Senior Surface Print Designer

Senior Surface Print Designer

HydroJug | Ogden, UT | Full-Time | Hybrid (4 days in office / 1 day remote) | New Variant Development

About HydroJug

HydroJug is a fast-growing hydration and lifestyle brand on a mission to make healthy habits easier and more accessible. Our business is built on a steady cadence of fresh, on-trend product variants that keep our community engaged season after season.

About the Role

HydroJug is seeking a Senior Surface Print Designer to lead forward product planning within our New Variant Development (NVD) team. This is a senior, high-visibility role that blends design craft, trend forecasting, and cross-functional leadership.

The Senior Surface Print Designer owns our forward product development calendar, facilitates recurring leadership reviews that move new products through defined creative and production stages, and personally concepts and designs the surface prints, colors, and variants that go to market. This role is ideal for an experienced designer who is equally effective leading a senior-level product conversation and producing original, production-ready surface artwork.

The successful candidate will inherit a functioning product planning system and will be expected to strengthen and scale it over time.

Key Responsibilities

Product Calendar Ownership

Own, maintain, and present HydroJug’s forward product development calendarCoordinate regularly with sales, marketing, and operations to align on upcoming product activity across the businessProduce and maintain the visual calendar presentation used by stakeholders throughout the organizationPartner closely with cross-functional product leaders to maintain alignment across go-to-market channelsProduct Review Facilitation

Prepare, lead, and drive a recurring senior leadership review of the forward product pipelineAdvance each product through defined creative and production stages — from early concept development through design, sampling, and final approval — on an agreed-upon cadencePresent work with clear rationale supported by trend analysis, market signals, and commercial insightFacilitate stakeholder decisions and document outcomes and next stepsSurface Design and Trend Forecasting

Concept and design original surface prints, color palettes, and product variantsConduct ongoing trend research across fashion, home, consumer goods, and adjacent lifestyle categories, drawing from sources including WGSN, trade shows, retail analysis, social listening, and primary consumer researchDeliver production-ready artwork and collaborate with the operations team through sampling and final approvalMentor junior designers as the team growsRequired Qualifications

5+ years of senior-level experience in surface, print, pattern, or textile designPortfolio demonstrating range across multiple consumer categories, aesthetics, and color storiesPrior experience managing or mentoring junior designersProven ability to present to executive audiences and drive decisions in formal meeting settingsStrong trend forecasting foundation with the ability to articulate clear, defensible rationale behind design choicesFluency in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop) and project management tools such as AsanaExperience introducing process improvements within established design or product planning systemsWillingness and ability to work from our Ogden, Utah office four days per week, with one day remotePreferred Qualifications

Experience at a direct-to-consumer or lifestyle brand known for seasonal drops, strong print strategy, or distinctive color programsBackground in pattern-driven consumer categories outside drinkware — wallpaper, stationery, home textiles, apparel, accessories, baby and kids, nail, or similarWorking familiarity with AI-enabled design tools such as Midjourney, Adobe Firefly, or RunwayExperience with 3D rendering software such as KeyShotSuccess in the First 12 Months

Months 1–2: Learn the existing product planning system, build relationships with cross-functional stakeholders, and develop an independent point of view on current prioritiesMonth 3: Independently lead the recurring product leadership review with a first concept cycle in motionMonth 6: First prints approved and moving to sampling; calendar reflects the designer’s refined market point of viewMonth 12: First full wave of new variants launched to customers; product planning system measurably improvedLocation and Reporting

Hybrid schedule based out of our Ogden, Utah office: four days in office, one day remoteReports to the Chief Executive OfficerCollaborates cross-functionally with product, marketing, operations, and sales leaders

How to Apply

Please submit your resume, portfolio, and a brief written summary of a recent surface print or variant design decision you championed, including the rationale behind the decision and the commercial or creative outcome.