Senior Designer

AKQA Media; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 118,300 - 154,700; Full time

Job summary

AKQA Media in San Francisco, California, is seeking an experienced Freelance Senior Designer to deliver high-quality UI and visual design for globally recognized consumer brands. This role involves maintaining a sophisticated design system and collaborating cross-functionally in a fast-paced environment. The contract runs from July 2 to September 30, 2026, with a commitment of 40 hours/week.

Candidates should have a strong portfolio, expert-level Figma skills, and the ability to work within established brand guidelines. Expected weekly compensation ranges from $2,600 to $3,400.

Qualifications

• A compelling portfolio showcasing strong digital design craft.
• Expert-level Figma skills including component management and design systems.
• Experience in cross-functional collaboration with UX, product, and engineering.

Responsibilities

• Deliver high-quality UI and visual design across digital products.
• Maintain and evolve a sophisticated design system for scalability.
• Translate UX direction into polished designs using Figma.

Skills

UI and visual design

User-centered design principles

Design systems experience

Figma proficiency

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Tools

Figma

Job description

At AKQA (part of WPP), we believe in the imaginative application of art and science to create beautiful ideas, products and services. With an entrepreneurial and collaborative approach, we design adaptive digital services and applications that capture the imagination, delivering impressive returns for our clients.

Creatives at AKQA apply artistry and craftsmanship to strategic insight to create and bring to life beautiful ideas that move the world. Skilled storytellers and conceptors, they work in a multidisciplinary environment to develop labors of love that delight customers and deliver results for clients. Designers play essential roles in the strategy, conception, and design of beautiful ideas, products and services, bringing exceptional creative thought and craft output from brief to end user.

We are seeking an experienced Freelance Senior Designer to support one of the most globally recognized consumer brands in the world, a company with an enormous and deeply loyal customer base whose digital products and services touch millions of people every day. This is a meaningful, high-visibility engagement where strong design craft and systems thinking directly shape the experience of a massive, diverse audience. You will bring deep expertise in digital products and services as well as design systems, and you will work within a collaborative, fast-moving team environment. This is a freelance role running from July 2 through September 30, 2026.

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

• Deliver high-quality UI and visual design across digital product surfaces, with a strong grounding in user-centered design principles and a meticulous eye for craft
• Contribute to, maintain, and evolve a sophisticated design system, working confidently across components, tokens, patterns, variants, and states with a focus on scalability and consistency
• Translate UX direction and wireframes into polished, pixel-precise designs that are both on-brand and highly usable
• Develop and deliver high-fidelity prototypes and interactive experiences primarily utilizing Figma
• Work both strategically and tactically, weighing tradeoffs and exploring multiple solution concepts across a complex ecosystem of digital products and services
• Collaborate closely with UX designers, product managers, strategists, and engineers to ensure design decisions are well-integrated and grounded in user needs
• Adept at utilizing AI tools to inform and streamline the design process, from research to prototyping
• Contribute to continuously raising the bar for design quality, process, and delivery standards within the engagement

QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS

• A compelling portfolio of distinctive work demonstrating strong design craft across digital products and services, with clear evidence of design systems experience
• Expert-level Figma skills, including advanced component management, variables, libraries, and design system architecture
• Able to develop simple and elegant design solutions to complex design problems
• Comfortable working within a large, complex consumer brand with established visual and design guidelines, and skilled at designing compellingly within those guardrails
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills, with experience partnering across UX, product, strategy, and engineering
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Fosters progressive and limitless thinking

Location & Commitment

• West Coast based; must be available during Pacific Time working hours
  • Monthly travel to client headquarters for collaborative working sessions of a few days at a time
• July 2, 2026 through September 30, 2026
• 40 hours/week
• Expected weekly compensation: 2,600 to 3,400

If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

AKQA is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.