Principal Design Program Manager, International Packaging

OpenKrill; United States; On-site; USD 190,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

US remote position

Unlimited PTO

Job summary

Openkrill is seeking a Principal Design Program Manager, International Packaging, based in the United States. You will shape global packaging and industrial design operations, lead cross‑functional programs, and establish standards across international markets including Australia, Canada, and the UK.

You will build scalable processes, dashboards, and prioritization frameworks while ensuring regulatory compliance and alignment with business goals.

Qualifications

• 8–10+ years in design program management, healthcare or regulated packaging.
• Proven ability to build operational processes and PM infrastructure.
• Experience managing packaging programs end-to-end across regions.
• Ability to influence beyond projects and lead cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead global design operations standards and practices.
• Provide strategic program leadership across stakeholders.
• Build onboarding standards and process docs.
• Develop prioritization frameworks for regional needs.
• Create dashboards and reporting for leadership visibility.
• Oversee end-to-end packaging programs for multiple markets.

Skills

Design PM

Cross-functional

Stakeholder management

Regulatory compliance

PM tools

Figma

Capacity planning

Multi-region programs

Tools

Asana

Airtable

Google Workspace

Dropbox

Figma

Job description

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Principal Design Program Manager, International Packaging based in the United States.

Overview

We are seeking a strategic and experienced Principal Design Program Manager to shape global packaging and industrial design operations across multiple international markets. In this high-impact role, you will establish scalable frameworks, prioritization models, and operating standards that enable creative teams to deliver exceptional packaging solutions efficiently and consistently. You will lead complex, cross‑functional programs spanning design, marketing, legal, supply chain, and production, ensuring alignment between creative vision, regulatory requirements, and business objectives. Working across Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, you will bring structure to ambiguity, anticipate risks, and facilitate informed decisions about timelines, resources, and priorities. You will also help define the foundations of a growing design program management function, establishing best practices that future team members can build upon. This is an opportunity to influence global healthcare packaging strategy while helping creative teams thrive in a fast‑paced, evolving environment.

Accountabilities

• Establish global design operations standards: Develop the frameworks, operating principles, decision‑making models, and program management practices that support consistent, scalable packaging and industrial design operations across international markets.
• Provide strategic program leadership: Serve as a subject matter expert in global packaging program management, advising leadership, design, legal, supply chain, and marketing stakeholders on program strategy, operational challenges, and execution priorities.
• Build scalable processes and infrastructure: Create onboarding standards, process documentation, and operational frameworks that strengthen the design program management function and support the development of future team members.
• Develop global prioritization frameworks: Establish clear criteria for evaluating regional urgency, regulatory deadlines, creative capacity, dependencies, and business impact to enable informed prioritization and effective resource allocation.
• Improve organizational decision‑making: Build dashboards, briefing templates, escalation pathways, and reporting mechanisms that provide leadership with visibility into program status, capacity constraints, dependencies, and risks before they affect delivery.
• Lead international packaging programs: Architect and oversee end‑to‑end program management for packaging and print graphics across Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, ensuring timeline integrity, cross‑regional alignment, dependency management, and consistent execution.
• Strengthen regional stakeholder partnerships: Develop trusted relationships with regional design, production, marketing, supply chain, and legal teams to identify challenges early, align expectations, and support successful program delivery.
• Integrate regulatory compliance into creative workflows: Develop working knowledge of healthcare packaging regulations across markets and incorporate compliance checkpoints into the design process from the earliest stages.
• Translate regulatory requirements into actionable guidance: Convert complex compliance requirements into clear creative briefs, review criteria, and production expectations that enable designers and legal partners to collaborate effectively.
• Protect creative intent throughout production: Partner with designers from initial briefing through final production files, balancing creative quality with operational requirements, regulatory considerations, and production constraints.
• Coordinate cross‑disciplinary packaging expertise: Facilitate collaboration across print graphics, structural packaging, industrial design, and color, material, and finish (CMF) disciplines, helping teams resolve technical challenges and maintain production quality.
• Improve capacity planning and resource visibility: Establish capacity dashboards, resourcing reviews, and structured trade‑off discussions that make creative bandwidth and constraints visible to stakeholders and encourage proactive planning.
• Drive continuous improvement: Identify recurring process bottlenecks, anticipate execution risks, and refine program management practices to improve efficiency, quality, and predictability across global packaging initiatives.

Requirements

• Extensive professional experience: 8–10 or more years of experience in design program management, creative operations, or a related discipline, with meaningful experience in healthcare, consumer goods, or regulated packaging environments.
• Proven process‑building capabilities: Demonstrated success developing operational processes and program management infrastructure from the ground up, particularly in environments where established frameworks are limited or evolving.
• End‑to‑end packaging program expertise: Experience managing packaging programs from initial kickoff through production readiness and press checks, with a strong understanding of common production challenges, dependencies, and risk points.
• Strategic organizational influence: A track record of improving how teams and functions operate beyond individual projects, influencing decisions and establishing effective working practices without relying solely on formal authority.
• Prioritization and resource planning expertise: Experience designing and implementing prioritization frameworks that stakeholders actively adopt, enabling better sequencing decisions, resource allocation, and alignment with business objectives.
• Cross‑disciplinary packaging knowledge: Working fluency in industrial design, structural packaging, print graphics production, and color, material, and finish (CMF), including familiarity with dielines, color management, press‑ready specifications, and vendor pre‑press workflows.
• Regulatory and compliance awareness: The ability to understand regulated packaging requirements, translate them into practical creative guidance, and integrate compliance reviews into design and production workflows.
• Strong project management skills: The ability to manage complex, multi‑region programs, coordinate interdependent workstreams, anticipate risks, and maintain visibility into timelines, deliverables, and resource constraints.
• Cross‑functional communication and collaboration: Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships across creative, marketing, legal, supply chain, production, and leadership teams.
• Analytical and strategic thinking: The ability to use data, capacity insights, and risk assessments to support prioritization, guide trade‑offs, and improve operational performance.
• Proficiency with program management tools: Experience using platforms such as Asana, Airtable, Google Workspace, and Dropbox, along with comfort reviewing creative work and collaborating through Figma.
• Adaptability and initiative: A proactive, solutions‑oriented mindset, with the ability to navigate ambiguity, establish structure, balance competing priorities, and continuously improve how work gets done.
• Creative and operational judgment: The ability to protect design intent while balancing regulatory obligations, production feasibility, timelines, and commercial objectives.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation: Annual base salary ranging from $190,000 to $220,000, with equity compensation opportunities for eligible full‑time employees. Final compensation may vary based on experience, skills, training, and location.
• Remote work flexibility: A US‑remote position offering flexibility in where you work.
• Unlimited paid time off: Flexible PTO, company holidays, and quarterly mental health days to support rest and well‑being.