Lead Visual Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Lead Visual Designer

Company: Truth Collective

Location: Rochester, New York, United States

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Creative Operations / Brand Design

Date Posted: 2026-05-11

Experience Level: Mid to Senior Level (5-10 years)

Remote Status: Hybrid (Remote OK, but requires on-location presence for specific shifts)

🚀 Role Summary

• Spearheads visual design and production for critical, confidential projects within a dedicated creative model for a Fortune 50 client.

• Combines advanced design execution with rigorous operational discipline to manage fast-paced client requests and workflow coordination.

• Serves as the primary client point of contact during assigned coverage shifts, ensuring seamless communication and project delivery.

• Leverages AI tools to augment design exploration, content generation, and production efficiency, driving innovation in creative output.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is a hybrid of design execution and operational management, requiring a candidate comfortable with both creative craft and the structured delivery of a high-volume, client-facing environment. The compressed schedule implies a need for high autonomy and robust time management.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day client interaction during assigned shifts, managing request intake, clarification, prioritization, status updates, execution, and final delivery.

• Create, adapt, version, and produce high-quality visual assets across digital, presentation, print, environmental, fabrication, and installation applications, ensuring brand consistency and strategic alignment.

• Integrate AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Midjourney, Adobe Firefly) to accelerate design exploration, image/video generation, content adaptation, and overall workflow efficiency.

• Ensure all design and production output strictly adheres to approved brand standards, client directives, Truth Collective's quality benchmarks, and strict confidentiality protocols.

• Prepare meticulously organized, production-ready files for vendor handoff, encompassing detailed specifications for print, fabrication, installation, proofing, packaging, and quality control.

• Coordinate efficiently with a cross-functional team, including visual designers, pod teammates, Truth Collective personnel, client stakeholders, and external production partners to maintain project momentum.

• Maintain proactive and transparent communication regarding request status, priorities, potential risks, escalation needs, and critical next steps to all relevant parties.

• Juggle multiple concurrent requests with exceptional speed, accuracy, composure, and a keen eye for detail, even under demanding timelines.

• Support real-time collaboration sessions, live working sessions, and rapid production needs as they arise, demonstrating adaptability and responsiveness.

• Document work status, key decisions, and critical handoff notes to ensure continuity and seamless transitions across different coverage shifts and team members.

• Handle all confidential client materials and communications with the utmost discretion, professionalism, and integrity.

• Contribute positively to the creative, operational, and cultural fabric of both Truth Collective and the client relationship.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "confidential projects" and "Fortune 50 client" suggests a need for candidates with experience in enterprise-level environments where security, brand integrity, and rigorous process adherence are paramount. The "creative production and project coordination" hybrid nature is a critical differentiator for this role.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Design, Art, Marketing, Advertising, Communications, or a closely related field is preferred.

Experience:

• Proven experience in design execution, production design, creative operations, project coordination, or agency/client-service environments is required.

Required Skills:

• Exceptional visual design, layout, typography, composition, hierarchy, image selection, and brand system expertise across digital, print, and production applications.

• Expert proficiency in macOS and the Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Acrobat); working knowledge of Figma and other contemporary digital design and collaboration platforms.

• Deep expertise in print production processes, including bleeds, crops, color profiles, resolution, linked assets, packaging, PDF settings, proofing procedures, and vendor-ready file preparation.

• Proficiency with AI tools such as ChatGPT, Grok, Google Gemini, Midjourney, Adobe Firefly, and other emerging platforms to enhance creativity, production, animation, versioning, research, and workflow efficiency.

• Strong project coordination, prioritization, organization, file management, and deadline management capabilities, with a proven ability to balance multiple requests rapidly and accurately.

• Confident client-facing communication skills, including the ability to interface calmly and professionally with senior-level clients, internal teams, external vendors, and production partners.

• Sound judgment, proactive problem-solving skills, and unwavering composure in urgent, ambiguous, or high-pressure situations.

• Ability to work effectively both collaboratively within a team and autonomously, taking direction efficiently and progressing work with minimal oversight when necessary.

• Familiarity with Google Workspace, Microsoft Office Suite, and cloud-based storage platforms, specifically Box.

• Solid understanding of digital file optimization, accessibility standards, and cross-platform design requirements.

• Proficiency in managing task handoffs, documenting work status, and maintaining continuity in a rolling or shift-based coverage model.

• Demonstrated professional discretion when handling highly confidential client materials, communications, and sensitive production details.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with animation or motion graphics software.

• Familiarity with project management software beyond basic file sharing (e.g., Asana, Trello, Monday.com).

