Visual Designer Assistant (Freelance)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Visual Designer Assistant (Freelance) Company: Social Discovery Group Location: Belgrade, Serbia Job Type: Part-Time, Freelance Category: Creative & Media / Art & Design / Technology Date Posted: October 3, 2025 Experience Level: Entry-Level (0-2 years) Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• This is a crucial freelance role supporting the graphic design team with the meticulous preparation of generative photo content, focusing on image enhancement and quality assurance.
• The position requires a high volume of image processing, demanding exceptional attention to detail and efficiency in retouching and verification tasks.
• Successful candidates will leverage professional-level Adobe Photoshop skills to ensure visual consistency and compliance across a large dataset of assets.
• This role is ideal for detail-oriented individuals seeking flexible, remote work and an opportunity to contribute to a global social discovery company.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the job title is "Visual Designer Assistant," the core responsibilities lean heavily into image retouching and quality control rather than broader visual design conceptualization. The emphasis on a high volume of explicit content processing is a significant factor for candidates to consider. The "Part-Time" and "Freelance" nature indicates a task-based compensation model rather than a fixed salary.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Photo Retouching: Perform professional-level retouching on prepared photo material to enhance image quality, color balance, and overall aesthetic consistency, ensuring alignment with brand guidelines.
• Visual Verification: Meticulously review and verify images for visual accuracy, ensuring they meet specific quality standards and compliance requirements before final output.
• Content Preparation: Prepare photo content for its final integration into the company's product suite, ensuring all assets are correctly formatted and optimized.
• Quality Assurance: Implement rigorous quality control checks to identify and rectify any imperfections, inconsistencies, or deviations from established visual standards.
• Process Adherence: Follow established workflows and guidelines for image processing, maintaining a high level of accuracy and efficiency throughout the task-based engagement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary responsibilities are heavily focused on execution-level tasks within a defined creative pipeline. The expectation of processing approximately 9,000–10,000 images per month highlights the need for speed and efficiency, alongside precision.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: No specific educational requirements are listed, suggesting experience and proficiency are prioritized over formal degrees.

Experience:

• Entry-level to 2 years of experience in visual content preparation, photo retouching, or a related graphic design support role.
• Proven ability to handle high volumes of tasks with consistent quality.

Required Skills:

• Adobe Photoshop Proficiency: Professional-level expertise in Adobe Photoshop is essential for performing high-quality retouching and image manipulation.
• Attention to Detail: Exceptional ability to detect subtle imperfections, ensure consistency, and maintain high standards across numerous images.
• Time Management: Strong skills in managing workload effectively to meet monthly targets and deadlines within a freelance framework.
• Self-Organization: Ability to work independently, manage tasks, and maintain productivity in a remote environment.
• Patience & Focus: Capacity to maintain concentration and perform repetitive tasks with diligence and accuracy over extended periods.
• Comfort with Explicit Content: Must be comfortable and unbiased when working with explicit visual content.

Preferred Skills:

• Basic Knowledge of Anatomy: A foundational understanding of human anatomy can be beneficial for more nuanced retouching tasks.
• Experience with Generative Content: Familiarity with or understanding of processes involving AI-generated or heavily manipulated visual content.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "professional-level proficiency in Adobe Photoshop" and "high volumes of material" indicates that practical skills and output volume are key evaluation criteria, more so than formal education. The specific requirement to be comfortable with explicit content is a critical filter for applicants.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Retouching Examples: Showcase a portfolio with clear examples of photo retouching work, demonstrating before-and-after transformations and highlighting improvements in quality and consistency.
• Volume Handling Evidence: If possible, provide examples or descriptions of projects where you managed a significant volume of visual assets, illustrating your capacity for efficient processing.
• Quality Assurance Samples: Include samples that demonstrate your ability to identify and correct visual inaccuracies or compliance issues.
• Photoshop Skill Demonstration: Portfolio pieces should clearly reflect advanced proficiency in Adobe Photoshop tools and techniques relevant to photo enhancement.

