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Structural Designer
Hood Container
Nashville, TN
Dec 2018 - Present (5 years 11 months)
- Successfully developed packaging solutions for a wide range of clients using - Corrugated fiber board and various types of Foam.
- Develop Displays for a variety of clients and ensure manufacture-ability within our plant.
- Quote customer supplied designs and ensure components will successfully run on our equipment.
Job duties include:
- Design of structural packaging using corrugated fiber board. (Cardboard)
- Lead face to face discussions with those outside brokers on design requirements and deliverables.
- Travel to meet clients to understand their needs.
- Produce assembly instructions/videos
- Mentor new sales staff
- Define the routing of those components/structures through our plant and ensuring fast set up times and ease of production by reviewing challenging components with machine operators, supervisors, and plant manager.
- Sample making using Kongsberg cutting tables. Also used table for production testing, which could require 50-100 samples of more complicated designed that fold and glue.
- Quote cutting dies and printing plates.
- Ensured print/graphic designs requested by customer will run in our plant and discuss challenges we may face and present those challenges/opportunities to sales/clients.
- Supporting internal sales partners in developing packaging solutions.
- Support outside brokers in their efforts to quote structural packaging/displays in our plant.
- Artios CAD, Adobe illustrator, and other CAD tools were used to develop packaging solutions.
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Principal Industrial Designer
Lustrum Labs
Houston, TX
Feb 2009 - Dec 2018 (9 years 10 months)
- Product design & engineering beginning with a human centered design approach.
- Prototyping high fidelity functional models, Market exploration & research, Packaging design, POP/POS display design, and Creation of marketing materials.
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Senior Industrial Designer - Innovation & Portfolio Enhancement
Buddeez Inc
Wentzville, MO
Jan 2016 - Jan 2017 (1 year)
Full Time - Remote Contract w/ Bi-Monthly Onsite Visits
- Product, packaging, display, and pallet display designer for Family owned Home & Housewares Company based in St. Louis.
- Working remotely, I was charged with discovering consumer needs and developing product solutions/enhancements to current product lines.
- Traveled overseas to source turn key products to increase SKU count for improved product placement with retailers.
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Principal Designer - Research & Development
Teeter Hang Ups
Puyallup, WA
2014 - 2015 (1 year)
Full Time - Remote Contract w/ Bi-Monthly Onsite Visits & International Travel
- Lead Designer for Teeter Fit Spine inversion table & enhanced portfolio.
- Translated consumer insights into new products.
- Designed, engineered, and developed CMF for Inversion Tables, Fitness Products, Neck & Back Relaxation Devices alongside the Business Owner.
- Extensive Overseas Travel - QC definition, Sourcing, Vendor Alignment and Qualification.
- Conducted consumer research, vendor audits, retailer reviews.
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Senior Industrial Designer - R&D - Care & Treats - Structural Packaging & Display
MARS Inc
Nashville, TN
Jan 2010 - Aug 2014 (4 years 7 months)
- Launched 3 new Care & Treat food items for both cat & dog.
- Developed and achieved internal buy in from stakeholders for structural packaging designs.
- Translated consumer insights into new products & packaging solutions.
- Supported eight packaging engineers across various packaging structures.
- Supported new product launches with digital collateral.
- Identified white space opportunities for our brands; Pedigree, Whiskas, Cesar, & Greenies.
- Constructed low and high-fidelity physical prototypes as well as digital mock-ups.
- Managed 3 in-house 3D printing machines.
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Senior Industrial Designer - Permanent POP Displays
AMD Industries
Cicero, IL
Dec 2007 - Jan 2009 (1 year 1 month)
- Launched 8 permanent POP displays for large retailers constructed in metal, wood, & plastics.
- Solutions included audio, video, and varying levels of interactivity.
- Considering product life cycle and interoperability as freestanding displays, end-caps, and in-line solutions.
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Industrial Designer - POP Displays
Wirestone
Chicago, IL
Jan 2007 - Dec 2007 (11 months)
- Successfully launched more than a dozen structural displays for Motorola handsets.
- Designed low cost (<$19.95 Retail) POP Displays for Motorola's wireless handset division.
- One week to design & build 3D CAD models, define CMF, and provide technical drawings to manufacturers in Israel and China. They had 2 weeks to produce and return functional prototypes to us in Chicago for internal design reviews.
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Industrial Designer II - R&D - Food Service & HEFTY Brand
PACTIV EVERGREEN
Lake Forest, IL
Oct 2004 - Dec 2006 (2 years 2 months)
- Launched several new packaging structures.
- Designed packaging solutions based on consumer research. Ethnographic, Qualitative, and Quantitative research.
- Clients included; Wendy's, McDonald's, Noodles & Co., Wing Street, Hillshire Farm, Panda Express, and HEFTY.
- Leveraged my Design Thinking experience to understand usage scenarios and develop valuable solutions that met consumer and business needs.
- Member of cross-functional team.