Lead Packaging Designer

Exact Sciences • San Diego, CA

4d • $124,000 - $211,000

About The Position

At Exact Sciences, we’re helping change how the world prevents, detects and guides treatment for cancer. We give patients and clinicians the clarity needed to make confident decisions when they matter most. Join our team to find a purpose-driven career, an inclusive culture, and robust benefits to support your life while you’re working to help others. Position Overview Exact Science’s Customer Experience (CX) team is responsible for defining, driving, and delivering innovative, immersive, memorable customer-centric journeys for all our customers, across all channels (digital and physical). These journeys are grouped by Customer Types (e.g., Patient, Provider) and further categorized into a set of Experiences (e.g., Understand Risks & Complete Screening, Confirm Diagnosis). Each Experience has a set of specific, measurable Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) that the overall team is accountable to fulfill. The Lead Packaging Designer is a senior technical and experiential design leader responsible for defining and delivering innovative, scalable packaging solutions that balance functionality, compliance, and brand expression. This role brings deep expertise in packaging systems, materials, and production, while envisioning packaging as a critical experience touchpoint—from first interaction through unboxing and use. Partnering closely with product, engineering, regulatory, legal, manufacturing, and brand teams, the Lead Packaging Designer translates complex technical and operational requirements into intuitive, friction-reducing packaging experiences. The role combines strategic leadership with hands-on concept development, including visualization and 3D rendering, to create memorable, human-centered packaging that enhances trust, clarity, and brand equity. You should be prepared to share a portfolio that demonstrates your ability to simplify complexity, bring strategy to life through experience, and create work that resonates with diverse audiences. Your work reflects a deep commitment to solving the right problems and driving meaningful outcomes at scale.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Design, Marketing, Business, Life Sciences, or related field of study; or High School Degree/General Education Diploma and 4+ years of relevant experience as outlined in the essential duties in lieu of Bachelor’s degree.
• 8+ years of experience working as a UX Designer, with at least 5 years of experience in a senior or lead capacity.
• Extensive experience in applying techniques and methods of modern user experience design, discovery, and delivery – along with expertise with design/user experience platforms and tools (e.g., Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, Miro, Jira).
• Experience with content management systems (Sitecore a plus) and user testing tools.
• Experience in simplifying and communicating complex ideas to broad audiences.
• Experience in managing a design process from strategy to delivery of final product.
• Experience in collaborating with and influencing product, engineering, design, and operational teams.
• Experience in creating designs that optimize for varied ecosystems that leverage known persona or archetypal work, SEO, and measurement objectives.
• Advanced understanding of accessible, inclusive, and equitable design
• Experience with the principles of Agile/Scrum/Kanban.
• Strong organizational and time management skills with a proactive and logical approach to workload and ability to work both independently and within a team.
• Ability to effectively plan, organize, and prioritize work.
• Demonstrated ability to perform the Essential Duties of the position with or without accommodation.
• Strong working knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Adobe Creative Suite applications, and associated design tools.
• Demonstrated strong understanding of the current web and mobile technology landscape.
• Advanced understanding of human centered design and design thinking methodologies.
• Experience creating accessible, inclusive, and equitable design.
• Knowledge of best-in-class design systems (Material, Carbon, Fluent, etc) and their pros and cons.
• Experience in evolving/adapting design systems or building them from scratch.
• Extensive experience problem-solving, organizational, and analytical skills with the ability to evolve UX strategy based on research, data, and industry trends.
• Strong analysis skills; including, but not limited to, process and user flow definition.
• Extensive experience in translating complex user, business, operational, and technical requirements into clear, accurate, compelling user experience deliverables.
• Experience in relationship building, motivation, and curiosity to bring together different personalities for creative thinking and collaborative solutioning.
• Extensive experience engaging with strategists, product managers, engineers, researchers, SMEs, and company leaders in a constructive and collaborative relationship where you can both learn and influence.
• Experience recruiting, coordinating, developing, and managing a team.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to agilely adapt to the respective audience (team member to senior leadership).
• Strong organizational and time management skills with a proactive and logical approach to workload and ability to work both independently and within a team.
• Demonstrated ability to perform the Essential Duties of the position with or without accommodation.
• Applicants must be currently authorized to work in country where work will be performed on a full or part-time basis.
• We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment visas at this time.

Nice To Haves

• Background in industrial design with ability to sketch and develop structural packaging concepts
• Strong understanding of materials, production processes, and manufacturability constraints
• Experience collaborating with engineering teams on physical product systems
• Familiarity with 3D visualization or rendering tools

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional collaboration with strategists, researchers, product, legal, engineering, and design teams to deliver scalable packaging solutions across journeys and platforms
• Advance and advocate for enterprise design systems, standards, and principles as they apply to packaging, integrating emerging tools and practices where appropriate
• Develop advanced prototypes, structural concepts, and visual renderings to communicate packaging ideas effectively
• Incorporate user research and strategic thinking from concept through launch to ensure packaging solutions are intuitive and effective
• Define and drive the packaging experience vision, proactively removing barriers to ensure timely, high-quality delivery
• Design packaging solutions for regulated, technical, and high-complexity environments
• Apply deep technical knowledge of packaging systems, materials, structures, and manufacturing processes to ensure feasibility and scalability
• Conceptualize and communicate packaging ideas through sketches, prototypes, and 3D visualizations
• Design end-to-end packaging and unboxing experiences that reduce friction, enhance usability, and strengthen brand perception
• Translate regulatory, legal, and operational requirements into compliant and user-centered packaging systems
• Partner closely with engineering, manufacturing, and external vendors to validate structural integrity, manufacturability, and quality standards
• Leverage industrial design principles to inform structural development from initial concept through production
• Mentor and guide designers to elevate packaging craft, technical rigor, and experiential quality across the team

Benefits

• Exact Sciences is proud to offer an employee experience that includes paid time off (including days for vacation, holidays, volunteering, and personal time), paid leave for parents and caregivers, a retirement savings plan, wellness support, and health benefits including medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level