The Role
As a Designer at Upstatement, you'll contribute throughout the entire project — developing designs, delivering in Figma, and ensuring that the final product (from brand guidelines to interactive experiences) is pixel perfect.
- Create compelling designs that are beautiful, functional, and brand right.
- Support Creative Directors from initial ideation to final production.
- Independently author designs that deliver on core strategy.
- Explain the why, win over the team, and fulfill the creative strategy.
- Navigate complex business, user, and team needs with empathy.
- Ship impeccable work
Last but not least: People who succeed here are empathetic teammates who are candid, kind, caring, and embody our core values. We believe that diverse, inclusive teams make the most impactful work. Upstatement is deeply invested in ensuring that we have a supportive, growth-oriented environment that works for everyone.
Why Upstatement
Upstatement is a digital product studio with an editorial mindset. We use the tools of design, engineering, and journalism to enrich lives and create a more just society. Our 40-person team works with established leaders (MIT, ESPN, PBS, Microsoft) and emerging companies who are about to change the world. We are members of the kyu Collective and combine the energy of a boutique studio with the business maturity of an established global innovation leader.
- Work with ethical and mission-driven organizations.
- Collaborate in a high-trust environment that empowers creative ownership.
- Build a portfolio you can be proud of.
- Blossom in a small studio culture full of top talent and peers who help you grow.
- Find your path at a place that prizes flexibility: We encourage experimentation, support role switching, and help people balance between maker/manager and lead/support.
What You'll Do
- Support and sometimes lead an end-to-end design process. Contribute visual ideas as research. Express strategic ideas through design. Communicate the rationale behind your work. Make it beautiful, and (most important) deliver what users need.
- Develop design directions that are informed by research, connected to business outcomes, and driven by you.
- Explore complex problem spaces with an open mind. Feel comfortable with ambiguity. Generate multiple solutions, rapidly iterate, and make strategic product decisions in partnership with a team.
- Sweat the details. Impeccable execution and deep care given to all aspects of design, large and small: strategy, messaging, brand, colors, typography, icons — everything.
- Communicate clearly. Share daily status with teams. Deliver concepts to the team and sometimes clients. Talk through thorny issues as they arise. Show excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills that build strong relationships.
- Contribute to an inclusive culture where people feel productive, creative, and safe. Be unafraid to name problems and move toward solutions with optimism, clarity, and calm.
About You
- 3-5 years of hands-on design at a digital agency.
- Visual and interaction designer with a portfolio of work demonstrating experience across digital contexts (e.g. websites, products, etc).
- Great taste.
- Know how to simplify.
- Can-do attitude.
- Comfortable with both deep systems thinking and getting into the gnarliest interaction detail.
- Push the envelope of what's possible while understanding the boundaries of what's practical or attainable
- Gives and receives feedback with empathy to ensure work is always aligned to the core idea and meets quality standards. Sets the pace of velocity and efficiency through every step of the process, course correcting based on feedback and improving how we work together.
- Confident communicator and active listener. Maintain strong relationships with collaborators and client stakeholders, even when challenged.
- Ability to succeed even in the face of complex, ambiguous projects. Comfortable working iteratively. Can step into this role with minimal training.
- Bonus: Experience designing around complex interactions or content, such as apps and editorial products
Compensation
Upstatement is committed to helping our people grow and providing transparent salary benchmarks. This job fits two possible levels in our skill progression framework (something we’d love to share during the interview process). The level depends the candidate’s unique qualifications, to be determined during the interview process.
- Level: D2
- Official Title: Designer
- Department: Design
- Salary Range: $85,000 - $100,000
- Level: D3
- Official Title: Senior Designer
- Department: Design
- Salary Range: $100,000 - $120,000
- Competitive salary
- Health, Dental, & Vision Insurance
- Flexible Spending & Health Savings Accounts
- Online Mental Health Therapy with Talkspace & First Stop Health
- Short & Long Term Disability Insurance
- One Medical membership
- Health Advocacy Support
- Gynecology and Family-building Care with Kindbody
- Non-elective 401k company contribution
- $1,000 home office setup stipend
- $1,500 annual professional development budget
- 3 weeks vacation to start, plus company-wide closure between Christmas & New Year’s Day (fully paid)
- 12 weeks paid parental leave, plus 12 additional weeks available as unpaid
- Co-working spaces in Boston and Chicago as well as a fully distributed workforce
Interview Process
Our goal is to get to know you in a low-pressure, friendly environment — and to give you ample opportunity to learn more about us, too.
Our typical process includes these types of experiences:
- A resume screen and introductory video chat
- An exercise where you’ll have the opportunity to showcase your skills
- Additional conversations with potential future team members, the hiring manager, and leadership
Our goal is to create an environment where you can interview at your best. Our interview process is fully remote, conducted via Zoom calls. If we can provide any assistance or accommodations during your time with us, please let us know at [email protected]. All requests are treated as privately as possible and have no impact on candidate eligibility.
Interested in applying?
Send us a resume, cover letter, and anything else that helps us understand what makes you awesome.
Women, people of color, LGBTQIA2S+ individuals, and members of other underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. Upstatement is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against candidates on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, or veteran status. Upstatement is committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive workplace for everyone — you are welcome here.
FWIW: Worries of “what if I’m not the perfect fit” can sometimes hold us back from applying to jobs. We want to let you in on a secret: there is no perfect candidate. Sure, we’re interested in resumes, but also the narrative beyond that resume—unique backgrounds, experiences, points of views, etc. As such—there is no set of boxes to tick in order to be a good candidate. If this is a job that excites you, we hope you’ll apply.
Top Skills
Similar Jobs
What you need to know about the Los Angeles Tech Scene
Key Facts About Los Angeles Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 375,800; 5.5% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: Snap, Netflix, SpaceX, Disney, Google
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, adtech, media, software, game development
- Funding Landscape: $11.6 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Strong Ventures, Fifth Wall, Upfront Ventures, Mucker Capital, Kittyhawk Ventures
- Research Centers and Universities: California Institute of Technology, UCLA, University of Southern California, UC Irvine, Pepperdine, California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy, Center for Quantum Science and Engineering
