Graphic Design Lead - Fire Safety Research Institute

About the role

UL Research Institutes is seeking a Graphic Design Lead to join our dynamic team in Columbia, Maryland. This role plays a key role in the rapid growth of UL as you:

• Lead creative direction and vision for graphic design projects, ensuring alignment with the organization's brand and goals.
• Manage the end-to-end lifecycle of design projects, from concept to execution, ensuring deadlines and quality standards are met.
• Collaborate with project managers, content creators, and other stakeholders to define project scopes, objectives, and deliverables, allocating resources effectively, managing workloads, and delegating tasks within the design team.
• Create graphic design content, including social/newsletter graphics, digital/web ads, print/event collateral, templated document systems, presentation materials, illustrations, and more, using various tools and software, ensuring design materials are visually compelling, user-friendly, and aligned with the organization's messaging and brand guidelines.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including marketing communications, instructional design, and research teams, to understand project requirements and deliver effective design solutions to communicate design concepts, strategies, and rationales clearly and persuasively to both team members and stakeholders.
• Conduct thorough reviews of graphic design content to ensure accuracy, consistency, and alignment with project objectives, providing constructive feedback to team members and guiding them in refining their designs to meet quality standards.
• Stay current on industry trends, tools, and best practices, and research and propose new design techniques and technologies to continually elevate the quality of the team's design work.
• Contribute to and/or lead other department specific and cross-functional initiatives.

Responsibilities

As the Graphic Design Lead, you will play a key role in the rapid growth of UL as you:

• Lead creative direction and vision for graphic design projects, ensuring alignment with the organization's brand and goals.
• Manage the end-to-end lifecycle of design projects, from concept to execution, ensuring deadlines and quality standards are met.
• Collaborate with project managers, content creators, and other stakeholders to define project scopes, objectives, and deliverables, allocating resources effectively, managing workloads, and delegating tasks within the design team.
• Create graphic design content, including social/newsletter graphics, digital/web ads, print/event collateral, templated document systems, presentation materials, illustrations, and more, using various tools and software, ensuring design materials are visually compelling, user-friendly, and aligned with the organization's messaging and brand guidelines.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including marketing communications, instructional design, and research teams, to understand project requirements and deliver effective design solutions to communicate design concepts, strategies, and rationales clearly and persuasively to both team members and stakeholders.
• Conduct thorough reviews of graphic design content to ensure accuracy, consistency, and alignment with project objectives, providing constructive feedback to team members and guiding them in refining their designs to meet quality standards.
• Stay current on industry trends, tools, and best practices, and research and propose new design techniques and technologies to continually elevate the quality of the team's design work.
• Contribute to and/or lead other department specific and cross-functional initiatives.

Requirements

Minimum 8 years of relevant professional graphic design experience, with a portfolio showcasing digital/web ads and social/newsletter graphics, production-ready print work, and template/document systems.

• Demonstrated experience with 2D and/or 3D animation or motion graphics is a plus.
• Strong leadership and team management skills, with the ability to inspire, guide, and mentor junior designers.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to present and articulate design concepts effectively.
• In-depth understanding of design principles, typography, layout, and brand systems.
• Working knowledge of print production and prepress for physical deliverables preferred, including file preparation with bleeds, CMYK, and die lines, with the ability to work effectively with print vendors.
• Adept at managing multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.
• Problem-solving mindset and adaptability to changing project requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Multimedia Design, Visual Communication, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Advanced knowledge and proficiency in visual design skills.
• Proficiency in graphic design tools such as Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) and other relevant tools.
• Illustration, icon design, animation, or motion graphics experience is a plus.

Skills

• Leadership and team management skills.
• Communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Understanding of design principles, typography, layout, and brand systems.
• Problem-solving mindset and adaptability to changing project requirements.

Benefits

UL Research Institutes offers a competitive salary range of $81,456.37 - $112,002.51, with a salary type of Salary. Additionally, employees are eligible for bonus compensation, comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans, and a generous 401k matching structure of up to 5% of eligible pay. Employees may also discuss flexible working arrangements with their manager. We provide paid time off, including vacation, holiday, sick, and volunteer days.

Pay

$81,456.37 - $112,002.51 Salary

Schedule

N/A