Principal Designer

About the Role

We're looking for a Principal Designer to raise the bar for craft and innovation across all of our design disciplines: brand design, motion design, UI design, and visual communications. This is a hands-on design role at the most senior individual contributor level. You'll shape world-class brand and digital experiences and act as a driving creative force on our most strategic work, both internal and external. The role demands mastery of the entire design process: from aligning creative decisions with business goals to delivering elite craftsmanship in every final asset.

As a senior-level individual contributor, the Principal Designer is a master practitioner who pushes creative boundaries, elevates the craft of those around them, and sets the standard for design excellence. You'll report to the Senior Director, Design, and partner closely with the Managing Director, Design as well as other leaders across the business, and with our multidisciplinary teams of designers, strategists, and developers. You'll operate with a high degree of autonomy—leading major initiatives and serving as a trusted peer and mentor who lifts the quality of work across the entire creative practice.

Responsibilities

• Create world-class designs across brand identity, conceptual UI, and dynamic media that deliver exceptional client and user experiences.
• Closely integrate creative decisions with client business objectives, brand strategy, and technical feasibility.
• Lead and execute the design process on complex initiatives from initial concept through final delivery in partnership with Strategy, Account, and Technology teams.
• Directly present and articulate design strategy, creative rationale, and trade-offs to executive-level client stakeholders with confidence.
• Facilitate client feedback constructively, defending design choices with strategic rationale while adapting to evolving business needs.
• Operate independently to produce flawless, highly polished design solutions with minimal oversight.
• Serve as a subject matter expert and practice lead, mentoring senior and lead-level designers to elevate craftsmanship, visual execution, and design rigor across the practice.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of design experience within a high-performing in-house team, agency, or consultancy.
• An exceptional portfolio demonstrating supreme talent in visual design, brand identity systems, digital products, motion, and visual communications.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex business challenges into intuitive, beautiful, and strategically sound design systems.
• Exceptional mastery of fundamental visual design principles, including typography, grid systems, color theory, layout, and interactive design.
• Advanced proficiency in Figma and Adobe Creative Cloud; experience or strong interest in emerging creative technologies and tools such as Figma Make & Weave, Webflow, and other AI tools.
• Solid grasp of digital product design, web standards, and modern front-end frameworks (coding is not required).
• Superior verbal and visual storytelling skills with a track record of building trust with executive stakeholders.
• A self-starter mindset with high personal standards, an appetite for continuous learning, and a passion for inspiring excellence in others.

Job Type & Location

This is a permanent, fully remote position based in Chicago, IL.

Pay

The pay range for this position is $156,000.00 - $234,000.00 per year. Individual compensation offered within this range will depend on qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. Additional earnings may be available through incentive programs like annual bonuses and profit sharing.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital Insurance
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life and AD&D for employee and dependents)
• Short and Long-Term Disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation Benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Paid Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)