Applications Without a Portfolio Will Not Be Considered

Your portfolio should include relevant examples of packaging, print production, apparel, branded merchandise, product design, or other work that was actually manufactured or printed.

About BeefCake Jerky

BeefCake Jerky is one of the fastest-growing jerky brands in the country.

Built from the ground up, we have grown from a garage startup into a nationally distributed consumer brand selling more than one million units annually across thousands of retail locations.

We also have something very few consumer brands possess: a built-in audience.

With more than four million followers across social media, we are building more than a jerky company. We are building one of the most recognizable blue-collar, outdoor, and lifestyle brands in America.

The Purpose of This Role

This person owns nearly everything BeefCake creates that a customer can physically hold.

If it gets printed, sewn, molded, stitched, packaged, displayed, or shipped in a box with the BeefCake name on it, this role helps design it, prepare it for production, source it, sample it, revise it, and get it made.

This is not a role where you create a mockup, send it to someone else, and consider the project finished.

You will own projects through the complete process:

Concept → Design → Production Files → Tech Pack → Supplier → Sample → Revision → Approval → Purchase Order → Delivery → Launch

An idea does not count because it looked good in a presentation.

It counts when it is produced correctly, arrives on time, meets margin requirements, and is available for customers to buy.

This Is Not a Corporate Design Job

If you are looking for a company where projects sit in approval for weeks, this is not it.

We move quickly. Ideas become products quickly. Retail deadlines are real, and mistakes can be expensive.

The people who thrive here take ownership, solve problems, communicate clearly, and execute without waiting for someone to outline every next step.

This position is not simply about making things look good.

It is about building a brand that wins on retail shelves, online, at events, and in the hands of customers.

Your Five Core Areas of Ownership

1. Packaging and Print Production Design

This is the highest priority of the role.

Packaging is one of BeefCake’s most important sales tools. This person owns packaging and print files from concept through final, production-ready delivery.

You will design, revise, and maintain files for:

• Jerky bags across multiple sizes and flavors
• Individual meat stick film and multipacks
• Inner pack cartons and stick caddies
• Club packs, variety packs, bundles, and gift sets
• Case packs and shipper cartons
• Retail display trays and shelf caddies
• Header cards and clip-strip displays
• Counter displays, floor shippers, and pallet displays
• Volume bins and dump bins
• Endcaps, sidekicks, window clings, and cooler signage
• Seasonal and promotional packaging
• Collaboration and limited-edition packaging
• Future categories such as seasonings, sauces, rubs, and co-branded products

You will be responsible for creating and delivering files that are:

• Built on accurate supplier dielines
• Fully layered and editable
• High resolution
• Properly outlined and packaged
• CMYK- and Pantone-accurate
• Built with correct bleeds and safe areas
• Prepared to the printer’s exact specifications
• Consistent with approved brand and flavor systems
• Ready for legal and regulatory review
• Correctly configured for UPC placement and print requirements

You will communicate directly with printers, manufacturers, suppliers, and internal leadership when specifications or production questions arise.

Files should reach the printer correctly the first time. Recurring rework, missed specifications, or avoidable print errors are not acceptable.

2. Product Design — Apparel, Accessories and Hard Goods

BeefCake is becoming more than a food company. We want to create products our customers are proud to wear, use, display, and collect.

You will help concept and design:

• T-shirts
• Hoodies
• Hats
• Beanies
• Jackets and outerwear
• Socks
• Koozies
• Tumblers and drinkware
• Keychains
• Patches
• Stickers and sticker packs
• Decals
• Jet tags
• Ammo crates
• Promotional products
• Event merchandise
• Collaboration products
• New accessories that fit the BeefCake customer and brand

Your responsibilities will include:

• Generating original product ideas
• Turning ideas from leadership and marketing into strong design directions
• Producing multiple concept options quickly
• Presenting and pitching concepts for approval
• Selecting colorways, materials, placements, trims, and print methods
• Creating final production artwork
• Developing packaging and presentation for merchandise
• Building complete supplier-ready tech packs

You must design products for the actual BeefCake customer—not for design awards or your personal portfolio.

The product should be creative, useful, commercially viable, and on-brand.

3. Sourcing, Sampling and Merchandising

This is where many designers will wash out.

Design means nothing if the product never gets made.

You will own the process of moving approved products from final design into the warehouse.

