Principal Packaging Engineer - Wellness Pet Company

About the Wellness Pet Company

The Wellness Pet Company crafts and produces premium natural pet food, treats, and dental chews. We believe that natural, premium nutrition focused on proven health outcomes is the foundation of creating a mutual wellbeing for pets and their families. As a community of people, Wellies are positively obsessed about how to win for pets and their parents. We believe in the difference we make every single day, and we know that when we work collaboratively, Wellies are unstoppable -- Not only in providing the best nutrition to pets, but in building a better tomorrow for pets, their parents, and the world.

Your #lifeatwellnesspet

When you join Wellness Pet, you join a team whose aligned values and purpose create a unique and exciting place to work every day. Join us on our adventure to fulfill a life of wellbeing together with pets and their parents. Come for a walk with us today!

This position is based out of our Burlington, MA headquarters location, where we work a required hybrid schedule of in-office on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays and remote on Wednesdays and Fridays.

This individual contributor role will be managing the packaging function by providing a unique opportunity to stretch between transformational and more transactional activities, and act as a functional leader in a broader business context. The Principal Packaging Engineer oversees a portfolio of packaging activities within a business category and works strategically on managing complex projects. They will make connections with business partners, packagers and co-manufacturers and will lead trials and qualification work. They will also represent the Packaging Development unit in our cross functional innovation pods where the innovation strategy of WPC is developed and our cross functional capacity to execute is discussed and aligned. This role will provide exposure for our selected team members to a wide breadth of packaging projects, from concept to launch and with an eye toward investigating sustainable solutions within the portfolio.

What You’ll Accomplish

• Develop and set standards around specifications and specification management, introducing innovation and design to value solutions, and sharing these solutions with our customers and business partners

• Be the voice of Packaging in the creation our near and long-term product innovation and packaging sustainability roadmaps
• Lead multiple projects, including support for new product launches, existing portfolio updates, and sustainability initiatives while building a reputation for on-time execution of packaging activities for projects
• Develop a solid knowledge of different packaging structures and applications
• Build industry relationships through supporting supplier transitions for new packaging and/or materials and by supporting 3rd party manufacturers and co-packers
• Hold expertise in the management of packaging information inputs for finished goods
• Be involved in and support trials and first production runs with manufacturing plants

• Flex your process management skills by creating protocols and success criteria for trials and first production runs
• Hone your excellent project management skills: Properly plan, coordinate, and report each trial, while providing technical support and expertise as needed to execute trial objectives and ensure proper documentation of each activity

Who We’re Looking For

Team Wellie is a group of people who are truly obsessed with all the best ways about winning for the consumer and the pets they love. And so, we are seeking an individual who:

• Is consumer focused on all they do
• Can set a vision for where we can play to win
• Continually challenge themselves to go the extra mile to get the job done, and ensure it’s done the right way as opposed to the easy way
• Hold themselves and others accountable

• Embraces continual development through the sharing of feedback and investment in learning opportunities.
• Is a true collaborator, sharing resources, and engages in healthy debate
• Celebrates differences and strives to learn from others who are different from themselves
• Gives back to their community and supports sustainable practices

In addition, we are looking for someone who meets the following criteria:

• Degree in Bachelor of Science, Packaging Science or related
• Minimum 7-10 years of experience in a packaging development and engineering role
• Packaging experience in the fast-moving consumer goods industry, ideally human or pet food flexible packaging
• A well-developed business acumen and external packaging supplier network combined with an established expertise in new product commercialization related to packaging development, established experience in food packaging materials, technologies, and pricing models
• A business-minded, rigorous problem-solving mindset that considers leadership qualities (vision setting, prioritization, influence) and functional competencies (manufacturing, transportation, sustainability, cost, design, shelf life, and sales) in the final packaging solutions
• Passion for packaging sustainability with experience collaborating with external partners
• Experience in packaging development from concept to launch

• Experience leading the design of packaging solutions while keeping in mind sustainability, shelf presence, machine-ability, shelf life, and product protection
• Experience managing a portfolio of packaging projects, creating synergies
• Possesses a working knowledge of Cape and TOPS software
• Comfortable working independently and with cross functional team members
• General knowledge and understanding of package testing methodologies, such as ISTA and ASTM
• Experience building out, organizing, and managing specifications within a database
• Experience with commercialization projects, and managing multiple projects while maintaining deadlines

• The ability to travel up to 25% of the time

Why Work for Wellness Pet

We care about the wellbeing of our people, their families, and their pets. So, we treat every Wellie to a comprehensive benefits package full of extras to support their health, pets, passions, and professional Development. More information about our benefits can be found on our website. The Wellness Pet Company is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We celebrate diversity and are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, or veteran status.

#LI-RD1