Process Documentation:

• While not explicitly requested, candidates should be prepared to discuss their personal workflow for managing and processing large batches of images efficiently and accurately.
• Be ready to articulate how you ensure consistency and quality control in your retouching and verification processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a role focused on high-volume production, a portfolio demonstrating speed, accuracy, and proficiency in Photoshop for retouching is paramount. While formal process documentation isn't a requirement, the ability to articulate one's workflow for efficiency and quality is a strong advantage.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• Estimated Range: €8 - €15 per hour (or equivalent in USD/local currency), based on freelance rates for similar retouching and quality assurance roles in Europe, considering the task-based volume.
• Methodology: This estimate is derived from typical freelance rates for graphic design assistants specializing in photo retouching and content preparation, factoring in the high volume requirement (approx. 9,000–10,000 images/month) and the need for professional Photoshop skills. Rates can vary based on candidate experience, specific quality standards, and negotiation. For Belgrade, Serbia, this range aligns with freelance graphic design and digital content roles.

Benefits:

• Flexible Working Hours: Significant autonomy to set your own work schedule, allowing for integration with other commitments or personal preferences.
• Fully Remote Position: Work from anywhere in the world, offering unparalleled flexibility and eliminating commuting.
• Opportunities for Professional Development: Potential to gain experience in a fast-paced, creative environment within a large global company, enhancing skills in visual content preparation and digital asset management.
• Task-Based Compensation: Payment is typically structured per task or per image processed, providing a clear link between output and earnings.

Working Hours:

• Flexible hours, with an expectation of completing approximately 9,000–10,000 images per month. This translates to a significant time commitment, likely equivalent to part-time or more, depending on individual processing speed and the complexity of tasks.

📝 Enhancement Note: The compensation is task-based and freelance, not a fixed salary. The estimated hourly rate is a benchmark for comparison, but actual earnings will depend on the volume processed and the agreed-upon rate per image or batch. The "flexible hours" are within the context of meeting the monthly volume targets.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Social Discovery, Technology, Online Communication, AI, Game Mechanics, Video Streaming. The company operates at the intersection of technology and human connection, aiming to combat loneliness through innovative digital platforms. Company Size: 1200+ professionals globally, including digital nomads. This indicates a large, international organization with a distributed workforce. Founded: Social Discovery Group (SDG) is a significant player in the social discovery space, uniting over 60 brands and reaching 500 million users. Its investment portfolio includes prominent tech startups like OpenAI, Patreon, and Coursera, underscoring its ambition and reach.

Team Structure:

• Distributed & Global: The team is composed of 1200+ professionals working remotely from numerous locations worldwide, fostering a diverse and international work environment.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: While this role is primarily focused on supporting the graphic design team, the broader company structure implies collaboration across product development, engineering, marketing, and operations teams.
• Digital Nomad Culture: A significant portion of the workforce operates as digital nomads, highlighting a culture that values flexibility, autonomy, and remote work.

Methodology:

• Technology-Driven Innovation: Focus on leveraging AI, game mechanics, and video streaming to create engaging social experiences.
• Data-Informed Decision Making: Implied by the scale of operations and investment in tech startups, suggesting a data-driven approach to product development and user engagement.
• User-Centric Design: Aiming to solve problems of loneliness and disconnection, indicating a focus on user needs and experience.

Company Website: https://socialdiscoverygroup.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: SDG's culture appears to be modern, global, and highly adaptable, embracing remote work and digital nomadism. The company's focus on social connection through technology, coupled with its significant investment in AI and innovative startups, suggests an environment that values forward-thinking and impactful solutions. The mention of "Great Place to Work US Certification™" points to a commitment to employee well-being and a positive work environment.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is an entry-level, freelance position focused on specialized execution within the creative pipeline. It's not a traditional operations management role but offers foundational experience in digital content production and quality assurance.

Reporting Structure: The Visual Designer Assistant will report to or work closely with the graphic designer responsible for generative photo content. This implies a direct reporting line for task assignment and feedback.

Operations Impact: While not directly managing operational processes, the role's impact is crucial for the quality and consistency of visual assets used in the company's products. High-quality, compliant imagery is vital for user engagement and brand perception in the social discovery space. Efficient processing directly contributes to the speed of content deployment.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Specialization: Deepen expertise in Adobe Photoshop for photo retouching and image manipulation, potentially leading to more advanced graphic design or digital art roles.
• Industry Exposure: Gain experience within the social discovery and online communication industry, understanding the unique visual content needs of these platforms.
• Portfolio Building: Accumulate a substantial portfolio of high-volume retouching work, valuable for future freelance or full-time creative positions.
• Potential for Extended Engagements: Successful performance may lead to continued freelance work or opportunities within SDG's broader creative teams if future roles align.

