Senior Graphic Designer - 154252-1

About The Job Senior Graphic Designer - 154252-1

**Job Title: Senior Graphic Designer - 154252-1

Location: REMOTE (PST hours preferred)

Schedule: M-F (40/HR)

Duration/Start Date: 7/28/2025

Salary: $45.29 /hourly**

**Note: Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.

Candidates with previous experience at Microsoft Corporation is required for this role**

• MUST INCLUDE WORK SAMPLES AND/OR PORTFOLIO LINK WITH SUBMISSION FOR CONSIDERATION*****

Summary

The Graphic Designer will be responsible for overall visual design and direction of content for campaigns across multiple channels and platforms, including physical activations. They will be responsible through entire project cycle to create visual content that supports major company announcements and events, relatable social moments, and boundary-pushing executions. They will address global design issues across product groups within social and digital spaces.

The graphic designer will be tapped to deliver innovative, fully accessible, global-ready, brand-approved content and design systems. They will be asked to maintain consistent, high-quality output. Adherence to Microsoft Brand Identity guidelines is critical. While traditional graphic design is the core of the position, this team also works across video, animation, and HTML, so all experience could be relevant, and all skills may be utilized.

Typical Day in the Role

Purpose of the Team: The team creates high-level, conceptual design systems and style guides for a variety of projects, including events, social campaigns, and multicultural marketing, primarily servicing different internal groups at Microsoft.

Key Projects: Projects range from designing event spaces (e.g., Afrotech pop-ups), social media campaigns, video series branding, to billboards and live event graphics. The work is highly varied and audience-specific.

Typical Task Breakdown And Operating Rhythm

• Intake meetings with stakeholders to understand project goals and audiences.
• Mood boarding and ideation to propose creative directions.
• Developing comprehensive design systems and style guides (usually in deck format).
• Overseeing and approving work from freelancers/production designers to ensure alignment with the vision.
• Occasional hands-on execution for smaller tasks (e.g., social posts), but focus is on vision and system creation.
• Projects are cyclical, with 812 major projects per year, split between two teams; downtime may involve smaller executional tasks.

Job Responsibilities

• Ideate and execute on new, fresh, and exciting social media content and design systems
• Maintain clear, consistent communication with team producer, Creative Director, and stakeholders to keep projects on-time, on-brand, and meeting or exceeding expectations
• Understand and embrace company-wide and product-specific brand guidelines, while ideating within them to create modern, digital-friendly content
• Keep up with social media platforms and graphic design trends
• Maintain a careful eye for the details, including copy (grammar, spelling, etc)
• Apply the highest accessibility standards to all content across all channels
• Approach all content with a global mindset, including knowing when to ask for additional diverse perspectives

Candidate Requirements

• Years of Experience Required: 810 years (Graphic Designer 4 level).
• Degrees or Certifications Required: No specific degree or certification required; portfolio and relevant experience are prioritized.

Disqualifiers:

• Lack of corporate or agency experience (fine art or purely freelance backgrounds without corporate exposure are not a fit).
• Not proficient in Adobe Illustrator or relying on tools like Canva for portfolio work.

Best Vs. Average

• Best candidates have experience building design systems that flex across multiple channels (events, social, digital, print) and can adapt to diverse audiences while maintaining brand integrity. MSFT experience nice, not necessary.
• Average candidates may only have experience with single-channel or less complex design work.
• MUST INCLUDE WORK SAMPLES AND/OR PORTFOLIO LINK WITH SUBMISSION FOR CONSIDERATION*****

Performance Indicators

• Ability to deliver conceptual design systems that are clear, trend-forward, and easily executed by others.
• Consistent alignment with brand guidelines while pushing creative boundaries for different audiences.
• Strong stakeholder communication and project management skills.

Qualifications/Skills

• 8+ years design experience is required
• Must have a proven record designing and managing complete projects with consistent, cohesive, and appropriate designs at a professional quality level.
• A strong portfolio available for review
• Strong knowledge of Adobe design suite (Photoshop, Illustrator)
• Strong communication and organizational skills
• Experience creating new, unexpected executions within set brand guidelines
• Experience managing feedback from multiple stakeholders

Additional Skills That Could Be Utilized

• Familiarity and working knowledge of video editing and motion tools (Premiere, After Effects)
• Familiarity and working knowledge of UI design
• Professional photography experience
• Animation experience
• Passion around core Microsoft values, including emerging technology, inclusive design, and sustainability

Top 3 Hard Skills Required + Years of Experience

• Adobe Illustrator Expertise: Minimum 8 years; must be the primary design tool.
• Design System Creation: Minimum 8 years; ability to create comprehensive, flexible style guides for others to execute.
• Trend and Audience Fluency: Minimum 8 years; deep knowledge of current design trends and ability to adapt for specific audiences while working within strict brand guidelines.

Hard Skills Assessments

• Expected Dates that Hard Skills Assessments will be scheduled: ASAP.
• Hard Skills Assessment Process: The assessment process will include HSA With the sponsor.
• Required Candidate Preparation: N/A