Lead Digital Designer

Description

The company builds autonomous spacecraft, advanced payloads, mission software, and space-based interceptors that help the U.S. and its Allies secure space.

This role sets how the brand looks, moves, and speaks across digital channels, leading major web, editorial, campaign, and interactive work.

You will work alongside the Head of Graphic Design, Brand & Identity and the wider Brand & Creative team.

The main focus is the company website and a new editorial publication, with product launches, campaigns, social content, and event digital work also in scope.

This is a hands-on design role. Motion matters to the medium, but this is not a motion design role.

Responsibilities

• Lead the creative design of the company website, the editorial publication, and other priority digital experiences.
• Turn brand, audience, product, content, and business goals into digital concepts, information architecture, user journeys, page systems, and interaction models.
• Take responsive experiences from early concepts and wireframes through high-fidelity design, prototyping, development, QA, and launch.
• Build high-fidelity interactive prototypes that show responsive behavior, motion, transitions, and complex flows clearly enough to guide build work.
• Set a distinct point of view for how the brand behaves online across typography, imagery, layout, interaction, and motion, within the direction set by Brand & Creative leadership.
• Work with developers from the start to test what the browser can do, using technical limits and new capabilities as creative inputs.
• Balance expressive storytelling with clarity, accessibility, performance, ease of use, and the needs of different audiences.
• Keep creative quality high through development, testing, and launch, then review audience and content data and evolve the experiences.
• Design the editorial publication's system for long-form writing, technical storytelling, interviews, essays, multimedia, and new formats.
• Work with editorial, content strategy, communications, creative strategy, and subject-matter experts to decide how stories are structured and presented.
• Define the content model, taxonomy, CMS needs, and links between stories, formats, authors, and topics with editorial, content, and developers.
• Design the whole publishing system, including discovery, navigation, archives, series, author pages, related content, search, and new editorial formats.
• Build flexible article templates and components that let each story keep its own character.
• Use typography, pacing, imagery, data, interaction, and motion to make complex ideas clear and engaging.
• Make sure the system supports editorial flexibility, efficient publishing, accessibility, and long-term growth.
• Help set up scalable publishing workflows and standards that can evolve with the content.
• Build and update reusable digital design systems covering typography, color, layout, components, interaction, and motion, with the Head of Graphic Design, Brand & Identity and creative and technical partners.
• Keep design consistent across the website, editorial work, campaigns, launches, events, and social platforms.
• Create templates and kits of parts so the team can move fast without losing creative quality.
• Decide when a digital piece should extend the existing system and when it needs a more bespoke approach.
• Document systems and give clear direction to internal teams, developers, agencies, and production partners, escalating major brand or strategy decisions when needed.
• Explore emerging tools and formats such as creative coding, generative design, data visualization, real-time 3D, and AI-assisted workflows when they improve the experience.
• Create digital work for integrated campaigns and product launches, including landing pages, interactive stories, digital toolkits, social assets, and supporting content.
• Work with product marketing, communications, social, events, and other teams to make experiences connect across channels.
• Shape the digital side of important events, demonstrations, installations, and live brand moments.
• Adapt ideas across formats instead of treating each deliverable as a standalone asset, and keep craft high on both flagship and quick-turn work.
• Define how motion and interaction support navigation, hierarchy, understanding, and storytelling.
• Create prototypes that show intended behavior, transitions, and responsive states.
• Work with motion designers on complex animation, film, and motion systems, and with developers to keep motion purposeful, performant, accessible, and true to the design.
• Know when movement helps and when restraint works better.
• Advocate for user research and audience understanding as inputs to direction, content structure, interaction design, and iteration.
• Turn ambiguous problems into clear strategic briefs linking audience needs, product and business goals, content, technology, and brand.
• Present design vision, strategy, concepts, prototypes, and work in progress to creative leadership, business stakeholders, and cross-functional partners.
• Work with Creative Strategy to turn the company's narrative, priorities, and product context into digital experiences.
• Prepare design specs, prototypes, assets, and annotations that support high-quality implementation.
• Review builds across screen sizes, devices, browsers, and interaction states, and direct fixes before launch.
• Use input from content, analytics, accessibility, SEO, and performance specialists to improve the experience without owning those areas.
• Build and maintain a network of digital studios, independent designers, developers, and specialist partners.
• Assess outside partners on creative fit, technical skill, quality of execution, and responsible investment.

Requirements

• 10+ years in digital, web, brand, editorial, product, or experience design, including leading complex, high-impact platforms and cross-functional work.
• A portfolio showing exceptional web design, strong brand thinking, sophisticated visual craft, and launched work. A portfolio link is required.
• Experience designing content-rich editorial, brand, product, or storytelling websites and digital experiences.
• Strong skill in typography, layout, hierarchy, image-making, responsive design, interaction design, and design systems.
• Experience taking digital work from concept through high-fidelity design, prototyping, development, QA, launch, and ongoing iteration.
• Strong grasp of user journeys, information architecture, end-to-end experience design, accessibility, and responsive behavior.
• Experience using user research, audience insight, analytics, or other evidence to shape design decisions.
• Experience designing for CMS-driven publishing and working on content models, taxonomies, and authoring workflows.
• Fluency in Figma and other current design and prototyping tools.
• Ability to prototype sophisticated interaction and motion with suitable tools. Familiarity with creative coding or browser-based experimentation is valuable.
• Ability to concept and direct web motion and interaction. Hands-on motion design skill is valuable but not required.
• Experience working closely with developers and enough technical fluency to judge feasibility, performance, implementation, and browser tradeoffs.
• Understanding of how accessibility testing, SEO, performance limits, and content strategy should shape design.
• Experience presenting design vision, strategy, and work to creative leadership, business stakeholders, and cross-functional partners.
• Experience directing agencies, independent designers, developers, illustrators, motion designers, and other creative partners.
• Ability to work within set budgets and schedules without compromising the quality and intent of the work.
• Strong presentation, communication, strategic thinking, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Comfort working fast in an environment where the function, systems, and workflows are still being built.
• Experience with data visualization, 3D, generative tools, creative coding, or other emerging formats is valuable but not required.
• Experience in technology, aerospace, defense, automotive, industrial design, or another technically complex field is helpful but not required.
• Genuine interest in aerospace, defense, or national security is a meaningful signal. Domain expertise is not required, but seriousness about the mission is.

Conditions

Base salary is $135,000 - $200,000.

Final level and base salary are set case by case, depending on job-related knowledge and skills, education, location, and experience.

The role is hybrid, with successful candidates located near Denver, CO or Long Beach, CA.

The role stays open until it is filled.

This role is not for fixed-term or temporary work.

To meet U.S. Government space technology export rules, including ITAR, you must be a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., a protected individual under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will provide accommodation for disabilities or other needs on request.

Benefits

• Healthcare with 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents, plus HSA or HRA options.
• Flexible Time Off for exempt employees, accrued PTO of up to 25 days for non-exempt employees, 12 paid holidays, parental leave, and sick leave.
• Daily catered lunch and unlimited snacks for in-office employees.
• 401(k) retirement plan, fitness reimbursement, and Dog Fridays.
• Equity is part of total compensation, giving you a share in the company's success.