Technical Field Support Representative

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical bridge between PaperTech leadership, sales reps, engineering, and prospective customers to accelerate the selling cycle.
• Assist PaperTech leadership with opportunity prioritization, including expected conversion timelines and customer investment requirements.
• Identify technical trouble points between our tray and a customer's installed equipment (e.g., denesters, tray carriers, conveyors, food loading stations, film sealers, end-of-line packing/handling process).
• Help customers understand how trouble points can be overcome via equipment modification, process change, or tray design attributes.
• Aid customers with equipment vendor solutions when appropriate.
• Aid customers with line trials and production start-up.
• Assist PaperTech Engineering with tray design considerations based on the customer's tray filling equipment and process.
• Deploy to customer facilities to troubleshoot problems when customers experience challenges filling our trays (sealing defects, film feed/registration, tray fit) and implement corrective actions with customers and internal teams.
• Set up, run, and supervise tray trials at customer sites; produce thorough trial reports, technical assessments, ROI/cost comparisons, and actionable recommendations for customers and sales management.
• Train PaperTech sales reps on tray technical features, sealing and handling best practices, and how to address common customer issues.
• Collaborate with R&D, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain to communicate customer requirements, escalate technical issues, and support new product introductions.
• Maintain accurate CRM records of technical interactions, trial outcomes, and next steps.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Requirements

• 3–5 years in a customer-facing technical field role supporting food packaging or processing equipment, ideally with direct experience on tray filling and sealing lines.
• Deep hands-on knowledge of the equipment used to denest, carry/convey and film-seal food trays across various food segments including fresh and frozen meals, protein, produce, baked goods, and ready-to-eat.
• Experience with substrate transitions in food tray packaging, ideally having supported migration efforts from plastic trays to fiber or paperboard; familiarity with how paper trays behave differently on production lines (moisture sensitivity at the seal zone, tray curl management, denester guide settings).
• Hands-on mechanical aptitude; comfortable making field-level equipment adjustments, including sealer jaw changes and tooling modifications, to resolve tray compatibility issues on-site without waiting for OEM support.
• Practical experience running trials, commissioning equipment, and troubleshooting sealing/packaging problems on production lines.
• Strong understanding of food safety, hygiene requirements, and packaging regulations for food products.
• Customer-focused; able to translate complex technical detail into clear, accessible language for non-technical audiences.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; able to write concise trial reports and technical recommendations.
• Able to travel frequently through the US and Canada (could be weekly), at least 50% of the time and work flexible hours for customer trials, production start-ups, and business needs.
• Valid driver's license with an acceptable driving record.
• Valid passport or ability to obtain one for travel within the United States and Canada.
• Able to meet customer-specific safety, food safety, and PPE requirements.
• Able to pass customer-required background checks or safety training when necessary.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite or related software.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to stand, walk, bend, kneel, and climb as needed in manufacturing and customer production environments.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 50 pounds occasionally.
• Ability to use hands and tools to inspect, adjust, and troubleshoot equipment.
• Ability to travel frequently by automobile and commercial aircraft (approximately 50% or more).
• Ability to work safely around manufacturing equipment and in food production environments while wearing required PPE.
• Ability to work flexible hours to support customer trials, production start-ups, and business needs.