Brand Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Brand Designer

Company: Poka EN

Location: Montreal, Québec, Canada

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Marketing & Design Operations

Date Posted: March 02, 2026

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid (2 days in-office for local residents) / Fully Remote (for those outside specified radii)

🚀 Role Summary

• Drives the evolution and consistency of Poka's dual brand identities (product and employer brand) across all marketing and HR touchpoints.

• Creates high-impact visual assets for diverse audiences, including customer acquisition, sales enablement, and talent attraction initiatives.

• Develops and maintains scalable design systems and brand guidelines to ensure cohesive brand representation.

• Collaborates cross-functionally with Marketing, Sales, Product, and HR to translate complex product features into compelling visual narratives.

• Utilizes expert design software skills to produce engaging digital and print collateral for global campaigns and customer communications.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a critical strategic function within Poka, emphasizing the designer's ownership over brand perception for both commercial and talent acquisition purposes. The dual-brand nature suggests a need for sophisticated brand management and the ability to tailor visual communication to distinct audiences.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Evolve and meticulously maintain Poka’s distinct customer-facing and employer-brand identities, ensuring a cohesive and impactful visual narrative.

• Design impactful, professional slide decks for critical business functions including product launches, sales enablement presentations, executive leadership reviews, and external recruiting events.

• Create and iterate on visually engaging website pages optimized for both customer acquisition and talent attraction, aligning with broader digital marketing strategies.

• Collaborate closely with the marketing team to conceptualize and design compelling LinkedIn campaigns and other digital brand moments that resonate with target audiences.

• Translate intricate product features, updates, and value propositions into clear, compelling visual narratives for customer communications, release notes, and marketing collateral.

• Partner with the Product Design team to ensure seamless brand consistency across all marketing materials and the in-product user experience, maintaining a unified brand expression.

• Support sales and marketing campaigns by producing creative assets for events, webinars, digital advertisements, and various customer touchpoints, ensuring brand alignment.

• Work in tandem with the HR department to develop and execute employer brand materials that enhance recruitment efforts, streamline onboarding, and reinforce company culture initiatives.

• Establish, document, and manage comprehensive brand guidelines, reusable templates, and scalable design systems to empower consistent brand application across the organization.

• Effectively manage multiple stakeholders and diverse projects, consistently upholding a high standard of design quality, brand integrity, and project timelines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic brand management and hands-on design execution. The emphasis on "dual brand identities" and "employer branding" indicates a need for designers experienced in creating materials for both B2B markets and talent acquisition. The requirement to "translate product features into compelling visual narratives" points towards a need for strong conceptualization and storytelling skills.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communication, or a closely related design discipline.

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in brand design, visual design, or marketing design roles.

Required Skills:

• Expert proficiency in Figma for collaborative design, prototyping, and system building.

• Advanced skills in the Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) for asset creation and production.

• Demonstrated experience in designing for B2B audiences, understanding their unique communication needs and preferences.

• Proven ability to develop and manage employer branding initiatives and recruitment marketing materials.

• Strong understanding and practical application of design systems and the creation of scalable, reusable design templates.

• Excellent ability to manage multiple stakeholders, gather feedback, and drive projects to completion autonomously.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in evolving or refreshing established brand identities while maintaining continuity and brand equity.

• Proficiency in motion design or animation for creating engaging social media content and digital campaigns.

• Demonstrated confidence and skill in presenting design decisions and strategic rationale to non-design stakeholders.

• Adaptability and comfort working in fast-paced, dynamic environments with competing priorities and tight deadlines.

• A genuine curiosity and interest in the manufacturing and industrial sectors.

• Experience designing release notes or product update communications that are clear and visually appealing.

• A strong systems-thinking mindset, with a focus on creating frameworks and processes rather than just isolated assets.

• A highly collaborative approach, adept at working effectively across Product, Marketing, Sales, and HR teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirements emphasize advanced technical skills in industry-standard design software (Figma, Adobe Suite) and specific experience in B2B and employer branding contexts. The preference for systems thinking and motion design suggests a desire for a designer who can contribute strategically and technologically. Bilingualism in English and French is a critical requirement given the Montreal location and global operations.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase robust brand system development, including visual identity guides, color palettes, typography systems, and usage examples.

• Present case studies demonstrating the design of impactful digital marketing campaigns and their measurable outcomes.

• Include examples of website design and user interface (UI) elements that prioritize user experience and conversion goals.

• Highlight experience in developing employer branding assets, such as recruitment materials, career pages, or social media campaigns aimed at attracting talent.

Process Documentation:

• Provide examples of how you have documented brand guidelines and created reusable templates to ensure consistency across projects and teams.

