About the role
Client Overview
A Fortune 500 multinational company in the tobacco sector is seeking a Packaging Development professional to join its Innovation & R&D Centre in Shenzhen. The team is responsible for supporting next-generation consumer electronic products, driving packaging innovation, sustainability initiatives, and commercialization projects across multiple international markets.
ACCOUNTABILITIES
- Lead packaging projects from initial design concepts through prototyping, building, and successful commercialization of folding cartons, printed flexibles, rigid boxes, labels, master cases, and palletization solutions.
- Perform feasibility studies and material assessments during the concept phase to guide packaging strategy and support innovation pipeline development.
- Validate packaging concepts to ensure robustness and compliance with industry and company standards.
- Develop comprehensive packaging specifications and toolkits for newly designed products.
- Create Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for packaging products to support assembly at manufacturing sites.
- Provide technical expertise and collaborate across business functions to resolve technical challenges during design and development phases.
- Support procurement teams with technical input for sourcing new and existing packaging, identifying opportunities for cost optimization and quality enhancement.
- Champion sustainability initiatives in partnership with other departments to achieve company ESG targets.
- Contribute to the development of Quality Control Plans for packaging alongside the BAT Quality team.
- Travel to suppliers and manufacturing plants to support product development, optimization, and specification release as needed.
- Participate in material qualification trials and initial production runs at manufacturing sites and supplier facilities.
- Build strong technical relationships with both internal teams and external stakeholders.
EXPERIENCE, SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE
Technical Experience Required
- Over 3 years of experience leading packaging design and prototyping projects within FMCG or Global Companies with cross-functional and multi-category teams, from concept to market commercialisation.
- Ability to creatively solve problems, drive value, and design structural packaging concepts for product and transit.
- Detailed understanding of materials, costs, and how to utilise them to value engineer packaging format.
- Experience using software such as Microsoft Office, Auto CAD, Artios CAD, SolidWorks, Creo, CAPE, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Keyshot.
- Experience with rapid prototyping techniques, especially related to the development of a variety of packaging technologies.
- Working knowledge of developing and validating Child Resistant/Senior Effective packaging.
- Ability to manage projects to time and budget, whilst under pressure.
- Proactively identifying complex technical or business problems and creating and implementing solutions.
- Ability to execute design engineering analysis skills including tolerance analysis, DFA, DFM, DFMEA, validation, and documentation.
Leadership Skills Required
- Good verbal and written communication and influencing skills across stakeholders at multiple levels of the organization with the ability to challenge.
- Resilience, empathy, self-awareness, tolerance to ambiguity, and emotional intelligence.
- Used to working on own initiative, self-motivated with a forward-thinking approach and drive single point of accountability.
- Ability to plan and deliver multiple priorities under pressure.
- Keeping abreast with new trends in packaging sustainability, global sourcing development, etc.
- Strong team player and experienced in working with global teams with people from a variety of cultures and backgrounds with a sensitive and understanding manner to achieve results.
EDUCATION / QUALIFICATIONS / CERTIFICATIONS
- Packaging Engineering, Material, Science, Manufacturing Engineering. Industrial Design or other equivalent to 1st Degree and proven packaging development skills/capabilities on previous projects.
- Six Sigma or Lean Programmes valued.
- Project Management certificate or qualifications
- Preference for a Chinese National.
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