📝 Enhancement Note: Growth in this specific role is primarily skill-based and portfolio-driven rather than through traditional hierarchical advancement. Success hinges on consistent, high-quality output and reliability, which can pave the way for more specialized or demanding creative freelance opportunities.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully Remote. This role operates entirely outside of a traditional office setting.

Office Location(s): While the company has a global presence and lists many remote work locations (Cyprus, Malta, USA, Serbia, etc.), this specific role is location-independent as long as reliable internet access is available. The posting specifically mentions Belgrade, Serbia, as a location for remote workers.

Workspace Context:

• Autonomy & Independence: Candidates will manage their own workspace and working hours, requiring a high degree of self-discipline and motivation.
• Digital Tools Focused: The work environment is entirely digital, relying on software like Adobe Photoshop and potentially project management or communication tools.
• Global Team Interaction: While primarily an individual contributor role, there will be interaction with the graphic designer and potentially other team members via digital communication channels.

Work Schedule: Flexible working hours are offered. However, the significant volume of images to be processed monthly necessitates a substantial time commitment, akin to a part-time or potentially full-time workload depending on individual efficiency. The key is meeting the monthly target volume.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "fully remote" aspect is central. Candidates must be comfortable creating and maintaining their own productive work environment without direct supervision or a physical office space. The flexibility is a key benefit, but it's balanced by the demanding output requirements.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Application Review: Screening of resumes and portfolios for essential skills, particularly Photoshop proficiency and comfort with explicit content.
• Skills Assessment (Potential): A practical test may be administered, requiring candidates to perform retouching tasks on sample images within a set timeframe to evaluate their speed, quality, and adherence to instructions.
• Interview: A discussion with the hiring manager or graphic designer to assess communication skills, understanding of the role's demands, time management strategies, and cultural fit.
• Portfolio Review: Detailed examination of submitted portfolio pieces to gauge the quality of retouching, attention to detail, and overall visual capability.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight Photoshop Expertise: Showcase diverse retouching techniques (color correction, blemish removal, background adjustments, etc.) that demonstrate mastery of Photoshop.
• Demonstrate Consistency: Include examples that show your ability to maintain a consistent look and feel across multiple images, especially if they are part of a series.
• Quantify Your Work (If Possible): If you have previous experience with high-volume retouching, mention the scale of work you handled (e.g., "processed X images per week/month").
• Address Explicit Content Comfort: While not explicitly in the portfolio, be prepared to discuss your comfort level professionally and directly during the interview.
• Clarity and Organization: Ensure your portfolio is well-organized, easy to navigate, and clearly labels your contributions to each project.

Challenge Preparation:

• Practice High-Volume Retouching: Simulate processing a batch of images, focusing on speed and accuracy. Time yourself to understand your output rate.
• Review Photoshop Shortcuts: Familiarize yourself with keyboard shortcuts to maximize efficiency in Photoshop.
• Understand Quality Standards: Be prepared to ask clarifying questions about specific quality expectations and adherence requirements.
• Prepare for Time Management Questions: Be ready to explain how you would plan your workload to meet the 9,000-10,000 images/month target.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will likely focus heavily on practical skills and reliability. A strong portfolio that directly showcases relevant retouching capabilities and the ability to discuss workflow efficiency will be critical. Be prepared for a practical skills test.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Adobe Photoshop: This is the core tool required for the role. Professional-level proficiency is non-negotiable.
• Image Editing Software: Any other relevant image editing or management software proficiency could be a plus, though Photoshop is the stated primary requirement.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Not directly applicable to this role's core functions, as it's focused on execution rather than analysis.

CRM & Automation:

• Not directly applicable. The role involves processing visual assets, not managing customer relationships or automating business processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The technology stack is narrowly focused on Adobe Photoshop. Candidates should ensure their skills in this specific application are advanced and demonstrable. Familiarity with cloud storage or file-sharing platforms might be indirectly useful for receiving and submitting large image files.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Quality & Consistency: A strong emphasis on delivering high-quality, consistent visual output is paramount for this role.
• Efficiency & Productivity: The ability to process a large volume of work within deadlines is a key expectation, reflecting a value placed on operational efficiency.
• Reliability & Dependability: As a freelance contributor, being reliable and consistently meeting commitments is crucial for team success.
• Adaptability: Willingness to adapt to evolving visual standards or specific project requirements within the creative process.
• Professionalism: Maintaining a professional attitude, especially when handling sensitive content, is expected.

