Visual Design Manager

Responsibilities

• Oversee visual design direction on engagements from concept through delivery, ensuring design quality, aesthetic cohesion, and adherence to schedules.
• Translate abstract briefs, brand strategy, and audience insights into clear, compelling visual languages.
• Establish and defend elevated visual craft standards, guiding brand identities, design systems, motion, typography, illustration, and digital experiences.
• Balance visionary thinking with hands-on involvement, shaping key design decisions and delivering high-quality output alongside the team.
• Leverage AI tools to accelerate concepting, iteration, and production, demonstrating how these tools augment creativity without replacing it.
• Play a leading creative role in client discussions, articulating visual perspectives and translating design rationale into strategic narratives for complex decisions.
• Document AI-driven workflow changes and quantify their impact on delivery quality and team performance to evolve the practice.
• Contribute to proposals, develop case studies from work, and translate project learnings into thought leadership that showcases visual design capabilities.
• Identify and shape new creative opportunities with existing clients, recognizing when a design challenge opens deeper engagement and partnering with account leads to craft a compelling point of view.
• Manage, support, and mentor team members daily, helping them grow their visual craft, confidence, and independence as designers.
• Be an active member of the Visual Design craft, sharing methods and outcomes and contributing to the discipline’s evolution.

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience in Visual Design across varied industries, brands, platforms, and contexts.
• 4+ years leading visual design engagements end-to-end, from concept and visual strategy to production-ready delivery.
• 4+ years directing the creation of brand identities, design systems, typography, motion, illustration, and digital UI with a strong, consistent visual voice.
• 4+ years producing and directing high-fidelity visual work with pixel-perfect deliverables and developer-ready specifications.
• 3+ years directly managing or coaching visual designers, with a track record of developing contributors into stronger practitioners.
• 3+ years working in agile, cross-functional environments, collaborating with product designers, product managers, engineers, and strategists to deliver cohesive experiences.
• 3+ years delivering high-caliber visual work at scale that addresses complex product or brand challenges and drives measurable impact.
• 3+ years grounding visual design decisions in user experience (UX) understanding and applying it to intuitive product guidance.
• 3+ years building scalable design systems ensuring visual consistency across products, platforms, and channels.
• 3+ years embedding AI tools and workflows into visual design practices from concept to rapid iteration and modeling AI-enabled workflows for a team.
• 3+ years hands-on experience with design tools such as Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, Claude Design, and relevant motion or illustration tools, including AI design tools.
• 3+ years employing facilitation and presentation skills to communicate visual strategy and design rationale to senior client stakeholders under pressure.

Technologies

• Figma
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Claude Design

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, life, and long-term disability coverage
• 401(k) plan
• Bonus opportunities
• Paid holidays
• Paid time off

Compensation

USD 87,400 - 266,300 per yearly

Bonus Points If You Have

• Fluency in adjacent areas such as brand strategy, service design, content design, or self-directed skill expansion.
• Experience contributing to practice-level initiatives, including ways of working, craft assets, onboarding, or community forums.
• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in visual design, visual communications, graphic design, fine art, or related creative field.
• Experience working in management consulting, a creative agency, or a professional services environment.
• Contributing to external thought leadership, such as publishing creative POVs, speaking at events, or representing the practice in the broader design community.