Senior Packaging Production Designer

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Serve as the day-to-day owner of packaging production artwork across the product portfolio, managing work from approved creative through mechanical development, review, approval, prepress, proofing, and final release.
• Translate approved creative concepts into accurate, production-ready mechanical artwork across multiple packaging formats, sizes, product variants, markets, and print processes.
• Build and maintain packaging artwork using approved dielines and specifications, including regulatory copy, ingredient and nutrition information, claims, certifications, barcodes, symbols, legal language, trademarks, and print specifications.
• Own ongoing packaging revisions resulting from product launches, regulatory changes, formulation or ingredient updates, claims, certifications, renames, legal requirements, manufacturing changes, and other approved business needs.
• Evaluate the impact of packaging changes across related SKUs, formats, and markets and ensure updates are implemented consistently across all affected files.

• Partner with Quality, Regulatory, Medical, and the Product Team to ensure approved packaging and labeling requirements are accurately reflected in final production artwork.
• Perform comprehensive quality-control reviews before artwork is routed, approved, or released, identifying inconsistencies, errors, and production risks before manufacturing.
• Collaborate directly with printers, converters, prepress vendors, packaging suppliers, Engineering, and Operations to ensure artwork meets technical and manufacturing specifications.
• Review and approve digital proofs, contract proofs, press proofs, and color targets; partner with printers during press approvals when required.
• Ensure color, print quality, typography, imagery, and other design details are executed consistently across vendors, substrates, packaging formats, and production runs.
• Identify and resolve artwork, dieline, prepress, print, and production issues before manufacturing while protecting the integrity of approved creative.
• Select and specify appropriate label sizes based on bottle/container dimensions, packaging requirements, and production specifications, partnering with Engineering and Operations as needed.

• Establish and maintain disciplined standards for file naming, version control, artwork archiving, production-file organization, and artwork history to ensure traceability and clear identification of current approved artwork.
• Own packaging artwork through established Change Management and project-management systems, including ETQ and Wrike, ensuring work is properly routed, documented, approved, and released.
• Partner with the cross-functional teams to continuously improve the end-to-end packaging workflow and clarify ownership, handoffs, approvals, and quality-control checkpoints.
• Develop and maintain production standards, templates, mechanical requirements, proofing protocols, file structures, and documentation that support a consistent and scalable packaging program.
• Serve as the organization's subject-matter expert for packaging production artwork, providing guidance to internal teams on mechanical development, prepress, print, and production requirements.
• Support larger packaging initiatives, portfolio updates, and brand evolution as needed while maintaining ownership of ongoing business-as-usual packaging needs

• Act as a central packaging production partner across Creative, Quality, Regulatory, Legal, Operations, Engineering, Project Management, Product Marketing, and external vendors.
• Manage multiple concurrent packaging projects and shifting priorities while maintaining accuracy, timelines, and clear communication with stakeholders.
• Raise packaging risks, issues, and dependencies early and recommend practical solutions that keep work moving without compromising quality or compliance.
• Maintain current knowledge of packaging production technologies, print processes, artwork-management practices, and industry best practices.
  
  

WHAT YOU NEED

• 15+ years of professional experience in packaging production, mechanical artwork, production design, studio production, or a related discipline, preferably supporting a large consumer product portfolio.
• Demonstrated experience working within a regulated CPG environment with complex packaging development, review, and approval processes; food, beverage, nutrition, supplements, wellness, OTC, or similarly regulated categories strongly preferred.
• Supplement and nutritional product experience highly preferred, including familiarity with regulated labels, claims, ingredient information, and Supplement Facts panels.
• Demonstrated experience managing production artwork across high-volume portfolios with multiple SKUs, packaging formats, variants, and/or international markets.
• Expert-level proficiency in Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat, and Photoshop, with mastery of production artwork and prepress practices.
• Advanced knowledge of packaging mechanical development, including dielines, typography, image resolution, bleeds, trapping, separations, spot colors, print specifications, UPC barcodes, and production file preparation.
• Strong working knowledge of major packaging print and production processes and experience partnering directly with printers, converters, prepress houses, packaging suppliers, and production agencies.
• Experience operating within formal regulatory, legal, and quality review and approval environments and with workflow systems such as ETQ, Wrike, Workfront, or similar platforms.
• Strong understanding of artwork-management practices, including version control, asset management, proofing, approval workflows, file release, and archival requirements.
• Exceptional attention to detail, organizational skills, and judgment, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and determine when artwork is ready to advance to review or production.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to translate requirements among creative, regulatory, quality, technical, operational, and external production stakeholders.
• Systems-oriented mindset with the ability to balance immediate production execution with development of scalable, long-term packaging processes

WHAT WE OFFER

• Competitive compensation
• 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage for employees
• Company-paid short- and long-term disability insurance
• Company- paid life insurance
• 401k plan with employer matching contributions up to 4%
• Gym membership reimbursement
• Monthly allowance of Thorne supplements
• Paid time off, volunteer time off and holiday leave
• Training, professional development, and career growth opportunities