Senior Packaging Design Manager – Own Brand

Job Posting:

Since 1953, Ferguson has been a source of quality supplies for a variety of industries. Together We Build Better infrastructure, better homes and better businesses. We exist to make our customers’ complex projects simple, successful, and sustainable. We proactively solve problems, adapt and grow to continuously serve our customers, communities and each other. Ferguson, a Fortune 500 company, is proud to provide best-in-class products, service and capabilities across the following industries: Commercial/Mechanical, Facilities Supply, Fire and Fabrication, HVAC, Industrial, Residential Trade, Residential Building and Remodel, Waterworks and Residential Digital Commerce. Ferguson has approximately 36,000 associates across 1,700 locations. Ferguson is a community of proud associates who operate with the shared purpose of building something meaningful. You will build a career that you are proud of, at a company you can believe in.

About the Role:

We are seeking a Sr. Packaging Design Manager to lead the development and execution of packaging solutions for Own Brand (OB) products. This role will ensure packaging aligns with branding, transportation, and sustainability objectives while delivering consistent customer experience. This role will be the primary “go to” person for the OB packaging needs who will collaborate with various functional teams including brand leaders, product development team, sourcing team, quality team, marketing logistics and supply chain team etc. Expertise in a variety of packaging disciplines is critical and will be key focus along with collaboration skills and personal drive.

Location: This role is approved to be Remote anywhere in the US or hybrid if you are located close to our HQ in Newport News, VA or at one of the Our Brand Operating Companies in Corona, CA, Atlanta, GA, Charlotte NC, Cincinnati, OH, or South Bend, IN

Key Responsibilities:

• Packaging Strategy & Development
• Create and enforce brand guidelines for packaging design and testing qualification standards.
• Lead OB suppliers to develop OB packaging solutions that meet branding, transportation, and cost and sustainability goals.
• Oversee supplier packaging development to minimize damage and returns, reduce costs, and meet transportation requirements.

Design & Testing Oversight

• Review and approve OB packaging designs for primary, secondary, and transportation layers.
• Validate packaging material choices and confirm specifications.
• Approve testing reports (Drop, Vibration, Compression tests per ISTA, ASTM, Amazon FFP, etc.).
• Program Management- work as an extended team to support PD and Sourcing team on packaging development needs and manage OB Global suppliers’ packaging project to ensure NPD timeline is met and transition to mass production is achieved.
• Manage communications to key partners to include packaging development plans, status, cost impact, sustainability impact, risk assessment, etc.
• Identify and drive packaging optimization projects and packaging problem solving projects.

Collaboration & Process Management

• Define OB product handling processes with logistics and DC teams.
• Ensure brand consistency through collaboration with marketing and brand leadership.
• Implement packaging guidelines for artwork, logos, labels, and barcodes.

Compliance & Sustainability

• Drive packaging compliance and sustainability initiatives.
• Formulate strategies for packaging sustainability and ensure adherence to regulatory requirements (EPR, material declarations).

Customer Experience & Brand Support

• Ensure consistent customer experience through packaging design.
• Support brand catalog, marketing collateral, and other print material projects.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Packaging Design, Packaging Engineering, Industrial Design, Mechanical Engineering, Material Science or related field.
• Minimum of 10 years demonstrated experience with major retail brands or packaging solution companies with packaging program management, packaging design and engineering and/or product development and validation.
• Strong understanding of packaging design, branding, engineering, transportation testing, cost optimization, and sustainability (LCA, EPR).
• Proven project management skills with knowledge of NPI processes and change management.
• Excellent partner management, organizational skills, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Ability to travel domestically and globally, approx. 25% of the time.

Preferred Skills:

• Familiarity with IS