Senior Structural Designer Lead

Outform Group•Chicago, IL

11d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Structural Designer (Lead) is a working lead on the Chicago structural design team, developing retail-focused temporary display solutions that drive shopper engagement and support client brand objectives. The role is approximately 60% hands-on structural design and 40% leading, reviewing, and developing the work of a pod of 3 to 5 structural designers, with contract designers added as needed. The Lead develops complex corrugated, paperboard, hybrid, and multi-material display programs from concept through production. They assign and balance work, maintain the pod's work queue, approve drawings and samples before release, coach designers, and cover for the Structural Design Manager when needed. The role is accountable for the quality, timeliness, capacity, and development of the pod's work while also carrying a personal design workload. The position combines structural design and engineering with people leadership, process improvement, and coordination across sales, account management, project management, creative and industrial design, estimating, prepress, production, sourcing, operations, and clients. Work takes place in an office, sample room, and production floor, with travel to plants, vendors, and client sites up to 10% of the time.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Packaging Engineering, Industrial Design, Product Development, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent industry experience.
At least 7 years of experience designing POP displays, retail fixtures, packaging, or corrugated structures.
At least 2 years leading designers as a supervisor, team lead, or working lead, including assigning work, reviewing output, and developing people.
Demonstrated interest in leading and developing others, with specific examples of people trained, mentored, or promoted.
Current, advanced proficiency in ArtiosCAD or a similar structural CAD program, demonstrated through a recent portfolio and a practical design exercise at interview.
Deep understanding of corrugated and paperboard structures, die-cutting, litho-laminating, flexographic printing, and assembly operations.
Experience developing displays for mass, grocery, drug, convenience, and club channels.
Hands-on sample-making ability, including confident use of a sample table, hand tools, and shop equipment.
Strong presentation and communication skills with designers, sales, production, and clients.
Ability to perform work in office, sample-room, and production-floor environments, including standing, walking, bending, kneeling, reaching, and frequently lifting and moving materials or sample components weighing up to 50 pounds.
Manual dexterity and close visual acuity for design and detail work, and ability to work for long periods at a computer.
Ability to work on a production floor with exposure to noise, dust, and moving machinery while wearing required PPE.

Nice To Haves

Experience working directly with major retailers such as Walmart, Target, Costco, Sam's Club, Walgreens, CVS, Home Depot, or Lowe's.
Experience at a display or packaging manufacturer with an in-house converting plant.
Mixed-material display experience, including wood, metal, acrylic, or semi-permanent fixtures.
Knowledge of SolidWorks, Impact, Adobe Creative Suite, and Esko workflow tools; plotter operation; parametric CAD; or design automation.
Experience establishing design standards, templates, or workflows for a team.
Experience leading client-facing design presentations and workshops.
Familiarity with sustainability initiatives and alternative display materials.

Responsibilities

Lead a pod of 3 to 5 structural designers day to day while maintaining a personal design workload.
Assign projects, balance workload, maintain the pod's work queue, and ensure every request has an owner, turnaround date, and status.
Review and approve drawings, dielines, and samples for fit, structure, manufacturability, and cost before release.
Coach and mentor designers through one-on-ones, design reviews, and on-the-job training; agree on development goals and review progress quarterly.
Onboard designers and contractors and train them on company standards, tools, and processes.
Participate in hiring and provide structured input to performance reviews.
Lead structural design and engineering of temporary retail displays, including floor displays, pallets, power wings, sidekicks, endcaps, PDQs, club store solutions, and specialty packaging.
Translate creative concepts and customer objectives into manufacturable structures that balance functionality, shopper experience, sustainability, and cost.
Create structural concepts, engineering drawings, production specifications, and assembly instructions using ArtiosCAD and related design software.
Build and test samples; conduct load analysis, pack-out studies, assembly evaluations, and transit, load, and retail compliance testing.
Evaluate and recommend materials, board grades, construction methods, and manufacturing processes to optimize performance and value and meet retailer specifications.
Present structural concepts and recommendations to internal teams and clients, and support prototype reviews and production launches.
Lead cost-reduction and value-engineering reviews on new and existing programs.
Apply and improve standards for intake, file naming, drawing checks, and milestone handoffs.
Ensure requests are acknowledged promptly, assigned an owner, and given a due date; track turnaround performance.
Track pod capacity and utilization and report it weekly to the Structural Design Manager.
Document repeatable designs and lessons learned for reuse by the wider team.
Identify risks, manufacturing challenges, and cost-saving opportunities throughout development; escalate resourcing, quality, or deadline risks early.
Cover for the Structural Design Manager when they are out.