• Understanding of web design principles and UI/UX best practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The extensive list of required skills, particularly the blend of design, production, AI, and client management, indicates this role demands a highly versatile and experienced individual. The emphasis on AI tools suggests the company is forward-thinking and expects candidates to be adaptable to new technologies.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrate a strong track record of delivering high-quality visual design across diverse media (digital, print, production).

• Showcase examples of complex print production projects, highlighting file preparation, vendor coordination, and quality control.

• Include case studies or examples of how AI tools were integrated into the design or production workflow to achieve specific outcomes.

• Present evidence of project coordination capabilities, ideally illustrating the management of multiple concurrent tasks or client requests.

Process Documentation:

• Illustrate understanding of workflow design and optimization for creative production environments.

• Showcase experience with system implementation standards for design and production asset management.

• Demonstrate ability to measure and articulate process improvements and their impact on efficiency or client satisfaction.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the hybrid nature of this role, the portfolio should not only highlight design aesthetic but also the candidate's operational rigor. Emphasis on process, documentation, and efficiency will be key for demonstrating suitability beyond pure design talent.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

Benefits:

• Competitive financial benefits.

• Comprehensive wellness benefits.

• Generous paid time off (PTO) for personal use, family, and rest.

• Opportunities for personal and professional development, including training and skill enhancement.

• Access to team activities designed for creative exploration and team bonding.

Working Hours:

• This is a full-time position. The role operates on a compressed 3 days on/3 days off schedule, with alternating Sunday coverage. This structure provides either 3 or 4 days off per week.

• During assigned coverage shifts, team members are expected to maintain on-call availability and responsiveness throughout the full shift.

• Active workflow typically occurs between approximately 7:30 AM ET and 9:30 PM ET, but occasional requests may arise outside these hours due to client priorities.

• Holiday coverage is compensated at time and a half the daily rate.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is an estimate based on the experience level (5-10 years), the hybrid nature of the role (requiring on-call availability and specific shifts), and the cost of living in Rochester, NY. Benefits are detailed based on the provided list, with an emphasis on professional growth and work-life balance, which is a key selling point of the compressed schedule.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Creative Services / Advertising / Brand Identity / Brand Activation. Truth Collective operates within the dynamic agency landscape, focusing on strategic brand development and execution for a diverse clientele.

Company Size: Small to Medium-sized (Specific number not provided, but described as "small yet mighty"). This suggests a close-knit team environment where individual contributions are highly visible and impactful.

Founded: (Company founded date not provided). Truth Collective emphasizes a modern approach to creative work and employee well-being.

Team Structure:

• The role is part of a "dedicated creative & production model" supporting a specific Fortune 50 client, implying a specialized pod or team structure.

• This Lead Visual Designer will be part of a "pod team" and will coordinate with "Truth Collective team members," suggesting a matrixed reporting structure where individuals report to both a client-specific lead and a broader agency manager.

Methodology:

• Truth Collective emphasizes "strategic thinking and creative craft" to build brands that "connect."

• The agency focuses on creating work that is "clear and considered," highlighting a commitment to quality and thoughtful execution.

• AI tools are explicitly mentioned as part of the workflow, indicating a forward-thinking approach to leveraging technology for efficiency and exploration.

Company Website: https://truthcollective.bamboohr.com/careers

📝 Enhancement Note: The description of Truth Collective as "small yet mighty" suggests a dynamic, fast-paced environment. The focus on a Fortune 50 client via a dedicated model implies a structured, high-stakes operational setting within the agency.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a "Lead" position, indicating a mid-to-senior level of responsibility. It requires not only strong design and production skills but also the ability to coordinate projects, manage client relationships, and operate with significant autonomy within a defined shift.

Reporting Structure: The role reports into a specific client-focused "pod" structure and likely also has a reporting line within Truth Collective's broader creative or operations leadership. Coordination with "pod teammates" and "Truth Collective team members" highlights a collaborative yet potentially matrixed reporting environment.

Operations Impact: The Lead Visual Designer directly impacts client satisfaction through timely, high-quality execution of critical projects. Their operational discipline ensures efficiency, brand consistency, and the successful delivery of complex creative assets, directly contributing to the client's business objectives and the agency's reputation.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in production design for specific media (e.g., environmental, fabrication) or advanced AI applications in creative workflows.

• Leadership: Potential to grow into a Senior Lead or Art Director role within the dedicated client team or transition into broader agency operational leadership.

• Skill Development: Continuous learning opportunities in emerging design technologies, AI tools, and advanced production techniques.