Collaboration Style:

• Task-Oriented Communication: Interactions with the graphic designer will likely be focused on task assignments, feedback, and quality checks.
• Independent Contribution: The role requires significant independent work, with collaboration primarily occurring as needed for clarification or review.
• Remote Collaboration Tools: Communication will likely occur via email, messaging platforms (e.g., Slack, Teams), or project management software.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture values a productive, globally distributed workforce that can deliver results efficiently. For this role, demonstrating reliability, a strong work ethic, and the ability to work autonomously within a remote setup are key cultural indicators.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• High Volume, Repetitive Tasks: Processing 9,000–10,000 images monthly can be mentally taxing due to its repetitive nature. Maintaining focus and quality over time will be a challenge.
• Handling Explicit Content: Working with explicit content requires emotional resilience and the ability to remain objective and unbiased, which can be a personal challenge for some.
• Remote Work Isolation: The fully remote nature can lead to feelings of isolation; effective self-management and proactive communication are needed to overcome this.
• Maintaining Consistent Quality: Ensuring uniform quality across thousands of images, especially under time pressure, requires meticulous attention and robust self-checking processes.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Photoshop Techniques: Opportunity to refine and expand skills in advanced photo retouching, compositing, and color grading within Photoshop.
• Understanding Visual Standards: Learning about the specific visual requirements and aesthetic preferences of the social discovery industry and the company's brands.
• Project Management Skills: Developing personal project management skills to handle large-scale freelance assignments efficiently.
• Experience with Global Teams: Gaining exposure to working with an international company and diverse teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary challenges are inherent to high-volume production work and the specific content type. Growth opportunities are centered around skill enhancement and gaining valuable experience in a specialized area of digital content creation.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Workflow and Efficiency: "Describe your process for retouching a batch of 100 images. How do you ensure consistency and speed?" (Focus on your step-by-step approach, tools, and time-saving techniques.)
• Handling Volume: "How would you approach processing 9,000 images in a month? What strategies would you employ to stay on track?" (Emphasize planning, time blocking, and managing potential bottlenecks.)
• Quality Control: "What steps do you take to ensure the quality and accuracy of your work, especially when dealing with repetitive tasks?" (Highlight self-checking mechanisms, adherence to guidelines, and attention to detail.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• Remote Work Experience: "Describe your experience working remotely. What are your strategies for staying productive and avoiding distractions?" (Showcase your self-discipline and remote work setup.)
• Content Comfort: "This role involves working with explicit content. Can you describe your comfort level and approach to handling such material professionally?" (Be direct, professional, and reassuring about your objectivity.)
• Motivation for Freelance: "Why are you interested in a freelance, part-time role with us specifically?" (Align your interest with the flexibility, skill development, and type of work offered.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Showcase Diverse Retouching: Select 3-5 strong examples that clearly demonstrate your Photoshop retouching skills. Include before/after shots if possible.
• Explain Your Process: For each example, briefly explain the challenges, the techniques you used in Photoshop, and the outcome.
• Highlight Consistency: If you have examples of a series of images with a consistent look, present those to show your ability to maintain standards.
• Be Prepared for a Live Test: It's highly probable you'll be asked to perform a practical retouching task live during the interview or as a separate assessment. Practice common retouching scenarios.

📝 Enhancement Note: Prepare to demonstrate your Photoshop skills practically. Be ready to articulate your workflow for speed and quality, and address the specific content requirements of the role with professionalism.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided link, ensuring your resume and portfolio are attached.
• Portfolio Customization: Curate your portfolio to prominently feature your best photo retouching work using Adobe Photoshop. Prioritize examples that showcase high-quality enhancements, consistency, and your ability to work with diverse image types.
• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to highlight your proficiency in Adobe Photoshop, experience with high-volume image processing (if any), strong attention to detail, and comfort with diverse content. Use keywords like "photo retouching," "image manipulation," "quality assurance," "freelance," and "Adobe Photoshop."
• Interview Preparation: Practice answering common interview questions related to your workflow, time management for high-volume tasks, and experience with remote work. Be prepared for a practical skills test in Photoshop.
• Company Research: Briefly review Social Discovery Group's mission and brands to understand their overall business context and the importance of visual content in their products.

⚠️ 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.