Accessories College Art Team Lead

GREAT ART. IT'S KINDA WHAT WE DO HERE & WHAT WE'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT. GREAT ART + GREAT GARMENT = GREAT DAY.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Under the direction of the Art Manager, the College Accessory Production Art Team Lead trains and supports new and existing Production Artists responsible for college accessory artwork. You'll teach Lakeshirts standards, demonstrate production-art workflows, monitor progress, and adjust training so artists can prepare accurate, production-ready artwork with confidence.

This is a hands-on leadership role for an organized, detail-driven production artist who can balance people leadership with daily execution. You'll use Adobe Illustrator, production reports, and work orders to assign work, support artists, maintain standards, and help the department hit quality and delivery goals in a fast-paced creative environment.

PAY + SCHEDULE

Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm

Pay: $22/hour

Location: Detroit Lakes, MN | Onsite at Headquarters

BENEFITS

Lakeshirts offers a fun, creative, and team-driven culture where employees are empowered to grow and thrive. Benefits include competitive compensation with a daily-pay option, health and life insurance plus voluntary dental, vision, short-term and long-term disability, critical illness and accident coverage, up to 22 paid days off in the first year, profit sharing, a 401(k) program, employee merchandise discounts, a relaxed dress code, flexible schedules, an onsite subsidized cafeteria, and dogs at work. Insurance benefits begin the first of the month following 60 days of full-time employment.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS | Lead + Prioritize + Coach + Execute + Collaborate

• Perform College Accessory Production Artist responsibilities proficiently and model established quality standards, university brand-guideline compliance, and production-art best practices.
• Attend daily production huddles, review production reports and work orders, set priorities, and assign or reassign work so collegiate artwork deadlines and daily goals are met.
• Train and coach artists on job responsibilities, safety practices, company policies, systems, department standards, and collegiate licensing requirements.
• Work closely with artists to answer questions, remove roadblocks, and communicate changes to university artwork standards, licensing requirements, or production priorities.
• Partner with Quality Control, the Art Manager, Licensing, and other leads to resolve artwork issues, ensure brand-standard compliance, address inconsistencies, and improve processes.
• Conduct regular team check-ins and support employee attendance, development, quarterly reviews, and annual compensation-review processes.
• Balance team leadership with hands-on production-art execution while ensuring college accessory artwork meets university trademark, licensing, and production standards.

SKILL | Collegiate Art Production + Leadership + Team Player + Adobe Illustrator + Workflow Management

• Two- or four-year degree in Graphic Design preferred, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant production-art experience.
• Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator required, with the ability to perform and review production-ready college accessory artwork accurately.
• Knowledge of collegiate licensing requirements, university brand standards, trademarks, and logo-usage guidelines preferred.
• Leadership training or prior coaching experience preferred, with the ability to guide, motivate, and hold a team accountable.
• Strong organization, attention to detail, and independent decision-making skills with sound judgment.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work effectively with artists, leads, Quality Control, Licensing, and the Art Manager.
• Reliable, flexible, and able to manage multiple priorities, interruptions, deadlines, and follow-through in a fast-paced environment.

WHY LAKESHIRTS IS THE PLACE YOU WANT TO BE.

At Lakeshirts, we believe in making work as awesome as the apparel we create. We're not just a t-shirt company- we're also a hat, sticker, and sock company (and so much more!). We're a place where creativity meets culture, where ideas and innovation are encouraged, and where the atmosphere is truly one-of-a-kind. As one of the largest screenprinting manufacturers in the U.S., we decorate a variety of garments and accessories for the resort, licensed collegiate, and K-12 markets, supported by over 1,000 ah-mazing team members from sea to shining sea.

OUR CULTURE TRULY SETS US APART. Life at Lakeshirts is all about embracing our core values, having fun, and working with great people who make every day an opportunity to thrive. We're looking for those who want to roll up their sleeves and make an impact while enjoying a culture that values creativity, teamwork, continuous improvement, and empowering each team member to define and elevate their success. We also foster a strong sense of community and are dedicated to wowing our customers on the daily.

Cognitive or Mental Requirements of the Job:

Employee must be able to see and hear, read and write. Requires adaptability, analyzing, assessing, calculating, decision making, dependability, judgment, reading, speaking, following direction, handling multiple priorities, reasoning.

Physical Demands:

CONTINUOUSLY: Sit, walk, stand

FREQUENTLY: Lift/carry under 10 lbs., lift/carry 10-24 lbs., reach above, at, and below shoulder height, use hands for keyboarding, mouse work, and detailed artwork review

OCCASIONALLY: Lift/carry 25-50 lbs., push, pull, bend, twist, reach

NEVER: Lift/carry over 50 lbs., climb, balance, crawl

NOTE: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive and should in no way be considered a contract or guarantee of employment. Employee may perform other related duties as needed based on the ongoing needs of the business. Minnesota is an Employment-At-Will state and implies no specific length of employment.