Packaging Engineer

Eagle Foods, LLC • Buffalo Grove, IL

11d • Hybrid

About The Position

At Eagle Foods, we are builders of brands, categories, and people. With a rich heritage spanning over 150 years, Eagle Foods is a diversified food company producing and marketing a variety of products including sweetened condensed and evaporated milk, snacks, and convenient meal solutions. Our brands, such as Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk and Evaporated Milk, Magnolia® Sweetened Condensed Milk, PET® Milk, Popcorn Indiana, Cretors Popcorn, Helper, and Suddenly Salad, are trusted by consumers for decades. We market and distribute our products across all U.S. retail channels, including grocery stores, club stores, and mass-merchandisers, as well as foodservice, export, U.S. military, and private label business. Eagle Foods is passionate about fostering an entrepreneurial spirit that boldly builds better people and better brands while focusing on the positive impact our company, our products, and our people have on the world.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Packaging Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 3+ years of packaging engineering experience, preferably within food, beverage, or consumer packaged goods.
• Knowledge of flexible packaging, cartons, corrugate, films, labels, and packaging equipment.
• Experience supporting manufacturing operations and commercialization activities.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.

Nice To Haves

• Experience within a food manufacturing or CPG environment.
• Working knowledge of Stage-Gate commercialization processes.
• Experience with co-manufacturing networks and supplier management.
• Familiarity with packaging testing methods, ISTA protocols, and transportation validation.
• Understanding of sustainability initiatives and packaging lifecycle considerations.
• Project management experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and qualification of primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging for new products, line extensions, and cost optimization initiatives.
• Identify and evaluate packaging materials, structures, and technologies to improve product protection, shelf life, sustainability, and consumer functionality.
• Partner with Product Development to ensure packaging solutions align with product requirements and consumer expectations.
• Support Stage-Gate project teams by providing packaging leadership from concept through commercialization.
• Develop packaging specifications, drawings, and technical documentation.
• Lead packaging trials, equipment validations, and first production runs at manufacturing facilities and co-manufacturers.
• Troubleshoot packaging-related production issues and implement corrective actions.
• Collaborate with Operations and Engineering to improve packaging line efficiency, throughput, and reliability.
• Analyze packaging failures and identify root causes using sound engineering principles.
• Support commissioning and qualification activities for new packaging equipment.
• Identify and implement packaging cost-reduction initiatives without compromising product quality or consumer experience.
• Partner with Procurement and suppliers to evaluate alternative materials, vendors, and technologies.
• Drive initiatives that reduce material waste, improve supply chain performance, and optimize inventory complexity.
• Support productivity, margin improvement, and design-to-value projects across the portfolio.
• Serve as Eagle Foods' packaging subject matter expert for assigned product categories.
• Stay current on packaging trends, sustainability initiatives, materials technology, and regulatory requirements.
• Provide technical recommendations and risk assessments to project teams and leadership.
• Develop packaging standards, best practices, and testing protocols.
• Own packaging-related specifications and ensure accuracy within company specification systems.
• Maintain organized records of trials, testing results, validations, and commercialization activities.
• Ensure packaging complies with applicable food safety, quality, labeling, transportation, and regulatory requirements.
• Support audits, supplier qualifications, and quality investigations as needed.

What This Job Offers

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