Director of Packaging Engineering

Director, Packaging Engineering

Location: Chicago, Illinois (On-Site, 5 Days/Week — With Real Human Flexibility)

Relocation: Fully Supported Within the U.S.

Eligibility: U.S. Citizens & Green Card Holders Only

Retained by Lean Six Search Group

There’s a global food & beverage powerhouse quietly shaping the way the world experiences taste, freshness, nutrition, and sustainability. And now, confidentially, they’ve retained Lean Six Search Group to find their next Director of Packaging Engineering, someone who can architect the future of how their products are protected, preserved, presented, and brought to life.

This is a major role.

The Role

You’ll report directly into the Global Head & VP of Packaging.

Your mandate? Own packaging engineering for North America while helping influence global strategy.

This is a builder role... a hands-on, highly visible position that touches innovation, sustainability, suppliers, operations, materials, the plant floor, executive stakeholders… all of it.

Think:

Strategy + Creativity + Engineering Grit + Business Impact.

Your world includes:

• Early-stage concepting and blue-sky brainstorming
• Supplier selection and qualification
• Material development
• Operations equipment selection & validation
• Packaging sustainability leadership
• Cross-functional influence at every level
• Leading, coaching, and developing packaging engineers
• Driving innovation that actually ships — not just sits in a PowerPoint.

About Being On-Site

Yes... It’s 5 Days a Week. No, We’re Not Maniacs.

Let’s be blunt:

You cannot engineer world-class packaging from a Zoom window.

You need to hear the hiss of the line, feel the film tension, see a forming collar misbehave, talk to operators, tweak something, re-run it, and watch the problem dissolve in real time.

But we’re not living in 1998.

If you’ve got a dentist appointment, kids, life happening, a snowstorm on the Kennedy, or anything that requires actual humanity… of course, there’s flexibility.

It’s on-site because the work demands it, not because we’re pretending life doesn’t exist.

If you love the hum of machinery, the energy of a plant, and bouncing between engineering, innovation, and real-world execution… you’ll love this job.

And Chicago?

It’s the perfect backdrop: gritty, proud, ambitious, and built on things that work.

What You’ll Lead

• Set the future-state packaging strategy for a critical regional business
• Integrate packaging directly into the innovation pipeline
• Challenge old assumptions and rewrite what packaging can be
• Build and elevate supplier relationships into true partners
• Lead sustainability advancements that are meaningful, not cosmetic
• Oversee equipment selection, qualification, and commercialization
• Drive cost savings and productivity improvements
• Solve problems at the intersection of product, process, and material
• Mentor, coach, and grow a high-performing team of packaging engineers
• Manage multiple high-risk projects simultaneously with precision

What You Bring

• Bachelor’s in Package Engineering or related field
• 10+ years in packaging development & commercialization (CPG or similar)
• Proven leadership of technical teams
• Deep material and systems expertise across multiple packaging formats
• Ability to independently manage complex engineering programs
• Strong influencing skills across functions and levels
• Knowledge of cost/performance drivers and material alternatives
• Passion for excellence in sustainability, innovation, and manufacturing
• Willingness to travel up to 40%
• Curiosity, grit, and that rare mix of creativity + engineering discipline

What’s Offered

• Competitive compensation
• Full U.S. relocation support
• The chance to impact a global supply chain touching millions of consumers
• A leadership platform with visibility, ownership, and room to build