Sephora Packaging Development & Industrialization Manager
About Sephora
Sephora is a leading global prestige beauty retailer and part of the LVMH group, known for its wide assortment of brands and its own private label, Sephora Collection. The organization blends retail agility with product innovation, bringing together multidisciplinary teams to develop trend-led cosmetics, care and accessory products for an international clientele.
Sephora — Packaging Development & Industrialization Manager in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Lead packaging engineering, industrialization and supplier qualifications.
Role & Responsibilities
- Lead the development and qualification of a portfolio of primary and secondary packaging projects from concept through supplier and contract manufacturer qualification.
- Manage and mentor a team of packaging engineers, building organisational capabilities and ensuring on-time delivery against quality, capacity and cost objectives.
- Collaborate closely with Marketing, Creative, Formula Development, Purchasing, Project Management, Supply Chain, Finance and Regulatory to translate briefs into technically and commercially viable packaging solutions.
- Define and approve component and finished-goods specifications, tooling validation, artwork and decoration (color matching, finishes), and quality standards and range boards.
- Plan, conduct and report risk assessments and all validation testing, including line trials at contract manufacturers and first-production oversight when possible.
- Validate tertiary packaging and palletisation plans and drive optimisation of existing components to improve quality, reduce cost and increase sustainability.
- Work with Purchasing and suppliers to meet cost/margin targets while maintaining required performance and compliance; identify and implement mitigation plans for development risks.
- Support packaging-related sustainability programmes and ensure continuous improvement in materials and processes.
Qualifications
- Minimum 10 years' professional experience in a technical packaging role within the beauty industry, including leadership of packaging engineers.
- Scientific Bachelor's degree in packaging, chemistry, mechanical engineering or a related technical discipline.
- Proven track record of industrialization and supplier qualification for primary and secondary packaging in a regulated, high-volume environment.
- Strong project management capability with the ability to prioritise and deliver in a fast-paced pipeline.
- Professional fluency in English; availability to travel as required.
Skills
Experience
At least 10 years in technical packaging within the beauty/cosmetics sector, with demonstrable experience leading packaging development and industrialization projects and managing packaging engineering resources.
Education
Scientific Bachelor's degree (packaging, chemistry, mechanical engineering or equivalent).
Workplace
This position is based in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Île-de-France, France, within easy reach of Paris.
Culture
Sephora cultivates a dynamic, inclusive workplace that values authenticity and creativity. The brand encourages entrepreneurial thinking and continuous development, offering employees opportunities to collaborate across disciplines and influence product innovation within a fast-moving retail environment.
About Cerulean
Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.
Frequently Asked Questions
The luxury industry is characterised by a diverse and nuanced nomenclature. Esteemed houses frequently employ proprietary terminology, and even within a single organisation like Sephora, titles may vary across global markets to reflect local conventions. To ensure absolute clarity, Cerulean assigns a standardised, industry-coherent canonical title to every listing. However, it is worth noting that this role is functionally synonymous with «Packaging Development Manager», «Industrialization Manager — Packaging», «Packaging Engineering Manager», «Packaging & Process Industrialization Lead», and other variations. Our sophisticated search architecture anticipates these variations, ensuring that inquiries using related terms will seamlessly yield the exact roles you desire.