Lead Packaging Production Designer

Lotus Bakeries; St Albans; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Lotus Bakeries in the United Kingdom seeks a senior Packaging Artworker to lead and develop packaging production across the studio. You will stay hands-on, artworking across brands and formats, while mentoring teammates and advancing multilingual artwork.

You’ll collaborate with the Head of Design, Global Packaging, QA and external partners to ensure smooth transition from approved creative to final production. This role emphasizes automation and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Extensive hands-on packaging artworking and production experience.
• Deep technical knowledge of masterfiles, colour management and preflight.
• Experience with printers, repro houses and suppliers.
• Mentor and develop junior teammates with proactive mindset.

Responsibilities

• Lead packaging production across the studio with strong technical standards.
• Artworking and rolling out packaging across brands, SKUs and markets.
• Collaborate with Global Packaging, Brand teams and partners.
• Improve workflows, reduce complexity and implement scalable solutions.
• Explore AI and automation to enhance artwork checking and production.

Skills

Packaging artworking

Print production

Color management

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe InDesign

Mentoring

AI tools

Workflow automation

Multilingual artwork

Stakeholder communication

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

Photoshop

InDesign

Job description

Job description

• You'll work closely with our Head of Design to lead and develop packaging production across the studio, maintaining brilliant technical standards across artwork, masterfiles, colour, proofing, preflight and final production.
• This is a hands-on packaging production role. Alongside supporting and developing our packaging production team, you'll be actively artworking, adapting and rolling out packaging yourself across multiple brands, formats, SKUs and markets.
• You'll work alongside our studio’s Project Manager, Global Packaging team, Brand teams, QA and external production partners to make sure work moves smoothly and accurately from approved creative through to final production.
• You'll support and develop the packaging production team, sharing your knowledge and building technical capability across the wider studio.
• You'll help us improve how we work, spotting unnecessary complexity and recommending smarter, simpler and more scalable solutions.
• You'll play an active role in exploring how AI, workflow automation and emerging technology can improve artwork checking, adaptations, versioning, quality control and the wider packaging production workflow.
• Your technical expertise will also support shopper, POS, in-store and other printed or physically produced brand materials.

Profile

To succeed in this role, we believe you should have:

• Strong hands-on experience in packaging artworking and production, ideally within FMCG or consumer brands, with the desire to stay close to the work while stepping into greater senior responsibility. Ideally 10 years + professional experience.
• Deep technical knowledge of packaging and print production, including masterfiles, cutter guides, colour management, print processes, separations, trapping, overprint, finishes and preflight.
• Advanced Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign skills, with experience working across complex ranges, SKUs, adaptations and multilingual artwork.
• Experience working closely with printers, repro houses and production suppliers, with the confidence to solve technical production challenges.
• A natural ability to support, mentor and share knowledge with others. You’ve got some line management experience and should be excited by the opportunity to develop further as a mentor and manager.
• A curious and improvement-focused mindset, you question how things are done, bring solutions rather than problems and look for smarter, simpler ways of working.
• Experience using AI tools and workflow automation in a creative, production or packaging environment will be highly valued. You are excited by their potential and are keen to explore, test and implement solutions that improve efficiency, quality and scalability across the packaging production process.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills, with the confidence to explain technical subjects clearly, challenge constructively and bring people with you.
• A positive, collaborative and hands-on attitude. We’re a friendly, close-knit Creative Studio, so we’re looking for someone who is approachable, engaging and good fun to work with.