Structural Design Manager / Creative Director – Temporary POS Retail Displays and packaging

Direct Edge Media, Inc.•Anaheim, CA

55d•$75,000 - $100,000

About The Position

We’re looking for a hands-on Structural Design Manager / Creative Director to lead our structural design department — guiding the team in developing effective, creative, and production-ready display solutions. This role combines creative direction, process development, and technical mentorship to ensure our structural design group is producing high-quality, cost-efficient, and innovative display concepts that align with client needs and manufacturing realities.

Requirements

7+ years of experience in structural or 3D display design, with at least 3 years in a leadership or mentorship role.
Expertise in ArtiosCAD, Illustrator, and 3D visualization software (e.g., KeyShot, SketchUp, or Rhino).
Strong understanding of corrugate, folding carton, foam core, and mixed-material display design.
Proven ability to balance creativity, cost-efficiency, and speed-to-market.
Skilled at analyzing client renders and developing structurally feasible designs that bring the creative concept to life.
Excellent communication and leadership skills; able to inspire and motivate a creative technical team.
Have a solid understanding of large format printing, offset printing, CAD cutting and traditional die cutting processes.

Responsibilities

Provide daily guidance, mentorship, and feedback to structural designers to elevate design quality and efficiency.
Establish clear workflows, checkpoints, and communication standards between design, production, and client teams.
Foster a collaborative environment that balances creativity with practical execution.
Oversee structural concepting and creative design for corrugate, semi-permanent, and temporary displays across retail and beverage categories.
Translate client-provided renders or creative visuals into structurally sound and cost-effective display solutions.
Ensure designs are not only visually compelling but also value engineered for best price, assembly time, and transport.
Lead design reviews — pushing for innovation while maintaining structural integrity and manufacturability.
Partner with the design and account teams to interpret client briefs and translate them into executable 3D solutions.
Audit current design workflows and identify opportunities for streamlining (templates, shared libraries, SOPs, etc.).
Develop best practices for dieline creation, layout efficiency, material usage, and sample production.
Implement tools or systems (e.g., Airtable, project trackers, file naming conventions) that enhance visibility and consistency.
Collaborate with production and account managers to ensure designs align with manufacturing capabilities and client standards.
Develop ID tags on all designs and white samples to help speed up design to market.
Work closely with account managers, creative, prepress, and production teams to ensure seamless project handoffs.
Support quoting, sampling, and production readiness — ensuring structural files are accurate and complete.
Partner with leadership on strategic initiatives that elevate the department’s creative and operational standards.