Staff Packaging Design Engineer

At Niagara, we’re looking for Team Members who want to be part of achieving our mission to provide our customers the highest quality most affordable bottled water.

Consider applying here, if you want to:

- Work in an entrepreneurial and dynamic environment with a chance to make an impact.
- Develop lasting relationships with great people.
- Have the opportunity to build a satisfying career.

We offer competitive compensation and benefits packages for our Team Members.

Staff Packaging Design Engineer

The Staff Design Engineer serves as a technical and people leader responsible for the design, development, and validation of new packaging solutions, including closures, preforms, and bottles. The position utilizes CAD, 2D/3D modeling, rendering, and simulation tools to drive product development and design validation. This role manages a minimum of 2 and up to 5 direct reports, with responsibility for setting technical direction, prioritizing work, developing team capabilities, coaching performance, and providing ongoing mentorship. The Staff Design Engineer also provides technical leadership to less experienced staff, supports cross-functional design initiatives, and partners with manufacturing plants to address design and technical needs.
Essential Functions

- Lead engineering teams and provide technical assistance.
- Oversee project direction, including planning, prioritizing tasks, and managing implementation.
- Coordinate multiple projects with varying levels of complexity
- Solve complex engineering problems and provide solutions.
- Ensure compliance with industry standards and safety regulations.
- Mentor junior engineers and collaborate with other teams.

- Responsible for designing primary packaging components for the leading, lightweight bottle producer in the world.
- Work with Product Development team to understand needs of customer, design to specific requests and provide requested documents by customer deadline
- Project manage new product design projects from design to testing validation
- Perform line trials to approve designs for production
- Manage and maintain library of designs to be referenced for future projects
- Monitor vendor progress on projects and ensure proper prioritization is communicated
- Utilize simulation to project design outcomes and reduce time to market
- Develop new software tools and support general laboratory testing
- Visit new suppliers and learn new technologies
- Travel up to 33%
- Please note this job description is not designed to contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without prior notice.

Qualifications

- Minimum Qualifications: 6 Years  – Experience in Field or similar manufacturing environment
- 6 Years  – Experience in Position
- 6 Years  – Experience in Standardized CAD software
- 6 Years  – Experience in New Product Development (NPD) work, concept creation and prototyping
- 6 Years  – Experience in rapid prototyping, additive manufacturing and 3D printing.
- Ability to travel domestically
- 6 Years  – Experience in Finite Element Modeling (FEM) preferably with ANSYS.

*experience may include a combination of work experience and education

- Preferred Qualifications: 10+ Years– Experience in Field or similar manufacturing environment
- 10+ Years – Experience working in Position
- 10+ Years  – Experience in Standardized CAD software
- 10+ Years  – Experience in New Product Development (NPD) work, concept creation and prototyping
- 10+ Years  – Experience n rapid prototyping, additive manufacturing and 3D printing.
- Ability to travel domestically

*experience may include a combination of work experience and education

Competencies

- Complete Finite Element Analysis (FEA) on new bottle designs
- Complete Injection Mold Simulations
- Complete blow-molded bottle designs, preform designs and calculations to ensure compatibility
- Design and implement new software to decrease new product implementation timelines
- Analyze and provide solutions for plant resolution requests
- Develop 3D print files for internal customer use
- Support contract manufacturing team in design alteration recommendations to meet customers’ needs at the lowest cost
- Perform lab tests on PET and HDPE products/samples
- Working with rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing technology
- Advanced data analysis and simulation capabilities
- Publication quality communication skills (documents and presentations)
- Ability to identify and resolve problems in a timely manner; gathers and analyzes information skillfully.
- Detail oriented and accurate - minimizes mistakes, follows every step in a process and follows through with all tasks
- Oral Communication - speaks clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations; demonstrates presentation skills.
- Written Communication - writes clearly and informatively; presents numerical data effectively; able to read and interpret written information.
- Experience leading cross functional teams

This position embodies the values of Niagara’s LIFE competency model, focusing on the following key drivers of success:

- Lead Like an Owner Makes safety the number one priority
- Keeps alert for safety issues and escalates immediately
- Effectively prioritizes tasks based on department goals
- Shows respect to others and confronts interpersonal issues directly
- Prioritizes resolution of customer issues effectively
- Responds promptly and honors commitments to internal and external customers

- InnovACT Makes recommendations to continuously improve policies, methods, procedures, and/or products
- Demonstrates adaptability by reacting appropriately to unexpected changes in situations or circumstances
- Increases performance through greater efficiency

- Find a Way Seeks to develop technical knowledge through learning from other experts
- Understands interdepartmental impact of individual decisions and actions
- Seeks solutions rather than placing blame

- Empowered to be Great Consistently looks for ways to improve one’s self through growth and development opportunities
- Communicates clearly and promptly up, down, and across
- Communicates effectively to manage expectations

Education

- Minimum Required:  Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering or other related fields or equivalent experience

- Preferred:  Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering

Certification/License:

- Required:            N/A
- Preferred:           CAD Design, Injection Molding or Blow Molding

Foreign Language

- Required:            None Required
- Preferred:           Elementary Proficiency German, Chinese or French

Typical Compensation Range
Pay Rate Type: Salary

$127,448.59 - $181,614.27 / Yearly

Bonus Target: 10% Annual

Benefits

Our Total Rewards package is thoughtfully designed to support both you and your family:

Regular full-time team members are offered a comprehensive benefits package, while part-time, intern, and seasonal team members are offered a limited benefits package.

- Paid Time Off for holidays, sick time, and vacation time
- Paid parental and caregiver leaves
- Medical, including virtual care options
- Dental
- Vision
- 401(k) with company match
- Health Savings Account with company match
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Expanded mental wellbeing benefits including free counseling sessions for all team members and household family members
- Family Building Benefits including enhanced fertility benefits for IVF and fertility preservation plus adoption, surrogacy, and Doula reimbursements
- Income protection including Life and AD&D, short and long-term disability, critical illness and an accident plan
- Special discount programs including pet plans, pre-paid legal services, identity theft, car rental, airport parking, etc.
- Tuition reimbursement, college savings plan and scholarship opportunities
- And more!

https://careers.niagarawater.com/us/en/benefits

* *Los Angeles County applicants only** Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, the California Fair Chance Act, and any other applicable local and state laws.

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Employment agencies that have fee agreements with Niagara Bottling, LLC and have been engaged on a search shall submit résumé to the designated Niagara Bottling, LLC recruiter or, upon authorization, submit résumé into this career site to be eligible for placement fees.