Create Products People Want to Pick Up At MK Lighter, we believe great design can turn an everyday product into something people are excited to discover, pick up, and use. We're looking for a Graphic Design Manager who combines strong hands-on creative skills with the ability to lead, inspire, and develop a design team. This role is ideal for someone who loves creating original artwork, exploring different visual styles, and bringing fresh ideas to life through real consumer products. You'll help shape the creative direction of our product collections while remaining actively involved in designing product graphics, packaging, and retail presentations.
This is a hands-on creative leadership position, not a purely administrative management role.
What You'll Do Creative Direction & Team Leadership
Establish and guide the creative direction of new product collections across multiple visual styles and consumer markets.
Lead, mentor, and provide constructive feedback to designers, helping them strengthen both creativity and execution.
Review and approve design concepts to ensure originality, visual impact, brand consistency, and production readiness.
Translate market trends and product opportunities into clear creative concepts and actionable design direction.
Manage creative priorities, project timelines, and design quality across multiple projects.
Encourage fresh ideas, thoughtful experimentation, and collaborative problem-solving.
Original Product & Graphic Design
Personally develop original illustrations, surface patterns, wrap graphics, and artwork for lighter bodies.
Create seasonal, lifestyle, fashion-inspired, character-based, and trend-driven product collections.
Explore diverse creative styles, from playful and colorful to streetwear, retro, minimalist, and premium.
Develop compelling color combinations, visual concepts, and product graphics that stand out in retail environments.
Support OEM, private-label, and customer-specific product artwork development.
Turn creative ideas into practical designs that can be produced consistently at scale.
Packaging Design & Production
Lead and create retail packaging designs, including blister cards, paper boxes, cartons, and other formats.
Develop packaging concepts that complement product artwork and strengthen shelf appeal.
Prepare accurate, production-ready artwork and packaging files.
Work with overseas factories to review specifications, resolve artwork issues, and ensure design quality.
Maintain visual consistency and production standards across product lines.
Brand & Product Presentation
Guide the development of product catalogs, trade show materials, retail presentations, and marketing graphics.
Create and review product mockups, photo retouching, and presentation visuals.
Collaborate with sales and product development teams to communicate product concepts effectively.
Support new product launches with cohesive, engaging visual materials.
What We're Looking For
5+ years of professional graphic design experience, preferably in consumer products, packaging, accessories, giftware, or related industries.
Experience leading creative projects, mentoring designers, or guiding design direction.
A strong portfolio demonstrating original artwork, illustration, product graphics, packaging design, and creative versatility.
Excellent hands-on skills in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign.
Strong illustration skills, visual judgment, typography, and color sense.
Ability to create original concepts rather than relying primarily on existing templates or stock artwork.
Experience translating creative concepts into production-ready designs.
Strong communication skills and the confidence to provide clear, constructive creative feedback.
Ability to balance hands-on design work with team leadership and project management.
A genuine interest in consumer trends, retail products, and creative product development.
Preferred Qualifications
Previous experience as a Graphic Design Manager, Art Director, Creative Lead, or Senior Graphic Designer with team leadership responsibilities.
Experience designing artwork for physical products, accessories, toys, giftware, or lifestyle merchandise.
Experience with retail packaging programs for major retailers.
Familiarity with overseas manufacturing and print production.
Experience with Adobe Dimension, Blender, Cinema 4D, or similar 3D visualization tools.
Experience developing fashion, streetwear, seasonal, or character-based graphics.
Experience working across multiple brands or product collections.
Why Join MK Lighter?
Create real products: See your original artwork become physical products sold in retail stores nationwide.
Lead creatively: Help shape the visual direction of new collections while staying hands-on with design.
Make an impact: Your ideas and creative decisions will directly influence how our products look and connect with customers.
Work across styles: Explore a wide range of visual themes, trends, and consumer audiences.
Grow with the team: Help develop our creative team and contribute to the evolution of our product design process.
Collaborate across disciplines: Work closely with product development, sales, and manufacturing teams to bring ideas to market.
Numbers & Facts
Location
Eastvale, CA
Job Type
Full-time
Skills
Administrative Managementunmatched
Adobe Illustratorunmatched
Adobe InDesignunmatched
Adobe Photoshopunmatched
Adobe Product Familyunmatched
Blenderunmatched
Communication Skillsunmatched
Consumer Goods and Servicesunmatched
Dental Insuranceunmatched
Design Servicesunmatched
Graphic Designunmatched
Graphicsunmatched
Health Insuranceunmatched
Illustrating Abilityunmatched
Leadershipunmatched
Manufacturingunmatched
Market Trend Analysisunmatched
Marketing Presentationunmatched
Mentoringunmatched
Mock Upunmatched
Multitaskingunmatched
OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer)unmatched
Printingunmatched
Problem Solving Skillsunmatched
Product Designunmatched
Product Developmentunmatched
Product Packagingunmatched
Product Reviewsunmatched
Product Supportunmatched
Product/Service Launchunmatched
Project Designunmatched
Project/Program Managementunmatched
Retailunmatched
Retail Salesunmatched
Retouchingunmatched
Retrounmatched
Salesunmatched
Sales Presentationunmatched
Team Lead/Managerunmatched
Team Playerunmatched
Trade Showsunmatched
Typographyunmatched
User Documentationunmatched
Vision Planunmatched
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