Senior Adaptive Designer

Marks; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 82,000 - 92,000; Full time

Job summary

Marks, a consumer experience agency, seeks a Senior Adaptive Designer in Toronto. You will own complex adaptations across SKUs and formats, translating master brand systems into cohesive packaging executions while safeguarding brand equities.

In this hybrid role, you collaborate with creative leads, designers, and production specialists to deliver high-quality work at scale. Excellent craftsmanship and timely delivery are essential to thrive in our fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of packaging design experience.
• Strong portfolio in adaptive packaging design.
• Excellent typography, layout and color management.

Responsibilities

• Independently execute complex packaging adaptations across SKUs, formats, structures, and product categories.
• Translate established brand systems and master designs into cohesive, high-quality packaging executions.
• Protect brand equities while applying creative judgment to solve challenges that arise across different formats and applications.
• Identify gaps or inconsistencies in design systems and recommend thoughtful solutions to creative leads.
• Ensure every adaptation maintains the visual integrity, hierarchy, and craft of the original design intent.

Skills

Packaging design

Adaptive design

Brand systems

Typography & layout

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe InDesign

Job description

About The Company

Marks is a consumer experience agency creating engaging moments across the entire brand spectrum—from brand design and packaging to content and consumer connections. Rooted in a deep understanding of human behavior, we help brands win in an age of constant change.

About The Company

Marks is a consumer experience agency creating engaging moments across the entire brand spectrum—from brand design and packaging to content and consumer connections. Rooted in a deep understanding of human behavior, we help brands win in an age of constant change. We are a global, collaborative network of 1,900+ team members across 25+ studios and 20+ countries, partnering with some of the world’s most recognized brands to solve complex business challenges through design, strategy, and craft.

About The Team

This Packaging Design team operates within a retainer model, dedicated to one large-scale retail private-label client spanning food, beverage, health, beauty, and household categories. The work is high-volume, high-visibility, and system-driven. It requires deep fluency in packaging design systems, brand equities, production realities, and retail dynamics. You’ll work within a multidisciplinary team of packaging designers, adaptive designers, production artists, copywriters, and CGI artists. Together, the team is responsible for evolving and activating a broad ecosystem of private-label brands across hundreds of SKUs, formats, and categories.

About The Role

We’re looking for a Senior Adaptive Designer who combines exceptional design craft with technical precision and a deep understanding of packaging systems.

As a Senior Adaptive Designer, you’ll play a critical role in bringing established brand identities and packaging systems to life across products, formats, and categories. You’ll take ownership of complex adaptations, ensuring every execution is thoughtful, consistent, and beautifully crafted.

You understand that great adaptive design goes beyond following guidelines. It requires creative judgment, problem-solving, and the ability to recognize when a system needs to flex. You’re confident navigating design challenges, resolving inconsistencies, and finding smart solutions that preserve the integrity of the brand.

You’ll collaborate with creative leads, designers, and production specialists to deliver exceptional packaging work at scale. You thrive in a fast-paced environment, take pride in the details, and know how to balance creative quality with the realities of production and speed to market.

This position is hybrid based in Toronto.

What You’ll Do

Adaptive Design & Brand Stewardship

• Independently execute complex packaging adaptations across SKUs, formats, structures, and product categories.
• Translate established brand systems and master designs into cohesive, high-quality packaging executions.
• Protect brand equities while applying creative judgment to solve challenges that arise across different formats and applications.
• Identify gaps or inconsistencies in design systems and recommend thoughtful solutions to creative leads.
• Ensure every adaptation maintains the visual integrity, hierarchy, and craft of the original design intent.

Design Craft & Technical Excellence

• Demonstrate exceptional attention to typography, layout, composition, color, and visual hierarchy.
• Build accurate, organized, and technically sound design files that support efficient downstream production.
• Work confidently with packaging dielines, structural constraints, copy requirements, and regulatory information.
• Apply a strong understanding of print production, color management, substrates, finishes, and file preparation.
• Anticipate and troubleshoot technical challenges before they become production issues.

