Material Characterization Engineer, Packaging Product Design

Summary

When was the last time you enjoyed a box as much as the product inside? At Apple, every customer interaction is an opportunity for surprise and delight! This philosophy extends beyond the product to its packaging, where every detail is thoughtfully considered.

The Packaging Product Design team is a diverse group of people responsible for the design and execution of structural packaging for every Apple product, shipped to customers around the world. Our packaging delivers an outstanding unboxing experience, protects products throughout the shipping environment, and advances Apple's sustainability goals. We collaborate with a wide range of teams, including Industrial Design, Marketing, Environmental, and Operations, throughout the design process.

Description

We are seeking people who approach problem-solving with passion, creativity, and curiosity. Apple's approach to packaging is unique, so we value people who are eager to learn and further develop their knowledge of packaging design, manufacturing processes, and sustainable materials. We welcome fresh perspectives from outside the standard packaging industry to drive innovation.

In this role, you will build the link between material properties and how our packaging performs. You will identify and bring focus to the material properties that drive critical performance, test materials and parts to failure to measure true design margin, and turn the results into models and specifications that help teams focus early on what matters most. Our core material areas are fiber-based materials, adhesives, and coatings.

Responsibilities

• Identify the material properties that drive critical packaging performance, applying processing, structure, and property fundamentals
• Plan and execute material- and part-level characterization and failure analysis across environmental conditions, including test-to-failure methods, both in-house and with vendors and partner labs
• Define failure criteria and design margin, using FMEA to prioritize high-risk failure modes and critical tests, and help teams translate them into material and part specifications
• Design trial plans and build correlation models that link material properties to part and packaged-product performance, partnering with FEA teams on material model development
• Develop test fixtures, test systems, and new test methods, and promote adoption of the characterization and correlation methodology across project teams

Minimum Qualifications

• BS in Materials Science and Engineering, Polymer Science, Fiber Science, Chemical Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering with strong materials science knowledge
• 6+ years of relevant industry experience
• Solid knowledge of materials science fundamentals, including how processing and structure drive properties and performance, with hands-on experience in mechanical and physical material testing and failure analysis
• Proficiency in trial design and statistical analysis using JMP or equivalent statistical software
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to present technical details succinctly in a team-based environment
• Ability to travel up to 20%, including internationally

Preferred Qualifications

• MS or PhD in Materials Science and Engineering, Polymer Science, Fiber Science, Chemical Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering
• Experience with fiber-based materials, adhesives, or coatings
• Experience with accelerated aging methods and packaging test standards such as ASTM, TAPPI, and ISTA
• Working knowledge of analytical techniques to characterize materials (e.g., SEM, FTIR, and DSC)
• Advanced data analysis and modeling skills (e.g., regression, machine learning) using tools such as Python or MATLAB, and exposure to finite element analysis (e.g., Abaqus)