Senior Design Manager

Description:

The impact you’ll have:

• Team Up with the Design Director, Spanish Language Arts, and the broader CA Design Team to establish creative direction, and define the user experience, for new core and supplemental Spanish Reading products (print + digital), using iterative and collaborative design techniques

• Create unique and compelling design solutions that promote a sense of fun and engagement, and ensure continuity and cohesion between print components and their digital counterparts

• Lead + Manage the design and user experience of product components, layouts, and features with a focus on teacher and student usability, never losing focus on the idea that engaged learners are better learners

• Collaborate with other team leads and cross-functional Product Design team members, ensuring solutions are research-driven, user-focused, highly engaging, and relevant to students of various abilities and varied demographics

• Contribute to establishing Design Best Practices for all phases of product development, including the creation and implementation of style guides, templates, spec sheets, branding guidelines, process documentation and streamlining of design and production workflows

• Develop innovative products in collaboration with educators and industry leaders to create culturally responsive resources for the students and teachers we serve

What we're looking for:

• Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, or similar creative field, or a comparable level of experience

• 7+ years of experience in the K–12 education space, children's publishing and/or media required, with a focus on Language Arts/Spanish Language Arts/Reading preferred

• 5+ years of experience in print design processes and production, including layout, page composition, image manipulation/preparation and careful attention to typography

• Experience developing and implementing a product-specific visual design plan – including the interiors of multiple components, covers and product packaging – from prototyping through production, while remaining true to the product guidelines established

• Experience implementing Design Thinking and User-Centered Design practices to define, build, test, and deliver effective and engaging experiences – print + digital

• Familiarity with UX artifacts (Personas, User Journeys, Wireframes, User Flows, etc.) to inform prototyping for internal review and user testing.

• Experience leading design efforts with internal staff, freelancers, and design vendor partners to deliver high-quality educational products

• A willingness to mentor and educate other designers, provide art direction, and guide development teams through unfamiliar processes

• Highly detail-oriented and developed organizational skills including the ability to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and a love of collaboration

• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to rapidly exercise independent judgement, along with the ability to present and articulate Design/Art/UX strategy to non-designers

• Expert level Adobe CC (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), and Microsoft Office

• Working knowledge of prototyping and collaborative tools (Adobe XD, Figma, Mural, etc.) and a willingness to explore and implement new tools or applications as needed

• Proficiency in Spanish required