Principal Packaging Engineer

Description

Driven by a commitment to research, quality, and service, PDI provides innovative products, educational resources, training, and support to prevent infection transmission and promote health and wellness. Encompassing three areas—Healthcare, Sani Professional, and Contract Manufacturing—PDI develops, manufactures, and distributes leading‑edge products for North America and the world. We have several locations across the US and are looking for new Associates to join our team!

As the Principal Packaging Engineer, you will serve as the enterprise‑wide technical expert and strategic lead in FDA‑regulated packaging. The position leverages deep knowledge in packaging—including design, test methods, standards, and industry insights—to create and deliver a pipeline of breakthrough innovations and overall organizational improvement.

You will operate with a high degree of autonomy, lead with accountability on projects from concept to commercialization, and proactively identify opportunity areas. Excellent communication skills are required to collaborate across functions, influence stakeholders, and align with organizational goals. You will mentor and coach junior engineers, guide internal and external teams on packaging standards (e.g., CCIT, ISO 11607, USP), and represent the company in regulatory interactions, technical forums, and industry partnerships.

• Demonstrate strong ownership and leadership on technical strategies and problem solving while driving projects from concept to commercialization.
• Own the technical roadmap for packaging innovation and ensure alignment with business priorities.
• Take responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and impact of technical data used to inform decisions.
• Design and direct meaningful and robust research projects or experiments both internally and externally through relationships with academic institutions and industry partners.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and foster collaborative research initiatives while mentoring, coaching and guiding junior engineers.
• Analyze experimental data to draw meaningful conclusions from research and guide further development.
• Ensure robust statistical methods are applied where necessary.
• Develop innovative solutions to address technical challenges.
• Act as subject matter expert in packaging for FDA‑regulated products (expert in packaging standards such as CCIT, ISO 11607, USP).
• Identify, scope and represent the organization at key conferences, seminars and other professional events.
• Stay current and keep stakeholders updated with emerging technologies, regulatory trends, and scientific advancements in packaging.

• Exhibit a proactive mindset in identifying, vetting and implementing new opportunities for innovation and improvement.
• Demonstrate ability to think strategically and influence the organization on key initiatives.
• Champion initiatives that deliver quantifiable improvements in product performance, cost efficiency, or regulatory compliance.
• Lead cross‑functional teams to bring strategic innovations from concept to launch, ensuring accountability at each stage.
• Develop and execute innovation strategies aligned with business goals, including new technologies, methods, and IP creation.
• Lead the development of new products, technologies, and methods that deliver measurable impact and enhance organizational success.
• Assess and take necessary actions to acquire new in‑house technologies to improve PDI’s capabilities.

• Define, communicate and align project goals and request necessary resources for execution cross‑functionally.
• Hold self and cross‑functional teams accountable for meeting project milestones, quality standards, and business objectives.
• Ensure post‑launch evaluation and continuous improvement based on performance metrics.
• Demonstrate strong interpersonal and influencing skills to drive initiatives forward and overcome challenges.
• Ensure accountability to milestones and objectives while demonstrating strong ownership, coordination and leadership in project execution,…