Freelance Packaging & Production Graphic Designer

• Job Title: Freelance Packaging & Production Designer – CPG / Meat Rebrand

Location: NYC / Northern NJ (Remote, but must be in the tri-state area for occasional alignment) prefer someone LOCAL and available in person should it be warranted, looking for an on-going resource for design work. NOT looking for agencies, and NOT looking for remote-only foreign resources.

• Compensation: $35–$45/hr (Depending on experience)

About the Project

I am a fractional CMO managing the comprehensive rebrand of an established regional meat manufacturer based in Northern New Jersey. The foundational brand strategy and visual identity are locked in. The creative direction, typography, and master templates for our two "hero" products are fully designed and I need a graphic design partner with who understands where we are at and can contribute to adjusting our templates for the additional SKU's.

• Now, we need a nimble, detail-oriented production and graphic designer to help scale this established system across 15-20 additional flavor variety SKUs.

You won't be staring at a blank canvas guessing what the client wants. You will be taking the master templates and executing the roll-out and contributing to building the brand color-system that works in the market.

We will work in focused, real-time half-day sprints to execute layout adaptations, flavor-specific colorway tweaks, selecting / creating icons, choosing stock imagery and text edits. This is a fast, collaborative, and highly efficient workflow perfect for a designer who loves clean execution without the typical corporate bottleneck.

Responsibilities

• Scale established master packaging templates across 15-20 flavor SKUs.
• Adapt typography hierarchies, ingredient lists, and nutritional facts panels to meet compliance and design standards and make relevant, creative contributions to scale up with.
• Prepare pixel-perfect, production-ready, high-resolution mechanical files for the printer.
• Execute fast, iterative design edits during scheduled half-day collaborative sprints.

Qualifications

• CPG Packaging Experience: Proven portfolio showing consumer packaged goods, food/beverage labels, or complex packaging roll-outs.

Technical Precision: Mastery of Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. You know how to work with dielines, bleeds, trapping, and spot colors. Print experience preferred. Additional Swag Designs, and sales support materials will also be on the plate as well with the right design partner.

• Speed & Agility: Ability to work quickly and organized within a templated design system.
• Local to NY/NJ: Must be based in the NYC metro or Northern NJ area for seamless timezone alignment and communication.

How to Apply

Please reply with

• A brief intro about your experience with packaging/label design, why you would be a good fit
• A link to your portfolio (specifically highlighting CPG or packaging work), website and relevant social links
• Your current availability for half-day sprints over the next 2-3 weeks, relevant client recommendations or references upon request