# Senior R&D Manager at Kraft/Heinz in Skokie, Illinois,… > Senior R&D Manager at Kraft/Heinz in Skokie, Illinois, United States. Category: Operations Jobs. View full job details and apply now on Confidential Careers. # Senior R&D Manager Kraft/Heinz ## Job Description Job Description Job Purpose Rigid Plastic Packaging Senior Manager Essential Functions & Responsibilities - Lead and prioritize a portfolio of complex rigid plastic packaging technology strategies and initiatives, including balancing technology exploration with proof of concept of novel technologies and managing complex partnerships across the value chain, demonstrating value and business case for technology applications. - Build, coordinate and manage relationships and partnerships with suppliers and technology providers (e.g., resin, coating, material suppliers; packaging manufacturers), and external partners (e.g., universities, institutes, start-ups, open innovation networks). - Identify material/polymer/packaging technology solutions that avoid material bans and regulatory risks. - Advance recyclable, reusable, and compliant rigid packaging formats aligned with enterprise sustainability goals and legislative requirements. - Deliver packaging designs to" Performance-Based Specifications (PBS) , ensuring solutions meet defined functional, quality, shelf-life, consumer experience, and manufacturing performance outcomes (rather than prescriptive designs). - Provide technical leadership and oversight on packaging reviews, ensuring design decisions align with enterprise standards, manufacturability, sustainability, and long-term platform strategy. - Own project and portfolio-level budgets, resourcing strategies and capacity planning, ensuring delivery within approved financial guardrails; develop and maintain project plans, schedules, budgets, and resource allocations; monitor progress, assess risk, and proactively escalate tradeoffs. - Serve as an accountable owner for governance, escalation and go/no-go decisions; represent packaging steering forums and influence stakeholders. - Act as technical expert for junior developers and direct team to flex onto projects requiring problem solving. - Partner with legal to build robust IP strategies; conduct exploration to build an IP portfolio to drive competitive advantage. - Mentor, coach and train junior project team members and contribute to PMO best practices and templates. - Build and sustain a high-performing technical team; manage, coach, mentor and retain employees, including goal-setting, performance management, salary planning and hiring. - Build strong succession and upskilling plans for junior talent, maximizing apprenticeship with more senior/experienced team members. People Management Responsibilities - Team (salaried): targeting 3 direct reports Key Outputs & Deliverables - Deliver technology strategy and prioritize a portfolio of complex rigid plastic packaging technology/format initiatives to deliver against sustainability, innovation and value engineering initiatives. - Lead and deploy a team of packaging technical experts to deliver" 7 to 10 concurrent complex packaging technology projects annually, meeting committed timelines, budgets, and technical performance targets from concept through proof of concept and handover. - Ensure full compliance with evolving sustainability and regulatory requirements for portfolio projects, including: - Minimizing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fees - Designing packaging solutions that avoid material bans and regulatory risks - Advancing recyclable, reusable, and compliant packaging formats aligned with enterprise sustainability goals and legislative requirements - Deliver packaging designs to PBS, ensuring solutions meet defined functional, quality, shelf-life, consumer experience, and manufacturing performance outcomes. Expected Experience & Required Skills - BS/MS/PhD degree in Engineering, Materials, Chemical or Packaging Engineering preferred or related discipline. - Minimum 8 years of R&D technology development and commercialization experience in packaging and project leadership experience (consumer goods, food & beverage, pharma or similar preferred). - Demonstrated experience managing end-to-end development projects, identifying and driving packaging technology initiatives, leading external partnerships, and coordinating cross-functional teams. - Demonstrated experience in people management - Strong technical knowledge of" materials "(polymers, barriers and additives , etc.) and" manufacturing constraints , including converting processes (e.g., filling, labeling, molding , injection molding, extrusion blow molding, thermoforming ), bottle closure and dispensing systems . - Proven project management/PMO skills; experience with governance, risk management, budget management, and stakeholder reporting. - Expert knowledge of design of experiments and statistics; strong technical problem solving. - Excellent communication, negotiation and interpersonal skills; ability to influence at all levels. - Previous experience leading complex, multisite or global packaging or technology launches. - Expert knowledge of sustainable packaging solutions, material/package industry standards and regulations. - Experience with pilot line setups and scale-up to industrial production. - Willingness and ability to travel up to 25% of the time . Work Environment & Schedule Physical demands - Regular office work - Physical presence at labs and manufacturing sites (internal and external) to perform experimental and validation testing New Hire Base Salary Range: Bonus: Benefits: Wellbeing: - Physical - Medical, Prescription Drug, Dental, Vision, Screenings/Assessments - Social - Paid Time Off, Company Holidays, Leave of Absence, Flexible Work Arrangements, Recognition, Training - Emotional - Employee Assistance Program , Wellbeing Programs, Family Support Programs - Financial - 401k, Life, Accidental Death & Dismemberment, Disability Location(s) for assistance. ## Related Jobs AI Model Governance & Monitoring Lead USAA Lead Assistant Client Service Specialist-Employee Benefits Marshall & Sterling Inc Full Time Associate Patient Care Coordinator UnitedHealth Group Full Time Digital Print Specialist The UPS Store Full Time Digital Print Specialist / Center Associate The UPS Store Full Time Package Handler - Part Time (Warehouse like) FedEx Warehouse Package Handler - Part-Time (Warehouse-Like) | Wol FedEx Warehouse Package Handler - Part-Time (Warehouse-Like) | Gay FedEx Warehouse ## Related Searches