• Client Relationship Management: Develop stronger strategic client advisory skills through sustained engagement with a major Fortune 50 client.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Lead" title, combined with the client-facing and coordination responsibilities, suggests a pathway to more senior roles focused on client management, creative direction, or operational oversight within agency structures. The compressed work schedule itself is a unique growth-adjacent benefit, offering significant personal time that can be used for further learning or personal pursuits.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The job listing mentions "on location" work, but the "Remote OK" AI classification and "Flexible working practices: on location and where you want to be" suggest a hybrid model. The specific "creative production and project coordination" model for a Fortune 50 client might necessitate dedicated office space or a co-working arrangement for team collaboration and client interaction during shifts.

Office Location(s): Rochester, New York. This location is the primary base, but the nature of the role and remote capabilities might allow for some flexibility depending on client needs and team structure.

Workspace Context:

• The role demands a highly responsive and organized workspace, whether at home or in a designated office, to manage real-time client requests and production tasks.

• Access to robust technology and software (Adobe Creative Suite, AI tools, cloud storage like Box) is critical.

• The environment fosters collaboration with a dedicated "pod team" and broader agency members, requiring strong communication and teamwork skills.

Work Schedule: A unique compressed work schedule (3 days on, 3 days off, alternating Sundays) is a defining feature. This requires individuals to be highly focused and productive during their on-shifts, with the expectation of availability and responsiveness throughout those periods, including potential extended hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: While "Remote OK" is indicated, the nature of coordinating "confidential projects" for a "Fortune 50 client" with "on-call availability" during shifts might imply a need for a stable, secure, and reliable work environment, which could favor hybrid or office-based arrangements for certain periods or specific team members. The compressed schedule is a significant environmental factor.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of resume, cover letter, and crucially, the design portfolio. The portfolio must showcase both design execution and operational capabilities.

• Portfolio Review & Discussion: Candidates will likely walk through their portfolio, discussing specific projects, their role, challenges, and outcomes. Expect questions about print production, AI integration, and project coordination.

• Skills Assessment/Case Study: A practical exercise or case study might be presented, focusing on designing and producing assets under simulated tight deadlines or with specific client constraints. This could involve file preparation, AI prompt usage, or workflow planning.

• Team/Client Simulation: Potential for a role-playing scenario or discussion simulating client interaction and shift handoffs to assess communication, composure, and client-service skills.

• Cultural Fit Interview: Discussion about working style, adaptability to compressed schedules, and alignment with Truth Collective's values.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select projects that best demonstrate visual design, print production expertise, AI integration, and project coordination. Prioritize quality over quantity.

• Showcase Process: For each project, briefly explain the brief, your role, the process undertaken, challenges faced (especially operational ones), solutions implemented, and the final results.

• Highlight AI Use: Clearly articulate how AI tools were used and the impact they had on the design or production process (e.g., speed, exploration, efficiency).

• Demonstrate Production Rigor: Include examples of meticulously prepared files, explanations of production challenges overcome, and how you ensured print-readiness.

• Quantify Impact: Where possible, use metrics or specific outcomes to illustrate the success of your work (e.g., "delivered X assets within Y hours," "reduced production time by Z%").

• Address Schedule: Be prepared to discuss your understanding of and enthusiasm for the compressed work schedule and on-call responsibilities.

Challenge Preparation:

• Time Management Drills: Practice completing design tasks under strict time limits.

• AI Tool Familiarization: Be ready to demonstrate or discuss your proficiency with various AI design tools.

• Production Checklist: Develop a mental checklist for print and digital file preparation to ensure all critical elements are covered.

• Communication Scenarios: Prepare answers for questions related to handling urgent client requests, managing conflicting priorities, or escalating issues.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on AI, print production, and a unique schedule means candidates will be evaluated not just on design talent but on their operational readiness and adaptability to a specific, demanding workflow model.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Adobe Creative Suite: Expert proficiency required in InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Acrobat for design and production.

• Figma: Working knowledge expected for digital design and collaboration.

• AI Design Tools: Proficiency with ChatGPT, Grok, Google Gemini, Midjourney, Adobe Firefly, and other emerging platforms for accelerated design, content generation, and workflow support.

• macOS: The required operating system for design work.

Analytics & Reporting:

CRM & Automation:

• Google Workspace & Microsoft Office Suite: Familiarity for general productivity and communication.

• Box: Cloud-based storage platform for file management and sharing.

• Potential Project Management Tools: Familiarity with tools like Asana, Trello, or Monday.com may be beneficial for coordination, though not explicitly listed as required.

📝 Enhancement Note: The heavy reliance on Adobe Creative Suite and AI tools, alongside specific cloud storage and collaboration platforms, defines the technical environment. Candidates must be adept at seamlessly integrating these tools into a high-volume production workflow.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Clarity and Purpose: Truth Collective values work that is clear, confident, and true to the client's identity. Operations professionals are expected to embody this in their process and execution.

