Overview

Associate Director, Packaging ScienceFunction: Packaging Science / Supply Chain / Food Safety/EngineeringReports to: VP of Engineering and Automation, HellofreshLocation: MultipleRole Purpose:The Associate Director, Packaging Science will provide technical leadership for the development, qualification, specification, and continuous improvement of packaging systems used to safely and efficiently deliver fresh food to consumers.This role sits at the intersection of packaging engineering, food safety, cold-chain management, product quality, logistics, operations, and supplier technical management. The position will establish and maintain packaging and distribution specifications that protect food quality and safety throughout the delivery network while balancing cost, sustainability, manufacturability, customer experience, and operational performance.The Associate Director will serve as a technical authority for temperature-controlled food.You Will Own the technical framework and specifications for packaging systems used to ship perishable food from fulfillment through the customer's doorstep.Establish and maintain packaging standards, technical specifications, drawings, performance requirements, qualification protocols, and acceptance criteria.Define and validate thermal requirements for insulated shippers, liners, refrigerants, and packaging configurations across seasonal, geographic, and worst-case conditions.Lead packaging qualification and validation programs spanning laboratory testing, pilot shipments, real-world distribution trials, commercialization, and post-launch validation.Partner with Food Safety and Quality to prevent contamination, leakage, temperature excursions, product damage, tampering, and loss of product integrity.Lead the development and commercialization of innovative packaging solutions, including sustainable insulation, reduced-material systems, recyclable/reusable packaging, improved moisture management, leak resistance, and enhanced dimensional efficiency.Establish supplier technical requirements, qualification processes, performance expectations, scorecards, and change-control procedures.Partner with Operations, Engineering, Logistics, Procurement, Sustainability, R&D, and Customer Experience to translate technical requirements into scalable and practical solutions.Develop technical governance systems, including packaging risk assessments, distribution test standards, failure/RCA procedures, seasonal validation programs, and packaging performance dashboards.Drive continuous improvement by using performance, temperature, quality, operational, financial, and sustainability data to improve packaging reliability, cost, efficiency, and customer experience.You Have 812+ years of relevant experience in packaging, packaging science/engineering, food manufacturing, cold chain, CPG, or a related technical environment.A bachelor's degree in Packaging Science, Packaging Engineering, Food Science, Materials Science, or a related technical discipline; an advanced degree is preferred.Deep expertise in packaging materials and structures, including corrugated, paperboard, flexible packaging, films, laminates, insulation, seals, and primary/secondary packaging.Strong knowledge of temperature-controlled distribution, heat transfer, thermal testing, refrigerants/phase-change materials, insulated shipping systems, and time-temperature profiles.Demonstrated experience developing packaging specifications, technical standards, qualification protocols, test methods, and acceptance criteria.Experience with packaging qualification and distribution testing, including thermal, compression, vibration, drop, puncture, leak, seal, moisture, and environmental testing.Experience partnering with packaging suppliers and contract manufacturers on specifications, technical assessments, material changes, performance issues, and quality expectations.Experience working cross-functionally with Food Safety, Quality, Operations, Supply Chain, L