Coordinator Packaging

Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream • Bakersfield, CA

8d • Onsite

About The Position

At Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream (DGIC), a part of Froneri, we are seeking a Coordinator Packaging to drive high-impact transformation with household brands. This role is an entrepreneurial, fast-paced, and engaging growth assignment working with people from across the globe. DGIC is a global pure-play ice cream leader with nearly 100 years of experience in the U.S., boasting a portfolio of brands such as Häagen-Dazs, Drumstick, Dreyer’s/Edy’s, Skinny Cow, OREO®, Outshine, and Frollies. Headquartered in Walnut Creek, DGIC is raising the bar in the ice cream industry, having moved from the #2 to the #1 manufacturer in market by 2024. We encourage everyone to think like a general manager, owning their piece of the business, making bold decisions, and seeing the big picture. This role offers hands-on exposure to Sales, Marketing, Operations, Finance, and Supply Chain, providing an opportunity to stretch skills and fast-track a career.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required in Packaging Science
• No prior experience required, although any experience supporting packaging, manufacturing, or product development in a food or consumer packaged goods (CPG) environment (frozen or dairy products strongly preferred) is a plus.
• Experience working with new product development or commercialization projects, including packaging trials, scale-ups, or first-production runs
• Strong understanding of packaging materials, structures, and equipment compatibility for frozen products (cups, lids, wraps, cartons, multipacks, pallets)
• Working knowledge of food safety, quality, and regulatory requirements, including GMPs, HACCP, SQF, FDA labeling, and change control processes
• Ability to coordinate packaging specifications, samples, and testing with R&D, Quality, Operations, Procurement, and external vendors
• Experience managing packaging documentation such as material specifications, packaging (chemical) safety and regulatory compliance, technical drawings, trial reports, and validation records
• Familiarity with ERP/MRP systems and ability to track packaging components, costs, and timelines
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills with high attention to detail
• Effective written and verbal communication skills; comfortable presenting findings and updates to cross-functional teams
• Ability to support plant trials and work in a cold or freezer manufacturing environment as required
• Willingness to work flexible schedules to support product trials, launches, and commercialization timelines
• Willingness to travel to various US manufacturing sites in support of trials and start-ups.

Nice To Haves

• any experience supporting packaging, manufacturing, or product development in a food or consumer packaged goods (CPG) environment (frozen or dairy products strongly preferred)

Responsibilities

• Serves as the technical packaging lead on project teams to deliver “Innovation & Renovation”, “Buy Better”, “Factory support”, “Quality improvement” and “Alternative supply” projects.
• Supports the factories to optimize filling and packaging line performance and with packaging quality issues.
• Develops and launches packaging solutions in line with Marketing, or factory improvement initiatives while ensuring packaging safety, quality, functionality and sustainability objectives are being met in a cost-efficient manner.
• Collaborates internally and externally to build relationships in order to continuously improve technical skills and personal development.
• Lead and develop the Packaging team, support the packaging development strategy and the annual new product development plan.
• Ensure that all people management activities and requirements are covered effectively, efficiently and on time.
• Work hand in hand with the Quality and Operational teams to identify and prevent packaging defects. Work directly with packaging vendors to resolve quality defects.
• Work with operations and engineering to optimize the packaging performance on packaging equipment.
• Manages and supports the packaging development function from ideation through to Industrialization.
• Identifies the optimal packaging material and die-lines for new ice cream products.
• Works with vendors to ensure correct specifications are captured and agreed upon and that all materials comply with food safety and internal company quality standards.
• Perform basic packaging quality checks to ensure the structural integrity of our packages and that they comply with the agreed specifications.
• Ensuring that any new packaging is tested and trialed on the factory and palletization equipment in the development stage and that Operations and Marketing have signed off on the final design.
• Design palletization patterns to optimize the transportation costs while ensuring pallet stability and quality.
• Perform and document the results of pallet transportation tests.
• Ensure that the artwork development process has the right quality of technical information to allow the creative services team to develop the graphics.
• Ensure that technical packaging data inputs are provided in a timely manner to avoid delays in the development timeline.
• Contribute to developing the Market Packaging sourcing and ESG strategy translating it into a local packaging project pipeline.
• Obtain a good understanding of DGIC manufacturing capabilities and packaging equipment.
• Develop strategic relationships with key packaging suppliers to define with Procurement the optimal sourcing strategy and to partner with companies offering innovations on new and relevant sustainable packaging materials.
• Ensure project management tools are used for managing timelines, project teams and key stakeholders to ensure that all key activities are managed appropriately.
• Ensure that all technical packaging documentation is organized, maintained and accessible.

Benefits

• equal employment opportunities for all applicants, regardless of race, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level