• Creative Craft: A dedication to high-quality design and considered execution is paramount.

• Collaboration: Working effectively within a "small yet mighty" team and across client-dedicated pods is essential.

• Responsiveness and Composure: The ability to handle fast-moving client requests calmly and efficiently is a core operational value.

• Integrity and Discretion: Handling confidential client materials with professionalism and care.

• Adaptability: Embracing new technologies like AI and flexible work models is key.

Collaboration Style:

• Team-Centered: Emphasis on supporting "each of our unique team members in flourishing in work and life."

• Cross-functional Integration: Close collaboration within specialized client pods and with the broader Truth Collective team.

• Proactive Communication: Maintaining clear, proactive communication around project status and needs.

• Shared Responsibility: Contributing to a positive work experience and supporting colleagues, especially in a shift-based model.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's stated commitment to an "employee- and team-centered, creative working environment" alongside its "cultural commitment" to diversity and inclusion suggests a supportive and progressive agency culture. The emphasis on "truth" in their name likely translates to values of honesty, transparency, and authenticity in their work and relationships.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Compressed Schedule Demands: Maintaining high productivity and responsiveness during intense, dedicated shifts, with the added complexity of alternating Sundays and holiday coverage.

• Client Confidentiality & Pressure: Working with sensitive materials for a Fortune 50 client requires meticulous attention to detail, security, and the ability to perform under high-stakes pressure.

• AI Integration Nuances: Effectively leveraging AI tools to enhance, not replace, creative judgment and ensuring ethical and quality-controlled output.

• Balancing Speed and Quality: Consistently delivering high-quality design and production work within demanding, fast-turnaround timelines.

• Shift Handoffs: Ensuring seamless continuity of work and communication across different team members and shifts.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI Tool Mastery: Opportunities to become an expert in leveraging cutting-edge AI tools for creative production.

• Specialized Production: Gaining deep experience in niche production areas like environmental graphics or fabrication.

• Client-Side Operations: Developing a nuanced understanding of enterprise-level client operations and expectations.

• Operational Excellence: Refining project coordination, workflow management, and client communication skills in a high-demand environment.

• Agency Growth: Potential exposure to various projects and clients as the agency evolves.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary challenge lies in the unique work schedule and the high-pressure environment of serving a major client. Growth opportunities are tied to mastering these demands and advancing within specialized creative operations.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your experience managing a demanding, compressed work schedule and how you ensure productivity and client responsiveness during your shifts." (Focus on time management, prioritization, and communication strategies.)

• "Walk us through a project where you had to balance rapid design execution with stringent production requirements. How did you ensure quality and meet deadlines?" (Highlight your process, tools, and problem-solving.)

• "How have you integrated AI tools into your design or production workflow? Provide a specific example of how it improved efficiency or creative output." (Be ready to discuss specific tools and tangible results.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Truth Collective's approach to brand identity and activation?" (Research their portfolio and methodology.)

• "How do you envision contributing to a 'small yet mighty' agency team, particularly within a dedicated client model?" (Showcase your collaborative spirit and adaptability.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Narrative Structure: For each portfolio piece, tell a concise story: the challenge, your role, the solution (especially how you used design, production, or AI), and the outcome.

• Highlight Operational Rigor: Explicitly point out examples of meticulous file preparation, vendor coordination, or project management aspects within your design projects.

• Demonstrate AI Integration: Clearly label and explain how AI was used in specific pieces. Be ready to discuss the prompts, the iteration process, and the final result.

• Address the Schedule: Be prepared to articulate your enthusiasm and readiness for the unique 3-on/3-off schedule and on-call responsibilities.

• Concise and Clear: Keep explanations brief and focused, respecting the interviewer's time.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should heavily focus on demonstrating operational discipline, adaptability to the unique schedule, and a practical understanding of AI integration in a professional design context.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Lead Visual Designer position:

• Submit your application through the Truth Collective careers portal.

• Customize Your Resume: Tailor your resume to highlight keywords related to visual design, print production, AI tools, project coordination, client communication, and experience with non-traditional schedules. Quantify achievements where possible.

• Prepare Your Portfolio: Ensure your PDF portfolio (or linked samples) is polished, well-organized, and clearly showcases relevant projects. Include specific examples demonstrating print production expertise and AI tool usage.

• Practice Your Narrative: Rehearse your portfolio walkthrough, focusing on clear, concise explanations of your process, role, and the impact of your work, especially concerning operational aspects and the unique schedule.

• Research Truth Collective: Familiarize yourself with the agency's work, values, and client approach to articulate your interest and cultural fit effectively.

⚠️ 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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