MacFarlane Group
Technical Designer
Milton Keynes MK10 0BT
Key information
- Pay
- £30,000 - £35,000
- Hours
- Full-time
- Contract
- Permanent
- Posted date
- 17 Jul 2026
- Closing date
- 16 Aug 2026
About this role
Technical Designer
Location
Milton Keynes (Kingston Gateway)
Salary
£30,000-£35,000 (dependent on experience) + bonus & flexible benefits package, up to 27 days holiday (plus additional leave purchasing scheme)
Hours
Full time Monday-Friday
Sector
Corrugate Carton Design & Manufacturing
Protecting What Matters, Together
At Macfarlane Packaging, we are dedicated to protecting what matters most - our people, our customers, communities, and the environment. Our commitment to customer satisfaction, sustainability, and continual improvement creates a collaborative, supportive, and friendly workplace where you can build a rewarding career.
With over 75 years of history, we offer stability, ongoing growth, and the opportunity for personal and professional development. Our fast-paced, results-driven environment will challenge you but also give you the satisfaction of directly contributing to our success.
We offer competitive pay, personalised incentives, and adaptable benefits to make your rewards package go further. We also prioritise work-life balance and flexibility, empowering you to manage what's most important. If you value commitment, teamwork, adaptability, and learning, join us to drive change and enable businesses to plan for a better future.
The Technical Designer Role
Due to an increase in demand, we have an exciting opening for a mid-weight designer to join our expanding creative team at our Milton Keynes Innovation Lab.
Drawing on a solid foundation in corrugated carton design and manufacturing, you will provide innovative and tailored design solutions for both our existing and potential customers, identifying direct and indirect cost savings through continual improvements in productivity and operational efficiencies.
This role provides a wonderful opportunity for someone seeking career advancement as we offer strong development and progression opportunities, both within the packaging business and the broader group business.
Technical Designer Key Responsibilities
- You will be capable of listening to the customer's needs and be able to communicate in a professional and coherent manner; both in conversation and presentational form
- Taking briefs and using various design software you will be creating innovative cost saving solutions for customers
- You will work to provide tailored solutions to all our customers, whilst demonstrating a caring approach to their business requirements and challenges
- Access consumer tastes, market trends and product details in order to conceptualise package designs
- Working with our customers you will ensure goals are met, whilst considering branding, safety, and cost implications
- You will generate reports on an ongoing basis to support proposals made to our customers and log design activities
- You will be able to demonstrate excellent time-keeping skills and be able to juggle a range of tasks/projects for numerous customers, to ensure tight deadlines are met
- Prioritise your workload accordingly
- Produce finished customer samples, 3D visuals, artwork proofs and presentations
What you will bring You will be enthusiastic and motivated- enjoying the buzz and challenge of a fast-paced environment. The successful candidate will possess excellent communication skills and be IT literate with strong time management and prioritisation skills. You will have a real team spirit and be able to build relationships with internal and external partners. The following skills are required for this role…
- Preferable CAD experience using either Kasemake, Artios or Impact
- Preferable print repro experience using Adobe CC
- Team player
- Results driven
- A solid foundation of industry sector knowledge and experience
- Strong communication skills both written and verbal
- Customer Facing
- Can work under own initiative
- Good time management skills
- Can-do attitude
- Track record of cost saving projects
- Full driving license
- Good knowledge of Excel
What you will get We offer a competitive salary, with rewarding bonus/incentive schemes, and flexible benefits including:
- 25 days annual leave (rising to 27 days with service) plus all public/bank holidays
- Additional Holiday purchasing scheme (run annually)
- Contributory pension scheme
- Annual (company paid) volunteering day
- Employee assistance program to support & advise with well-being & any issues
- Extensive range of training/development & potential progression opportunities
- Employee discount scheme (discounts on several major retail/leisure brands)
- Simply Health/Dental Cover option or BUPA cover for qualifying roles
- Enhanced HR policies relating to various employee rights & entitlements
- Long service awards (5-40 years)
- Charitable giving options
- Financial support with eye-tests/purchasing glasses (DSE users only)
- O2 Mobile discount scheme (up to 25% off)
- Candidate referral scheme (awards £750 for referring successful applicants to Macfarlane job vacancies)
Your Future with Us Working at Macfarlane Packaging, you truly have the potential to shape your own future and set your own ambitions. We are a large group company where internal promotion and mobility is a key feature of our success. Through tailored career plans, we provide a wide range of structure training & development pathways, utilizing both inhouse expertise to share knowledge and the best-in-class external training partners.
How to Apply
We are acting swiftly to identify the best applicants and hold local interviews ASAP. Please click 'apply' to submit your up-to-date CV. All applications will be acknowledged. If you haven't heard from us within a fortnight, please assume your application was unsuccessful.
We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds irrespective of your age, gender, disability, race, nationality, ethnicity, gender expression, religion or sexual orientation. Should you require any specific support or adjustments during the recruitment process, please email our recruitment team directly.
No recruitment agencies please