Packaging Engineer

Kinder's•Walnut Creek, CA

14h•$125,000 - $145,000

About The Position

BUILT ON FLAVOR. FUELED BY PEOPLE. What’s it like to work at Kinder’s? Well, there’s a lot of snacking and geeking out over what we all cooked over the weekend. Beyond that, there’s also plenty of hard work. Because we don’t just like flavor, we’re obsessed with it. With over 100 products sold nationwide, we’re now a top-five brand in multiple flavor categories at Costco, Walmart, Whole Foods, and more. We’re not your typical CPG company. Privately held and founder-led, we like to think of ourselves as a pirate ship in a sea of cruise ships . Our crew is adventurous and fearless. We chart our own course and chase big ideas to make food unforgettable. As we expand globally and approach $1 billion in revenue, we need more smart-and-scrappy, flavor-obsessed people to come aboard. If you’re looking for a place where you can see the real impact of your work... this is it! Every day, you’ll be part of a journey to add flavor to millions of meals and lives. How you'll have an impact at Kinder’s The Packaging Engineer provides technical/engineering support for all packaging development activities for sauces, seasoning/rub, innovation projects, and pallet displays from exploratory concept design through commercialization.

Requirements

BS Degree in Packaging Engineering or related field
3-5 years of food packaging or related field
Strong problem-solving skills related to packaging structural design and machinability
Demonstrated attention to detail
Strong Knowledge of food packaging design and machinability fundamentals are required
Excellent time management skills, sense of urgency, and desire to complete all assignments on a timely basis.
Must be able to travel up to 30% of time

Nice To Haves

Structural package testing experience
Knowledge of Packaging Dynamic, barrier properties and manufacturing
Understand key food packaging quality attributes and inspection methodologies
Experience creating effective packaging design solutions
Strong understanding of range of packaging substrates i.e. flexible packaging, corrugate, paperboard, bottles, labels etc.
Thrive in a dynamic, lean, and agile environment.
Comfortable in both the food plant and headquarters environment
Self-starter who takes initiative and speaks their mind.
Collaborative, technical packaging resource
Excited to be part of a fast-moving team with the ability to be a leader and a follower

Responsibilities

Lead the design, development, and qualification of primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging for new and existing products.
Gather secondary and display design parameters from internal team/customer specification and communicate to 3rd party corrugate suppliers for design work
Develop, present and optimize structural primary, secondary and merchandising packaging designs with our Brand team
Work closely with packaging suppliers to meet Kinder’s and our manufacturing partners criteria for success
Conduct structural integrity packaging studies to ensure package and pallet integrity while optimizing economics
Communicate case coding requirements to copackers per customer specification, review and sign off on copacker case coding first articles/samples
Evaluate and approve alternate packaging suppliers for both cost savings, supply chain redundancy and enhanced consumer experience
Develop specifications for internal and external partners and develop associated documentation
Develop and maintain master data related to primary and secondary packaging
Provide packaging data for Kinders finished goods specifications and EPR reporting
Review and approve finished goods specifications
Review artwork proofs for die-line accuracy
Collaborate with Product Development team to evaluate new primary packaging product, package interaction and associated shelf-life
Execute continuous packaging improvement projects
Work closely with both packaging suppliers and our contract manufacturing partners to improve package machinability, decrease labor, reduce cost and maximize throughput
Independently lead packaging trials and qualifications at manufacturing facilities.