Manager, R&D – Packaging Margin Enhancement

Location: Glenview, Illinois, United States; hybrid schedule with in-office presence at least three days per week. Requires up to 30% domestic travel within the U.S. and Canada to plants, co-manufacturers, and suppliers.

Salary: $104,200–$130,200 per year, plus eligibility for a performance-based bonus.

Company

hirify.global is a food products company with an R&D organization focused on packaging performance, productivity, and profitability.

What you will do

• Lead medium-to-high complexity packaging productivity and margin-enhancement projects across business categories from concept through commercialization.
• Design and oversee plant-scale packaging tests, including data analysis, conclusions, documentation, and communication of results.
• Partner with suppliers, plants, co-manufacturers, and technical experts to evaluate and implement packaging technologies and materials.
• Translate R&D findings into quantified business opportunities and present recommendations to business-unit and cross-functional leadership.
• Own timelines, risk assessments, issue escalation, contingency planning, budgets, and resource allocation across concurrent initiatives.
• Lead, coach, and develop junior packaging developers through development plans, workload balancing, training, and performance feedback.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Packaging Engineering, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or a related field; a master’s degree is preferred.
• 6+ years of experience in CPG packaging R&D, with progression in technical and leadership responsibilities.
• Experience leading packaging commercialization projects end-to-end and managing or mentoring direct reports.
• Proficiency in Design of Experiments and data-driven decision-making, with strong knowledge of packaging materials, structures, and interactions with food products.
• Strong project management, communication, stakeholder influence, learning agility, and prioritization skills.
• Ability to work in the Glenview office at least three days per week and travel domestically up to 30%.

Culture & Benefits

• Open-workspace office environment with a hybrid work schedule and limited external-site visits outside scheduled travel.
• Culture emphasizing inclusion, sustainability, continuous learning, and owner mentality.
• Healthcare coverage including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, and screenings or assessments.
• Paid time off, company holidays, leave programs, flexible work arrangements, training, and family support programs.
• Financial benefits including 401(k), life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment coverage, and disability benefits.