• Illustrate your process for collaborating with cross-functional teams (e.g., marketing, product, HR) to gather requirements and integrate feedback into design solutions.

• Showcase your approach to design system implementation, including how you ensure scalability and maintainability.

• Detail your process for translating product features or technical information into compelling visual narratives for a non-technical audience.

📝 Enhancement Note: While a formal "process portfolio" might not be explicitly requested, the job description strongly implies the need for a portfolio that demonstrates not just finished assets, but the thinking and process behind them. This includes brand system development, cross-functional collaboration, and the ability to create scalable design solutions, aligning with operational efficiency in design.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

Based on industry benchmarks for a Brand Designer with 5-10 years of experience in Montreal, Québec, Canada, a competitive salary range is estimated to be between CAD $75,000 - $105,000 annually. This estimate considers the cost of living in Montreal, the specific requirements of the role (dual brand identity management, B2B expertise), and the company's position within the tech and manufacturing sectors.

Benefits:

• Dynamic and collaborative work environment.

• Generous vacation policy that increases with tenure.

• Comprehensive group insurance plan from day one, including:

  • Dental coverage
  • Medication coverage
  • Disability insurance
  • Travel insurance

• Access to telemedicine services.

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for confidential support.

• Retirement savings plan with employer contributions.

• A MacBook Pro provided for work.

• CAD $500 home office allowance upon hiring to equip your workspace.

• Tasty snacks, fresh fruits, coffee, and tea available in offices.

• Generous referral bonus program.

Working Hours:

• Standard full-time hours, approximately 40 hours per week.

• Truly flexible schedule options, allowing for adaptation of work hours.

• Opportunity to take every Friday afternoon off, subject to business needs and schedule flexibility.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is estimated based on typical compensation for Brand Designers in a major Canadian tech hub like Montreal with the specified experience level. The benefits package is detailed based on the provided information, highlighting comprehensive coverage and perks relevant to a tech-forward company. The flexible schedule and hybrid/remote options are key differentiators.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software / Technology (specifically, a Connected Worker Platform for Manufacturing)

Company Size: The description mentions being "part of the IFS family," implying a larger corporate structure, but Poka itself likely operates as a significant division or subsidiary. Based on typical tech company growth and the mention of global leaders as clients, Poka likely has a team size ranging from 50-250 employees, with IFS being significantly larger (thousands). This size offers a balance of agility and resources.

Founded: While the founding date of Poka isn't explicitly stated, its integration into the IFS family suggests a mature product and company history, likely founded in the mid-2010s to align with the rise of Industry 4.0 and digital transformation in manufacturing.

Team Structure:

• The Brand Designer will likely be part of the Marketing team, reporting to a Marketing Lead or Director.

• Close collaboration is expected with Product Marketing, Content Marketing, Sales, Product Design, and HR teams.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: While not explicitly stated, the company's focus on "generating the right data and insights" and supporting "continuous improvement" suggests a data-informed approach to marketing and design.

• Agile Collaboration: The fast-paced environment and need to work across departments point to agile methodologies for project management and creative development.

• Customer-Centricity: Designing for both plant managers (customers) and product managers (talent) requires a deep understanding of diverse user needs and motivations.

Company Website: https://poka.io/ (Derived from domain_derived)

📝 Enhancement Note: The context of Poka as a connected worker platform for manufacturing, coupled with its integration into IFS, provides a strong foundation for understanding its market position and operational focus. The company culture appears to be growth-oriented, collaborative, and AI-forward, with a clear emphasis on impact.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a mid-to-senior level Brand Designer. It requires significant autonomy, strategic input, and the ability to manage complex stakeholder relationships and dual brand responsibilities. It's a key individual contributor role with a high degree of ownership over brand perception.

Reporting Structure: The Brand Designer will likely report into the Marketing department, potentially to a Head of Marketing, Brand Manager, or Senior Marketing Lead. They will work closely with other marketing functions, sales leadership, product teams, and HR.

Operations Impact: The Brand Designer's work directly impacts Poka's ability to:

• Attract and retain customers: A strong, cohesive brand builds trust and recognition among global manufacturing leaders.

• Enable sales: High-quality sales enablement materials directly support the sales team's effectiveness and revenue generation.

• Attract top talent: A compelling employer brand is crucial for recruiting skilled individuals in a competitive tech market.

• Shape market perception: Consistent and professional branding across all touchpoints influences Poka's reputation and competitive standing.

Growth Opportunities:

• Brand Leadership: Potential to grow into a Brand Manager or Art Director role, leading brand strategy and managing a design team.

• Specialization: Opportunity to deepen expertise in specific areas like employer branding, digital campaign design, or motion graphics.

