Manager, Design Engineering
About The Position
We strive to be Your Future , Your Solution to accelerate your career! Contact Andy Birkenholz at [email protected], you can also schedule an appointment, to learn more about this opportunity! Director of Design Engineering – Medical Thermoformed Packaging Position Summary Reporting to the Vice President/General Manager, the Director of Design Engineering provides strategic and operational leadership for the Design Engineering organization supporting thermoformed medical packaging solutions. This role is responsible for building and leading a high-performing engineering team focused on innovative product development, package design, tooling, and successful commercialization. The Director will champion engineering excellence, drive continuous improvement, and ensure customer-focused, cost-effective packaging solutions that meet the demanding quality and regulatory requirements of the medical device and healthcare markets. This position plays a critical role in accelerating new product introductions, advancing technical capabilities, and supporting the company's long-term growth strategy. This is an onsite position based at our Huntley, Illinois facility.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Packaging Science, Industrial Design, or a related technical discipline.
- Minimum of 5 years of progressive engineering leadership experience within thermoforming or plastics manufacturing.
- Demonstrated experience leading engineering teams in regulated manufacturing environments.
- Strong knowledge of thermoforming processes, tooling design, and product development.
- Experience leading new product commercialization and cross-functional project execution.
- Proficiency with SolidWorks and other CAD/design software.
- Strong project management, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent communication, leadership, and customer relationship management skills.
Nice To Haves
- Experience designing medical device packaging, including thermoformed trays, blisters, and sterile barrier systems.
- Familiarity with ISO 13485, validation requirements, cleanroom manufacturing, and medical device quality systems.
- Knowledge of sterilization methods, material compatibility, packaging validation, and regulatory requirements.
- Experience presenting technical solutions directly to OEM customers and leading design reviews.
Responsibilities
- Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing Design Engineering team specializing in thermoformed medical packaging.
- Establish the strategic vision, organizational structure, and technical roadmap for the Design Engineering function.
- Foster a culture centered on safety, quality, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Drive employee development through coaching, performance management, succession planning, and technical training.
- Promote collaboration and knowledge sharing across engineering, manufacturing, and global business teams.
- Lead the design and development of thermoformed medical packaging products, including trays, blisters, clamshells, and custom packaging systems.
- Drive innovation while optimizing designs for manufacturability, performance, quality, and cost.
- Oversee engineering activities utilizing SolidWorks, CAD technologies, 3D modeling, rendering, reverse engineering, and rapid prototyping.
- Ensure packaging designs comply with customer specifications, sterilization requirements, material compatibility, and applicable medical device standards.
- Support design verification activities and engineering documentation throughout the product development lifecycle.
- Direct tooling development, including mold design, qualification, and validation.
- Partner with tooling suppliers and internal manufacturing teams to optimize tooling performance, quality, and delivery schedules.
- Resolve complex technical challenges while improving development efficiency and time-to-market.
- Lead the evolution of the engineering organization toward a project-driven product development model.
- Manage new product introduction (NPI) activities from concept through commercial launch.
- Collaborate closely with Manufacturing, Quality, Regulatory, Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Operations to ensure successful commercialization.
- Translate customer requirements into practical engineering solutions that support business growth and customer satisfaction.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives across engineering processes, workflows, and communication.
- Manage departmental resources, engineering software, equipment, and technology investments.
- Establish and maintain engineering standards, change management processes, and design documentation practices.
- Monitor emerging thermoforming technologies, materials, automation, and medical packaging trends to maintain technical leadership.
- Balance engineering resources to achieve objectives for quality, delivery, cost, and innovation.
- Lead implementation and continuous improvement initiatives within Toppan's Global Performance System (GPS).
Benefits
- Annual base salary: $140,000 – $160,000
- Eligible to participate in the Company's annual incentive bonus program.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
