News Designer

The Washington Post

44d•$85,100 - $127,700•Onsite

About The Position

The Washington Post is seeking a creative, collaborative and visually sophisticated designer to help shape how audiences experience our journalism across digital platforms. News Design is a team of visual journalists who elevate The Post’s reporting through compelling, reader-centered storytelling. Working across digital formats and platforms, news designers collaborate with journalists throughout the newsroom to create presentations that deepen understanding, capture attention and make our journalism distinctive. We are looking for a designer with exceptional visual instincts, strong editorial judgment and a passion for solving storytelling problems. The ideal candidate understands how typography, composition, color, imagery and interaction can work together to make journalism clearer and more powerful. They should be equally energized by creating an ambitious custom presentation for a major enterprise story and finding smart, elegant solutions on a tight news deadline. This is a highly collaborative role. News designers work alongside reporters, editors, photographers, graphics journalists, illustrators and developers, contributing ideas from the earliest stages of a story through publication. We are looking for someone eager to experiment, take thoughtful creative risks and help evolve the visual identity of The Washington Post. This position is based in our Washington, D.C., newsroom and will require some night and weekend work.

Requirements

A strong portfolio demonstrating excellent visual design, creative thinking, initiative and curiosity.
Experience designing digital editorial experiences, interactive applications or other content-rich products.
Sophisticated understanding of typography, composition, color, visual hierarchy and information design.
Strong editorial instincts and a passion for using design in service of storytelling.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with an ability to build productive relationships across disciplines.
A demonstrated ability to manage multiple short- and long-term projects and deliver refined work under deadline pressure.
A thoughtful, ethical approach to incorporating new technologies including AI-assisted tools into the design brainstorming process, with sound judgment about where they strengthen the work but knowing human craft and editorial judgment must lead.
Commitment to accessibility, accuracy and the highest standards of visual journalism.
Fluency with design tools such as Figma, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

Nice To Haves

Experience with art direction, animation, illustration, original artwork or maintaining a cohesive visual identity is a plus.
Experience with HTML, CSS or JavaScript and familiarity with modern web frameworks such as React, Svelte, Angular or Vue is a plus.

Responsibilities

Collaborate with reporters, editors and visual journalists to conceive and build distinctive digital storytelling experiences.
Identify stories that would benefit from enhanced visual presentation and help develop the right design approach for each.
Create engaging, content-driven designs, illustrations and visual packages that are smart, original and reader-centered.
Guide the visual storytelling process from initial concept through publication, incorporating feedback and maintaining a high level of craft throughout.
Design experiences that work effectively across desktop, mobile, newsletters, social platforms and other digital surfaces.
Partner with developers and other visual journalists on interactive and custom storytelling projects.
Contribute to breaking and major news coverage, developing sophisticated visual solutions on tight deadlines.
Use art direction, illustration, animation and other techniques when they can strengthen a story.
Review work carefully for visual consistency, accessibility and accuracy before publication.
Contribute ideas that help evolve The Post’s visual identity and push our digital storytelling forward.