What are the responsibilities and job description for the Concept Designer position at PRETIUM?
Plastics Packaging Concept Designer I (Level 1)
Location: Hybrid: Birmingham, MI
Department: Product Commercialization
Reports To: Director of Product Commercialization
Position Summary
The Concept Designer I is responsible for developing visually compelling packaging concepts that bring customer ideas and brand strategies to life. This role focuses exclusively on creative ideation, rendering, and visual storytelling, supporting early-stage design exploration before engineering development begins.
The Designer acts as a key contributor in concept workshops and customer engagements, translating inputs such as brand guidelines, inspiration, and market trends into clear, presentation-ready visuals. This role does not perform engineering design or technical drafting, but instead partners with Product Engineering to hand off clear visual intent.
Key Responsibilities
- Create high-quality photorealistic renderings of packaging concepts using KeyShot
- Develop visual design concepts aligned to customer branding, positioning, and market trends
- Build mood boards, concept boards, and visual directions to guide design exploration
- Support and actively participate in customer concept workshops and ideation sessions
- Rapidly iterate on concepts based on customer and internal feedback
- Create presentation-ready visuals for customer proposals and internal reviews
- Apply strong design fundamentals (form, proportion, color, and finish) to packaging concepts
- Translate abstract ideas into clear visual representations of packaging direction
- Partner with Product Engineering teams by providing visual intent and design direction (no technical execution)
- Maintain organized libraries of renderings, textures, finishes, and concept assets
Required Qualifications
- Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design, Graphic Design, or related field
- 0–2 years of experience in concept design, visualization, or creative product design
- Proficiency in:
- KeyShot (required) – rendering and visualization
- Adobe Photoshop (required) – concept development and image creation
- Strong visual design skillset (color, form, branding, composition)
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, iterative, creative environment
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with consumer packaging or product visualization
- Exposure to brand-driven design work (CPG, personal care, food, etc.)
- Familiarity with Adobe Illustrator or similar tools
- Interest in trends, aesthetics, and consumer-facing design
Core Competencies
- Visual storytelling and creativity
- Rapid concept development and iteration
- Strong aesthetic judgment
- Collaboration across commercial and engineering teams
- Clear communication through visuals (not technical documentation)
Success Profile (First 6–12 Months)
- Consistently delivers high-quality, customer-facing renderings and concept visuals
- Actively contributes to concept sessions with strong creative output
- Demonstrates strong alignment to brand and consumer expectations
- Effectively hands off clear design intent to engineering teams for development