Packaging Engineer

Ferrero is a family-owned company with a truly progressive and global outlook and iconic brands such as Nutella, Tic Tac, Ferrero Rocher, Raffaello, Kinder Bueno and Kinder Surprise. As the love for our brands continues to grow, so too does our global reach. Represented in more than 50 countries, with products sold in more than 170, the Ferrero Group is loved by generations around the world. The secret to our global success? 40,000 dedicated employees who celebrate care and quality to craft a business, careers and brands we are proud of. Join us, and you could be one of them.

The Packaging Engineer is responsible for the end-to-end execution of packaging projects and daily activity relevant to new packaging development, value optimization across the packaging value chain, design for recycling, plastic reduction, and quality improvement.

This position holds accountability for the value and quality of packaging used or to be used in assigned brands within Keebler, Famous Amos, and Mother's Cookies. This position reports to the Packaging Manager for the North America Cookies, Cones, and Crusts portfolio and supports industrial plants and co-packing operations across the US. This position is based in Chicago, IL.

* Leads packaging development and industrialization plans for assigned brands across North America, meeting cost, speed, and quality requirements.

* Leads technical and economic feasibility studies during the project industrialization phase and develops new proposals to optimize industrial setup pertaining to packaging lines.

* Leads project implementation and specifications documentation for copacker environments.

* Optimizes existing projects and products for the assigned brands across North America, analyzing possible improvements to contribute to end-to-end cost optimization pipeline building, reduce complexity, and secure industrial feasibility.

* Manages end-to-end value optimization projects across plants and brands in scope.

* Analyses and validates cost estimations to support project setup from an economic point of view.

* Manages packaging material and finished product de-risking programs for assigned brands.

* Activates, if in his/her field of competence, and manages packaging line trials.

* Represents the Packaging Development team in relevant internal and external engagement meetings to activate programs focused on new solutions (e.g., materials, technologies, and processes)

* Ensures information sharing among all the necessary stakeholders as it relates to the projects being managed.

* Partners with the leadership team of assigned brands, representing the interests, responsibilities, and voice of the Packaging Development team.

* Contributes to defining project objectives (technical choices, materials, solutions) according to the local industrial reality and suppliers' portfolio and technologies.

* Bachelor's Degree in Packaging Science, Materials Engineering, or equivalent experience is required, M.S. is preferred.

* 4+ years of experience in packaging development or structural packaging design, CPG experience preferred.

* Experience working with variety of packaging materials (e.g., rigid and flexible packaging, paperboard, and corrugate materials), relevant packaging equipment technologies, knowledge of sustainable packaging requirements, and package testing procedures.

* Knowledge of packaging related software such as AutoCAD/ArtiosCAD, Adobe Illustrator, pallet and transport optimization software (CAPE, TOPS, etc.), SAP experience.

* Creative and innovative mindset, with proven project management, problem-solving, decision-making, and critical-thinking skills.

* Strong presentation and analytical skills with the ability to present to cross-functional stakeholders of various levels including leadership.

* Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the capacity to influence commercial and industrial stakeholders.

* Availability to travel up to 20% of the time to Industrial facilities for support of line trials, production start-ups, and relevant plant support activities.

Consumers, quality and care are at the heart of everything we do. So, to be successful at Ferrero, you'll need to be just as consumer and product centric as we are - dedicated to crafting brilliant results for consumers around the world.

Strong analytical mind, attention to details on one hand, and ability to cooperate with employees at all levels and great organisational skills on the other, would be key to success. Employee contribution and engagement at Ferrero is based on the individual, team and organisation dimension, so you should have the ability to work independently, as a part of the team and build good relations with stakeholders at all levels. Being flexible and dealing with a dynamic working environment as well as the ability to embed new knowledge and skills in existing competencies will definitely help you to become high performer here.

Ferrero is committed to building a diverse and inclusive culture in which all employees feel welcomed and appreciated and have the same opportunities. We believe all of our people are equally talented in their own way. In nurturing the curiosity and natural abilities of our employees, we provide them, generation after generation, the means to succeed personally and professionally, enabling them to craft their journey at Ferrero. The diversity of our talents is what makes our work environment multicultural, innovative and highly rewarding.

Ferrero N.A. provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics.