Career Readiness: Be Job Ready by Your Senior Year

Michelle: "I graduated from Virginia Tech with a B.S. in Packaging Systems and Design in 2018. Before graduating, I interned with Newell Brands during the summer of 2017, supporting the Elmer's business. After graduation, I joined Newell Brands full-time and spent six years on the Baby business, supporting brands such as NUK, Baby Jogger, and Graco. In 2024, I transitioned to the Home Fragrance team as a Senior Packaging Engineer, where I lead packaging development for brands including Yankee Candle and Chesapeake Bay Candle. My day-to-day work includes designing and testing packaging, collaborating with cross-functional teams and suppliers, and helping bring new products from concept to store shelves."

Anna: "I am Anna Troutt, December 2022 Packaging Systems and Design graduate – Go Hokies! While a student, I held internships in structural design at a Pratt Industries subsidiary and quality engineering at Steelcase as well as an 8-month co-op in industrial packaging engineering at Steelcase. Immediately after graduation I went to work for S.C. Johnson as a packaging engineer supporting the air-care brand Glade. There I focused on research and development in sustainable packaging materials, packaging design innovation, and packaging material and formulation compatibility. Shortly after my 1-year anniversary I made the transition to Valvoline Global Operations as a Senior Manufacturing Packaging Engineer. Today I support the financial justification, engineering, and project execution of packaging equipment and system design projects specifically for bottle and specialty container filling in our domestic and international lubricant blending and bottling plants."

John: "My name is John Contrucci, and I am a Packaging Systems and Design major graduating in Spring 2027. I spent the fall semester of my junior year as a co-op intern with PepsiCo Foods Packaging R&D. I assisted with packaging productivity for PepsiCo’s food brands, including Frito-Lay, Quaker, and Pearl Milling Company. I managed projects involving packaging already on the market, with a focus on improving cost savings. This often involved traveling to the plant for trial runs, as well as conducting hands-on testing with flexible films. I am currently interning at the Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design at Virginia Tech, conducting contracted research on various packaging, pallets, and unit loads."

Lincey: "My name is Lincey Chu and I am a junior in the Packaging Systems and Design Program. I recently completed a packaging co-op with GogosqueeZ in Traverse City, Michigan during the Spring 2026 semester. My main responsibilities included cost saving projects, prototyping and sample creations, and packaging testing. This entailed attending trials at the plant and understanding the machinery, dealing with lab equipment and warehouse materials, and attending cross-functional meetings. Currently, I am working as a student recruiter and conducting research concerning packaging history."

CNRE Article: "Every packaging decision creates a ripple effect. Choices about materials influence recyclability, manufacturing equipment, transportation efficiency, cost, branding, and consumer experience. As products move from concept to production, packaging engineers often serve as translators between disciplines that rarely speak the same language.

“We also look at how you bring branding and style into packaging at scale,” Matt Baker said. “A good packaging engineer is constantly acting as a liaison between all those groups. In packaging, you talk to engineers and they have five percent of the information, marketing has another five percent. Then something changes and that information is wrong.”

For Baker, packaging development is often part engineering challenge and part detective work. And even a little forensic."

CNRE Article: "Young-Teck Kim is taking a different approach, creating bioplastics from food waste that can be recycled or composted after use.

“My new technology is looking at bioplastics that are recyclable or compostable,” Young Kim said. “Certain materials go a recycling route. Bioplastic can go the biodegradation route. My bioplastic can go either direction. That's the beauty of our new technology.”

Kim holds multiple patents related to technologies that convert waste products into bioplastics, creating new uses for materials that might otherwise become waste. He also sees opportunities in everyday products.

His team is developing materials with adjustable life spans, allowing manufacturers to match a package's durability to its intended use."