Sr. Manager, Packaging Engineering & Procurement

About the Role

Blueland is seeking a Senior Manager, Packaging Engineering and Procurement to lead both the technical development of our packaging and the strategic management of our packaging supply base.

This role will own packaging from technical concept through commercialization and ongoing procurement, ensuring Blueland’s primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging delivers against our standards for sustainability, product protection, consumer experience, manufacturability, quality, cost, and supply continuity.

The ideal candidate combines strong packaging engineering expertise with commercial and sourcing capabilities. This role reports to the Director of Procurement & Technical Services and will serve as Blueland’s packaging technical expert, while owning supplier strategy, sourcing initiatives, cost optimization, and supplier performance across the packaging category.

Responsibilities

• Own packaging development from concept through commercialization for new product launches, line extensions, and renovations, including material selection, prototyping, specifications, testing, qualification, and production scale-up.
• Lead packaging trials, line validations, and performance testing to ensure primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging meets all requirements.
• Partner with R&D, Operations, Quality, Marketing, Creative, and external manufacturing partners to translate product and business requirements into technically robust, scalable packaging solutions.
• Influence cross-functional decision-making by clearly communicating technical and commercial tradeoffs and balancing sustainability, cost, quality, speed, aesthetics, consumer experience, manufacturability, and supply continuity.
• Develop and maintain Blueland’s packaging technical standards and specifications, including component specifications, drawings, BOM requirements, test protocols, qualification reports, pallet configurations, and packaging acceptance criteria.
• Own the strategic sourcing and procurement strategy for Blueland’s packaging portfolio, including supplier identification, competitive sourcing, negotiations, supplier selection, contracting, and ongoing commercial management.
• Develop and manage the packaging supplier network to ensure competitive cost, technical capability, capacity, quality, sustainability, service, and supply continuity as Blueland grows.
• Lead packaging RFPs and commercial negotiations to deliver measurable cost savings and improved commercial terms.
• Build a multi-year pipeline of cost savings and value-engineering initiatives across materials, component designs, specifications, suppliers, case packs, pallet configurations, and distribution systems.
• Build relationships with innovative packaging suppliers and maintain expertise on emerging materials, manufacturing technologies, sustainability standards, and packaging regulations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Packaging Science, Packaging Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Materials Science, or a related technical discipline, with 7+ years of relevant experience in packaging engineering, packaging development, strategic sourcing, or related CPG functions.
• Demonstrated technical expertise developing and commercializing primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging, combined with experience working directly with packaging suppliers, contract manufacturers, and 3PLs.
• Strong commercial and analytical capabilities, with demonstrated experience in supplier negotiations, competitive sourcing, cost modeling, value engineering, supplier management, and delivering measurable cost savings.
• Experience developing and sourcing packaging within home care, personal care, beauty, food & beverage, or other consumer products, particularly powders, tablets, or concentrated liquid products.
• Experience sourcing and developing glass, flexible packaging, fiber-based packaging, corrugated, closures/dispensing systems, printing and decoration, and sustainable alternatives to conventional packaging.
• Experience managing packaging across DTC, Amazon/e-commerce, mass retail, and club channels, including global sourcing, retailer-specific requirements, palletization, and packaging supply-chain optimization.

Location & Salary

This role is open to remote candidates; however, we have a strong preference for individuals based in New York City and able to work from Blueland’s New York office.

The salary range for this position is $140,000-150,000 per year.