Senior Packaging Designer - Contract (Beauty)
Senior Packaging Designer - Contract (Beauty) Scheudle: 40 hours/ week Ongoing Contract Pay: $45-50/hr Hybrid Remote/ On Site 3 days per week in NYC Office Position OverviewA fast-growing consumer brand in the cosmetics and personal care industry is seeking a Freelance Senior Packaging Designer to lead innovative, trend-driven packaging across multiple product lines. This role combines hands-on design, technical packaging expertise, and cross-functional collaboration to create disruptive, cost-efficient solutions that connect with Gen Z and Gen Alpha while meeting sustainability, manufacturing, and business requirements.Responsibilities• Concept, design, and refine primary and secondary packaging that is visually distinctive, technically precise, and on-brand. • Develop cost-conscious packaging that balances aesthetics, performance, manufacturability, and margin needs. • Translate briefs into detailed concepts, dielines, mockups, and production-ready files. • Use deep knowledge of beauty and pop culture trends to create "thumb-stopping" packaging, kits, collaborations, and social-first moments. • Apply strong typography, layout, and hierarchy to ensure packaging is both highly branded and easy to shop in-store and online. • Partner with Packaging Development, Product, Operations, and Creative to solve design and engineering challenges. • Collaborate with suppliers and manufacturers to validate feasibility, troubleshoot, and optimize for mass production. • Inform material choices, finishes, and construction with understanding of plastics, glass molding, and component manufacturing. • Leverage various printing methods (offset, flexo, screen, hot stamp, specialty coatings) for high-impact visuals. • Identify productivity opportunities through material optimization, component harmonization, and design efficiencies. • Advance sustainability by recommending lower-impact materials, fewer components, PCR use, and recyclable/refillable solutions. • Maintain consistency across lines and markets by aligning with internal packaging systems and design principles. • Prepare clear specs, mockups, and presentation decks for reviews and leadership approvals. • Contribute to a collaborative, growth-minded culture; share best practices and mentor junior designers. Requirements• Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Packaging Design, or related field. • 7+ years of professional experience in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment (beauty, fashion, technology, or similar preferred). • Portfolio showcasing packaging for beauty • Experience partnering with digital, e-commerce, and/or marketing teams to ensure packaging translates online. • Comfort in a highly collaborative, cross-functional, iterative environment. • Up-to-date on fashion, beauty, design, and digital trends, with a clear point of view on what's next. • Extensive packaging design experience within beauty, fashion, lifestyle, or similar consumer categories. • Proven ability to design for Gen Z and Gen Alpha, with strong grasp of digital culture and visual trends.