Creative Problem-Solving & Systems Thinking

• Think beyond individual executions to understand how design decisions impact the broader packaging portfolio.
• Adapt established systems to new formats and applications that may not have been anticipated in the original guidelines.
• Recognize when an adaptation requires creative exploration rather than a straightforward application of existing rules.
• Collaborate with creative leads to refine master designs, improve scalability, and strengthen consistency.
• Bring solutions - not just questions - when navigating ambiguous or challenging design assignments.

Collaboration & Ownership

• Take ownership of assigned projects from initial adaptation through handoff to production.
• Partner closely with Creative Directors, Team Leads, Project Managers, and Production Artists to ensure quality and timely delivery.
• Communicate progress, challenges, and potential risks clearly and proactively.
• Participate in creative reviews, offering thoughtful feedback and sharing technical expertise with teammates.
• Support less experienced designers through knowledge sharing and informal mentorship.

Efficiency & Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve workflows, file structures, and adaptive design processes.
• Leverage emerging tools and technologies, including AI-assisted workflows where appropriate, to improve efficiency and creative exploration.
• Help maintain organized master files, design assets, and documentation that support consistency and scalability.
• Balance speed, accuracy, and creative quality in a high-volume environment.

What Success Looks Like

• You independently deliver complex adaptive design assignments with exceptional quality and accuracy.
• Brand systems remain consistent and effective across diverse packaging formats and categories.
• You proactively identify challenges and bring thoughtful solutions to the table.
• Your files are organized, production-aware, and ready for seamless downstream execution.
• Creative leads trust your judgment, reliability, and ability to take ownership of the work.
• You contribute to a collaborative, efficient, and continuously improving team.

You Bring

• 5+ years of experience in packaging design, adaptive design, or a related discipline, ideally within a CPG or retail environment.
• A strong portfolio demonstrating exceptional adaptive packaging design, technical execution, and systems thinking.
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, particularly Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign.
• Strong understanding of packaging structures, dielines, print processes, color management, and production requirements.
• Experience working with established brand guidelines and multi-SKU packaging portfolios.
• Exceptional attention to detail, organization, and quality control.
• Ability to independently manage multiple assignments and navigate shifting priorities.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and creative problem-solving skills.
• A proactive mindset and willingness to embrace new technologies and better ways of working.

The Ideal Person

• Is a designer at heart, with a sharp eye for craft and an appreciation for the details.
• Understands that adaptive design requires both technical expertise and creative intelligence.
• Thinks in systems, recognizing how individual executions contribute to a larger brand experience.
• Is resourceful, proactive, and confident solving design challenges independently.
• Takes pride in delivering accurate, beautifully crafted work, even under tight timelines.
• Brings curiosity, accountability, and a collaborative spirit to everything they do.

About Propelis

Propelis is a portfolio of global marketing services and technology companies with a combined legacy of 150+ years, 2,000+ clients, 9,000 employees, and operations across 30 countries. Propelis provides the scale and support of a global organization while preserving the unique culture and identity of each company in its portfolio.

For more information visit: www.MakeMarks.com

EEO Statement

We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need. We offer equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, genetic information, age, disability or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. Equal Opportunity Employer Minorities/Women/Veterans/Disabled.

We strive to make our employment website and application process accessible to all users and applicants. In doing so, we provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you have a disability and require a reasonable accommodation or assistance completing the application process, please contact a member of our Human Resource Team.

The Ontario pay range for this position is $82,000 CAD to $92,000 CAD annually. Ultimately, in determining pay, we will consider the successful candidate's experience, skills, knowledge, and other job-related factors.

We remain committed to ensuring equal opportunity in all aspects of employment, including recruitment. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals, particularly those who may contribute to the further diversification of our organization. If you require any form of accommodation during the recruitment process, please do not hesitate to let us know. Together, we strive to foster an environment where everyone can thrive and be their authentic selves.