Associate Graphic Designer

About Niche

Niche is the leader in school search. Our mission is to make researching and enrolling in schools easy, transparent, and free. With in-depth profiles on every school and college in America, 140 million reviews and ratings, and powerful search tools, we help millions of people find the right school for them. We also help thousands of schools recruit more best-fit students, by highlighting what makes them great and making it easier to visit and apply.

Niche is all about finding where you belong, and that mission inspires how we operate every day. We want Niche to be a place where people truly enjoy working and can thrive professionally.

About The Role

We are looking for a motivated Associate Graphic Designer to join our team. We’re excited for this person to apply their skills to our in-house design team and contribute to building the future of Niche through a wide variety of projects—from internal communications to social media posts and stories. Together with other members of the Design team, you'll support marketing and sales efforts through the creation of on-brand designs including ads, testimonials, social media content and other branded projects. You'll take part in the full process, from concepting and ideation through to designing, and implementation. You will work closely with the marketing team, helping them build the Niche user experience and social presence to be first in its class. You should expect to work closely with our Senior Designers and Creative Director to learn the ins and outs of our brand and should be enthusiastic about the prospect of stretching your skills into new arenas and delivering exceptional work. Portfolio of work is required.

What You Will Do

During the First Month:

• Learn about Niche by meeting with various team members to learn more about our company through our Onboarding meetings
• Work with Design team members to learn about our products, tools, processes, and how your role fits within the team and Niche
• Shadow Design team members to learn more about tasks you'll be responsible

Within 3 Months:

• Work together with Design team members to review and update some existing collateral and campaigns
• Assist with marketing collateral
• Collaborate with marketing coordinators to create social campaigns
• Design assets for new and existing email and ad campaigns

Within 6 Months:

• Have introductory-level knowledge of all B2C marketing channels, plus the assets that support them
• You will have deep knowledge of some areas of the business, and will work seamlessly within the design team
• Have a full understanding of the Niche Brand Guidelines
• Independently take some projects through the full process from concept to execution

Within 12 Months:

• Identify opportunities to extend and clarify the Niche brand
• Be able to confidently design projects in any aspect of the business 
• Have deep knowledge of many areas of Niche and will be able to adapt what you know in order to confidently create original, high-quality assets for any channel

Requirements

• 0-2+ years relevant experience
• Required: Bachelor's degree in Design, Visual Communication, Arts, or a related field.
• Fluent knowledge of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and Indesign
• Experience using Figma
• Experience with After Effects/Lotti/or other animation a major plus
• Meticulous attention to detail and exceptional design fundamentals: layout, composition, typography, illustrations, and aesthetics
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize and present your work; able to communicate concepts through sketches, storyboards, and moodboards, etc.
• Strong knowledge of modern design trends 
• Interest and knowledge of social media platforms and trends
• Highly adaptable and able to use skills in a wide variety of applications
• Ability to learn and apply new design techniques as needed
• A diverse portfolio that demonstrates ability to distill complex problems into elegant and understandable designs/videos

Are you excited about the position and its responsibilities, but hesitant because your experience doesn't align 100% with the posted requirements? We believe you are more than a resume, so go for it! You won’t want to miss the opportunity to play a part in helping students find where they belong.

Compensation 

Our national target base salary range is $49,600-$62,000, plus participation in our Annual Bonus and Stock Option Program. Base compensation will be commensurate with experience and skills.

At Niche, our Total Rewards Philosophy is centered around creating a workplace environment that attracts, motivates, and retains top talent by providing a comprehensive and competitive rewards package.  This philosophy is built on the principles of performance-based compensation, best-in-class benefits and work-life balance, and employee well-being.

Interview Process

Candidate experience is a top priority for our talent and hiring teams.  We believe in providing a transparent, authentic and comprehensive interview process where you have the opportunity to learn about us while we get to know you and your experience.  The interview process is outlined here:

• Phone Screen with Talent Acquisition Partner - 30 Minutes

• Video Interview with Hiring Manager - 30 Minutes

• Team Interview with Portfolio Review - 2 Hours

Why Niche?

• We are a fully flexible workforce empowering our employees to choose to work remotely, in our Pittsburgh office or whatever combination suits you
• Full time, salaried position with competitive compensation in a fast-growing company
• Best-in-class 100% paid employee health plan, including vision and dental and supplemental coverage
• Flexible Paid Time Off Policy
• Stipend that allows you to build your work from home office in a style and function that suits your personal preferences
• Parental leave for all employees (12 weeks fully paid) in addition to short term disability for birthing parents
• Meaningful 401(k) with employer match
• Your ideas and work will make an immediate impact on our company and millions of users
• You will join a team that cares about you, our mission, our work - and celebrates our wins together!

Niche will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship now or in the future for this opening.  

We are currently hiring in states where we currently have employees: AZ, CA, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MO, NE, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, DC, WV.

Candidates only.  No recruiters or agencies, please. Sorry, we do not offer relocation assistance.

Niche is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment with the best employees. Therefore, we provide employment opportunities without regard to age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law.

All interviews are being held remotely. If there are preparations we can make to help ensure you have a comfortable and positive interview experience, please let us know.