Company Overview

Why Choose Us?

Novolex is a leading manufacturer of food, beverage, and specialty packaging that supports multiple industries including foodservice, restaurant delivery and carryout, food processing, grocery and retail, and industrial sectors. Novolex manufacturing and sourcing expertise spans a diverse range of substrates including resin, paper, molded fiber, aluminum and more. We provide customers a broad array of stock and customized solutions with 120 product categories, 250 brands and over 39,000 SKUs.

Our Sustainability Commitment

The Novolex sustainability vision is built upon three pillars: our products, our operations and our people. Each is critically important to our growth and future as a business. These pillars form the foundation of our company-wide commitment to sustainability, helping us achieve our ambitious goals through our wide-ranging initiatives.

Job Description

Position Summary:

The Senior Manager, Operating Unit Engineer – Flexibles is responsible for leading engineering activities across an assigned operating unit supporting blown film extrusion, inline converting, printing operations, roll stock production, and downstream converting processes. This role provides technical leadership across multiple manufacturing facilities and drives improvements in safety, quality, operational reliability, throughput, yield, scrap reduction, and manufacturing performance. The position serves as the primary technical authority for blown film extrusion, tube-on-roll products, single wound sheeting, inline bag converting, flexographic printing, shuttle bag machines, rotary bag machines, wicket converting systems, and roll-to-roll printing operations.

Key Responsibilities:

Lead engineering activities across multiple blown film and converting facilities. Establish engineering standards and best practices. Support plant engineering teams, drive performance improvements, lead troubleshooting activities, implement continuous improvement initiatives, and support capital project execution and operational readiness.

Technical Leadership – Blown Film Extrusion

Provide subject matter expertise for LLDPE, HDPE, MDPE, and barrier film structures including nylon-based constructions. Support mono-layer and multi-layer blown film extrusion, resin handling, blending systems, extrusion screws and dies, air rings, bubble stability, gauge control, profile optimization, and process standardization.

Film Products Supported

Tube-on-roll products, single wound sheeting, center-fold products, printed roll stock, bag-on-roll products, industrial packaging films, consumer packaging films, and specialty barrier film structures.

Printing Technologies

Serve as the technical authority for inline flexographic printing and roll-to-roll flexographic printing operations. Improve print quality, registration control, color consistency, ink transfer performance, and press uptime while reducing print-related waste and downtime.

Converting Technologies

Provide technical leadership for inline converting systems, shuttle bag machines, rotary bag machines, wicket bag operations, sealing systems, perforation systems, stacking systems, registration control systems, and downstream bag converting technologies.

Manufacturing Excellence

Drive improvements in OEE, throughput, scrap reduction, yield, changeover performance, labor productivity, process capability, and equipment reliability. Lead Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, SPC, and root-cause problem-solving initiatives.

Reliability and Operational Support

Lead troubleshooting of complex extrusion, printing, converting, controls, and material-related issues. Develop reliability improvement strategies, support preventive and predictive maintenance programs, and improve operational stability across manufacturing sites.

Capital Projects and Technology Development

Develop equipment specifications, project scopes, technical justifications, and implementation plans. Lead equipment evaluations, FAT/SAT activities, startup support, commissioning activities, and technology implementation projects.

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Plastics Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or related technical discipline. Minimum 10 years of manufacturing engineering experience with significant experience supporting multi-site blown film extrusion and converting operations.

Preferred Experience

Blown film extrusion, multilayer coextrusion, polyethylene processing, barrier film technologies, flexographic printing, bag manufacturing, wicket operations, shuttle bag machines, rotary bag machines, capital project management, reliability engineering, and continuous improvement leadership.

Travel Requirements<