Packaging Development Manager

Packaging Development Manager (Protein) - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The Company:

Almarai is the world’s largest vertically integrated dairy and the region’s largest food and beverage manufacturing and distribution company. Headquartered in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Almarai Company is ranked as the #1 FMCG Brand in the MENA region and is a market leader in all its categories across the GCC. Almarai currently employs over 40,000 employees servicing some 220,000 retail outlets across GCC, Egypt and Jordan and has reported net income of SAR 2.31 Billion on sales of SAR 20.97 Billion in 2024. For more details, please visit our website – www.almarai.com.

An aggressive expansion program together with acquisitions in new vertical markets have created an exciting opportunity to join a dynamic multinational team dedicated to furthering growth plans for the group.

About the Role:

We are seeking an experienced Packaging Development Manager to lead end‑to‑end packaging innovation, optimization, and compliance across our food/protein product portfolio. This role will be responsible for driving technical development, sustainability initiatives, cost optimization, supplier management, and ensuring all packaging meets functional, regulatory, and brand requirements.

The ideal candidate brings strong technical expertise in food-grade materials, knowledge of packaging lifecycles, and hands-on experience managing projects from concept to commercialization.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development of innovative, safe, and cost-effective packaging solutions for food/protein products.
• Manage the entire packaging development lifecycle—concept, prototyping, testing, validation, and commercialization.
• Collaborate with R&D, Quality, Operations, Procurement, Marketing, and Regulatory to ensure packaging meets product and business requirements.
• Conduct material and performance testing to ensure packaging integrity, shelf-life performance, and compliance with food safety standards.
• Drive sustainability initiatives including recyclable, biodegradable, and lightweight packaging alternatives.
• Partner with packaging suppliers and manufacturers; evaluate new materials, technologies, and equipment.
• Lead packaging optimization and cost‑saving projects without compromising quality or performance.
• Ensure all packaging complies with local and international regulatory standards (food-contact materials, labeling, environmental regulations).
• Troubleshoot packaging issues on production lines and provide technical support to manufacturing teams.
• Maintain documentation, specifications, and technical reports for all packaging components.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Packaging Engineering, Materials Science, Food Technology, or a related field.
• Minimum 7+ years of experience in packaging development within the food, meat, poultry, seafood, or protein industry.
• Strong understanding of food-grade materials (plastics, films, flexible packaging, trays, vacuum bags, MAP packaging, labels, cartons).
• Proven experience in shelf-life testing, packaging validation, and regulatory compliance.
• Hands-on experience with packaging machinery and production line compatibility.
• Experience managing vendor relationships and negotiating technical specifications.
• Strong project management capabilities with the ability to handle multiple complex projects simultaneously.
• Knowledge of sustainable packaging trends and environmental regulations.
• Excellent communication, documentation, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Skills & Competencies

• Experience with protein packaging technologies such as vacuum sealing, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), and cold chain packaging.
• Familiarity with packaging simulation software, or laboratory testing equipment.
• Experience working within high-volume manufacturing environments. Customer & market focus
• Excellent communication & influence
• Results‑driven, resilient, high integrity

Almarai offers a competitive package, generous leave, medical coverage, discretionary bonus, training, and development etc.

This is a great opportunity to join a successful and expanding global business, offering an excellent remuneration and benefits package.