Packaging Development Manager

At Our Place, we believe in the power of home-cooking to bring people together. We design thoughtful, beautiful products that make cooking and sharing meals easier and more joyful—and we are building a brand that earns a meaningful place in customers’ homes over time. We’re looking for a Packaging Development Manager who leads the development of structural and graphic packaging across Our Place's product line, balancing brand experience, protective performance, sustainability, and cost. In this role, you’ll partner closely with the Product Development, Operations, Supply Chain, and Creative team to bring packaging from concept through production. The ideal candidate combines hands-on packaging engineering expertise with strong cross-functional collaboration skills to keep development timelines, quality, and cost on track. If you’re obsessed with details, excited about building a business, and genuinely excited by packaging — we’d love to hear from you! We believe some of the best ideas happen when we’re together! Right now, teams come into our beautiful new West LA headquarters on Tuesdays and Thursdays to collaborate and connect. In the future, we may ask teams to come in more often — because some things are just better in person. We’re looking for someone who’s excited about being part of an in-person, collaborative culture and is comfortable with the flexibility that comes with a growing, hybrid workplace What you'd do at Our Place Packaging Development & Structural Design Lead structural and graphic packaging development for new and existing SKUs, from concept through production-ready specifications. Partner with the Product Development and Creative team to ensure packaging reflects brand identity while meeting functional and protective requirements. Manage and maintain packaging specifications, technical drawings, and dielines; manage revisions through final approval. Testing & Quality Establish and oversee packaging test protocols (drop, compression, vibration, ISTA standards) to validate protective performance. Investigate in-transit damage issues; lead root-cause analysis and corrective action with suppliers. Own packaging quality standards and inspection criteria; partner with QA on incoming inspections. Sustainability & Materials Drive sustainable packaging initiatives — recyclable/recycled materials, reduced plastic use, right-sizing — aligned with company sustainability goals. Evaluate new materials and vendors for performance, cost, and environmental impact. Track and report packaging sustainability metrics to leadership. Vendor & Cost Management Evaluate and manage relationships with packaging suppliers and manufacturers, domestic and overseas. Negotiate pricing, minimum order quantities, and lead times; manage packaging cost-per-unit targets and budgets. Own the packaging development calendar to ensure specs are ready to support product launch timelines. Cross-Functional Collaboration Partner with Operations/Supply Chain to ensure packaging specs support efficient fulfillment, warehousing, and parcel shipping (including dimensional-weight optimization). Collaborate with Compliance/Legal to ensure packaging meets labeling, safety, and import/export requirements across markets. Present packaging strategy, timelines, and cost updates to leadership. Who you are 5+ years of experience in packaging development, ideally within consumer products, housewares, or DTC e-commerce. Strong background in mass retail packaging requirements. Solid understanding of Costco packaging requirements and Costco transit testing requirements is an enormous plus. Experience with wholesale/retail packaging types: corrugated DTC shipper boxes, color boxes, adhesive retail stickers, paper/cardboard retail color sleeves, and Costco PDQ packaging. Experience managing purchase orders, production, and shipping. Working knowledge of packaging test standards (ISTA, ASTM)…

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