Principal Designer

One North; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 156,000 - 234,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental and Vision insurance

Life/AD&D insurance

Short/Long Term Disability insurance

401(k) with employer match

Pre-tax transportation benefits

Paid time off + holidays

Parental and Primary Caregiver Leave

Employee Perks Program

Job summary

One North is seeking a Principal Designer to elevate craft and innovation across brand design, motion, UI, and visual communications. This hands-on, senior IC role shapes world-class brand and digital experiences and drives strategic work for internal and external clients.

You’ll mentor designers, partner with leadership, and lead major initiatives with autonomy while maintaining elite craftsmanship across the practice.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of design experience in an in-house team, agency, or consultancy.
• An exceptional portfolio demonstrating supreme talent in visual design and brand identity across digital and motion.
• Ability to translate complex business challenges into intuitive, beautiful design systems.
• Mastery of typography, grids, color theory, layout and interactive design.
• Advanced proficiency in Figma and Creative Cloud; interest in emerging tools like Figma Make, Weave and Webflow.
• Solid grasp of digital product design, web standards, and modern front-end concepts.
• Strong verbal and visual storytelling with executive stakeholders.
• Self-motivated with high standards and a passion to elevate others.

Responsibilities

• Create world-class designs across brand identity, UI concepts, and dynamic media.
• Integrate creative decisions with client objectives, brand strategy, and feasibility.
• Lead design processes on complex initiatives from concept to delivery with Strategy, Account, and Technology teams.
• Present design strategy and trade-offs to executive stakeholders with confidence.
• Facilitate client feedback, defending design choices with strategic rationale.
• Operate independently to produce polished design solutions with minimal oversight.
• Mentor senior and lead designers to elevate craftsmanship and design rigor.

Skills

Design leadership

Brand identity

Visual design

UI design

Motion design

Brand systems

Storytelling to executives

Self-starter

Tools

Figma

Adobe Creative Cloud

Figma Make

Weave

Webflow

Job description

We're looking for a Principal Designer to raise the bar for craft and innovation across all of our design disciplines: brand design, motion design, UI design, and visual communications.

This is a hands‑on design role at the most senior IC level: you'll shape world‑class brand and digital experiences and act as a driving creative force on our most strategic work, both internal and external.

The role demands mastery of the entire design process: from aligning creative decisions with business goals to delivering elite craftsmanship in every final asset. As a senior‑level individual contributor, the Principal Designer is a master practitioner who pushes creative boundaries, elevates the craft of those around them, and sets the standard for design excellence.

You'll report to the Senior Director, Design, and partner closely with the Managing Director, Design as well as other leaders across the business, as well as with our multidisciplinary teams of designers, strategists, and developers. You'll operate with a high degree of autonomy—leading major initiatives, and serving as a trusted peer and mentor who lifts the quality of work across the entire creative practice.

Responsibilities

• Create world‑class designs across brand identity, conceptual UI, and dynamic media that deliver exceptional client and user experiences.
• Closely integrate creative decisions with client business objectives, brand strategy, and technical feasibility.
• Lead and execute the design process on complex initiatives from initial concept through final delivery in partnership with Strategy, Account, and Technology teams.
• Directly present and articulate design strategy, creative rationale, and trade‑offs to executive‑level client stakeholders with confidence.
• Facilitate client feedback constructively, defending design choices with strategic rationale while adapting to evolving business needs.
• Operate independently to produce flawless, highly polished design solutions with minimal oversight.
• Serve as a subject matter expert and practice lead, mentoring senior and lead‑level designers to elevate craftsmanship, visual execution, and design rigor across the practice.

Skills & Qualifications

• 12+ years of design experience within a high‑performing in‑house team, agency, or consultancy.
• An exceptional portfolio demonstrating supreme talent in visual design, brand identity systems, digital products, motion, and visual communications.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex business challenges into intuitive, beautiful, and strategically sound design systems.
• Exceptional mastery of fundamental visual design principles, including typography, grid systems, color theory, layout, and interactive design.
• Advanced proficiency in Figma and Adobe Creative Cloud; experience or strong interest in emerging creative technologies and tools such as Figma Make & Weave, Webflow, and other AI tools.
• Solid grasp of digital product design, web standards, and modern front‑end frameworks (coding required is not required).
• Superior verbal and visual storytelling skills with a track record of building trust with executive stakeholders.
• A self‑starter mindset with high personal standards, an appetite for continuous learning, and a passion for inspiring excellence in others

Benefits

• Our comprehensive benefits program includes Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO Health coverage, as well as a health savings account with employer‑funded contributions.
• We also offer Dental and Vision insurance. All of our full‑time employees are eligible for Life/AD&D insurance and Short/Long Term Disability insurance free of cost, with the option to add additional voluntary coverage if desired.
• One North's 401(k) plan allows employees to save for retirement through pre‑or post‑tax contributions along with employer‑matched funds for maximized savings potential.
• Our Transportation Benefits enable employees to also make pre‑tax contributions to pay for parking and public transit needs.
• We know how important unwinding can be for inspiration, innovation and productivity. Our full‑time employees earn 4 weeks of paid time off, in addition to company paid holidays. Employees begin to accrue additional time off once they reach their 3‑year and 10‑year anniversaries with the business.
• One North also understands how critical it is for parents to bond with their new additions. We provide paid Parental and Primary Caregiver Leave to assist and support employees who experience a new birth, adoption or foster placement of a child.
• We also offer an Employee Perks Program that offers member‑only discounts and corporate rates on everything from pizza and the zoo, to movie tickets, car rentals, and hotels.

We reserve the right to pay above or below the base salary range of $156,000-$234,000 based on factors unrelated to sex, race, or any other protected classification.

Additional earnings may be available through incentive programs like annual bonuses, profit sharing, etc.

The expected posting close date is September 4, 2026.