Manager, Senior Designer

Description

You will lead the creative studio as a strategic, conceptual, and hands-on creative leader. Your work builds visual communications that strengthen the company's brand, support business priorities, and turn complex ideas into clear visuals.

You report to the Executive Director, Creative Studio and give creative direction and mentorship to two designers. You will also build integrated work across branding, campaigns, digital, presentations, video, motion graphics, and corporate communications.

The company supports defense, intelligence, national security, and emerging technology customers, so the team wants someone who understands that landscape and thinks like an advertising agency: bold concepts, integrated storytelling, and range in hands-on work.

The ideal person is a multidisciplinary creative who can move between big-picture concepts and detailed execution. They will help raise the quality of the team's output, set a clear visual direction, and build a collaborative, strategy-led studio.

Responsibilities

• Turn business objectives, creative briefs, and audience insights into strong concepts and integrated visual solutions.
• Create original ideas for brand work, marketing campaigns, product launches, executive communications, and company-wide programs.
• Work with the Executive Director, Creative to set creative direction and make sure the work fits the brand position and business priorities.
• Present concepts and recommendations and explain the strategic reasoning behind them.
• Build a solid understanding of the company's capabilities, markets, customers, and competitors.
• Work with technical experts, marketing teams, and business leaders to make complex information easy to grasp through design.
• Create visual stories that show how the company differs across defense, intelligence, national security, and emerging technology.
• Develop and produce creative for print, digital, web, social, presentations, advertising, events, and environmental media.
• Build campaign identities, visual systems, infographics, executive presentations, and other high-visibility assets.
• Keep your own design skills sharp, covering both complex initiatives and everyday production work.
• Adapt concepts across formats while keeping them consistent and high quality.
• Develop storyboards, visual concepts, motion graphics, and animated content for campaigns, social, presentations, and corporate communications.
• Work with video production resources on creative direction, storytelling, and post-production.
• Do motion design, animation, and video editing yourself when projects need it.
• Look for ways to use new creative technologies and formats to engage audiences more effectively.
• Lead, direct, and mentor two designers day to day.
• Assign and review creative work with Creative Studio leadership and Marketing Operations.
• Give constructive feedback that improves concepts, design execution, and professional growth.
• Build a collaborative, accountable, and solutions-focused team that encourages creativity and improvement.
• Balance your own hands-on work with team oversight and development.
• Review deliverables for concept strength, visual quality, accuracy, and brand consistency.
• Help set design best practices, creative standards, and quality control processes.
• With the Executive Director, Creative, find ways to improve output, capabilities, and workflows.
• Make sure creative work is both strategically effective and realistic within timelines and resources.
• Make sure all creative aligns with the company's brand identity, messaging, and corporate standards.
• Help develop and update brand guidelines, visual systems, templates, and creative resources.
• Keep a consistent masterbrand approach across corporate initiatives, products, programs, and campaigns.
• Find ways to modernize the company's visual expression while protecting brand integrity.
• Work with Marketing Strategy, Marketing Operations, Strategic Communications, Digital, Social Media, Video, and Events & Partnerships.
• Take part in brief development, project kickoffs, concept reviews, and stakeholder presentations.
• Work with Marketing Operations to set realistic timelines, clarify deliverables, and manage priorities.
• Keep stakeholders informed so everyone agrees on direction, feedback, and approvals.
• Track assigned tasks and team deliverables in Asana, keeping progress and deadlines visible.
• Follow the studio's workflow from briefing and concepts through review, approval, quality checks, and delivery.
• Flag resource limits, production problems, and project risks early.
• Support process changes that improve efficiency, accountability, and teamwork across the studio.
• Keep up with design trends, emerging technology, motion graphics, digital experiences, and new creative practices.
• Test AI-assisted workflows, new design tools, and new production methods.
• Propose new ways to tell visual stories that strengthen the brand and set the company apart.
• Encourage experimentation and knowledge sharing across the team.

Requirements

• Required: a bachelor's degree in graphic design, visual communications, advertising, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Required: 8+ years of professional design work, ideally at an advertising agency, creative agency, or in-house creative studio.
• Required: a strong portfolio showing strategic thinking, original concepts, integrated campaigns, and high-level execution across channels.
• Required: experience leading creative projects, directing art, and mentoring or managing designers.
• Required: advanced skill in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, plus working knowledge of After Effects and Premiere Pro within Adobe Creative Cloud.
• Required: range across branding, digital, print, social, presentations, video, and motion.
• Required: the ability to turn complex business goals and technical detail into strong concepts and visual stories.
• Required: clear communication and presentation skills, with the ability to explain creative reasoning to stakeholders and leaders.
• Required: experience juggling several projects, deadlines, and competing priorities at a quick pace.
• Preferred: an advertising or creative agency background, including building integrated campaigns, leading concept work, and pitching to clients or senior stakeholders.
• Preferred: experience in defense, aerospace, intelligence, national security, technology, or government contracting.
• Preferred: understanding of the federal contracting market, government customers, and business-to-government marketing.
• Preferred: experience making technical capabilities accessible and distinctive in brand storytelling.
• Preferred: strong skills in motion graphics, animation, video editing, and multimedia production.
• Preferred: experience with Figma, digital design systems, and modern web design principles.
• Preferred: experience creating work for large enterprise brands, executive leaders, corporate communications, and high-profile marketing.
• Preferred: familiarity with Asana or similar project platforms and shared creative workflows.
• Preferred: experience using AI-assisted creative tools and emerging technology in the creative process.

Conditions

Full-time, regular position.

Onsite in Reston, VA.

Up to 10% travel, local only.

No security clearance required to start.

The proposed salary range is $84,900 to $178,400.

Final pay depends on factors such as location, federal government contract labor categories and wage rates, relevant experience, specific skills, education, and certifications.

Benefits

• Competitive pay and learning and development opportunities.
• Flexible time off that lets you manage your time.
• Access to robust learning resources.
• Comprehensive benefits including healthcare, wellness, financial, retirement, family support, continuing education, and time off.