Creative Designer, Innovation & Packaging

Contract Role | 4 days onsite – Jersey City

Long Term Contract

$45-65 per hour

The Company

Our client is a leading international spirits business with a strong portfolio spanning premium and craft brands across whiskey, tequila, vodka, and ready-to-drink cocktails. Known for a blend of heritage brands and innovative new product development, the business is investing heavily in innovation, packaging design, and speed-to-market capabilities. The environment is fast-paced, collaborative, and highly focused on bringing commercially compelling products to market quickly.

Position Summary

The Creative Designer, Innovation & Packaging will play a key role in supporting the development of new products and renovation of existing offerings across the spirits and ready-to-drink portfolio. This role is responsible for creating packaging concepts, visualising innovation ideas, and producing high-quality creative assets from early-stage ideation through to execution-ready files.

Acting as an in-house creative partner to Marketing and Innovation teams, this individual will leverage AI-powered design tools, existing brand assets, and strong packaging design expertise to rapidly develop and refine concepts. The role bridges early concept development and final execution, ensuring outputs are commercially viable, brand-consistent, and production-ready.

Key Responsibilities

Innovation Concept Development

Create packaging concepts, mock-ups, and visual renderings across spirits and emerging beverage categories
Use AI-enabled design tools to rapidly generate, test, and iterate creative concepts
Translate innovation briefs into consumer-facing visuals for research and leadership presentations
Update and refine designs quickly based on stakeholder feedback

Packaging Design & Adaption

Develop packaging artwork aligned to established brand systems
Adapt existing brand assets across new formats, flavour extensions, and limited releases
Support packaging updates, line extensions, and renovation projects
Partner with agencies, packaging R&D, and suppliers to ensure concepts are feasible and production-ready

Brand Asset Management

Act as a steward of brand assets across the portfolio
Maintain organised libraries of logos, templates, typography, and visual elements
Ensure consistent application of brand guidelines across all materials
Create templates (including PowerPoint) to improve efficiency across teams

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Work closely with Marketing, Innovation, R&D, and Operations team
Balance input from multiple stakeholders while maintaining timelines
Identify opportunities to leverage AI and automation to enhance output and speed

Commercial & Selling Materials

Elevate innovation and commercialisation materials with strong visual story telling
Translate brand strategy into clear, polished creative outputs
Support consumer research with concept visuals and testing materials
Ensure all materials are consistent, high quality, and presentation-ready

Qualifications

Required5+ years’ experience in packaging, brand design, or consumer goods
Strong portfolio demonstrating packaging and brand extension work
Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign)
Experience producing 3D renderings, mock-ups, and visual concepts
Understanding of packaging production and print-ready artwork
Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects
Preferred Background in beverage, food & drink, or broader consumer packaged goods
Experience using AI-powered design tools for concept development
Familiarity with packaging suppliers and production constraints
Experience creating innovation concepts for consumer testing

Success

Measures Accelerates concept development timelines
Reduces reliance on external agencies for early-stage design
Ensures consistent application of brand assets
Delivers high-quality creative work with fast turnaround
Effectively utilises AI tools to enhance output and efficiency
Supports successful product launches through strong visual execution

Carter Murray

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Creative Designer, Innovation & Packaging