The Graphic Design Studio Lead, Los Angeles is a strategic team leader who supervises a team of talented graphic designers. They will drive the consistency of storytelling and visual execution by directing the design and production of highly graphic print and digital products.
About Alta
Alta Planning + Design is an active transportation company dedicated to creating active, healthy communities through planning, landscape architecture, engineering, and education/encouragement programs. Alta was founded in 1996 when cities and communities were calling for safer streets for people walking and bicycling as the non-motorized transportation movement developed into a profession in the United States. We pioneered the field of active transportation, evolving our planning and design work into a visionary global practice that empowers people to live active, healthy lives and getting them to where they need to go.
Our core values and work bring about positive change by creating places that are geared toward moving people rather than cars, connecting community members to daily needs and human experience, and empowering every person to live an active healthy life. As a global leader in mobility innovation for over 24 years with 175 people on staff, we are dedicated to connecting people to places by working across disciplines and scale to address social justice, safety, and environmental resilience.
Position Priorities
The Graphic Design Studio Lead, Los Angeles is a high-level strategic thinker, with an advanced understanding of graphic design principles.
The essential priorities of this exempt, salaried position are to:
- Conduct routine departmental tasks: oversee project intake, balance team workload, review graphic design deliverables
- Set design direction and develop branding and graphic design elements for print and web for both internal and external clients
- Assist with project scopes and budgets for proposals and and internal project management purposes
- Supervise graphic design staff, including daily task oversight, performance reviews, professional development, hiring, onboarding, and training. Track project budgets and provide guidance to staff about assignments and level of effort
- Serve as the point of contact on projects with internal and external project manager clients
Responsibilities + Tasks
Additional responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to:
- Set project style and supervise staff on production work within that style
- Generate strong, fresh visuals from concept to completion including strategy and concept development, research, and design
- Develop and review project intake requests, project timelines, and production schedules
- Review graphic designers’ work through a QA/QC process, oversee the production of production-ready files, ensuring accuracy in all graphic-based documents
- Coordinate and collaborate with internal Alta project managers to agree on Creative Services budgets, scopes, and deliverables
- Work closely with clients, planners, landscape designers, engineers, communications and marketing specialists, external vendors, and fabricators
- Co-lead, attend, and present at client meetings, co-host client-facing branding and discovery workshops, speak in public at virtual or in-person meetings and events. Lead internal project kick-off calls
- Travel occasionally to client sites for proposal interviews, kick-off meetings, stakeholder workshops, and site visits
- Provide guidance to graphic designers on how to incorporate internal & external client feedback into the designs
Requirements
This position requires a combination of skills, experience and education including, but not limited to:
- 8 or more years of experience as a graphic designer
- 1-2 years of experience managing or mentoring staff
- Demonstrated understanding of project management principles, including scope, budget, schedule, and quality control
- Demonstrated ability to take a project from concept to completion
- Demonstrated ability to manage and balance the demands of many projects simultaneously
- Demonstrated ability to think creatively, with a portfolio showcasing experiences in branding, typography, color, layout, basic web/digital design, and print/digital-ready files
- Exhibits accuracy, attention to detail and strong organizational skills
- Strong initiative and the ability to work independently with little or no supervision
- Strong professional ethics, leadership skills, accountability, and decision-making capabilities
- Strong interpersonal, written and verbal communication and analytic skills
- Expert in Adobe Creative Suite
- Proficient in MS Office, G-suite, or similar products
Preferred Skills + Certifications
There are a number of additional skills that would be beneficial to this position including, but not limited to:
- Experience in the A/E/C industry
- Experience in wayfinding and/or environmental graphic design
- Experience designing maps
- Experience creating hand illustrations
- Experience creating wireframes and mockups for website design
- Experience in UI/UX design
- Experience with project management software (such as Trello)
Reporting + Management Structure
Reports to the Art Director and generally will manage a team of Junior Graphic Designers, Graphic Designers, and/or Senior Graphic Designers.
What we offer
Compensation
- The pay range for this position is $85,000 – 105,000 annually. Placement within the range is based upon experience, skill-sets, and qualifications.
Alta offers comprehensive benefits to all full-time employees.
- Medical: PPO or HSA medical plans, Alta pays 75% of the cost.
- Dental/Vision: PPO, Alta pays 90% of the cost
- Life Insurance: Alta pays 100% of the premium for life and AD&D equal to your base compensation.
- 401k: Alta provides a safe harbor match up to 4%.
- PTO: 21 days accrued annually to start.
- Holidays: 11 total company paid holidays
- Additional benefits: Wellness reimbursement up to $800 annually, Alta Gets Around reimbursement up to $900 annually, 5-year travel award, and professional development opportunities.
To apply, please upload your resume and a cover letter, telling us why you’re interested in Alta and why you’d be a good fit. Due to the high volume of applicants, we will not be able to respond to email or phone inquiries.