Senior Book Designer: Jackets & Interiors Lead

University of California; Oakland (CA); On-site; USD 81,000 - 94,000; Full time

Job summary

University of California Press seeks a Senior Designer to lead creative design for academic and trade books. Responsibilities include jacket and interior design, coordinating with vendors, and producing print-ready files for prepress.

The role spans concept to final production across multiple departments. The position requires at least 2 years in book interiors, strong typography, and proven collaboration with editors and production teams.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2 years of experience composing book interiors and writing design specifications.
• Portfolio in book design or related design fields.
• Experience managing freelancers/freelance work.
• Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Interior Design: produce interior page spreads based on editorial needs and sample layouts.
• Type specifications: generate typographic specs and adapt designs.
• Jacket/Cover Design: create original jackets, respond to feedback, finalize designs.
• Prepare final files for printers and coordinate with production teams.
• Adapt interiors/cover files for expanded usage (print-on-demand, e-books).
• Oversee freelance work when subcontracting and ensure cohesive branding.

Education

High School diploma, two years of art training, and three years of experience

Tools

InDesign

Photoshop

Illustrator

Acrobat

Job description

University of California Press seeks a Senior Designer to lead creative design for academic and trade books. Responsibilities include jacket and interior design, coordinating with vendors, and producing print-ready files for prepress.

The role spans concept to final production across multiple departments. The position requires at least 2 years in book interiors, strong typography, and proven collaboration with editors and production teams.