Associate Principal Packaging ...

About the Role

General Mills is seeking an E-Commerce Packaging Engineer in their Pet Segment Operating Unit. This role will have Packaging R&D accountability for iconic brands, including BLUE Buffalo and EdgardCooper. You will serve as the direct Packaging R&D business interface across these key brands to deliver the current plan, partner on growth strategies, and build packaging capability to enable future growth for Pet. The role involves coordinating across a talented team of technical leaders, executing innovation growth ideas, core renovation levers, and advancing digital transformation capabilities for the e-commerce channel.

This role will create and translate a Packaging modeling framework to accelerate flexible format adoption across all of Pet, with an emphasis on e-commerce. Responsibility spans a large raw material cost of goods sold, requiring strong leadership to deliver against innovation and cost savings goals. You will manage a portfolio of products through a complex manufacturing network, temperature states, and channels, providing opportunities to lead new ways of working with cross-functional partners.

Responsibilities

• Develop a flexible technology framework through new digital ways of working across the entire Pet portfolio.
• Act as a mentor to a high-performing team of packaging developers with diverse expertise across key materials, brands, and technical areas to deliver research, new products, cost savings, and core innovation plans.
• Support and activate a packaging strategy to unlock fewer and bigger end-to-end cost savings initiatives.
• Drive key business initiatives to grow the business in various formats and sectors, including e-commerce partnerships and non-traditional bag formats.
• Steer the activation of functional and business strategies by driving moments of truth levers, tapping into subject matter experts, external partners, and brand remarkability tools to advance a packaging growth agenda.
• Advance a Circular Future through business management and collaboration with central technology resources on new packaging material technologies to drive Global Responsibility commitments for packaging sustainability.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Packaging Engineering or other related degree fields.
• 5 years of packaging experience in CPG packaging or other relevant industry, with 3+ years working on e-commerce packaging.
• Experience and technical acumen across a variety of packaging materials, including flexible films and thermal rigid plastics.
• Demonstrated knowledge of business processes and ability to develop relationships with cross-functional partners.
• Strong people skills, strategic planning, and leadership skills.
• Desire to challenge assumptions, identify new opportunities, and create new ways of working & capabilities.
• Effective communication skills to influence internal and external stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Takes accountability to win, has a bias for action, and can deliver results through others.
• Depth and experience in designing, qualifying, and commercializing dry pet food packaging across an array of size offerings for all channels.
• Experience in mentoring and developing other packaging engineers or team members.
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and organizational complexity.
• Demonstrated strong agile leadership & ability to pivot quickly.
• Exceptional multi-tasking, follow-up, and prioritization skills.

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis; General Mills will not sponsor work visas for this position. Relocation support is available for candidates who meet organizational standards, but international relocation and remote assignments will not be considered.