OEM input.
• Design and execute lab, pilot, supplier, and plant tests with clear hypotheses, sampling, acceptance criteria, and decision gates.
• Co-own trial and first-production readiness, including scope, materials, tooling, line changes, measurements, resources, documentation, and contingencies.
• Analyze trial data and lead root-cause troubleshooting of material, equipment, operating-window, quality, and distribution issues.

• Assess manufacturability across equipment, lines, sites, and co-manufacturers, including geometry, tolerances, controls, and capability.
• Partner with Operations, Engineering, Quality, suppliers, toolmakers, and OEMs to define technical limits, operating windows, and solutions before design lock or capital commitment.

• Execute the R&I packaging scalability roadmap with Product & Package Scale-Up leadership and the Packaging organization.
• Build reusable scale-up methods, standards, templates, and lessons learned that improve first-time-right commercialization.
• Advance early prediction of industrial performance through lab methods, pilot tools, simulation, digital modeling, and virtual twins.

• Maintain specifications, drawings, test methods, trial protocols, validation reports, and manufacturing recommendations.
• Ensure stage-gate evidence is complete and traceable, with clear ownership of risks, criteria, deviations, and actions.
• Partner with Quality, Regulatory, Procurement, Supply Chain, and Operations to meet safety, quality, regulatory, sustainability, and internal requirements.

• Build effective partnerships across R&I, Operations, Engineering, Quality, Procurement, Supply Chain, suppliers, OEMs, and co-manufacturers.
• Co-lead multiple projects autonomously, prioritize by technical risk and business impact, and clearly communicate trade-offs and recommendations.

• Work across office, lab, pilot plant, supplier, and manufacturing settings; use required PPE and travel 20-40% for trials, qualifications, troubleshooting, and launches.

The salary range for this position is $82, USD. The exact salary offered will depend on several factors, including the candidate’s relevant experience, geographic location, internal equity, and market conditions. Danone North America additionally offers a performance-based bonus and has a strong benefits package including Medical, Dental, Vision, Prescription Drug Coverage, 401k Plan,…