Packaging engineering is a multidisciplinary career that integrates marketing, technology, science, engineering, legal compliance, and graphic design. The purpose of packaging engineering is to design, develop, and manufacture packaging that is functional, safe, and appealing.
The packaging must be: safe for product storage, distribution, and sales. It should also be eye-catching and appealing to generate sales, so they must conduct marketing research. This involves investigating the target audience and identifying their shopping habits, and interests. This way, packaging engineers can develop attractive product packaging and labels.
You should also know that the packaging must follow legal compliance. Therefore, it is crucial for packaging engineers to understand regulatory laws so that the manufacturer doesn’t get into lawsuits.
This occupation is essential as it directly impacts logistics efficiency, customer satisfaction, safety, and product quality. The appropriate implementation of packaging designs can lead to cost reductions and avoid legal issues.
Considering the nature of this role, it’s important to mention that it involves a lot of research in terms of marketing, design, and manufacturing science. They must conduct structural and thermal analyses to evaluate the feasibility of a particular design.
You may be wondering at this point how packaging engineers design the final product. They use computer software like AutoCAD to develop packaging simulations in 2D and 3D. We'll show you how to list your experience with technical tools, like AutoCAD, plus everything else in this guide.
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A packaging engineer is part of the entire packaging development process, including research, computer design, prototyping, and massive production. This is a crucial role for both customers and manufacturers. They directly influence the safe consumption of the product and efficient distribution.
To become a packaging engineer, you must have a bachelor’s degree in either Engineering, Science, Business, or Marketing. Most packaging engineering specializes in a particular industry, such as food, cosmetics, or pharmaceuticals, so your role will be highly related to your working field. You will work alongside a team that may have graphic designers, marketers, and other colleague engineers.
As a packaging engineer, you should know that your work directly influences the product outcomes, so you can easily point out your achievements. Some packaging engineers reduce production costs, develop zero-waste packaging systems, improve sales with their designs, etc. These are some of the things you can mention and if you use metrics to quantify them, it’ll add even more value.
A sales engineer is an agent that specializes in a particular technical product. They sell scientifically advanced products, so they are experts in that field, but use easy-to-understand language to offer them.
They explain the benefits of the product and highlight its features to differentiate them from the competition. A packaging sales engineer focuses on packaging design technology or services. They can sell packaging solutions that are innovative, cost-effective, biodegradable, and attractive for a particular audience.
As a packaging sales engineer, you want to seem specialized and an expert in the packaging industry. In order to sell such a technical product, you need to understand it deeply. Therefore, it is crucial to demonstrate your knowledge of the packaging process in your resume. You can talk about packaging machinery, engineering design, product safety, etc.
In general, sales engineers must be excellent communicators. You are selling highly technical products, so you need to be able to translate complex concepts into easy-to-understand phrases. You should try to demonstrate this in your resume by using a simple structure and writing clear information.
We spoke with hiring managers who recruit packaging engineers at top companies like Apple, Amazon, and Johnson & Johnson. They shared insider tips on what they look for in resumes that catch their attention. Here are the top 6 tips to make your packaging engineer resume stand out.
Showcase your expertise in designing packaging that is both functional and visually appealing. Hiring managers want to see specific examples like:
Avoid generic statements that don't provide concrete examples of your skills, such as:
A resume summary for a Packaging Engineer is an optional section that sits at the top of your resume, just below your contact information. It provides a brief overview of your most relevant qualifications, skills, and experience. While not required, a well-written summary can help grab the attention of hiring managers and quickly convey your fit for the role.
When writing your summary, avoid using an objective statement that focuses on your career goals. Instead, concentrate on showcasing the value you can bring to the company. Tailor your summary to the specific Packaging Engineer position you're targeting, highlighting your relevant technical skills, industry experience, and key accomplishments.
The work experience section is the most important part of your packaging engineer resume. It's where you show hiring managers how you've applied your skills and knowledge to real-world projects and challenges. To write a strong work experience section, focus on your most relevant and impactful achievements, and use specific examples and metrics to showcase your value.
The education section of your packaging engineer resume should be concise and highlight your most relevant qualifications. This section is especially important if you are a recent graduate or have limited work experience. Here are some tips to help you craft a strong education section:
Technical writing is one of the packaging engineers’ main skills. You must convert highly technical concepts into digestible information that every team member can understand regardless of their field. Now, you should use the same technique for your resume.
This is a highly technical profession, but it doesn’t mean you can clearly describe your responsibilities in previous roles. Action verbs can help you do that by providing descriptive and precise words. Instead of using vague phrases, try using words like “designed”, “develop”, or “researched”. This is more explanatory than saying “I was responsible for”. We included some strong action verbs below that you can use in your packaging engineering resume.
For more related action verbs, visit Engineering Action Verbs.
For a full list of effective resume action verbs, visit Resume Action Verbs.
Packaging engineers must have a combination of science, technology, marketing, and engineering skills. If you want potential employers to think you’re a good match you must encompass these fields in your skills section. Use it as a tool to differentiate yourself from other candidates in the industry.
You should know that your role is directly tied to the industry you’d like to work in, so you should tailor your skills section to that particular field too. Understanding that industry will put you a step further from competitors, so don’t forget to highlight that. As a packaging engineer, you must also know about labeling regulations, food safety, and robotics, so it’s important to mention that. Below, we have compiled some industry-relevant skills that you can use for your packaging engineering resume.
You can include the above skills in a dedicated Skills section on your resume, or weave them in your experience. Here's how you might create your dedicated skills section:
This word cloud highlights the important keywords that appear on Packaging Engineer job descriptions and resumes. The bigger the word, the more frequently it appears on job postings, and the more 'important' it is.
Thank you for the checklist! I realized I was making so many mistakes on my resume that I've now fixed. I'm much more confident in my resume now.
