Packaging Engineer
Step into a high-impact role where your structural packaging expertise directly shapes production efficiency and customer satisfaction. This is a lean, fast-paced environment where you'll own the packaging engineering function end-to-end, working closely with both the shop floor and corporate clients. You'll join a team that values practical, hands-on engineering and clear communication more than big-company bureaucracy.
About the Role:
You will be the primary Packaging Engineer responsible for designing, validating, and implementing structural packaging solutions for industrial and manufacturing applications. Working autonomously, you'll bridge the gap between design concepts and real-world production, ensuring packaging is robust, cost-effective, and manufacturable. Your work will directly support on-time delivery, product protection, and customer confidence.
Key Responsibilities:
Develop structural packaging designs for industrial and manufacturing applications, with an emphasis on wood and corrugated materials.
Translate customer requirements and product specifications into detailed packaging concepts, drawings, and bills of materials.
Collaborate closely with shop-floor builders to ensure designs are practical, manufacturable, and aligned with production capabilities.
Conduct fit, form, and function evaluations, including testing and validation of packaging performance under real-world conditions.
Optimize designs for cost, material usage, and production efficiency while maintaining required performance and safety standards.
Interface directly with corporate clients to review concepts, present solutions, and incorporate feedback into final designs.
Provide technical support during production launches, troubleshooting packaging issues and implementing corrective actions.
Maintain accurate documentation and design records in accordance with internal standards and customer requirements.
Key Requirements:
- Minimum 5 years of structural packaging design experience, ideally in a manufacturing or industrial packaging environment.
- Proven hands-on experience working with wood and corrugated packaging; comfortable moving between design office and shop floor.
- Demonstrated ability to work autonomously, manage priorities, and drive projects from concept through implementation.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively with production teams and corporate/client stakeholders.
- Proficiency with relevant design and drafting tools (e.g., CAD software) for packaging and structural design.
- Willingness and ability to pass a background check and drug test, including marijuana screening.
- Strong preference for candidates currently based in the greater Baltimore area or with a clear, committed relocation plan.
- Desirable Skills:
- Experience in industrial or heavy-duty packaging for machinery, equipment, or large-format products.
- Familiarity with a range of packaging materials beyond wood and corrugated, such as foam, plastics, or composites.
- Exposure to cost analysis, value engineering, and continuous improvement initiatives in a manufacturing environment.
- Experience interfacing with both small manufacturers and larger corporate clients on custom packaging solutions.
- Knowledge of packaging-related standards, testing protocols, and regulatory requirements.
Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in Packaging Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a closely related field.
Professional certifications in packaging or engineering (e.g., CPP, PE) are advantageous but not required.
Ongoing professional development or training in structural packaging design, materials, or manufacturing processes is preferred.
If you're a hands-on Packaging Engineer ready to take ownership of a critical function and see your designs come to life on the shop floor, we'd like to hear from you. Apply if you're committed to contributing long-term and ready to move quickly into this key role.