Jr. Graphic Designer

El Pollo Loco • Costa Mesa, CA

22h • Hybrid

About The Position

At El Pollo Loco, we are on a mission to be the nation’s leading fire-grilled chicken restaurant. When it comes to our people, we are all about growth. Whether that means specialized training, a clearly laid out career trajectory or collaborating cross-functionally, we are committed to the success of our people the same way we’ve been committed to the success of the El Pollo Loco brand for the last 50 years. In fact, we see you as our secret ingredient. While our chicken is fire, it’s our people who set us ablaze. Our restaurants are only the tip of the flame! If you’re looking for an innovative, winning, and welcoming workplace, then a flamin’ good career in our Restaurant Support Center is right for you. At our Support Center, we believe our best work is done Together, when departments collaborate and everyone is confident in contributing their ideas. This is why we are in the office 3 days per week. Let’s Get Loco!

Position Purpose
We are seeking a motivated and detail-oriented Junior Graphic Designer to join our Marketing team. The Junior Graphic Designer will lead day-to-day production design across digital web, in-store kiosk ordering, and social platforms, and will collaborate on in-restaurant POP merchandising and large scale marketing campaigns from concept through delivery. This role will exercise independent judgment and discretion in the creation of original visual content for social media, field marketing initiatives, and test merchandising campaigns. The ideal candidate has a meticulous eye for detail, takes pride in producing clean, on-brand work at high volume, and brings a coachable, team-first attitude.

Requirements

• BA/BS degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communications, or related field, or equivalent demonstrated production design experience.
• 2+ years of production-focused design experience preferred — candidates with a strong portfolio demonstrating production-quality output and craft will be considered without the full two years.
• Experience in restaurant, retail, e-commerce, or multi-unit concepts with frequent product launches and concurrent campaigns is preferred.
• Strong proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, with particular depth in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
• Experience producing creative across traditional, print, digital, animation, video, and photography channels.
• Strong understanding of typography, layout, color theory, and brand systems.
• Awareness of output specifications across destinations, including DPI/resolution differences for kiosk, web, social, and print/POP, and RGB vs. CMYK color management.
• Detail-oriented with pride in shipping clean, on-brand work at high volume.
• Coachable, low-ego, and proactive — comfortable taking direction, asking thoughtful questions, and producing the day-to-day production work that keeps the creative team moving, including the less glamorous, high-volume jobs.
• Strong file organization, naming conventions, and version control habits.
• Ability to effectively communicate with internal stakeholders and outside agencies.
• Ability to prioritize and plan work assignments and work under pressure of frequent and tight deadlines.
• Ability to customarily and regularly exercise independent judgment and discretion in the creation of original creative content, the evaluation of design effectiveness, and the adaptation of campaign concepts to social, field marketing, and test merchandising contexts.
• Must be willing and able to travel locally within Southern California to photoshoots and restaurant locations, and to out-of-state locations as needed, by car or airplane.

Nice To Haves

• Food, restaurant, or QSR (quick-service restaurant) experience is a plus but not required.
• Candidates with more senior experience are welcome, provided they are excited about owning hands-on production work.
• Working knowledge of — or demonstrated interest in — After Effects and Premiere Pro for social motion graphics and short-form video editing is a plus.
• Experience with AI design technologies and their application in production workflows is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Independently conceive, design, and produce original visual content for social platforms, including animated posts, story templates, reels, and short-form graphics.
• Exercise independent creative judgment in adapting brand voice and visual identity to platform-native formats (Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and other emerging platforms).
• Develop and recommend design approaches for social campaign rollouts and provide creative direction on platform best practices.
• Independently design and develop creative for field marketing initiatives, including localized promotional materials, regional campaigns, and franchisee support materials.
• Work directly with field marketing partners to develop on-brand materials that meet specific market or location needs, exercising independent judgment on creative direction.
• Adapt national campaign creative to local field marketing requirements, applying brand standards while accommodating regional considerations.
• Manage timelines, deliverables, and stakeholder feedback for field marketing projects with minimal supervision.
• Develop original creative concepts for test merchandising campaigns, including in-restaurant point-of-purchase materials, signage, and merchandising.
• Iterate on designs based on test results and provide creative recommendations for broader rollout.
• Exercise independent creative judgment in evaluating design effectiveness across test conditions and adapting approaches accordingly.
• Attend photoshoots to learn and contribute to the production workflow; independently build post-shoot POP collateral from photographed assets.
• Produces and adapts creative assets across multiple formats, including digital, print, social, and experiential, ensuring files are accurate and organized, while ensuring brand consistency and on-time delivery.
• Resize, adapt, and prepare existing campaign creative for digital web, in-store kiosk ordering screens, and other production destinations.
• Maintain the brand asset library, including templates, file naming conventions, and version control.
• Execute production-ready creative based on established creative direction from senior designers and outside agencies.
• Provide technical execution recommendations on file craft, color management, and output specifications across digital, print, and in-restaurant kiosk channels.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders — including marketing, social, field marketing, and senior design — to execute cohesive campaigns across all channels on schedule.
• Manage multiple workstreams simultaneously, prioritizing deadlines effectively across concurrent campaigns and product launches.
• Stay informed about advancements in AI design tools (Adobe Firefly, generative fill, batch resizing) and apply them across all categories of work to streamline output and quality.
• Other activities, duties, or responsibilities that are assigned by your supervisor.

Benefits

• STRONG office culture recognized as a Great Place to Work® and driven by our core values: Simple. Together. Relentless. Ownership. Nimble. Growth
• Career growth opportunities
• Competitive pay and bonus potential
• Medical + Dental +Vision Insurance + HSA Savings Account
• 401(K) Retirement Plan with company match and immediate vesting
• Paid Vacation + Sick Pay + 12 Paid Holidays
• Employee Assistance Program
• Free El Pollo Loco food + restaurant discounts
• PerkSpot discounts program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level