Brand Design Manager - Corporate Office (Austin, MN preferred)

Hormel Foods•Austin, MN

17h•$78,075 - $109,300•Onsite

About The Position

BRAND DESIGN MANAGER – CORPORATE OFFICE (AUSTIN, MN PREFERRED) HORMEL FOODS CORPORATION To save time applying, Hormel Foods does not offer sponsorship of job applicants for employment-based visas for this position at this time. ABOUT HORMEL FOODS — Inspired People. Inspired Food.™ Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minnesota, is a global branded food company with approximately $12 billion in annual revenue across more than 80 countries worldwide. Its brands include Planters®, Skippy ® , SPAM ® , Hormel ® Natural Choice ® , Applegate ® , Wholly ® , Hormel ® Black Label ® , Columbus ® , Jennie-O® and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named one of the best companies to work for by U.S. News & World Report, one of America’s most responsible companies by Newsweek, recognized by TIME magazine as one of the World’s Best Companies, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. The company lives by its purpose statement — Inspired People. Inspired Food.™ — to bring some of the world’s most trusted and iconic brands to tables across the globe. For more information, visit www.hormelfoods.com . RESPONSIBILITIES: This role is responsible for leading commercialization workstreams across innovation, adaptive design, and printed packaging development to ensure brand objectives are met with excellence and consistency. The Brand Design Manager oversees packaging timelines, artwork development, design viability, regulatory considerations, on‑pack photography needs, and print‑ready execution while partnering cross‑functionally to protect brand integrity and deliver high‑quality packaging to market. Additionally, this person will be responsible to: Develop packaging commercialization timelines based on unique project scopes and brand objectives. Review adaptive and innovation design concepts for print viability and early regulatory or communication requirements. Work closely with a Brand Design Coordinator to manage daily prioritization, project progression, and status updates. Manage the artwork review, modification, and approval process within established project timelines. Provide final organizational approval/sign‑off for all printed packaging elements within assigned projects. Tune reports and data models as necessary to support workflow accuracy and project visibility. Organize and facilitate printed pre‑production discussions between prepress agencies and printers. Define design requirement timelines and scope needs for the Brand Design Creative Lead, including direction for on‑pack photography requirements. Provide art direction support, as appropriate, for on‑pack photoshoots in partnership with the Creative Lead, agency partners, and photo studios. TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES: Application of industry standards in printed graphics to achieve high‑quality, consistent results across flexible and rigid substrates while meeting brand goals, government requirements, and design integrity expectations. Establishing clear project scopes and commercialization timelines and developing efficient action plans in partnership with Brand Design Coordinators based on industry best practices and Brand Design SOPs. Ongoing review of printed packaging audits for color accuracy and print quality, including attending first‑run press approvals as needed to verify and approve print execution. Ensuring complete and accurate project data in workflow systems from project creation through printed packaging delivery, while tracking project status and providing updates to Brand Design, Brand Fuel, and cross‑functional partners.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of relevant experience, or 6+ years without a degree.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Proven service orientation with experience partnering internally and externally to lead projects, teams, and vendors collaboratively.
Highly adaptable, with strong communication, project management, and interpersonal skills.
Ability to gather detailed project requirements and work across multiple systems and stakeholder groups.
Experience leading meetings, facilitating discussions, or overseeing processes to achieve defined objectives.
Strong organizational and time-management skills.
Demonstrated problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.
Applicants must not now, or at any time in the future, require sponsorship for a work visa.
Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States for any employer.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in printed graphics management or a related field.
Previous experience in printed graphics management within an agency or customer environment.

Responsibilities

Develop packaging commercialization timelines based on unique project scopes and brand objectives.
Review adaptive and innovation design concepts for print viability and early regulatory or communication requirements.
Work closely with a Brand Design Coordinator to manage daily prioritization, project progression, and status updates.
Manage the artwork review, modification, and approval process within established project timelines.
Provide final organizational approval/sign‑off for all printed packaging elements within assigned projects.
Tune reports and data models as necessary to support workflow accuracy and project visibility.
Organize and facilitate printed pre‑production discussions between prepress agencies and printers.
Define design requirement timelines and scope needs for the Brand Design Creative Lead, including direction for on‑pack photography requirements.
Provide art direction support, as appropriate, for on‑pack photoshoots in partnership with the Creative Lead, agency partners, and photo studios.