Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Thorne is a science-backed health and wellness company providing nutritional supplements and health tests. The Senior Packaging Production Designer will lead mechanical development, production readiness, and lifecycle maintenance of packaging and labeling artwork across a global product portfolio, including a 200+ SKU redesign. The role collaborates with creative, regulatory, quality, legal, engineering, operations, project management, printers, and other production partners to ensure accurate, compliant, and production-ready artwork.
Responsibilities
- Lead the mechanical development and production artwork stages for packaging and labeling projects across Thorne’s global product portfolio, including execution of a 200+ SKU global packaging redesign
- 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, incorporating regulatory copy, ingredient and nutrition information, claims, certifications, barcodes, symbols, legal language, trademarks, print specifications, and other required content
- Maintain the integrity of approved creative throughout mechanical development while ensuring artwork meets regulatory, quality, technical, manufacturing, and print requirements
- Perform comprehensive quality-control reviews of packaging artwork before routing, approval, prepress, and final release
- Protect brand and design integrity throughout the production artwork process
- Partner with Project Management, Quality, Regulatory, and Legal teams to accurately execute approved packaging and labeling requirements
- Ensure required regulatory, legal, product, and quality content is accurately reflected in final production artwork
- Collaborate with Engineering, Operations, printers, converters, prepress vendors, agencies, and other production partners to ensure artwork meets technical and manufacturing specifications
- Identify and resolve artwork, dieline, prepress, print, and production issues before manufacturing
- Evaluate the impact of artwork changes across related SKUs, packaging formats, product variants, and markets and ensure updates are implemented consistently across affected files
- Communicate potential artwork, production, compliance, timing, and quality risks promptly and recommend practical solutions
- Manage ongoing packaging artwork revisions resulting from regulatory changes, formulation updates, ingredient or nutrition changes, claims, certifications, legal requirements, manufacturing changes, and other approved business needs
- Maintain disciplined standards for file naming, version control, artwork archiving, production-file organization, and artwork history
- Ensure current approved artwork can be clearly identified and historical files remain appropriately traceable
- Maintain accurate documentation of artwork specifications, revisions, decisions, approvals, and production requirements
- Support effective artwork change management across a high-volume portfolio containing multiple interconnected SKUs and formats
- Review and approve digital proofs, contract proofs, press proofs, and color targets before production
- Partner with printers and other production vendors during press approvals when required
- Apply advanced knowledge of dielines, typography, image resolution, bleeds, trapping, separations, spot colors, barcodes, print specifications, and production-file preparation
- Work directly with printers, converters, prepress houses, packaging suppliers, and production agencies to troubleshoot and resolve technical production issues
- Partner with the Senior Project Manager, Packaging to establish and continuously improve Thorne’s end-to-end packaging development workflow from creative handoff through mechanical development, cross-functional review, approval, prepress, and final release
- Develop and maintain production standards, templates, mechanical requirements, file structures, proofing protocols, quality-control checkpoints, and supporting documentation
- Identify opportunities to improve packaging production efficiency, consistency, accuracy, scalability, and quality
- Serve as a subject-matter expert for packaging production artwork and provide guidance to internal teams on mechanical development, prepress, artwork execution, and production requirements
- Maintain current knowledge of packaging production technologies, print processes, artwork-related regulatory considerations, and industry best practices
- Balance immediate production needs with the development of scalable processes and systems that support Thorne’s growing packaging portfolio
- Independently manage multiple concurrent packaging projects, priorities, and dependencies while maintaining quality and production timelines
Skills
- 10–15+ years of professional experience in packaging production, mechanical artwork, production design, studio production, or a related discipline, with significant experience supporting large-scale consumer product portfolios
- Demonstrated experience working within a regulated, enterprise-scale consumer packaged goods (CPG) organization with complex packaging development and approval processes
- Demonstrated experience managing production artwork across high-volume portfolios containing hundreds of SKUs, packaging formats, variants, and international markets
- Experience working within formal Regulatory, Legal, and Quality review and approval environments
- Demonstrated experience managing packaging artwork revisions and complex change-management processes across interconnected SKUs and production files
- Expert-level proficiency in Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat, and Photoshop
- Advanced knowledge of packaging mechanical development and production artwork, including dielines, typography, image resolution, bleeds, trapping, separations, spot colors, print specifications, UPC barcodes, and production-file preparation
- Deep understanding of prepress practices, proofing, color management, and packaging production requirements
- Strong working knowledge of major packaging print and production processes
- Ability to communicate effectively with printers, converters, prepress houses, packaging suppliers, production agencies, and other external partners
- Strong understanding of artwork-management practices, including version control, asset management, proofing, approval workflows, file release, and archival requirements
- Experience utilizing Quality and project management systems such as Wrike, Workfront, ETQ, or similar platforms
- Working knowledge of the precision, documentation, traceability, and change-control requirements associated with regulated packaging and labeling
- Ability to assess artwork for technical production readiness and identify potential manufacturing, print, regulatory, or quality risks before release
- Exceptional attention to detail with the ability to identify artwork inconsistencies, errors, omissions, and production risks before files are released for manufacturing
- Strong organizational and time-management skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects, shifting priorities, and complex dependencies
- Ability to translate requirements across Creative, Regulatory, Quality, Legal, technical, manufacturing, and operational stakeholders
- Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to communicate professionally with internal stakeholders and external production partners
- Strong problem-solving skills with the confidence to raise risks and concerns promptly and recommend practical solutions
- Sound judgment and accountability when determining whether artwork is ready to advance through review, approval, prepress, or production
- Ability to work independently with minimal direction while collaborating effectively across multiple functions
- Systems-oriented mindset with the ability to balance immediate production execution with the development of scalable, long-term packaging processes
- Ability to document processes, decisions, specifications, and production requirements clearly and consistently
- Strong commitment to brand integrity, accuracy, quality, compliance, and operational excellence
- Ability to remain in a stationary position for extended periods while performing computer-based production design and artwork-review activities
- Ability to move about unassisted as required
- Ability to communicate effectively with employees, leaders, vendors, and external production partners
- Ability to read, review, compare, and assess large volumes of highly detailed artwork and documentation in both printed and digital formats
- Ability to perform work requiring sustained visual attention and accuracy when reviewing detailed packaging artwork, proofs, specifications, and production files
- Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Art, Production Design, or a related field preferred; equivalent education and relevant professional experience will also be considered
- Experience within food, beverage, nutrition, dietary supplements, wellness, OTC, or another similarly regulated consumer product category strongly preferred
- Dietary supplement or nutritional product experience highly preferred, including experience working with regulated labels, claims, ingredient information, and Supplement Facts panels
Benefits
- 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
Company Overview