Manager, Senior Designer

CACI • Reston, VA

15d • Onsite

About The Position

The Manager, Senior Designer is a strategic, conceptual, and hands-on creative leader responsible for developing visual communications that strengthen CACI’s brand, support business priorities, and communicate complex ideas. Reporting to the Executive Director, Creative Studio, the role provides creative direction and mentorship to two designers while contributing to integrated creative work across branding, marketing campaigns, digital experiences, presentations, video, motion graphics, and corporate communications. The position is onsite in Reston, Virginia, with up to 10% local travel.

The role combines strategic concept development and multidisciplinary design execution with team leadership, brand stewardship, cross-functional collaboration, project coordination, and creative innovation. The manager translates business objectives and technical information into compelling visual storytelling; maintains creative quality and brand consistency; and supports the evolution of CACI’s creative capabilities, workflows, and standards.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communications, Advertising, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• At least 8 years of professional design experience, ideally including experience within an advertising agency, creative agency, or in-house creative studio.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating strategic thinking, original concept development, integrated campaigns, and exceptional design execution across multiple channels.
• Demonstrated experience leading creative projects, providing art direction, and mentoring or managing designers.
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign; working knowledge of After Effects and Premiere Pro.
• Versatility across branding, digital, print, social media, presentations, video, and motion graphics.
• Ability to translate complex business objectives and technical information into compelling creative concepts and visual storytelling.
• Strong communication, presentation, and collaboration skills, including the ability to articulate creative rationale to stakeholders and leadership.
• Experience managing multiple projects, deadlines, and competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Nice To Haves

• Advertising or creative agency background, including developing integrated campaigns, leading conceptual creative, and presenting ideas to clients or senior stakeholders.
• Experience in defense, aerospace, intelligence, national security, technology, or government contracting.
• Understanding of the federal contracting landscape, government customers, and business-to-government marketing.
• Experience translating complex technical capabilities into accessible, engaging, and differentiated brand storytelling.
• Strong motion graphics, animation, video editing, and multimedia production capabilities.
• Experience with Figma, digital design systems, and modern web design principles.
• Experience developing creative for enterprise brands, executive leadership, corporate communications, and high-visibility marketing initiatives.
• Familiarity with Asana or similar project management platforms and collaborative creative workflows.
• Experience incorporating AI-assisted creative tools and emerging technologies into the creative development process.

Responsibilities

• Translate business objectives, creative briefs, and audience insights into compelling concepts and integrated visual solutions.
• Develop original creative ideas for brand initiatives, marketing campaigns, product launches, executive communications, and enterprise-wide programs.
• Partner with the Executive Director, Creative, to establish creative direction and align work with CACI’s brand positioning and business priorities.
• Present concepts and creative recommendations with clear strategic rationale.
• Develop working knowledge of CACI’s capabilities, markets, customers, and competitive landscape.
• Collaborate with technical subject matter experts, marketing stakeholders, and business leaders to simplify complex information through design.
• Create visual storytelling that communicates CACI’s differentiation across defense, intelligence, national security, and emerging technologies.
• Conceptualize and execute creative across print, digital, web, social media, presentations, advertising, events, and environmental applications.
• Develop campaign identities, visual systems, infographics, executive presentations, and other high-visibility creative assets.
• Adapt creative concepts across formats while maintaining consistency and quality, and contribute hands-on to complex initiatives and production needs.
• Develop storyboards, visual concepts, motion graphics, and animated content for campaigns, social media, presentations, and corporate communications.
• Collaborate with video production resources on creative direction, visual storytelling, and post-production; contribute motion design, animation, and video editing as needed.
• Identify opportunities to use emerging creative technologies and formats to elevate audience engagement.
• Provide day-to-day creative leadership, direction, and mentorship for two designers; assign and review work in coordination with Creative Studio leadership and Marketing Operations.
• Give constructive feedback that strengthens conceptual thinking, design execution, and professional development, and foster a collaborative, accountable, solutions-oriented environment.
• Balance hands-on creative contributions with team oversight and development.
• Review creative deliverables for conceptual strength, visual quality, accuracy, and brand consistency; help establish design best practices, creative standards, and quality-control processes.
• Partner with the Executive Director, Creative, to improve creative output, capabilities, and workflows, ensuring work is strategically effective and feasible within project timelines and resources.
• Ensure creative work aligns with CACI’s brand identity, messaging, and corporate standards; support the evolution of brand guidelines, visual systems, templates, and creative resources.
• Maintain a consistent masterbrand approach and identify ways to modernize CACI’s visual expression while protecting brand integrity.
• Collaborate with Marketing Strategy, Marketing Operations, Strategic Communications, Digital, Social Media, Video, and Events & Partnerships.
• Participate in creative brief development, project kickoffs, concept reviews, and stakeholder presentations.
• Partner with Marketing Operations to establish realistic timelines, clarify deliverables, and manage creative priorities; communicate proactively about direction, feedback, and approvals.
• Manage assigned creative tasks and team deliverables in Asana, maintaining visibility into progress and deadlines.
• Follow creative workflows for briefing, concept development, reviews, approvals, quality assurance, and final delivery; identify resource constraints, production challenges, and project risks early.
• Support process improvements that increase efficiency, accountability, and collaboration across the Creative Studio.
• Stay current on design trends, emerging technologies, motion graphics, digital experiences, and creative practices; explore AI-assisted workflows, new design tools, and innovative production techniques.
• Recommend new visual storytelling approaches and encourage creative experimentation and knowledge-sharing across the team.

Benefits

• Flexible time off benefit.
• Robust learning resources and learning and development opportunities.
• Healthcare, wellness, financial, retirement, family support, continuing education, and time off benefits.
• Competitive compensation and benefits options designed to support and protect employees and their families.

What This Job Offers

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