Senior Packaging Production Designer

At Thorne, we work to deliver high-quality, science-backed solutions to empower individuals to take a proactive approach to their well-being. Each day begins with a mission to help others discover and achieve their best health. We count on our team members to challenge and push the boundaries to make that happen. At Thorne, you’ll be joining a team of more than 750 passionate individuals committed to our cause of providing superior health solutions at every age and life stage. The Senior Packaging Production Designer is responsible for leading the mechanical development, production readiness, and ongoing maintenance of packaging and labeling artwork across Thorne’s global product portfolio. This role serves as a primary production artwork expert, translating approved creative concepts into accurate, compliant, and production-ready mechanical files across a wide range of packaging formats, product variants, and markets. A key focus of this position will be supporting a large-scale global packaging redesign spanning more than 200 SKUs while establishing scalable standards and processes that support Thorne’s long-term packaging needs. Working closely with Creative, Quality, Regulatory, Legal, Engineering, Operations, Project Management, and external production partners, the Senior Packaging Production Designer ensures artwork meets brand, regulatory, technical, manufacturing, print, and quality requirements from creative handoff through final production. This role also serves as a steward of packaging and labeling artwork throughout its lifecycle, ensuring files remain accurate, current, traceable, and compliant as product specifications, formulations, claims, regulatory requirements, and other business needs evolve. This is a contract-to-hire opportunity with the potential to transition into a full-time position based on business needs and performance. RESPONSIBILITIES Packaging Production & Mechanical Development 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. Regulatory, Quality & Cross-Functional Execution 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. Artwork Lifecycle & Change Management 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. Prepress, Proofing, & Production 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. Process Development & Subject Matter Expertise 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. WHAT YOU NEED Education & Experience 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. Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Art, Production Design, or a related field preferred; equivalent education and relevant professional experience will also be considered. Demonstrated experience working within a regulated, enterprise-scale consumer packaged goods (CPG) organization with complex packaging development and approval processes. 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. 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. Technical Knowledge 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. Core Competencies 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. Physical Demands 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.