Packaging Engineer

COMPANY DESCRIPTION
At Beyond Meat, we started with simple questions. Why do you need an animal to create meat? Why can’t you build meat directly from plants? Thus, we make plant-based meats that allow families to eat more, not less, of the traditional dishes they love while feeling great about the health, sustainability, and animal welfare benefits of plant protein. Our goal is to bring exciting change to the plate—and Beyond.
Reporting to the Manager of Packaging Engineering.  This packaging engineering role works in close cross-functional collaboration with other packaging engineers and the Marketing, Innovation, Commercialization and Operations teams to bring new Beyond Meat products and packaging to market. Priorities include executing packaging engineering design, development, and scale-up of food packaging processes which successfully deliver production packaging and manufacturing lines with demonstrated process capability that achieve successful and on time packaged-product introductions into the market.  This role requires leading and executing successful packaging engineering development at the feasibility and pilot stages, as well as production scale-up through commissioning and verification of the packaged-product design and packaging line capability and readiness for production.The ideal candidate will have strong and successful experience in food packaging designs, applying robust science, data capture and project management in executing aggressive packaging development from feasibility stage through to the commissioning and qualification of new food product introductions into high volume production for commercial launches enabling packaging as a consumer and customer differentiator.  The individual must demonstrate self-initiative in organizing, executing, and delivering value-added results and process engineering deliverables that are aligned with assigned project objectives and scope.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Effectively communicates and coordinates within packaging engineering and the cross-functional product commercialization team to assure well aligned, executed and delivered process engineering learnings, achievements, and ultimate production line capabilities and results.
• Works collaboratively between Beyond Meat’s Marketing, Innovation, Commercialization, and Operations teams on new and renovated product development and introduction programs to assure that the packaged product and its production-intent packaging processes meet program objectives, manufacturability, timelines, and cost targets.
• Effectively executes assigned packaging engineering work in the development of packaging solutions, the scale-up and commissioning of packaging processes and equipment, and the final verification of their capabilities and readiness necessary to achieve successful product launches and high-volume production.
• Organizes and conducts packaging engineering design, development, process and equipment trials, specification, commissioning, and verification of food packaging processes and equipment for production-intent capability, scale, and readiness.
• Strong communication skills and ability to create collaborative relationships across all functions of the organization.
• Demonstrates technical curiosity outside of known solutions, connecting technologies with opportunities to champion packaging as an enabler for differentiation. Anchored in science, provides evidence-based outcomes that utilize predictive modeling and simulation to deploy validated packaging formats across the network.
• Serves as an environmental sustainability ambassador to ensure pack formats are consistent with the brand image.
• Execute and complete packaging engineering projects and activities required for the successful development and commercialization of food packaging processes and equipment which include:
• Assessing and identifying existing (in the BYND manufacturing network) or new food packaging process equipment and technology solutions for new or renovated products being pursued.
• Ability to assess which creative ideas and suggestions will work and project them into the future.
• Create and align packaging design briefs with cross-functional project teams and stakeholders. Advancing packaging development from the feasibility stage to final new product introduction and production launch.  Doing so by working collaboratively with the commercialization, innovation, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain teams throughout the process.
• Design and develop new concepts and execute projects from ideation through manufacturing start-up by translating the packaging development brief into a final pack format for primary, secondary and tertiary structures.
• Designing and running effective DOEs, sensitivity, scaling, and process capability trials.
• Bring-to-life timely creation of prototypes to gauge consumer desirability, structural integrity, influence teams and support customer collaboration.
• Developing and achieving packaging solution viability and design-for-manufacturability at pilot scale which is scalable and capable of meeting project objectives. Identifying key product and process parameters and scaling factors necessary for production scale-up and success.
• Ensuring quality and food safety critical control points and requirements are built into the equipment and processes.Specify third party and in-house analytical and packaging tests, analyze data and apply results to provide quality, regulatory and commercial pack design compliance verification.
• Establishing engineering specifications and providing engineering oversight for equipment and associated tooling selection, procurement, installation, and commissioning.
• Developing cost estimates, budgets (capital and expense), and associated plans for the process engineering portion of project activities, equipment, and tooling requirements.
• Implementing and verifying production-scale process capability.  Establishing the production process parameters, criteria, and capabilities for materials, processes, and equipment for production readiness and launch.Develop detailed packaging specifications that responsibly deliver product and packaging integrity throughout the supply chain life cycle.
• Achieving reliable, scalable, and cost-effective processes and equipment solutions in the commercialization of new and renovated products launched into production.
• Utilizes predictive modeling and simulation to deploy validated packaging formats across the network with minimal disruption to operations, expense and accelerate speed-to-market.
• Packaging intellectual property exploration (patents) ensuring responsible adaptation of pack designs across assigned projects. Problem solving ability to simplify complex processes/situations and figure out the steps to get things done in practice.
• Customer service orientation that seeks to understand and anticipate the needs of others, while practicing attentive and active listening and flexing style to meet the requirements of changing situations.
• Develop perspectives that paint credible visions of possibilities and ability to integrate different ideas and points of view.
• Drive for results and faces challenges head-on. Quickly senses what will help or hinder accomplishing a goal and ability to adjust for roadblocks, measuring performance against goals.
• Travel to facilities and suppliers in North America, and at times internationally. 
• Must be willing to travel 50% of the time.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Must be an experienced food packaging engineer with a proven track record of successful packaging development and production scale-up for new product launch programs and initiatives. 
• Successful packaging engineering development, scale-up, and commissioning skills with a track record of establishing, leading, executing high value-add work output, trials, and production launch results.  Relevant process engineering experience working with R&D, Commercialization, and Operations is required.
• Demonstrated engineering experience in an aggressive growth business environment with a track record of overcoming difficult challenges in achieving business and project objectives.
• Packaging engineer with technical curiosity outside of known solutions, connecting technologies with opportunities to drive packaging as an enabler for differentiation. Capable in the utilization of predictive modeling, rapid prototyping and accelerated validation technologies to inform scientific, evidence-based business decisions. Proficient in both packaging barrier material specifications and factory conversion (machinability). Serves as a steward of environmentally sustainable packaging solutions consistent with the brand image.
• BS in Packaging Engineering is required.  Master’s degree preferred.
• Must have 4 years of relevant food packaging engineering experience in NPI process development, production scale-up, and commercial launches.  Experience in the food industry is required.
• Predictive modeling tools such as 3D rapid prototyping, AutoCAD Inventor or Solidworks, primary/secondary/tertiary/pallet/truck loading (i.e. TOPS), Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and/or others are a plus.
• Strong oral and written communication skills and ability to be comfortable around higher management. 

Beyond Meat is an equal employment opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, ancestry, veteran status, marital status, gender identify, sexual orientation, national origin, liability for military service, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. If you are interested in learning the status of your application, please note you will be contacted directly by the appropriate human resources contact person if you are selected for further consideration. Beyond Meat reserves the right to defer or close a vacancy at any time.