Lead Designer

Counter Culture Coffee was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Durham, NC, with regional offices in 12 major cities across the country. Counter Culture Coffee has been continuously innovating in the coffee industry and we’re looking for passionate, dynamic, diverse team members to help us expand our efforts.

Counter Culture Coffee is:

Our Purpose is:

Position: Lead Designer

Department: Marketing

Location: Durham, NC (Remote/Hybrid)

Reports To: VP of Brand

FLSA Status: EXEMPT, 8810

Job Overview:

Counter Culture Coffee is looking for a Lead Designer to serve as the in-house visual steward of our brand. This role is about using design as a strategic tool to drive our mission. You will be responsible for ensuring that whether a customer is seeing us on a grocery shelf, scrolling Instagram, or visiting one of our wholesale partner cafes, the experience is unmistakably Counter Culture.

This is a brand with cult status in the coffee industry - it’s been a leader in specialty coffee since its inception in 1995, defining quality and sustainability standards. With a wide variety of projects including packaging, events, and digital, this role presents an opportunity to really make a creative mark.

Job Duties:

• Brand Stewardship: Own the brand visual system and ensure consistent execution across touchpoints, including primary and secondary packaging, sell-in materials for retail and wholesale, and physical Training Centers.
• Creative Strategy: Partner with leadership to translate business goals into compelling visual narratives. This role involves leading all in-house creative work and also partnering with agencies on select projects, representing the authentic brand proposition and personality in all work.
• Packaging, Merchandise, Campaign Materials + Sales Support: Execute the artwork for limited releases, rotational variants, partner collaborations, and year-round blends. Create brand merchandise strategy and execution and oversee campaign development.
• Website & UX Design: Translating design concepts and campaigns for the website and other digital platforms, working with web developers. An understanding of good UX to effectively implement the brand identity online.
• Environmental & Event Design: Concept and execute visual experiences for trade shows and support our 12 regional Training Centers.
• Project Management + Communication: Manage all creative projects, including prioritizing requests and communicating effectively with internal stakeholders.
• Technology + Tools: Leverage AI tools thoughtfully to accelerate and improve design and continually look for ways to improve.

Requirements:

• 5-7 years of professional design experience, with a strong portfolio showcasing brand identity and CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) work.
• Depth + Breadth: Experience working in-house, understanding brand depth, and within an agency, understanding pace and variety, is ideal
• Strategic Mindset: Proven ability to think through the "why" behind the "what."
• Technical Mastery: Expert knowledge of Adobe Creative Cloud.
• Mission-Aligned: You have a genuine passion for sustainability and the "relentless pursuit of coffee perfection." You understand what resonates with the latest coffee shops as well as Grocery store specialty coffee buyers.
• Fast-paced and front footed: You stay up to date with the latest design trends and tech and you’re able to act with speed to execute creative and keep pace with the business.

Physical Aspects of this Job:

The physical activity of this position:

The physical requirements of this position:

• Sedentary work. Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time.

The visual acuity requirements (including color, depth perception, and field vision) of this position:

• Requires close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; and extensive reading.

90 Day Goals:

Benefits: Currently, the offered benefits include, group health (medical, dental and vision), available the first of the month after 30 days of employment; Flexible Spending Accounts for Healthcare and for Dependent Care; short- and long-term disability; life insurance; Wellness Benefits; 401(k) program; paid time off; eight company holidays; Stock Option Plan; A Stake in the Outcome.

Counter Culture Coffee a growth-oriented company, team of coffee driven individuals working together on continuous improvements.

Counter Culture Coffee is an Equal Opportunity Employer in both policy and practice.

Counter Culture Coffee assesses candidates for employment based on their knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the job for which they are applying and without regard to any non-job-related category as protected by federal, state or local law.

Finalist candidates for employment will be required to demonstrate USA employment eligibility - per federal and state law, Counter Culture Coffee participates in the federal E-Verify program. Candidates must have the legal right to work in the United States without sponsorship.