Packaging engineers design, test and carry out packaging designs for food products. They begin by determining the characteristics of the product being packaged. These characteristics include pH, the state of matter, the temperature it will be stored at and the product’s shelf life. In the next step, packaging engineers develop ideas for what the packaging might look like.

Packaging is a very specialized field in engineering, but surprisingly, there are a lot of programs which offer this specialization. Students don’t just learn about food packaging but a wide range covering non-food packaging such as packaging for electronics. Packaging science majors begin with courses related to the general sciences, as it provides a solid knowledge foundation.

Packaging engineers work as part of a group in a company who want to ensure a product succeeds. Packaging engineers work closely with R&D, purchasing, engineering and marketing to create the perfect package. Outside companies are included as well. R&D designs the food product, purchasing sources the materials needed, process engineering designs the machinery the product runs on and marketing markets the product.

It’s one thing to design a package which performs a specific job, but it’s another to design it in a cost-saving way. The margins on food products are small and packaging plays a part in a product’s overall price. New technologies are constantly being produced, creating plenty of new possibilities for improving existing packaging. Packaging engineers continuously research new materials and processes to see if they can include them in future projects.