Co-op Mechanical Engineer

Job Description

About Company:

At Packaging Corporation of America (PCA), we are an ideas and solutions company focused on packaging, transporting, and displaying products. We operate with a “golden rule” culture, emphasizing respect, ethical practices, and high standards. As a large producer of containerboard and corrugated packaging products, PCA offers expertise and economies of scale with multiple plant locations to meet customer needs.

Job Description:

PCA is offering two Co-op Mechanical Engineer positions:

• 1 Project Mechanical Engineering Co-op (Starting Summer 2025)
• 1 Reliability Mechanical Engineering Co-op (Starting Fall 2026)

These are 3 rotating term positions, contingent upon enrollment in your school’s co-op program.

Project Engineer Co-op:

• Immerse yourself in a high-energy, innovative culture.
• Gain experience in project management and decision-making.
• Work on various capital projects throughout the mill, experiencing different projects each semester depending on mill outage timeframes.
• Learn the project process from funding request to job completion.
• Develop skills in planning/estimating, engineering design introduction, contractor field oversight, AutoCAD, PCA’s CMMS program (TRIDENT), Microsoft Office, and teamwork.

Reliability Co-op:

• Immerse yourself in a high-energy, innovative culture.
• Gain experience in project management and decision-making.
• Mentored by Area Reliability Engineers as a resource on daily troubleshooting issues.
• Work on special project assignments with Reliability Engineers.
• Focus on predictive and preventive maintenance techniques to improve equipment reliability (lubrication, optical alignment, vibration analysis).
• Learn best-practice maintenance and assist in root cause failure analysis.
• Work with a variety of equipment and environments.
• Receive additional job duties in second and third terms for further development.

Basic Qualifications:

• Must be currently enrolled at Mississippi State University, The University of Mississippi, Auburn University, University of Alabama, University of Maine, University of Cincinnati, University of North Carolina State, Texas A&M University, University of Miami Ohio, Tennessee Technology University, or any University of TN.
• Majoring in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.
• Completed freshman year.
• Minimum GPA of 3.0/4.0.
• Permanent U.S. resident.

Preferred:

• Students who sign up for interviews through University Career Fairs and On-Campus Interview days will be given first consideration.