The Role
The Creative Operations Manager leads integrated marketing content strategies, overseeing content development and team management to drive customer engagement and business growth.
Summary Generated by Built In
Be yourself at Protolabs
Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. We are an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to building a diverse team that feels they are valued in the workplace. So do you feel you do not meet every single requirement but still intrigued? We encourage you to still apply! You can help make our company even better. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, age, mental or physical ability, or any way you represent yourself. We strongly believe diversity makes for more successful teams.
Why Protolabs?
We are the leaders in digital manufacturing. We hire doers, makers, and creative thinkers who tackle our roles with an entrepreneurial spirit. Our culture is centered around meaningful work that brings new and innovative products to market at unprecedented speeds. We are a diverse team that comes from all walks of life and take pride in our team who is smart, genuine, humble, and passionate about what we do. It’s our people who fuel our creativity and make our culture feel like home.
Join our team as a Creative Operations Manager!
This is a hybrid role being onsite in Maple Plain, MN
The Creative Operations Manager is a pivotal leader within Protolabs’ marketing organization, responsible for driving the planning, execution, and management of an integrated marketing content strategy. This role oversees all creative aspects of content development—both copy and visual—across multiple channels, ensuring alignment with the brand’s mission and business objectives. The Creative Operations Manager is a champion of impactful content, creative excellence, operational efficiency, and team development, playing a consultative and collaborative role across the marketing function to increase customer attraction, engagement, and conversion.
Duties and Responsibilities are:
Content Strategy & Execution:
- Manage the development and implementation of an annual content strategy aligned with growth targets to build awareness, engagement, and conversion, supporting both new customer acquisition and retention.
- Use data analytics to inform recommendations on channel distribution and content effectiveness.
- Oversee annual and quarterly content meetings and analytics reviews to ensure strategies drive business-specific opportunities and priorities.
- Manage the creation of impactful content that resonates with customers and is visually compelling.
- Manage the development and execution of visual and digital assets (graphics, infographics, videos, photos) aligned with the Protolabs brand.
Creative Leadership & Vision:
- Establish and articulate a clear content vision aligned with Protolabs’ annual company and marketing strategy.
- Guide and mentor multi-disciplinary teams (copy, design, brand, PR, etc.) to deliver consistent, breakthrough creative across channels.
- Collaborate with global brand team for consistency in strategic positioning, visual brand, and brand guide.
- Serve as a brand advocate, upholding high standards for design, storytelling, and production while balancing creative excellence with business results.
- Partner with marketing and business leaders on brand expression and creative direction.
Team Management & Development:
- Build, inspire, and grow a diverse, high-performing creative team, cultivating a culture of collaboration, learning, engagement, inclusion, and fun.
- Establish a Center for Creative Excellence and facilitate the development of a capability mission and identity.
- Prioritize employee performance, development and engagement.
- Support and foster an environment of individual value and teamwork.
- Emphasize and support professional development of team members and focus on individual growth plans.
Creative Operations & Process Optimization:
- Oversee and continuously improve the end-to-end creative process—from intake and briefing through delivery and measurement.
- Use and maintain tools and systems for efficiency and transparency, including project management platforms (e.g., Monday), digital asset management, and creative review processes.
- Ensure alignment with technology infrastructure and marketing automation/CRM tools to maximize creative impact at scale.
- Partner across marketing and business to optimize workflow, prioritize requests, and balance strategic vs. tactical creative needs.
Cross-Functional Partnership:
- Act as a key liaison between creative, product marketing, demand generation, digital, and executive leadership to ensure alignment and consistency in creative outputs.
- Collaborate with global brand team and serve as brand advocate and champion of high standards for design, storytelling, and production, balancing creative excellence with business results.
- Translate business objectives and complex stakeholder needs into actionable creative strategies.
- Manage expectations and feedback loops across global and regional teams for smooth collaboration and timely delivery.
- Oversee the regional content calendar in coordination with the global editorial/brand calendar.
Innovation & Capability Growth:
- Help influence and adapt Protolabs’ AI policy as it pertains to content marketing operations and creative generation.
- Introduce new approaches, tools, and technologies to enhance creative capability and innovation.
- Benchmark and measure the impact of creative work, establishing and sharing KPIs for effectiveness, quality, and team satisfaction.
