New Product Development Engineer - Flexible Packaging

George Thomas has partnered with a global flexible packaging manufacturer who are seeking a Sr New Product Development Engineer.

You will lead technical projects from initial concept through testing, validation, scale-up, and launch, ensuring products are reliable, manufacturable, and aligned with customer and business needs.

Location - Greater Chicago (onsite)

How Will You Add Value to the Team?

• Lead the development and commercialization of flexible packaging solutions.
• Plan and document laboratory, pilot, and production-scale trials.
• Establish test methods, performance standards, and acceptance criteria, and evaluate results.
• Develop and validate materials and manufacturing processes.
• Coordinate project schedules, risks, priorities, and deliverables across Sales, Operations, Quality, Purchasing, suppliers, and customers.
• Prepare specifications, bills of materials, work instructions, and other technical documentation.
• Support the installation and start-up of new tooling, equipment, and processes.
• Partner with customer engineering and packaging teams to solve technical challenges.
• Conduct root-cause investigations and contribute to continuous-improvement activities.
• Support audits, regulatory requirements, and food-safety programs.
• Help standardize global development practices and improve the speed and quality of product launches.

Role Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Chemistry, or a related technical discipline.
• Five or more years of experience in R&D, process engineering, or a comparable field.
• Knowledge of polymers, laminates, or flexible packaging solutions.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a global, cross-functional environment.
• Six Sigma Black Belt or Lean certification is preferred.