Graphic Designer / Data Visualization Artist

Independent Feature Project Inc; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited PTO + paid holidays

Health, dental, and vision coverage

Dependent care support

Parental leave (3 months)

5% retirement contribution

Job summary

Institute for Progress in Washington, DC, is seeking a Graphic Designer / Data Visualization Artist to translate policy proposals into clear, compelling visuals.

You will be part of a six-person Design and Editorial team under the Editorial Director, shaping graphics that tell complex stories with precision.

Qualifications

• Graphic designer with data visualization emphasis.
• Strong ability to translate policy data into engaging visuals.
• Editorial judgment to balance narrative and accuracy.
• Portfolio demonstrates how questions shape the story.

Responsibilities

• Work with authors to identify details to pull into graphs and flow charts.
• Build custom graphs beyond what Datawrapper can deliver.
• Create illustrations showing how stakeholders oversight policy areas.

Skills

Graphic design

Data visualization

Editorial judgment

Portfolio storytelling

Data journalism

Tools

R

Datawrapper

Pencil & paper

Job description

Graphic Designer / Data Visualization Artist

Location: Washington, D.C.

Reward: $3,000 for any referral that results in a hire

About IFP

The Institute for Progress (IFP) is a non-partisan think tank focused on innovation policy. Our organization works to accelerate and shape the direction of scientific, technological, and industrial progress. IFP works with policymakers across the political spectrum in Washington, D.C. to make it easier to build the future in the United States. You can read more about our vision and mission in our founding essay written by co-founders Alec Stapp and Caleb Watney. You can also check out some of our projects that use visualizations to understand policy tradeoffs in “Eliminate Redundant Subway Cross Passages” and “Should the US Sell Blackwell Chips to China?”

Telling Clear Stories with Complex Data

In this role, you’ll help translate our policy proposals into clear, compelling images that make it easier for our audiences to become advocates. We’re looking for someone with an Edward Tufte sensibility, who can design graphics where every element serves the story being told. IFP is a fast-growing organization, and we aim to be the most effective think tank in D.C. We measure our efficacy by our counterfactual policy impact: whether we drive policy outcomes that would not have otherwise happened.

You’ll be supporting teams across IFP to make complex policy tradeoffs legible. One day, you’ll be helping the high-skilled immigration team distill a huge database into an interactive chart that shows how to make sure the best applicants are the ones who benefit from the H1B visa program. The next day, you’ll make a photo collage that combines a huge elephant statue and a wind farm, for a legal explainer about why concern about sightlines is holding back clean energy.

You’ll be working under the Editorial Director as part of a six-person Design and Editorial team. We expect members of the team to get involved early in projects, so they can provide feedback from the moment a draft begins, rather than just executing at the end. We’re looking for a designer with editorial judgment, who can help authors spot the most arresting part of their argument.

We want you to design the graphic that a senator’s staff brings to the office they’re pitching on cosponsoring a bill, confident it’s worth a thousand words.

What You’ll Do

• Work with authors to identify what details of their research should be pulled out into graphs, illustrations, and flow charts.
• Build custom graphs that go beyond what Datawrapper can deliver.
• Create illustrations of how stakeholders/regulators/etc. exercise oversight over a particular policy area.

Who You Are

We are open to both mid- and early career versions of this role, and we welcome applicants from a range of backgrounds. You’re likely to be an especially great fit if:

• You’ve worked in data journalism.
• You like switching between very different projects.
• You’re equally comfortable mocking up a graph in R (or another program) or getting out pencil and paper to show a writer the basic concept.
• You can point to projects in your portfolio where your questions changed the shape of the story being told.
• You’re a fan of the Pudding.

Salary & Benefits

• IFP offers a highly competitive compensation package. We expect the salary for this role to be at least $120,000, with the potential for more based on experience.
• Our benefits package for full-time employees includes:
  • Unlimited PTO + paid holidays
  • Generous health, dental, and vision coverage for you and dependents
  • Dependent care support
  • 3 months of fully paid parental leave
  • A 5% annual employer retirement contribution

Logistics

• This is a full-time position based in Washington, D.C.
• This role sits within IFP’s Editorial and Design team and reports to the Editorial Director.
• Our ideal start date is Nov 15, 2026.