“Join us in building Careers and shaping Experiences Beyond the Box”
About Us
At Atlantic Packaging, every box tells a story and yours begins here. As a proudly Canadian-owned company with over 80 years of excellence in the corrugated packaging industry with operations within North America (Ontario, Quebec and United States), we’re committed to sustainability, customer excellence and community impact. Since 1945, we’ve supported local jobs and built a legacy of trust with our clients and team members. At Atlantic, your ideas matter, your growth is supported and your work makes a real impact.
The Opportunity
The Senior Manufacturing Systems Engineer provides technical leadership across manufacturing operations, process optimization, reliability improvement, capital planning, and operational excellence initiatives within Atlantic's Ontario paper mills and manufacturing facilities. Reporting to the Senior Technical Strategies & Solutions Manager, the role strengthens the Technical Services Group's ability to execute more projects, solve complex operating problems, and deliver measurable business value.
This is a hands-on senior individual contributor role. The successful candidate will lead and support cross-functional projects involving process systems, mechanical equipment, controls, utilities, chemical applications, quality, fiber optimization, and manufacturing performance. The role will work closely with mill operations, maintenance, engineering, quality, procurement, finance, vendors, and OEMs to define problems, develop practical solutions, support implementation, and verify results.
The position is intended to contribute immediately to current operational priorities while developing deeper subject-matter expertise over time. Mechanical and process engineering capability is central to the role. Experience with electrical, instrumentation, controls, energy, or utility systems is an asset that can broaden the team's capability, but these areas are not the sole purpose of the position. Success is measured by value delivered to operations, effective collaboration with site teams, and the sustained performance of implemented solutions.
What You’ll Do
Technical Project Leadership
- Lead and support strategic technical projects across paper mills and manufacturing facilities, from problem definition and data collection through implementation and benefit verification.
- Provide engineering support for projects related to uptime, productivity, process stability, fiber utilization, refining, shrink reduction, chemical performance, quality, reliability, and cost improvement.
- Translate operational challenges into clear project charters, technical workplans, resource requirements, risks, milestones, and measurable success criteria.
- Coordinate cross-functional resources and maintain momentum through field work, analysis, trials, commissioning, and closeout.
- Balance technical rigor with practical site realities, prioritizing solutions that operations can adopt and sustain.
Mechanical Systems & Reliability
- Provide engineering support for rotating equipment, pumps, piping, stock preparation systems, fluid systems, process equipment, and other manufacturing assets.
- Lead or support root-cause investigations into equipment failures, downtime, recurring process losses, and reliability constraints.
- Develop practical recommendations that improve equipment reliability, maintainability, operating life, and total lifecycle cost.
- Partner with site maintenance and operations teams to evaluate equipment condition, failure mechanisms, critical spares, preventive and predictive maintenance needs, and renewal priorities.
- Apply sound mechanical and manufacturing judgment during equipment selection, installation reviews, startups, and performance troubleshooting.
Process & Manufacturing Optimization
- Analyze process data, production trends, operating practices, and equipment performance to identify constraints, instability, waste, and improvement opportunities.
- Support initiatives involving stock preparation, refining, fiber yield, shrinkage, chemical programs, sheet quality, process controls, utility consumption, and production efficiency.
- Design and support structured trials with defined hypotheses, operating windows, data requirements, decision criteria, and post-trial follow-up.
- Work with operations to develop sustainable countermeasures, standard work, monitoring plans, and clear ownership after implementation.
- Use PI System or equivalent historians, DCS/SCADA trends, laboratory results, production data, and field observations to support evidence-based decisions.
Capital Planning & Business Case Development
- Support the development, technical review, and validation of capital projects and major operating investments.
- Assess technical feasibility, implementation risks, vendor assumptions, lifecycle cost, expected benefits, and operational readiness.
- Develop or review scopes, specifications, estimates, implementation plans, acceptance criteria, and commissioning requirements.
- Help sites build decision-ready business cases and verify that completed projects deliver the intended operational and financial benefits.
- Provide independent technical challenges to vendor proposals while maintaining constructive working relationships with site teams and external partners.
Technical SME Development & Cross-Functional Support
- Develop deep expertise in assigned manufacturing systems and become a trusted technical resource for operations, maintenance, and project teams.
- Interface across disciplines so that mechanical, process, chemical, controls, electrical, reliability, quality, and operational considerations are incorporated into project decisions.
- Build internal capability and reduce dependence on external consultants where the knowledge can reasonably be developed and retained internally.
- Coach junior engineers, co-op students, and site resources in structured problem-solving, field verification, data analysis, and project execution.
- Share standards, lessons learned, and repeatable methods across facilities while adapting recommendations to each site's operating context.
Electrical, Controls, Energy & Utilities Support
- Contribute to projects involving instrumentation, process controls, automation, drives, motors, electrical interfaces, metering, energy, and utility systems within the candidate's competence.
- Work collaboratively with qualified site electrical personnel, controls specialists, utilities, consultants, and OEMs; do not replace regulated trade responsibilities or site ownership.
- Support investigations involving power disturbances, control performance, utility interruptions, or energy losses when they affect production, reliability, safety, or project outcomes.
- Assist with practical initiatives involving steam, condensate, compressed air, natural gas, water, power, demand management, solar assets, EV charging, and other existing utility responsibilities as assigned.
