Production Artist Jobs

Company Description: Instinct® is a rapidly growing, family-owned marketer and manufacturer of science based 100% natural pet food for dogs and cats. Instinct® is the Raw Brand, with a mission to get more raw nutrition into every bowl of dogs and cats, for proven healthier and happier long lives. Our company mission is to Empower people to transform the lives of pets. We are committed to hiring and developing a team of passionate, performance-oriented professionals who live by our 4 values of championing raw, empowered to make a difference, collaborating as one team, and striving for excellence through continuous learning and improvement. Our home office is located in St. Louis, Missouri with our Center of Excellence Raw Food kitchens in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Instinct® is part of the family-owned group, Agrolimen, who owns leading pet food and human food businesses in the US, China, Europe, and Africa.

Position Summary:

Instinct is looking for a full-time Production Artist to join our dynamic, multi-functional Creative Team. This position will work collaboratively alongside our talented Creative Team members as well as cross-functionally within the Marketing & eComm Department to help bring the Instinct brand to life.

Reporting to the Senior Design Lead, the Production Artist will be a key member of the Instinct Creative Team, owning all packaging prepress and in-person press checks, and responsible for supporting the design execution of a variety of tasks, including packaging line extensions, in-store graphics and displays, marketing collateral, product thumbnails, digital ads, tradeshow graphics, sell sheets, and overall file management.

To be successful, this person must be a highly adaptable team player with a meticulous and accurate eye for detail, have a solid understanding of prepress and design best practices, and the ability to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.

Primary Job Responsibilities:

• Package and preflight files for release to printers and external partners
• Drive high-quality work in a fast-paced, dynamic work environment
• Support the Creative Team by creating and extending layouts, producing print, POP or digital designs, manipulating or retouching images, reviewing and proofing graphics, and organizing files
• Collaborate cross-functionally with members of the marketing team to develop packaging line extensions, product thumbnails, digital ads, in-store graphics and displays, marketing collateral, tradeshow graphics, sell sheets, and more
• Provide professional-quality photo editing and image manipulation
• Responsible for executing a consistent brand voice across all consumer-facing and internal creative touch points
• Create print and digital production-ready files to the appropriate design specifications while ensuring that project directives and brand guidelines are strictly followed
• Establish technical print specifications for every project based on the printing method, in order to ensure best possible print outcome
• Support the build-out of our Digital Asset Management platform by preparing, optimizing, organizing, and migrating files and setting up automations and permissions as
• Responsible for attending all in-person packaging press checks, overseeing quality assurance, liaising with stakeholders to discuss time or press adjustments, and checking schedules to ensuring deadlines are kept on track
• Shape the visual identity of our brand as the company evolves
• Responsible for overall quality control; proof and correct any inconsistencies in artwork files before handoff to printers including typesetting revisions, spelling, messaging, image size, color specifications, etc.
• Necessary

Qualifications

• Strong design and production skills demonstrating an understanding of layout, composition, typography, color, proportion, etc. for both print and digital output
• Proficient with design best practices and hold expertise in preparing files for both print and digital output
• Able to work independently and collaboratively with cross functional partners and vendors in a fast-paced environment
• Strong work ethic and personal accountability
• “Pixel-perfect” attention to detail
• 3+ years proven prepress and product packaging production experience including press checks and color proofs
• Comfortable wearing many “hats” and working with ambiguity
• Ability to effectively manage priorities and work well against multiple competing deadlines
• Able to manage projects from ideation to execution

Technical Competencies

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel)
• Experience with Adobe Creative Cloud
• Apple/Mac user
• Expert level proficiency with InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop

Preferred Experience

• Experience working with external print partners and vendors
• Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design or related field, or equivalent experience
• 3+ years production design experience in a retail, e-comm, brand or agency environment

Travel Requirements:

• Requires travel to Mondi (Jackson, Missouri) for packaging press checks
• Requires travel to Saint Louis office on a quarterly basis (at week at a time) along with 1-2 additional trips

Compensation and Benefits

Highly competitive compensation package includes health and dental insurance, life and AD&D insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings account, short and long-term disability, paid time off, Purpose Days off for company partner volunteer opportunities, and 401k with company match.

Our Instinct is to CHAMPION Diversity

At Instinct, we are as passionate about our people as we are about the pets we call family. We are committed to inclusion, empowerment, and respect. We believe that just like our pets, what sets us apart unleashes our greatest strengths. We thrive on the ability to not only empower people to transform the lives of pets through raw nutrition, but also to empower each other to inspire a culture that celebrates our differences. Our unique approach to pet food is what makes us who we are as a company, and our individual identities are what makes us a successful, innovative, authentic team.