- Work with Global Marketing Operations to identify and obtain effective marketing tools for content development and management.
What it takes:
- Bachelor’s degree in marketing or a related degree
- 8+ years of content marketing experience
- 4+ years of direct content team leadership experience
- Excellent team management, performance management and employee development skills. Employee engagement focused.
- Effective project and time management skills to ensure projects and tasks hit deadlines.
- Proven track record in using multiple marketing channels and tactics to raise awareness, drive demand, and deliver revenue.
- Budget management and coordination with global Corporate Communications activities.
- Ability to analyze relevant information and make informed decisions.
- Keen focus on customer-centricity and data-driven approach to problem solving and effective content strategy.
- Strong knowledge or familiarity with AI content building tools, and project management software (like Monday).
- Excellent people skills with ability to interact at all levels of the organization, including colleagues, cross-functional peers, executives, customers, and third parties.
- Excellent collaboration, communication and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to work independently, using initiative to overcome obstacles and complete tasks within the allotted time.
- B2B experience highly desired and manufacturing experience preferred
Preferred:
What's in it for you?
- We offer a competitive total compensation package
- In addition, we offer competitive benefits including but not limited to:
- Health Insurance: Traditional OR High Deductible plan
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Health Savings Account (including employer contributions)
- Dental and Vision
- Basic and Supplemental Life Insurance
- Short-Term and Long-Term Disability
- Paid caregiver leave
- You will receive PTO + Holiday Pay + Volunteer Hours
- 401k with company match and immediate vest
- Employee Stock Purchase Program with a 15% discount
- And More!
Proto Labs maintains ITAR-compliant operations in all of our United States based facilities. Due to ITAR regulations, this role is only open to U.S. Citizens, lawful permanent residents (green card holders) or foreign nationals granted refugee or asylee status. Individuals with temporary visas (e.g. E, F-1, H-1, H-2, L, B, J, TN or OPT) are not eligible for hire in this role.
Proto Labs, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer
Physical Demands:
While performing the essential duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use a computer keyboard, monitor and mouse, telephone and printer; reach with hands, and arms, talk, see and hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, stoop or kneel and must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
Work Environment:
Indoors (A/C); nonsmoking; the majority of this job function is performed in an office setting requiring normal safety precautions. However, there may be job duties that require the employee to spend time in the manufacturing areas exposed to machinery and noise; eye protection occasionally required. Occasionally works in outside weather conditions. Occasionally works near moving mechanical parts and in high, precarious places and is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, fumes or airborne particles, toxic or caustic chemicals, risk of electrical shock and vibration. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate.
Top Skills
Ai Content Building Tools
Project Management Software
Am I A Good Fit?
Get Personalized Job Insights.
Our AI-powered fit analysis compares your resume with a job listing so you know if your skills & experience align.
Success! Refresh the page to see how your skills align with this role.
The Company
What We Do
Protolabs is the world's fastest digital manufacturing source for rapid prototyping and on-demand production. The technology-enabled company produces custom parts and assemblies in as fast as 1 day with automated 3D printing, CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, and injection molding processes. Our digital approach to manufacturing enables accelerated time to market, reduces development and production costs, and minimizes risk throughout the product life cycle.
3D Printing
Our 3D printing service offers a wide selection of materials and technologies to create prototypes and end-use parts with complex geometries and detailed features. With tight process controls, careful design reviews, and extensive quality monitoring, we ensure precise and repeatable 3D-printed parts, every time.
CNC Machining
We use 3- and 5-axis milling along with turning to machine parts from commercial-grade plastics and metals. Our online quoting system and automated manufacturing process enable us to ship parts within 24 hours, helping customers accelerate development and reduce time to market.
Sheet Metal Fabrication
Protolabs is an industry leader in quick-turn sheet metal parts for both prototyping and low-volume production. Our digital approach to manufacturing enables us to fabricate sheet metal parts in as fast as 5 days. Additionally, we can support our customers’ development efforts with component assemblies, several finish options, and screen printing.
Injection Molding
Our injection molding service offers two options—prototyping and on-demand manufacturing—which provide customers a tooling solution that aligns with their project’s requirements. It’s used for quick-turn prototyping, bridge tooling, and low-volume production of up to 10,000+ parts in 15 days or less.
.png)
