Senior R&D Packaging Engineer

Amgraph Packaging is seeking a Senior R&D Packaging Engineer in Baltic, CT. This role involves leading the innovation and development of sustainable flexible packaging materials, overseeing projects from ideation to commercialization. Responsibilities include collaborating across departments, conducting laboratory and pilot trials, and ensuring compliance with sustainability standards. The position emphasizes eco-friendly practices and requires hands-on involvement in technical processes and customer interactions.
Location: Baltic

Founded in 1984, AMGRAPH Packaging, Inc. is a leader in sustainable flexible packaging, leveraging advanced and environmentally friendly technologies to minimize environmental impact. The company prioritizes reducing harmful chemicals, waste byproducts, and excess materials to exceed sustainability standards and support eco-friendly practices. Located in Baltic, CT, AMGRAPH operates an earth-friendly facility powered by fuel cells, employing water-based inks and adhesives, and achieving near-zero waste.

AMGRAPH is committed to maintaining a long-term approach to sustainability, meeting customer demands while preserving the planet’s resources for future generations.

The Senior R&D Packaging Engineer serves as a strategic technical leader, spearheading the innovation, development, qualification, and commercialization of advanced flexible packaging materials and structures. This role demands a proactive approach to driving new product initiatives, fostering material innovation, and championing sustainability and regulatory compliance across Amgraph’s flexible packaging operations. With a hands-on presence in laboratory and manufacturing settings, the position also involves direct collaboration with customers, internal stakeholders, and external partners to deliver high-performance, compliant, and eco-conscious solutions that align with business objectives and market demands.
Key Responsibilities
• Lead the research, development, and qualification of flexible packaging materials and structures, including films, papers, foils, coatings, adhesives, and multilayer laminations, ensuring alignment with performance, cost, and sustainability targets.
• Act as the primary technical lead for new product development projects from ideation through commercialization, overseeing laboratory experiments, pilot trials, production scale-ups, and post-launch optimizations.
• Identify, evaluate, qualify, and integrate innovative raw materials, suppliers, and sustainable alternatives to enhance product portfolios and meet evolving customer and regulatory needs.
• Design, execute, and analyze comprehensive testing protocols for laboratory, pilot, and production trials; interpret data to deliver actionable insights and recommendations that drive decision-making.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Operations, Quality, Sales, Procurement, and suppliers to optimize material performance, manufacturability, cost efficiency, and compliance.
• Provide expert hands-on troubleshooting for material, process, and customer-related challenges, implementing root-cause analyses and preventive strategies.
• Develop and maintain robust technical documentation, including material specifications, test reports, validation protocols, and regulatory dossiers.
Sustainability & Regulatory Leadership
• Champion the design and implementation of sustainable packaging innovations, such as recyclable, biodegradable, downgauged, and bio-based structures, to minimize environmental impact and support circular economy principles.
• Stay at the forefront of sustainability trends and regulations, including Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws, FDA food-contact standards, and global requirements (e.g., REACH, and similar frameworks in key markets).
• Lead cross-functional teams in aligning packaging solutions with corporate sustainability goals, conducting life-cycle assessments, and ensuring compliance with environmental certifications.
• Oversee sustainability data collection, material transparency disclosures, and responses to customer audits or regulatory inquiries, while driving initiatives to reduce carbon footprints and waste in packaging processes.
Customer & Communication Responsibilities
• Serve as the principal technical liaison for customers, guiding development projects, material evaluations, and trials to exceed expectations and foster long-term partnerships.
• Articulate complex technical concepts clearly and persuasively to diverse audiences, including customers, suppliers, and executive leadership.
• Prepare and deliver compelling technical presentations, project summaries, and strategic recommendations to internal management and external stakeholders.
• Actively…