- Ensure specialized studies or regulated work are completed by appropriately qualified professionals and integrated into the broader project scope.
Safety, Governance & Collaboration
- Lead all work with a safety-first mindset and follow applicable management-of-change, hazard review, lockout/tagout, contractor-management, commissioning, and engineering requirements.
- Work as a partner to mill operations and maintenance, recognizing the site as the internal customer and building influence through practical support and demonstrated value.
- Respect organizational accountabilities, collective-agreement boundaries, and regulated scopes of work.
- Communicate technical findings, risks, options, and recommendations clearly to operators, trades, managers, and senior leadership.
- Maintain effective project documentation, action tracking, technical records, drawings, and handover information appropriate to the scope.
What You Bring
Required
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or Manufacturing Engineering from a recognized university.
- 8-12 years of progressive engineering experience in pulp and paper, packaging, heavy manufacturing, energy, utilities, or another continuous-process industrial environment.
- Strong mechanical and manufacturing systems knowledge, including industrial equipment, rotating equipment, pumps, piping, fluid systems, process equipment, reliability, and maintenance practices.
- Demonstrated experience supporting industrial electrical systems, including motors, motor control centres (MCCs), variable frequency drives (VFDs), power distribution, metering, instrumentation, and electrical interfaces associated with manufacturing equipment and capital projects.
- Practical experience with industrial energy and utility systems such as electricity, natural gas, steam, condensate, compressed air, water, demand management, power quality, or energy-performance improvement.
- Working knowledge of process controls and automation environments such as PLC, DCS, SCADA, ABB, Valmet, or equivalent platforms, with the ability to collaborate effectively with qualified electrical and controls specialists.
- Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional technical improvement projects from problem definition and business-case development through field execution, commissioning, and benefit verification.
- Experience applying structured root-cause analysis and data-driven problem-solving to equipment, reliability, process, quality, energy, or utility-performance challenges.
- Ability to interpret P&IDs, equipment drawings, electrical one-line diagrams, specifications, process trends, controls narratives, vendor documentation, and project information.
- Working knowledge of data and analysis tools such as PI System or an equivalent historian, DCS/SCADA trending, Microsoft Excel, and dashboarding tools.
- Strong communication, stakeholder-management, and influencing skills, including the ability to work effectively with operations, maintenance, engineering, trades, vendors, utilities, and senior leadership.
- Licensed as a Professional Engineer in Ontario, eligible for registration, or able to demonstrate a reasonable pathway toward registration. P.Eng. designation is strongly preferred for work involving engineering approval or professional accountability.
- Valid driver's license and willingness to travel regularly among Ontario facilities. Ability to travel to USA for business needs
- Comfortable working in active industrial environments with full PPE and flexing hours to support outages, commissioning, startups, and significant operating events.
Preferred
- P.Eng. (Ontario) in good standing.
- Pulp and paper, containerboard, corrugated packaging, or other large continuous-process manufacturing experience.
- Experience with rotating equipment, pumps, piping, stock preparation, refining, fluid systems, or reliability engineering.
- Experience with process optimization, fiber utilization, chemical applications, quality improvement, or manufacturing excellence.
- Experience developing and validating capital business cases and supporting commissioning and startup.
- Experience with instrumentation, controls, automation, motors, drives, industrial electrical systems, utilities, or energy performance.
- Project Management Professional (PMP), Six Sigma, reliability, or equivalent structured project and problem-solving training.
- Experience mentoring engineers, supporting multi-site initiatives, and working with vendors and OEMs.
- Experience with electrical-system reliability, power-quality investigations, demand management, cogeneration, distributed energy systems, solar assets, EV charging infrastructure, or utility incentive programs.
- Certified Energy Manager (CEM), Certified Measurement and Verification Professional (CMVP), Project Management Professional (PMP), Lean Six Sigma, Certified Maintenance & Reliability Professional (CMRP), or equivalent practical training is an asset when supported by relevant project experience.
Working Conditions
- Full-time on-site presence across Ontario paper mill and manufacturing locations; regular travel between sites is expected.
- Active industrial environment involving noise, heat, moisture, process equipment, utility areas, rooftops, confined spaces, and elevated work areas. Full PPE required.
- Extended and after-hours work may be required during outages, commissioning, startups, investigations, and significant production events.
- The successful candidate is equally comfortable completing detailed analysis at a workstation and conducting field verification with operations, maintenance, contractors, and vendors.
What We Offer
- Comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage (dependents included)
- Teamwork-focused culture with sustainability initiatives and social events
- A culture of appreciation through a point-based recognition
- Opportunities for advancement and internal movement
- Education assistance for continuous skill development
- Academic scholarships for employees’ children
- Safety equipment and PPE support program
- Retirement savings and wellness initiatives
Inclusion and Accessibility
Atlantic Packaging is committed to fostering an inclusive, accessible and respectful environment for all candidates. If you require accommodation during the hiring process, please contact our Talent Acquisition team - we’re here to support you.
We sincerely thank all applicants for their interest in joining Atlantic Packaging. While we appreciate the time and effort invested, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
Please note
Candidates who are 18 years or older are required to complete a criminal and background check. Details will be provided through the application process.
Hiring Range: $110,000 - $130,000 per year. A candidate’s experience and knowledge may be factored into the pay a candidate receives for this position. This posting is for an existing vacancy.
