Senior Graphic Designer

Senior Graphic Designer

Art Department · BlueCotton · Bowling Green, KY

BlueCotton is looking for a Senior Graphic Designer to become a driving force in our Art Department, the team that stands between every customer's order and our production floor. This isn't an entry-level production art role. We need someone who can walk in with well-honed design skills, learn our processes, and start turning out accurate, production-ready artwork right away, while also growing into a thinking partner and right hand for our Director of Art, who has spent 28 years building BlueCotton's decoration expertise from the ground up.

When a design problem can't be resolved quickly by the artist working on it, you’ll be the consultant. Whether it’s a tricky separation, an odd garment, or a customer who can't quite describe what's in their head, it lands on this desk next. You'll need the mental range to see the whole business, not just the file in front of you: how a design decision plays out on the production floor and how to turn a customer's jumbled words into something they're genuinely excited about.

This is a 100% on-site position based in Bowling Green, KY. We are not accepting applications for remote work.

While a formal education and undergraduate/graduate degree is nice to have, we are most interested in your total experience and abilities.

The ideal candidate is a confident problem-solver who wants to work with people, not just artwork. Someone who can hold their own with a customer, a salesperson, or a production lead, and who sees every unusual request as a puzzle worth solving.

WHAT "FAST-PACED" MEANS AT BLUECOTTON

Almost every candidate tells us they thrive in a fast-paced environment. Here, that's not a line on a resume, it's the job. Before you apply, know what you're signing up for:

• If you take three days off, don't be surprised if we've rolled out a new process or launched a whole new project while you were gone. Priorities move that quickly.
• We're privately owned. The co-owners make the calls, and we move as fast as the business needs. No layers, no waiting on a committee.
• Every job here is urgent, because our customers' jobs are urgent. Custom apparel comes with a deadline attached, and that urgency runs through everything we do.
• We're a custom business and every order is unique. You'll face a new challenge every day, and “I did my best, but it's not quite what they wanted” isn't an answer we accept. We keep exploring solutions until we've solved the problem. 

WHAT YOU'LL DO

The tasks and responsibilities that will fill your day:

• Production artwork: Prepare, separate, and set up customer-supplied designs for screen printing; prepare design mock-ups and email customers for approval; outsource files for embroidery digitizing or vectorizing.
• Design development: Turn a customer's rough idea, unclear reference photo, or jumbled description into a finished design ready for production.
• Escalations: Serve as one of the first people pulled in when a design or production problem can't be resolved quickly by the artist working it.
• Customer & sales communication: Talk directly with customers and salespeople about what's possible, what isn't, and what alternative will get them a great result instead.
• AI-assisted production: Use AI image-generation tools to get artwork done faster, alongside Photoshop and Illustrator.
• Trend research (a big plus): Track decoration, garment, and culture trends, and feed what you find to the sales team to help win new business.
• Room to grow: This role starts as a senior individual contributor, meaning production-ready artwork and creative problem-solving from day one. If you build the track record and show the interest, there's real potential to take on more complex, cross-departmental problems alongside our Director of Art down the road. That's a possibility we'd love the right person to grow into, not a promise that comes with the job.

THE SKILLS YOU'LL SHOWCASE

The character and mindset that make someone thrive in this job that is separate from the task list above.

• Creativity: A natural eye for generating options, not just executing the one idea you're handed.
• Confidence: Comfortable being an advisor to our people and customers; speaking up when something might not work while offering a better alternative.
• Curiosity: Genuine interest in learning why a process works the way it does, not just how to follow the steps.
• Detail Oriented: Notices what's off before it becomes a costly mistake on the production floor.
• Composure Under Pressure: Steady when priorities shift quickly or a customer is frustrated. Doesn't rattle easily.
• Team Player: Works well across departments, not just within Art. That's what our BlueCotton family is all about!
• Business-Minded: Instinctively thinks about how a decision plays out downstream for production and for the customer.
• Dedication: Willing to work an occasional evening or weekend to meet a production schedule. 

THE EXPERIENCE YOU'LL BRING

• 5 years of professional graphic design experience. Experience with apparel decoration (screen printing, embroidery, or similar production art) is a strong plus (not a requirement). We'll train you on our specific processes.
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, including vector artwork and file preparation for production.
• A portfolio that shows both technical production work and creative problem-solving, not just concept art.
• Comfortable talking directly with customers, salespeople, and production staff to resolve problems. This is a customer-facing role, not just heads-down design work.
• Ability to interpret vague, incomplete, or conflicting descriptions and produce a finished design that matches what the customer had in mind.
• Genuine enthusiasm for AI image-generation tools and other technology that speeds up production, not just tolerance for them.
• Proven ability to multi-task and manage many designs across multiple deadlines at once.
• Follows procedures for artwork preparation and documentation and contributes ideas for improving those procedures.
• Desire to grow into a larger problem-solving and mentoring role within the Art Department over time. 

BENEFITS

We offer benefits that let our team chase their own goals, not just ours:

• Paid time off
• 401(k) match
• Free Bitcoin after 5 years
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Paid life insurance policy
• SmartDollar Program
• Optional participation in BlueCotton's professional development group
• Dream Manager Incentive: Meet with a coach who helps you reach your dreams onsite, on the clock, for free!
• Family atmosphere throughout the company

JOB SPECIFICS

• Full-time, 100% onsite position
• Eligible for Hybrid or Remote? No
• Monday – Friday, 8:30am–5pm (occasional evenings/weekends as production schedules require)
• Reports to: Director of Art
• Pay: Starting at $25/hr

WHY BLUECOTTON?

Even though we've been in business for 35 years, BlueCotton is on the move. We've been named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America for two years running (8 times total), and we were just named one of the Best Places to Work in Kentucky. We are a $20M company looking for A players. We have big goals about the impact we can make on our team members, customers, and community, and we know we'll get there by building a team that understands our goals, is passionate about our “why,” and is excited to build something significant.

We're in Bowling Green, KY, the fastest-growing city in the state and just one hour north of Nashville. Our team calls this area home and comes to work every day ready to serve customers all around the United States. We have a lot of production muscle and compete with the top screen printers in our industry, but we're still small enough to feel like a family business. It's important to us to know the names and interests of everyone on the team.

The biggest reason BlueCotton is so special is because our work is meaningful and connects us with people during special moments of their lives. Our products help open businesses, raise money for worthy causes, celebrate milestones, commemorate special events, and honor the legacy of lives well lived.

T-shirts mark the moment.

If you can help us reach our goal of $40M by 2030, we can hardly wait to speak with you!

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to learn more about our company and culture. @BlueCotton