Lead Product Designer

HMH•Boston, MA

41d•$85,000 - $100,000•Remote

About The Position

The Lead Product Designer leads the visual design and development of high-quality print and digital learning experiences, primarily Teacher Guides, Student Editions, and related instructional components. The role calls for deep expertise in editorial design, page architecture, typography, visual hierarchy, and producing complex educational materials. Working closely with the Senior Director of Design, the Lead Product Designer establishes and evolves the visual identity of assigned programs. Designs should support instructional goals, customer needs, usability, and efficient production. The designer uses customer and market insights to improve established educational products and creates design systems and templates that support execution by internal teams and external partners. The position is remote in the US. Applicants must include a portfolio link in their resume demonstrating relevant work and experience. The role collaborates with designers, vendors, and cross-functional teams to develop and deliver materials that meet quality, schedule, and production requirements.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in graphic design, communication design, visual design, publication design, or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
At least 7 years of experience in graphic design, editorial design, educational publishing, or a related field.
Portfolio demonstrating exceptional print and editorial design, including complex, multi-page publications.
Demonstrated experience designing Teacher Guides, Student Editions, textbooks, workbooks, or comparable educational or professional publications.
Advanced expertise in Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and related design and production tools.
Deep knowledge of typography, page composition, grid systems, information hierarchy, image selection, and visual storytelling.
Experience developing scalable design systems, templates, master pages, style guides, and production specifications for complex print programs.
Strong understanding of print production, prepress requirements, file preparation, proofing, and vendor handoff.
Experience leading design work independently and providing creative direction or guidance to other designers.
Demonstrated ability to use customer insights, research, and feedback to improve design solutions.
Strong presentation, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to manage multiple complex workstreams while maintaining attention to detail and design quality.
Ability to work independently while maintaining close collaboration with the Senior Director of Design and cross-functional partners.
Applicants must provide a portfolio link within their resume demonstrating relevant work and experience.

Nice To Haves

Experience designing K–12 curriculum or intervention products for teachers and students.
Experience evolving the visual identity of established product lines or creating distinct identities across a portfolio of programs.
Experience with large-scale publishing workflows, content-management systems, or automated page-production processes.
Knowledge of accessibility and inclusive-design practices for print instructional materials.
Experience directing illustrators, photographers, agencies, freelancers, or external production vendors.
Familiarity with digital product design and the ability to support visual coherence between print and digital experiences.

Responsibilities

Lead visual design and page development for Teacher Guides, Student Editions, workbooks, and other print instructional materials from concept through final production.
Translate complex instructional content into clear, engaging, usable page layouts for teachers and students.
Apply typography, grid systems, visual hierarchy, color, imagery, and information design to create cohesive educational experiences.
Design print components that balance instructional clarity, visual engagement, accessibility, age appropriateness, and classroom use.
Partner with editorial and instructional teams to recommend design approaches that improve comprehension, navigation, and engagement.
Maintain consistency across print components while addressing the needs of teacher-facing and student-facing materials.
Establish and evolve assigned programs’ visual identities in alignment with HMH brand standards, market expectations, and instructional purpose.
Use customer research, educator feedback, usability findings, and market insights to identify opportunities and refine designs.
Develop and present multiple design directions and explain the rationale for visual and structural decisions.
Provide design guidance, reviews, and feedback to designers, vendors, and cross-functional partners.
Stay informed about educational publishing, editorial design, visual communication, and print production practices.
Create scalable print design systems, templates, style guides, master pages, and component libraries.
Establish specifications and production standards for handoffs to production designers, vendors, and manufacturing partners.
Design materials that can be efficiently updated, versioned, and extended across grades, editions, and product configurations.
Work with production, editorial, and operations teams to resolve design and workflow challenges before they affect quality, schedule, or budget.
Review layouts, proofs, and final files for visual quality, accuracy, consistency, and adherence to design standards.
Organize and document projects so internal teams and external partners can execute reliably and efficiently.
Identify opportunities to improve design and production workflows, including responsible use of AI and automation tools.
Partner with internal designers and external vendors to align design execution with program vision, schedule, and quality standards.
Work with the Senior Director of Design to establish program vision, priorities, and quality standards.
Collaborate with Learning Experience Design, Editorial, Product Management, Production, Research, and other teams throughout product development.
Translate instructional, editorial, customer, and business requirements into visual design solutions.
Facilitate design reviews, incorporate feedback, and build alignment among senior stakeholders.
Advocate for teachers and students while balancing instructional goals, production constraints, schedules, and budgets.
Work independently, navigate ambiguity, make informed decisions, and move complex projects forward.
Attend and contribute to project meetings, design reviews, customer-insight discussions, and product-planning sessions.
Develop a deep understanding of each program’s instructional model, users, market position, and brand identity.
Manage design priorities and deliverables across multiple projects while meeting quality, schedule, and production requirements.