Packaging Engineering Manager

Pulmuone’s mission is a company that creates a healthy future for people and the earth with wholesome foods. Pulmuone Foods USA brands include Nasoya, Wildwood, Emerald Valley Kitchen, Monterey Gourmet Foods, and Cibo Naturals. Pulmuone’s family of brands provide our consumers a wide variety of delicious products that are inspired by contemporary flavor palates and encourage a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. Visit www.pulmuonefoodsusa.com to learn more about the company and brands. This position focuses on new product innovation, process improvement, and optimizing packaging solutions. Responsibilities include managing packaging cost, design, material selection, and conducting analytical testing for continuous improvement. Job Responsibilities: Lead packaging engineering team, oversee the development, design, and optimization of packaging processes by ensuring compliance with quality, regulatory, labeling, and safety standards. Lead packaging projects with a hands-on approach, by working with headquarters in Korea and suppliers to ensure seamless execution. Collaborate with cross-functional departments including Marketing, Operations, and vendors to create packaging that aligns with brand and product goals and provide ideas, solutions, and alternatives to meet product excellence. Manage new product development and improvement from concept through commercialization primarily focusing on packaging specifications and packaging machine processes. Collaborate with internal teams to develop innovative packaging concepts to commercialization by working with cross-functional teams, considering factors such as quality, shelf life, sustainability, regulatory, cost, product protection, and consumer experience. Design sustainable packaging solutions that reduce environmental impact while maintaining cost-effectiveness and functionality. Stay abreast of packaging sustainability, machinery, equipment, and regulations and collaborate with the regulatory team. Facilitate product excellence management on co-packing products, including support process improvement for quality and cost reduction. Maintenance of QMS for all assigned products. Support the research and evaluation of new packaging materials for cost, sustainability, food safety, quality, performance, compatibility, and identify prospective co-packers on NPD projects. Maintain awareness of emerging trends and comparative products in competition, and make recommendations to ensure compliance and market competitiveness. Conduct scale-up tests/activities from R&D to full-scale production, ensuring smooth transitions and maintaining packaging integrity. Report update/progress status of R&D projects using MS project software in line with NPD process. Apply food microbiology and chemistry knowledge to identify the root causes of product defects and propose preventive actions. Assist with special project assignments as needed. Skills/Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in Packaging Engineering, Food Science, or related field. 10+ years’ experience in packaging development and application or related at food manufacturing industry. Hands-on experience with the full packaging design and development lifecycle, from concept to final production. Strong knowledge of packaging materials, technologies, testing methods, and machinery. Deep understanding of industry best practices, including packaging qualification standards, production supply chain requirements, and transportation logistics. Understanding of food safety, quality assurance, and regulatory requirements pertaining to food and packaging development. Ability to lead teams toward operational objectives. Experience working closely with packaging suppliers in packaging development. Experience in food product development and new product development is a plus. Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Intermediate proficiency in MS Office, Outlook, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Strong interpersonal, organizational, and time management skills. We offer a competitive pay and benefits package, including health (~80-90% company paid) for employees and dependents, dental, vision, life insurance, long-term disability, company match 401K plan, vacation, floating holidays, and company holidays. Pulmuone is a global, distributed workforce in four countries. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and embrace people with different experiences, strengths, and backgrounds, who share a passion for making a healthier tomorrow for people and the planet with wholesome foods.

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