Technical Specialist

Description

For over a century, American Packaging Corporation (APC) has been a leading flexible packaging converter for customers throughout North America.

We nurture our employees by providing competitive salaries, excellent benefits, 401(k) plans and tuition reimbursement programs.

These are just a few reasons why we were named a Best of the Best in the Best Workplaces in the Americas awards for 12 years in a row.

APC’s longstanding success is fueled from the inside out, and we consistently seek to improve our internal operations to propel that success into the future.

LOCATION : Located in charming Story City, IA, and closer to many larger communities than you might think!

20 minutes from Ames, IA

25 minutes from Boone, IA

35 minutes from Webster City, IA

35 minutes from Ankeny, IA

SUMMARY : Assist in the day-to-day activities and communications of the Technical Department. Develop, maintain, and disseminate a variety of technical information.

Provide support to technical staff with a focus on product development and production planning.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Coordinate all trial activity within the Division to include :
• Approve sign off and preparation of job jackets for all trials
• Follow up with Production Control and Scheduling
• Coordinate with Technical, Customer Service, and Sales on trial purchase orders and ship to information
• Inspecting finished goods and applying trial labels to rolls / pallets before shipment
• Coordinate shipment of trials including release paperwork
• Coordinating with sales, tech service, and product development engineers on trial shipments as well as sending out weekly report of trial activity to the Technical Service Group
• Follow up on billing information
• Maintain trial finished goods inventory and tracking report
• Maintenance of Product Development trial log and documentation of trial expenses to ensure conformity to monthly budget regular review with Accounting and Technical Director
• Lead weekly Technical and Manufacturing review meeting for upcoming trials
• Op Specs responsible for writing, routing, and tracking performances. Supply feedback to PDS of any sufficient information from finishing department.

Expected to be department expert with finishing operations.

• M-Specs Filing of obsolete M-Specs and hard copy maintenance
• Design Plans Assigning Op Specs, and assuring proper coordination to M-Spec
• Responsible for maintaining customer specifications including electronic files, paper copies, electronic receipt, and customer acceptance
• Alternate Material Qualifications : For applied materials, i.e. adhesives, coatings, cold seals, etc. whether for cost savings or product performance enhancements, lead projects to implement selected alternate materials through a statistical approach proving out performance acceptability and securing a low risk change.
• Use the deviation process to control change management by writing, approving, and closing deviations to ensure the appropriate long-term actions are taken based off of the deviation.

Compile production data vs. deviation data and follow up with performance at customer to compare with alternate material performance.

• Assistance with documentation and revision to Technical Department SOPs
• Complete product development assignments as assigned, including but not limited to researching raw material options, providing structure recommendation to pricing analyst, conducting customer presentations, and developing new packaging applications.
• Attend supplier visits, testing water, and distributing meeting documentation to procurement and technical teams.
• Laser score specs write, reviews, and seek approval of laser specifications. Be involved in trials, development, and technology reviews.
• Working in laboratory to complete non-standardized evaluations and make customer requested samples.
• Assemble and create pouch samples in support of PDE activities and development.
• Provide daily assistance to the Technical Department in areas of communication with the external customers, data compilation, preparation of reports, meeting minutes, etc.

Also includes ability to write all specification types, i.e. M-Spec, Op-Spec, Preconverter Specs, Pouch Spec, etc.

• Role is designed to coach, train, and develop individuals for further advancement with tech or corporate community.
• Occasional travel by air and / or auto requiring overnight stays.

Requirements

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS :

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and / or ability required.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION and / or EXPERIENCE

Bachelor’s degree (B. A.) or equivalent from four-year college or university; with three-year related experience and / or training;

or equivalent combination of education and experience.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.

Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the public.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.

Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs. Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages.

REASONING ABILITY

Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel and talk or hear.

The employee frequently is required to sit and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to stand;

walk; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and / or move up to 50 pounds.

Any lifting over 50 pounds would require assistance. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, and the ability to adjust focus.