Sr. Design Manager

MUSH; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

A fast-growing health food company in Chicago is seeking a Senior Design Manager to oversee branding and packaging design. You will lead a Junior Designer and manage design projects, ensuring consistent visual identity across all platforms. The ideal candidate has 5–8 years of experience in design, a strong portfolio in packaging and campaigns, and proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite. This is a full-time role suited for someone who thrives in a collaborative and innovative environment.

Qualifications

• 5–8 years of professional design experience in consumer goods.
• Exceptional portfolio demonstrating design work in packaging and campaigns.
• Experience mentoring or managing junior designers.

Responsibilities

• Drive the evolution of the brand's visual identity across touchpoints.
• Lead packaging design from concept through production.
• Manage and mentor a Junior Graphic Designer.

Skills

Packaging design

Team leadership

Visual storytelling

Adobe Creative Suite proficiency

Project management

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe InDesign

After Effects

Premiere

Job description

Sr. Design Manager

MUSH makes healthy breakfasts and snacks for busy people. Founded in 2015, the company believes that better food fuels better outcomes. Its ready‑to‑eat overnight oats, oatmeal smoothies and protein bars are healthy, satiating, and convenient alternatives to instant oatmeal, cereal and bars. MUSH has expanded from weekend food markets to over 12,000 retailers nationwide and has become a leader in fresh snacking.

Job Description

The Senior Design Manager is the visual steward of MUSH—responsible for elevating and protecting the brand across packaging, OOH, shopper, digital, and social touchpoints. This role blends hands‑on design excellence with people leadership and creative oversight. You will lead and mentor a Junior Designer, manage the full design workflow, and bring the MUSH brand to life through consistent, high-impact visual execution. As a senior member of the Brand team, you will take meaningful ownership of the brand’s visual expression and help push the creative standard forward in partnership with the Director of Brand.

Roles & Responsibilities

Brand & Visual Leadership

• Own and evolve the MUSH visual identity and brand system across all consumer touchpoints.
• Ensure design consistency and quality across packaging, OOH, shopper, in‑store, social, email, website, and paid media assets.
• Translate brand strategy into clear, inspiring visual direction for all design output.
• Partner closely with marketing and creative leadership to bring campaigns and big ideas to life.

Packaging & Production Design

• Lead packaging design across product lines—from concept through production and final mechanicals.
• Manage updates, line extensions, dielines, and cross‑functional coordination with Marketing, Sales, Ops, and external vendors.
• Maintain and evolve packaging standards as the portfolio grows.

Creative & Campaign Execution

• Concept and design key campaign elements including OOH, digital ads, trade materials, and retail signage.
• Collaborate with the social/content team to create high‑impact visuals for social and digital channels.
• Provide art direction support on shoots (photo and motion).

Design Operations

• Maintain brand guideline documentation and expand the system as the brand evolves.
• Oversee file management, asset libraries, templates, and production‑ready deliverables.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time, on brief, and aligned to business priorities.

Team Management & Collaboration

• Manage, mentor, and develop a Junior Graphic Designer, providing feedback, creative direction, and career support.
• Oversee workflow, resourcing, and prioritization across all design projects.
• Manage external creative partners, freelancers, and agency relationships when needed.
• Uphold a high creative bar while building an efficient, collaborative process.

Experience and Skills

• 5–8 years of professional design experience, ideally in CPG, food/bev, or consumer lifestyle brands.
• Exceptional portfolio demonstrating packaging, campaign, and brand system design.
• Strong command of typography, layout, hierarchy, and visual storytelling.
• Experience mentoring or managing junior designers.
• Expert proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign).
• Familiarity with motion/animation tools (After Effects, Premiere) a strong plus.
• Experience working with print production, packaging vendors, and pre‑press files.
• Ability to work quickly, prioritize effectively, and pivot gracefully.

Cultural & Behavioral Expectations

• Learning – We are always learning and seeking to improve ourselves and the world around us.
• Innovating – We look for new ideas from everywhere and accept that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time.
• Taking action – We have a strong bias for action and value calculated risk‑taking.
• Being resourceful – We accomplish more with less. We believe constraints breed creativity.
• Demanding excellence – We have exceedingly high standards that most think are unreasonable. We demand excellence from ourselves and our partners who help us succeed.
• Creating win‑win relationships – We strive to create win‑win relationships with all of our major stakeholders – our customers, suppliers, employees, owners, regulators, and communities in which we operate.

Seniority Level

Mid‑Senior level

Employment Type

Full‑time

Job Function

Design, Art/Creative, and Information Technology

Industries

Food and Beverage Services