Responsibilities include:

• Researching and identifying qualified suppliers
• Working with domestic manufacturers and decorators
• Sourcing directly through overseas suppliers when appropriate
• Working through U.S.-based partners that manage overseas manufacturing
• Requesting and comparing quotes
• Evaluating pricing, minimum order quantities, lead times, and landed costs
• Recommending suppliers based on quality, cost, reliability, and timing
• Maintaining an organized supplier roster by product category
• Creating supplier-ready tech packs and specification documents
• Ordering samples
• Inspecting samples against the approved design and specifications
• Documenting all revision requests
• Managing multiple rounds of sampling
• Following up with suppliers until corrections are completed
• Securing final approval before production begins
• Preparing or placing approved purchase orders
• Tracking production and delivery timelines
• Coordinating with operations on receiving, inventory, and launch timing
• Maintaining a rolling product and merchandise development calendar

No product should be ordered without understanding its cost, target retail price, landed margin, minimum order quantity, and commercial viability.

A cool product that loses money or sits in inventory is not a successful product.

4. Digital Asset Production — AI Accelerated

This role will also support the marketing team with packaging-adjacent, product-related, and quick-turn static assets.

Projects may include:

• Website hero banners
• Product launch graphics
• Promotional banners
• Product listing images
• Product silos and lifestyle composites
• Retail product-page assets
• Amazon graphics
• TikTok Shop graphics
• Walmart.com graphics
• Social media graphics
• Sales and promotional graphics
• Asset resizing and versioning
• One-off requests from marketing, sales, or operations

We are an AI-forward company.

You will be expected to use our AI tools to accelerate concepting, product visualization, mockups, image production, and routine asset creation.

However, AI does not replace design judgment or production ability.

You must be able to:

• Direct AI tools toward a specific creative outcome
• Improve weak or generic AI concepts
• Convert generated artwork into clean, editable files
• Rebuild artwork as production-ready vector assets
• Correct typography, composition, anatomy, textures, and details
• Produce accurate mockups and product visualizations
• Know when AI is useful and when traditional design work is required
• Prevent low-quality “AI slop” from reaching customers

The expectation is not to hand-build every basic asset slowly.

The expectation is to use AI for leverage while applying real design skill where quality and production accuracy matter.

5. Brand Systems, Retail Sales and Event Materials

You will help maintain the visual consistency of BeefCake across every physical customer touchpoint.

Responsibilities include:

• Maintaining and improving brand guidelines
• Managing approved logos, colors, fonts, and usage rules
• Maintaining the BeefCake flavor color system
• Developing visual systems across product families
• Organizing master design files with consistent naming conventions
• Maintaining version history and revision notes
• Archiving current and retired packaging files
• Running periodic consistency checks across packaging and merchandise
• Creating retail sell sheets
• Creating product and distributor specification sheets
• Supporting retail pitch decks and broker presentations
• Designing trade show booths and backdrops
• Designing banners, wall graphics, table displays, and signage
• Creating flyers, postcards, catalogs, and event handouts
• Creating retail sampling and demonstration materials

Attention to Detail Is Not Optional

Nearly everything you create will eventually be printed, manufactured, shipped to retailers, placed in front of customers, or distributed across thousands of units.

A small error can cause:

• Thousands of packages to be printed incorrectly
• Retail launch delays
• Missed reset dates
• Wasted inventory
• Retailer chargebacks
• Supplier rework
• Expedited freight
• Products that cannot legally or practically be sold
• Significant financial loss

You should naturally catch:

• Spelling and grammar errors
• Incorrect dimensions
• Dieline mistakes
• Missing bleeds
• Unsafe artwork placement
• Alignment problems
• Inconsistent spacing
• Low-resolution assets
• Incorrect color profiles
• Pantone inconsistencies
• Missing fonts
• Broken links
• Incorrect UPC placement
• Improper logo usage
• Incorrect product details
• Outdated versions
• Supplier specification mismatches

The best designers do not rely on someone else to catch their mistakes.

They build systems, maintain organized files, use checklists, proof their work, and consistently deliver accurate, production-ready files.

“Close enough” does not exist when thousands of units are being manufactured.

Who We Are Looking For

We are looking for an A-player who combines strong creative taste with relentless follow-through.

You are someone who:

• Takes ownership from concept through delivery
• Gets satisfaction from completing and shipping work
• Executes quickly without becoming careless
• Has exceptional visual judgment
• Is highly conscientious and detail-oriented
• Can manage multiple production timelines simultaneously
• Communicates risk before it becomes an emergency
• Follows up without being reminded
• Is comfortable working directly with suppliers
• Can handle creative work and unglamorous production logistics
• Understands margins and commercial decision-making
• Accepts direct feedback without ego
• Solves problems instead of explaining why they cannot be solved
• Works independently and manages their own priorities
• Uses AI as leverage rather than as a crutch
• Designs for customers and sales—not personal artistic validation

We are not looking for someone who needs daily direction, constant encouragement, or repeated reminders to finish projects.

