Production Specialist

Production Specialist

Location: Louisville, KY — Full-Time, In-Office
Department: Operations / Production
Reports To: Production Manager
Salary: $48,000–$60,000 annually, based on experience.

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly organized and detail-oriented Production Specialist to support the execution of direct mail and marketing campaigns from data preparation through final production. This role will have a strong focus on data processing, campaign composing, quality assurance, and production file preparation, while also supporting key operational responsibilities across the Operations team. This role also provides project leadership, taking ownership of assigned initiatives and working closely with the Production Manager to organize team priorities and develop plans for completing projects.

The ideal candidate is comfortable working with detailed customer data, learning technical production processes, and managing multiple campaigns at different stages of production. This position requires someone with leadership skills who can identify discrepancies, troubleshoot issues, and maintain a high level of accuracy in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment. They should also be flexible, team-oriented, and willing to jump and take initiative in wherever needed to support the Operations team and shifting business priorities.

Key Responsibilities

Data Preparation & Campaign Processing

• Clean and standardize data to ensure files are complete, accurate, and properly formatted before composing.
• Identify duplicates, missing information, formatting issues, and other data inconsistencies that could impact campaign execution.
• Manage TXT, CSV, Excel, and other data files used for campaign production and personalization.
• Ensure campaign quantities and final production data align with approved campaign specifications.

Campaign Composing & Production Files

• Compose personalized direct mail and marketing campaigns using established templates, campaign data, and production specifications.
• Prepare variable-data production files using Adobe InDesign and other production tools.
• Link and manage campaign-specific creative assets, logos, images, and other variable elements within production files.
• Build and maintain multiple campaign versions or layers based on audience and data requirements using Adobe InDesign.
• Apply approved proofing edits and confirm all requested changes are accurately reflected in final production files.
• Generate and review final PDFs and other production-ready files.
• Verify file setup, page dimensions, bleeds, folds, variable placement, and other print-production requirements.
• Package and organize production files and supporting assets for printer submission.

Project Leadership & Team Coordination

• Take ownership of assigned projects from planning through completion, coordinating next steps and following through on deadlines and deliverables.
• Partner closely with the Production Manager to organize team priorities and develop project plans with clear tasks, responsibilities, and timelines.
• Help coordinate work across team members, communicate expectations, monitor progress, and follow up to keep projects on schedule.
• Proactively identify obstacles, recommend solutions, and keep the Production Manager informed of progress, risks, and support needed.

Operations & Team Support

• Support the Operations team with day-to-day campaign needs and help maintain production flow during high-volume periods and tight deadlines.
• Work across the Operations team to provide additional support where workload or campaign volume requires it.
• Track and update campaign information, project statuses, and key details within internal systems and project management platforms.
• Assist with campaign setup, system updates, list uploads,…