• Cross-Functional Impact: Gain broader understanding of product marketing, sales strategies, and HR initiatives, leading to more holistic career development.

• Industry Expertise: Develop specialized knowledge in manufacturing technology and Industry 4.0, becoming a valuable asset in this niche.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers significant visibility and impact across commercial and HR functions. Growth opportunities lean towards leadership within marketing/design or specialization, leveraging the unique dual-brand aspect of the role.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Poka offers a hybrid work environment, with options for both in-office and remote work. For those within a specified radius of their Montreal or Quebec City offices, a minimum of two days per week in-office is expected. This suggests modern office spaces designed for collaboration.

Office Location(s): Montreal, Québec, Canada and Québec City, Canada.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: The hybrid model implies office environments equipped for team collaboration, meetings, and brainstorming sessions.

• Technology-Rich: As a software company, expect access to modern design tools, high-speed internet, and potentially advanced AV equipment for presentations and webinars.

• Cross-functional Interaction: The role necessitates regular interaction with various departments, fostering a dynamic and communicative work atmosphere.

Work Schedule:

• Standard full-time schedule (approx. 40 hours/week).

• High degree of flexibility in daily work hours.

• The unique offering of "every Friday afternoon off" provides significant work-life balance, contingent on meeting work commitments.

📝 Enhancement Note: The work environment is designed to offer flexibility, balancing the benefits of in-person collaboration with the advantages of remote work. This setup caters to modern professional expectations, particularly within the tech industry.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Initial Screening: A brief call with HR or a recruiter to assess basic qualifications, cultural fit, and interest.

2. Portfolio & Skills Review: A more in-depth discussion with the hiring manager (likely Head of Marketing or similar) and potentially another designer. This stage will focus heavily on reviewing the candidate's portfolio, discussing their design process, and assessing technical proficiency.

3. Design Challenge: Candidates may be given a take-home design exercise or a live design problem to solve, simulating real-world tasks. This will evaluate problem-solving skills, design thinking, and ability to work within constraints.

4. Cross-Functional Interviews: Interviews with key stakeholders from Sales, Product, and HR to assess collaboration skills and understanding of business needs.

5. Final Interview: A final meeting with a senior leader to discuss vision, growth potential, and finalize the offer.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight Dual Brand Experience: Showcase projects that demonstrate your ability to manage distinct brand identities (product vs. employer) and tailor messaging accordingly.

• Emphasize Process: For each project, clearly articulate your design process: problem identification, research, ideation, execution, iteration, and outcomes. Use storytelling to explain why design decisions were made.

• Quantify Impact: Where possible, include metrics or results related to your designs (e.g., increased engagement on LinkedIn campaigns, improved conversion rates on web pages, positive feedback on sales decks).

• Showcase Systems Thinking: Include examples of design systems, style guides, or scalable templates you've developed. Explain how these contribute to efficiency and brand consistency.

• Demonstrate Software Proficiency: Ensure your portfolio clearly reflects mastery of Figma and Adobe Creative Suite.

• Tailor to Poka: Research Poka's current brand and employer branding efforts. Prepare to discuss how you would evolve or enhance them, showing strategic thinking.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Poka's Business: Familiarize yourself with Poka's connected worker platform, its target market (manufacturing), and its value proposition.

• Analyze Competitor Branding: Briefly review the branding of Poka's competitors and other leaders in the Industry 4.0 space.

• Prepare for Dual-Brand Scenarios: Anticipate challenges that require balancing customer-facing and employer-branding needs simultaneously.

• Focus on Clarity and Efficiency: For any design exercise, prioritize clear communication and efficient design solutions, reflecting the operational nature of Poka's business.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is structured to assess not only design skills but also strategic thinking, cross-functional collaboration, and understanding of Poka's specific business context. The portfolio review is critical and should emphasize process, impact, and relevant experience.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Expected to be the primary tool for UI design, prototyping, design systems, and collaborative workflows. Proficiency is a must.

• Adobe Creative Suite: Essential for graphic design, image editing, illustration, and print production. This includes Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.

• Presentation Software: Tools like Google Slides or PowerPoint for creating high-impact decks.

• Project Management Tools: Familiarity with tools like Asana, Jira, or Trello for managing design tasks and collaborating with teams.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Website Analytics: Understanding of tools like Google Analytics to assess the performance of web pages designed.

• LinkedIn Analytics: Ability to interpret data from LinkedIn campaigns to inform creative asset design.

CRM & Automation:

• While not a direct CRM role, understanding how design assets integrate with marketing automation platforms (e.g., HubSpot, Marketo) and CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) for campaign deployment is beneficial.

