Design Operations Lead- Print & Packaging - International

Ad Talent Africa; South Africa; Remote; ZAR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully remote

37-hour week

Paid annual leave (6 weeks)

Paid sick leave

Paid parental leave

Overtime compensation

International team

Job summary

Ad Talent Africa is seeking a hands-on Design Operations Lead with a strong print and pre-press background to guide a remote team of four designers. You will roll up your sleeves to check artwork, resolve production issues and drive efficient workflows in a fast-moving international environment.

Ideal candidates have 4+ years in print production, pre-press or production artwork, with expert Illustrator skills and familiarity with InDesign and Photoshop.

Qualifications

• At least four years’ relevant experience in print production, pre-press, packaging artwork or production design.
• Strong hands-on experience preparing, checking and correcting production-ready artwork for professional print.
• Advanced Adobe Illustrator skills, with InDesign and Photoshop experience advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach and develop a remote team of four designers.
• Manage workloads, prioritise requests and ensure deadlines and SLAs are met.
• Review, correct and approve customer artwork for print production.
• Troubleshoot pre-press and artwork issues, ensuring files meet printing requirements.
• Maintain high-quality standards while driving fast turnaround times.
• Identify workflow bottlenecks and implement improvements, automation and AI-supported solutions.
• Develop templates, systems and processes to improve consistency and productivity.
• Collaborate with internal teams to streamline workflows from artwork to production.
• Provide hands-on artwork support during busy periods and resolve production challenges.
• Drive continuous improvement to deliver 99.9% of requests within a two-hour SLA.

Skills

Print production

Pre-press

Packaging artwork

Production design

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

InDesign

Photoshop

Job description

Who are we

We are a fast-growing European scale-up transforming the custom packaging industry through innovative and sustainable solutions. We work in a fast-paced environment where quality, efficiency and customer experience are everything.

Who are we looking for

We’re looking for a hands-on Design Operations Lead with a strong print and pre-press background to lead a remote team of four designers.

This role is ideal for someone who understands the technical side of print production, knows how to get artwork right the first time, and thrives on managing workflows, solving problems and meeting tight deadlines.

You’ll need to be comfortable rolling up your sleeves, checking artwork, resolving production issues and keeping a team performing at pace.

This is not a traditional graphic design role. Experience in print production, pre-press and production artwork is essential.

What will you do

• Lead, coach and develop a remote team of four designers.

• Manage workloads, prioritise requests and ensure deadlines and service-level agreements are consistently met.

• Review, correct and approve customer artwork to ensure it is accurate and ready for print production.

• Troubleshoot pre-press and artwork issues, ensuring files meet professional printing requirements.

• Maintain high-quality standards while driving fast turnaround times.

• Identify workflow bottlenecks and implement improvements, automation and AI-supported solutions.

• Develop efficient templates, systems and processes to improve consistency and productivity.

• Collaborate with internal teams to streamline workflows from customer artwork through to production.

• Provide hands-on artwork support during busy periods and resolve technical production challenges.

• Drive continuous improvement, with a target of delivering 99.9% of customer design requests within a two-hour service level.

What will you need

• At least four years’ relevant experience in print production, pre-press, packaging artwork or production design.

• Strong hands-on experience preparing, checking and correcting production-ready artwork for professional print.

• Advanced Adobe Illustrator skills, with InDesign and Photoshop experience advantageous.

• Excellent knowledge of CMYK, spot colours, vector graphics, print specifications and production requirements.

• Previous experience in the print or packaging industry is essential.

• Experience coordinating designers, managing production workflows or leading a team.

• The ability to work accurately and efficiently in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment.

• Strong organisational, planning and problem-solving skills, with exceptional attention to detail.

• An interest in workflow optimisation, automation and AI tools.

• A proactive, hands-on leadership style with the ability to coach and motivate others.

• The ability to work independently and collaborate with a European team, with working hours aligned to CET.

What’s on offer

• Full-time, fully remote position.

• 37-hour working week, Monday to Friday.

• Competitive salary based on experience.

• Six weeks of paid annual leave.

• Paid sick leave and generous paid parental leave.

• Overtime compensation, although overtime is generally not expected.

• The opportunity to work with an international team in a growing, innovative business.

If you come from the print industry, know your way around pre-press and production artwork, and are ready to lead a team in a fast-moving international environment, we’d love to hear from you.