Job Description

3M has a long-standing reputation as a company committed to innovation. We provide the freedom to explore and encourage curiosity and creativity. We gain new insight from diverse thinking, and take risks on new ideas. Here, you can apply your talent in bold ways that matter.

CHK Design Manager

Collaborate with Innovative 3Mers Around the World

Choosing where to start and grow your career has a major impact on your professional and personal life, so it’s equally important you know that the company you choose to work at, and its leaders, will support and guide you. With a wide variety of people, global locations, technologies, and products, 3M is a place where you can collaborate with other curious, creative 3Mers.

This position provides an opportunity to transition from other private, public, government, or military experience to a 3M career.

The Impact You’ll Make in This Role

The CHK Senior Design Manager is a design leader responsible for setting mid-term to long-term design strategy across all CBG brands and portfolios in China and Hong Kong. This role governs visual identity and brand standards, ensuring creative excellence throughout the consumer and customer journeys. The role integrates consumer insight, business strategy, and craft to build brand value, drive growth, and deliver differentiated, culturally relevant experiences to accelerate growth in the region. It combines strategic leadership with hands-on contribution, while building a local design team.

As a Senior Design Manager, you will have the opportunity to tap into your curiosity and collaborate with some of the most innovative people around the world. Here, you will make an impact by:

Leading the development and stewardship of brand design systems that create emotional connection and meet functional needs across China and Hong Kong.

Translating consumer insights into differentiated and desirable brand experiences across packaging, product, digital, retail, and communications.

Partnering with local business teams to align design strategy with growth objectives, new product innovation, and commercialization.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Brand Governance

• Lead the translation of global brand design strategy, including visual brand identity, brand architecture, design principles, and multi-touchpoint experience frameworks for China and Hong Kong.
• Establish and oversee brand governance, standards, and toolkits; ensure adherence across internal teams and external partners.
• Serve as brand steward—owning and evolving the brand system to support new product innovations, portfolio extensions, and entry into new categories.
• Integrate design strategy into local business planning, category roadmaps, and go-to-market activities.

Budget Ownership and Design Operations

• Own the design budget for assigned brands or portfolios within China and Hong Kong; forecast annually and manage monthly tracking.
• Open and manage purchase orders (POs), calibrate spend, and ensure fiscal discipline and transparency.

Consumer Insight and Research

• Champion consumer centricity: translate ethnographic research, segmentation, and behavioral insights into actionable design strategies tailored for the local market.
• Establish metrics/KPIs for brand experience performance and tie design outcomes to business results.

Creative Excellence and End-to-End Brand Experience

• Elevate creative craft and design intent across all touchpoints.
• Guide and partner with global CBG design team and external agencies on creative execution, ensuring brand coherence and quality.

People Leadership, Coaching, and Culture

• Mentor and coach local designers; lead critiques to elevate quality and consistency.
• Model a culture of curiosity, collaboration, and consumer empathy; inspire teams with a big heart for brand strategy and craft.

Your Skills and Expertise

To set you up for success in this role from day one, 3M requires (at a minimum) the following qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree (completed and verified prior to start) AND at least seven (7) years of professional experience in Design across multiple touchpoints (e.g., packaging, product, digital, retail, communications) in a private, public, government environment

Additional qualifications that could help you succeed even further in this role include:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Design, Visual Communication, Brand Strategy, Experience Design, or related field.
• 10–15+ years of experience in brand/experience design with demonstrated leadership of programs within China and/or Hong Kong.
• Proven success establishing and governing visual identity systems and multi-touchpoint brand experiences.
• Strong financial acumen and experience with budget management.
• Expertise in consumer research translation (ethnography, segmentation) into design strategy and commercialization.
• Demonstrated ability to lead agencies and cross-functional teams; excellent communication, storytelling, and influence skills.
• Portfolio showcasing strategic brand systems and high-quality execution across packaging, digital, and communications.
• Proficiency using tools like Adobe Creative Suite, MS office, AI/Automation enablement

Work Location:

This role follows a hybrid/on-site working model, requiring the employee to work at least four days a week at the 3M Office in Shanghai, China.

Travel:

May include travel within China and Hong Kong, up to 20%.

Learn more about 3M’s creative solutions to the world’s problems at www.3M.com or on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @3M.Safety is a core value at 3M. All employees are expected to contribute to a strong Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) culture by following safety policies, identifying hazards, and engaging in continuous improvement.

Please note: your application may not be considered if you do not provide your education and work history, either by: 1) uploading a resume, or 2) entering the information into the application fields directly.

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