Associate Packaging Engineer

ASR Group is the world’s largest refiner and marketer of cane sugar, with an annual production capacity of more than 6 million tons of sugar. The company produces a full line of grocery, industrial, food service and specialty sweetener products. Across North America, ASR Group owns and operates six sugar refineries, located in Louisiana, New York, California, Maryland, Canada and Mexico. In Europe, the company owns and operates sugar refineries in England and Portugal. ASR Group also owns and operates mills in Mexico and Belize. The company’s brand portfolio includes the leading brands Domino®, C&H®, Redpath®, Tate & Lyle®, Lyle’s® and Sidul®.

OVERVIEW

Reporting to the Manager, Packaging Engineering; the Associate Packaging Engineer will support a variety of packaging Innovation & Renovation projects in support the objectives of the New Product Development (NPD) team.  The ideal candidate must have a basic knowledge of a broad-range of packaging commodity types (e.g. poly film, corrugate, paperboard, etc.), to ensure product performance, food safety, and provide value to the customer while controlling overall costs.  The Associate Packaging Engineer works closely with internal customers across multiple locations & functional areas and will work with external suppliers toward the successfully delivery of projects against businesses requirements.

ROLE DETAILS & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Simultaneously supports multiple Innovation & Renovation projects from concept through commercialization using an established stage gate process to achieve business objectives
• Develops and executes packaging qualification plans, including plant trials; reporting against predetermined key performance indicators to verify impact/mitigate risk of packaging changes
• Identifies packaging related innovation, sustainability, cost savings, technology, material standardization, waste, and productivity/process improvement opportunities; implementing such opportunities when supported by a business case
• Provide technical expertise to multiple functional areas (including but not limited to Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Sales and Marketing) to overcome business challenges
• Challenges conventional thinking on packaging related subjects; implementing creative solutions to continuously improve business impact
• Serves as the technical owner in the creation and maintenance of packaging specifications within SAP across all phases of development
• Performs other duties as assigned

EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree in Package Science or a related Engineering field from an accredited university
• Less than 2 years of experience working directly with package development
• A basic knowledge of a broad range of packaging materials and packaging equipment commonly found within the Food and Beverage or CPG Industries
• Advanced problem solving skills, judgment and decision making supported by sound technical justification
• Fundamental project management skills; ability to implement change across multiple functional areas and against multiple objectives
• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing
• Ability to apply critical thinking strategies when translating customer needs/insights to viable packaging concepts
• Ability to analyze complex information and perform root cause analysis
• Fundamental ability to understand and apply broad business perspectives to our large, vertically integrated organization and translate that knowledge into project design plans
• Ability to utilize CAPE or equivalent and Microsoft Office Suite (specifically Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook)

ESSENTIAL CAPABILITIES (KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES AND PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES)

• Energy & Initiative: Takes action on his/her own without being prompted; handles problems independently; able to resolve issues without relying on extensive help from others; does more than is expected or asked; asserts one's influence over events to achieve goals.
• Communication & Interpersonal Skills: Expresses ideas and information in a clear and concise manner; tailors message to fit the interests and needs of the audience; delivers information in a manner that is interesting and compelling to the listener.
• Drive for Results: Aggressively pursues challenging goals and objectives; will to put in considerable time and effort to accomplish objectives; takes a highly focused, goal driven approach toward work.
• Execution: Attentive to detail and demonstrated ability to deliver on accountabilities in order to help the business and the team be successful. Track record of high-performance.
• Judgment & Decision-Making: Bases decisions on a systematic review of relevant facts and information; avoids making assumptions or rushing to judgment; provides clear rationale for decisions.
• Project Management: Manages resources, time, money, and scope in the completion of a set of activities which lead to the achievement of an objective(s). Keeps current on project status; makes sure people are aware of project status and what they need to do to keep things moving; redirects project resources and activities to overcome setbacks; elevates project concerns to senior levels of leadership when appropriate.
• Working with Ambiguity: Achieves forward progress in the face of poorly defined situations and/or unclear goals; able to work effectively with limited or partial information.

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

• English is the primary language of communication
• Proficiency speaking/reading/writing in other languages such as Spanish or Portuguese is highly preferred

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

• None
• Although this role has no formal supervisory responsibility, the person in this role will indirectly provide project related leadership, direction and guidance to cross-functional team members and external suppliers as part of the general scope of work

TRAVEL

• This position will require travel both domestically and internationally; travel frequency will be based on the needs of the business (approximately 25-30% of the time)

LOCATION

• Boca Raton, FL

REWARD PACKAGE

• Competitive salary 
• Full Benefits Package including medical, dental, life insurance and other benefits

We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other category protected under federal, state, or local law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.