Senior Manager, Packaging Research & Development in Salisbury

Perdue Foods has a goal of becoming the most trusted name in premium proteins by creating products for consumers and for retail and foodservice customers around the globe while changing the way animals are raised for food. It is part of Perdue Farms, a fourth-generation, family-owned food and agricultural business deeply rooted in tradition yet with a forward-thinking mindset. We believe that success starts with our people, and our culture is built on a foundation of teamwork, integrity, and respect, where every voice matters and everyone is encouraged to contribute to our shared goals. We are dedicated to creating a supportive, inclusive environment where associates feel valued and inspired to make an impact, both within the company and in the communities we serve. From promoting growth and development to prioritising work-life balance, we’re committed to helping our team members thrive.

Summary: We are recruiting for a Senior Manager, Packaging Research & Development. This role manages packaging projects and resources to support commercialization of packaging for food and pet products in alignment with the Company business needs. This position is located onsite at our Innovation Center in Salisbury, MD, and regular in-person attendance is required to support business operations. The role also requires travel up to 50% of the time, which may include visits to other company facilities, customer or vendor locations, training sessions, meetings, and industry events. Relocation assistance is available for qualified candidates to support a smooth and successful transition. The salary range for this position is $128,000 - $192,000 per year, based on experience and qualifications with annual bonus available (variable depending on performance). In addition to the base salary, Perdue offers a competitive benefits package, including medical/Rx, 401(k) with employer match after 1 year, critical illness, accident insurance, dental, vision, life insurance, optional group life insurance, short-term and long-term disability protection, flexible spending accounts and paid time off.

Principal Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Champions compliance to all applicable safety, regulatory (USDA/FDA government compliance), GMP requirements in lab, pilot plant, and manufacturing facilities.
• Provides technical consumer/customer knowledge on packaging.
• Partners with Marketing to understand the consumer, i.e., demographics, basics of product usage, psychology of why products are used, and the trends that impact packaging development.
• Provides direction to packaging personnel in the efficient use of equipment and materials to produce quality products.
• Evaluates and applies new technologies to enhance product packaging, that are relevant to the Company’s product portfolio in support of new product initiatives, cost improvements, quality improvements and technical brand maintenance.
• Demonstrates proficient ability to make tactical decisions on how to best direct activities and assign projects to associates to ensure effective allocation of resources.
• Champions the NPD process.
• Provides resource estimates for NPD projects.
• Accountable for training personnel on equipment, processes and Standard Operating Procedures and setting performance standards.
• Works with operations partners to assist with addressing packaging quality and production concerns.
• Partners with Marketing, Operations and other relevant functions to establish priorities closely aligned with business needs.
• Maintains an updated project list of current projects being worked on for the assigned business segment.
• Serves as technical interface with cross functional partners in support of new packaging and improvement initiatives.
• Excels at making tactical decisions in support of managing packaging and new material specifications and specification changes and compliance.

Minimum Education and Experience Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Packaging Science or related discipline plus 10 years related work experiences.
• Should have a minimum of 7 years relevant consumer products and food industry experience.
• Proven track record of Packaging development and commercialization.
• Must be an expert in the product development process from concept through commercialization.
• Should be an outstanding cross-functional team player.
• Ability to translate customer/consumer needs and business objectives into innovative new product design requirements.
• Should have excellent communication, detail orientation and organisational skills, along with excellent analytical and presentation skills.
• Should have prior supervisory and project management experience.
• Must be able to travel up to 50% of the time.

Environmental Factors and Physical Requirements:

• Position is mostly sedentary but may require occasional moving to other offices or buildings.
• May need to move light equipment or supplies from one place to another.
• May need to access files, supplies and equipment.
• Work activity is in an office, open-partitioned, cubicle environment.

When in a plant environment: Exposure primarily consists of wet and moist floors which include metal and plastic grating surfaces. May be exposed to temperatures of 28 degrees to 100 degrees Fahrenheit with both ambient and 100% humidity. May handle product 25 degrees to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. May be exposed to noise ranges of 50 db to 110 db. May be exposed to all chemicals used in poultry, food, processing facility.