📝 Enhancement Note: The technology stack is heavily focused on design and collaboration tools, with Figma and Adobe Creative Suite being paramount. An understanding of how design outputs integrate with marketing and sales platforms is also valuable.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Impact-Driven: A focus on creating designs that have a tangible impact on customer acquisition, sales enablement, and talent attraction.

• Collaboration: Strong emphasis on working effectively across departments (Marketing, Sales, Product, HR) to achieve shared goals.

• Efficiency & Scalability: Valuing the creation of design systems and templates that streamline processes and ensure brand consistency.

• Continuous Improvement: An "AI-forward" culture suggests an openness to innovation, learning, and adapting to new tools and methodologies.

• Professionalism: Maintaining high standards of quality and consistency in all design outputs, reflecting the professional nature of Poka's clients and its position within IFS.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: The role necessitates seamless integration with various teams, requiring strong communication and a proactive approach to understanding diverse business needs.

• Feedback-Oriented: An open environment where feedback is exchanged constructively to refine designs and strategies.

• Knowledge Sharing: Encouraging the sharing of design best practices and insights across teams to foster collective growth.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture appears to be highly collaborative, results-oriented, and forward-thinking, aligning with its tech industry focus and its mission to support continuous improvement in manufacturing.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Dual Brands: Effectively managing and evolving two distinct brand identities (product and employer) simultaneously requires strategic thinking and careful execution.

• Translating Technical Concepts: Communicating complex manufacturing technology and software features through compelling visuals to diverse audiences.

• Fast-Paced Environment: Juggling multiple projects with competing priorities and deadlines in a dynamic tech setting.

• Maintaining Consistency: Ensuring brand integrity across a wide array of touchpoints and stakeholders.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deepen B2B & Employer Branding Expertise: Gain specialized knowledge in these critical areas of marketing.

• Master Design Systems: Contribute to and refine advanced design systems, becoming an expert in scalable design solutions.

• Industry Insight: Develop a strong understanding of the manufacturing sector and Industry 4.0 trends.

• Cross-Functional Acumen: Learn about sales processes, product development lifecycles, and HR strategies through close collaboration.

• Motion Graphics/Animation: Opportunity to expand skill set if the candidate has or develops interest in these areas.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary challenges revolve around the complexity of managing dual brand identities and translating technical information visually. Growth opportunities are substantial, offering specialization, leadership potential, and valuable industry experience.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your process for evolving a brand identity while maintaining continuity. How would you approach refreshing Poka's dual brands?" (Focus on methodology, research, stakeholder input, and phased rollout.)

• "Walk us through a project where you had to translate complex technical features into a visually compelling narrative for a non-technical audience. What was your process and the outcome?" (Highlight problem-solving, visual storytelling, and impact.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Based on your research, what do you see as Poka's key brand strengths and areas for potential visual enhancement, both for customers and potential employees?" (Demonstrate research and strategic thinking.)

• "How do you ensure brand consistency across different platforms and teams, especially in a hybrid/remote work environment?" (Discuss your approach to design systems, documentation, and collaboration.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: Organize your portfolio logically, perhaps by brand identity (customer vs. employer), project type (campaigns, web, presentations), or by showcasing your strongest case studies first.

• Narrative: For each project, clearly state the problem, your role, your process, the solution, and the results. Use compelling visuals and concise text.

• Demonstrate Figma/Adobe Proficiency: Be ready to discuss specific features or techniques you used in these tools. If a design challenge is involved, be prepared to showcase your workflow in Figma.

• Highlight Systems Thinking: Explicitly point out any design systems, style guides, or reusable components you've created and explain their benefits.

• Engage with Interviewers: Be prepared for questions about your design choices and the rationale behind them. Treat it as a collaborative discussion.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic thinking, understanding of Poka's business context, and the ability to articulate design processes and outcomes effectively, particularly concerning the dual-brand aspect and B2B/manufacturing industry.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Brand Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Greenhouse.

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features work relevant to B2B brand identity, employer branding, digital campaigns, and presentation design. Tailor the selection to showcase your strongest examples that align with Poka's industry and needs.

• Resume Optimization: Update your resume to highlight keywords such as "Brand Design," "Visual Communication," "Figma," "Adobe Creative Suite," "B2B Design," "Employer Branding," "Design Systems," and "Cross-functional Collaboration." Quantify achievements where possible.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, rationale, and project outcomes. Prepare specific examples that demonstrate your ability to manage dual brand identities and work effectively in a collaborative, fast-paced environment.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Poka's current product offerings, target market (manufacturing), and existing brand presence (both customer-facing and employer). Understand their mission and values to articulate your fit.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

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