Production Artist

Company Description: Instinct® is a rapidly growing, family-owned marketer and manufacturer of science based 100% natural pet food for dogs and cats. Instinct® is the Raw Brand, with a mission to get more raw nutrition into every bowl of dogs and cats, for proven healthier and happier long lives. Our company mission is to Empower people to transform the lives of pets. We are committed to hiring and developing a team of passionate, performance-oriented professionals who live by our 4 values of championing raw, empowered to make a difference, collaborating as one team, and striving for excellence through continuous learning and improvement. Our home office is located in St. Louis, Missouri with our Center of Excellence Raw Food kitchens in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Instinct® is part of the family-owned group, Agrolimen, who owns leading pet food and human food businesses in the US, China, Europe, and Africa.

Position Summary:

Instinct is currently seeking a highly motivated and experienced full-time Production Artist to join our dynamic and versatile Creative Team. This position will work closely alongside our team of designers and will play a crucial part in bringing the Instinct brand to life, responsible for all aspects of production and ensuring our visual materials are of the highest quality and consistency.

Reporting to the Senior Design Lead, the Production Artist will be a key member of the Instinct Creative Team, owning the responsibility for all packaging prepress tasks and in-person press checks. Additionally, the Production Artist will be responsible for supporting the design execution on a variety of projects, including packaging line extensions, in-store graphics and displays, marketing collateral, product thumbnails, digital display advertising, tradeshow graphics, presentation decks, sell sheets, and more.

To be successful, this person must be a highly adaptable team player with a meticulous and accurate eye for detail, have a solid understanding of prepress, production, and design best practices, and the ability to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.

Primary Job Responsibilities:

• Responsible for attending all in-person packaging press checks, overseeing quality assurance, coordinating with stakeholders to address any necessary time or press adjustments, and checking schedules to ensuring deadlines are kept on track
• Create print and digital production-ready files to the appropriate design specifications while ensuring that project directives and brand guidelines are strictly followed
• Prepare, optimize, and deliver final design files for both print and digital production, ensuring a seamless file hand-off to the appropriate partners.
• Support the Creative team in developing a range of visual assets, including packaging line extensions, in-store graphics and displays, marketing collateral, product thumbnails, digital display advertising, tradeshow graphics, presentation decks, sell sheets, and more
• Responsible for overall quality control; proof and correct any inconsistencies or mistakes in artwork files before handoff to printers including typesetting revisions, spelling, messaging, image size, color specifications, etc.
• Package and preflight files for release to printers and external partners
• Create technical print specifications for every project based on the printing method, ensuring that design and production files align with quoted vendor specifications and deliver the best possible print outcome
• Provide professional-quality photo editing and image manipulation
• Support the build-out of our Digital Asset Management platform by preparing, optimizing, organizing, and migrating files and setting up automations and permissions as necessary
• Responsible for executing a consistent brand voice across all creative touch points
• Drive high-quality work in a fast-paced, dynamic work environment
• Shape the visual identity of our brand as the company evolves

Qualifications

• 2-4 years of experience as a production artist with proven product packaging experience
• Comprehensive knowledge of the print production process, including prepress, press checks and color proofs
• Experience in preparing files for both print and digital output
• A portfolio demonstrating a strong grasp of design principles, including color theory, composition, and typography
• Ability to effectively manage priorities and work well against multiple competing deadlines
• Able to manage projects from ideation to execution
• Able to work independently and collaboratively with cross functional partners and vendors in a fast-paced environment
• Strong work ethic and personal accountability
• Comfortable wearing many “hats” and working with ambiguity
• “Pixel-perfect” attention to detail

Technical Competencies

• Experience with Adobe Creative Cloud
• Expert level proficiency with InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel)
• Apple/Mac user

Preferred Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design or related field, or equivalent experience
• Production design experience in a retail, e-comm, brand or agency environment
• Experience working with external print partners and vendors

Travel Requirements:

• Requires travel to Saint Louis office on a quarterly basis (at week at a time) along with 1-2 additional trips
• Requires travel to Mondi (Jackson, Missouri) for packaging press checks

Compensation and Benefits

Highly competitive compensation package includes health and dental insurance, life and AD&D insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings account, short and long-term disability, paid time off, Purpose Days off for company partner volunteer opportunities, and 401k with company match.

Our Instinct is to CHAMPION Diversity

At Instinct, we are as passionate about our people as we are about the pets we call family. We are committed to inclusion, empowerment, and respect. We believe that just like our pets, what sets us apart unleashes our greatest strengths. We thrive on the ability to not only empower people to transform the lives of pets through raw nutrition, but also to empower each other to inspire a culture that celebrates our differences. Our unique approach to pet food is what makes us who we are as a company, and our individual identities are what makes us a successful, innovative, authentic team.

Instinct