This Role Is Probably Not for You If

• You love brainstorming but lose interest during execution
• You only want to perform glamorous creative work
• You consider sourcing, sampling, or supplier communication beneath you
• You routinely miss deadlines while chasing perfection
• You are strong at design but weak at organization
• You expect another person to finish production after your mockup is approved
• You blame printers or suppliers instead of helping solve the issue
• You need constant feedback or visibility to stay motivated
• You produce beautiful concepts that rarely become finished products
• You need to be managed like a task list instead of trusted like an owner

Required Skills and Experience

• Advanced Adobe Illustrator skills
• Advanced Adobe Photoshop skills
• Strong typography and layout ability
• Professional packaging design experience
• Packaging dieline experience
• Commercial print-production knowledge
• Experience preparing production-ready files
• Understanding of CMYK, Pantone, bleeds, separations, and print specifications
• Apparel or merchandise graphic-design experience
• Ability to create organized tech packs and specification documents
• Ability to convert AI-generated concepts into clean, editable production assets
• Strong file-management and version-control habits
• Excellent organization and project-management ability
• Ability to manage several active projects and deadlines simultaneously
• Exceptional attention to detail

Preferred or Bonus Experience

Experience with any of the following is valuable:

• Consumer packaged goods
• Food or beverage packaging
• National retail brands
• Retail product launches
• Outdoor, blue-collar, or lifestyle brands
• Overseas product sourcing
• Alibaba or direct supplier sourcing
• Supplier quote and MOQ comparison
• Sample management and product revisions
• Purchase orders and production tracking
• Landed-cost and margin analysis
• Adobe InDesign
• Figma
• 3D product-rendering or mockup tools
• Tech-pack or specification software
• Shopify
• E-commerce product imagery
• Web design
• Motion graphics
• Photography
• Creative direction
• Trade show and retail-display design

What Success Looks Like

Success is measured by outcomes, not how busy you appear.

You are succeeding when:

• Packaging files reach printers accurately and on time
• Files require little or no production rework
• Retail launches are never delayed because of missing artwork
• New product concepts are consistently presented
• Approved products actively move through sourcing and sampling
• Samples do not sit stalled waiting for someone to follow up
• Products are developed with clear cost and margin targets
• Merchandise launches remain on schedule
• Digital requests are completed by the committed deadline
• AI allows you to produce faster without lowering quality
• Leadership does not need to chase you for project updates
• Your designs become real, finished products that customers buy

The standard is not:

“I finished the design.”

The standard is:

“It was designed correctly, produced correctly, delivered on time, launched, and is selling.”What Makes This Opportunity Different

Most design jobs maintain an existing brand.

This role helps build one.

Your work will appear:

• On retail shelves nationwide
• Inside major retail chains
• Across millions of social media impressions
• On products customers use and collect
• On apparel people wear
• At trade shows and major events
• In national retail and marketing presentations
• Across one of the fastest-growing brands in its category

You will work closely with the VP of Marketing, founder, leadership team, operations team, printers, suppliers, and manufacturing partners.

You will have meaningful responsibility and a direct impact on what BeefCake becomes.

Our Culture

We value teammates who:

• Take ownership
• Execute with urgency
• Solve problems instead of stalling
• Hold themselves to high standards
• Communicate clearly
• Continue learning
• Care deeply about quality
• Help the entire team win
• Leave excuses at the door
• Finish what they start

Talent matters.

Character and follow-through matter more.

If you are looking for a place to coast, this will not be a fit.

If you are excited by moving quickly, owning meaningful work, creating real products, and helping build a nationally recognized brand, we want to hear from you.

To Apply

Applications without a portfolio will not be considered.

Please apply through Indeed and include:

• Your resume
• A link to your portfolio
• Examples of packaging, apparel, merchandise, branding, or product-design work
• Examples of products you personally helped move from concept into production
• A brief explanation of your role in getting those products manufactured or printed
• A short note explaining why you would be a strong fit for BeefCake Jerky

You may also send your application materials to:

flair@beefcakejerky.com

In your application, identify the last three products you helped take from concept to a finished, shipped product. Explain the timeline, your exact responsibilities, and one production problem you had to solve.

Benefits

• 401(k)

Required Experience

• Adobe Illustrator: 2 years
• Adobe Photoshop: 2 years
• Packaging design: 2 years

Pay: $45,000.00 - $65,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)

Experience:

• Adobe Illustrator: 2 years (Required)
• Adobe Photoshop: 2 years (Required)
• Package Design: 2 years (Required)

Work Location: Remote