Senior Sustainability Engineer - Electrical

The core mission is to make Ball's EMEA packaging plants measurably more efficient in their use of electricity, natural gas, water and waste. As a recognised subject matter expert, you would define and roll out Global Standards for control devices and line-control programming, then support plants in adopting them. Day to day, that means analysing consumption data, training employees on best practices, and applying Lean Six Sigma methods to remove variation and loss. You would also plan and execute capital projects that fund the upgrades needed to hit sustainability KPIs, balancing engineering feasibility with payback. Longer term, the role converts guidance from Global Sustainability Engineering into a regional strategy for EMEA and scans the supply base for emerging technologies that could be folded into future standards. It is a bridge between central sustainability ambition and what happens on the factory floor.

You would deepen your expertise in industrial energy and resource efficiency, particularly the control-device and line-control-programming side of high-speed can manufacturing. Few roles offer this combination of electrical engineering and sustainability at scale. Because the position touches global standards, capital projects and supplier scouting, you would also build strong project management, financial literacy and technology-evaluation skills. Exposure to Lean Six Sigma in a live manufacturing context would sharpen your continuous-improvement toolkit. Working across EMEA with a global engineering community could broaden your network considerably and give you visibility into how a large packaging company sets and cascades sustainability standards, which is valuable for future leadership roles.

The ideal candidate likely brings a university degree or equivalent experience plus at least five years in a high-speed packaging manufacturing environment, ideally with hands-on knowledge of can-making equipment and control systems. Familiarity with contracts and specifications would be expected. On the softer side, excellent English communication and presentation skills are essential, since you must train, persuade and report across many countries. Strong programme and project management abilities, combined with financial acumen to assess cost, margin and profitability, are clearly prized. Perhaps most importantly, the role suits someone genuinely willing to travel extensively and comfortable operating as a self-directed expert. A Lean Six Sigma background and an evident passion for resource efficiency would strengthen any application.

Because this is a technical expert role, lead your application with concrete evidence of utility or resource-efficiency improvements you have delivered in manufacturing. Quantify savings in electricity, gas, water or waste where possible, and name the control systems and line environments you have worked with. Mirror the job's language: Global Standards, KPIs, Lean Six Sigma, capital projects and EMEA collaboration. A cover letter that shows you understand Ball's aluminium packaging context and why resource efficiency matters to a recyclable-product leader will stand out more than a generic sustainability pitch. Finally, address the travel requirement head-on and positively, and demonstrate financial literacy by framing at least one project in terms of payback or margin impact. Interviewers will likely probe your ability to influence plant teams, so prepare stories about driving change without direct authority.

This role sits at the operational heart of Ball's environmental agenda: the electricity, natural gas, water and waste-generation performance of its can-making plants. Rather than reporting on sustainability, it engineers it, turning global standards into measurable reductions on real production lines. The focus is likely heavily environmental and process-driven, feeding directly into divisional sustainability KPIs and, indirectly, into Ball's external claims about recyclable aluminium packaging. Energy intensity and waste reduction in manufacturing are exactly the levers that make a packaging company's climate targets credible. There could also be a governance dimension, since global standards, capital-project justifications and supplier evaluations all need consistent documentation and financial discipline. Social impact appears mainly through training and capability-building with plant employees.

The most obvious challenge is the 60–80% travel expectation across EMEA, which demands real stamina and personal flexibility. Sustaining momentum across many plants and cultures, often remotely, is not trivial. Another difficulty lies in influencing busy plant teams whose first priority is uptime and output, not utility efficiency. Getting operators and local engineers to adopt new control standards requires credibility, patience and evidence, especially where capital is scarce and payback periods are scrutinised. There may also be tension between global standardisation and local realities: equipment ages, languages differ, and regulations vary by country. Balancing a single best-in-class approach with pragmatic regional adaptation is likely a constant judgement call.

A typical day might begin with a virtual stand-up with plant engineers or controls specialists to review electricity, gas, water or waste data and flag lines that are drifting from standard. You could then spend time refining a Global Standard document, modelling the savings case for a controls upgrade, or preparing training material on efficient utility use for a site team. Because you support EMEA plants from a flexible base, much of the work happens through screens and calls, punctuated by plant visits where you walk the line, inspect control devices and talk to operators about what is actually happening on shift. Some days are heavy on project management, reviewing contractor scopes, budgets and timelines for capital work. Meetings with Global Sustainability Engineering colleagues, supply-base contacts or finance partners will likely fill the gaps, so the rhythm mixes deep technical analysis with coordination and persuasion rather than a single repetitive task.

This position looks like a strong platform for growth within Ball's global sustainability engineering function. Success in standardising EMEA performance could open doors to broader regional or global leadership roles, or to central strategy positions. The high visibility of capital projects and KPI delivery means your work is measurable, which helps when building a case for promotion. You would also gain exposure to senior stakeholders across multiple countries, expanding your internal network. Laterally, the skills developed here, energy efficiency, controls, project finance and supplier innovation, transfer well to corporate energy management, operations leadership or ESG roles in other industrial sectors.

Your closest working relationships would be with Global Sustainability Engineering colleagues, who set direction and standards, and with plant-level engineering, maintenance and production teams who must implement them. You would likely act as their regional interpreter and troubleshooter. Finance and project-management counterparts matter too, because capital projects need credible business cases and cost, margin and profitability targets. Supply-base contacts and technology vendors form another key group, since you are expected to scout new sustainability technologies. Further out, you might interact with EMEA leadership receiving KPI updates, and with HR or training functions when rolling out employee education. The role is fundamentally a connector between global strategy, local operations and external innovation.