SR GRAPHIC DESIGNER

El Pollo Loco; Costa Mesa (CA); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Great workplace culture

Medical + Dental + Vision

401(k) with company match

Paid vacation & holidays

Food discounts

HSA savings

PerkSpot discounts

Job summary

El Pollo Loco seeks a Senior Graphic Designer to lead end-to-end creative execution across digital, print, social, and in-restaurant channels. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams and external agencies to deliver high-quality, on-brand campaigns on time.

Ideal candidates have 5+ years of design experience, strong Adobe Creative Suite skills, and the ability to mentor others while maintaining brand consistency. Hybrid work in Southern California is available.

Qualifications

• BA/BS in Graphic Design or equivalent education with 5+ years of design experience.
• Experience leading end-to-end creative execution and campaigns.
• Proven ability to provide craft feedback and guide junior designers.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end execution of major creative initiatives across digital, print, social, and in-restaurant channels.
• Produce high-fidelity design work for priority brand campaigns and initiatives.
• Provide mentorship and technical guidance to junior designers and manage project timelines.
• Collaborate with marketing, product, and external agencies to ensure on-brand outcomes.

Skills

Graphic design

Adobe Creative Suite

Project management

Communication skills

Motion graphics

Education

BA/BS in Graphic Design

Tools

After Effects

Premiere Pro

Job description

At El Pollo Loco, we are on a mission to be the nation’s leading fire-grilled chicken restaurant. When it comes to our people, we are all about growth. Whether that means specialized training, a clearly laid out career trajectory or collaborating cross-functionally, we are committed to the success of our people the same way we’ve been committed to the success of the El Pollo Loco brand for the last 50 years. In fact, we see you as our secret ingredient. While our chicken is fire, it’s our people who set us ablaze.

Our restaurants are only the tip of the flame! If you’re looking for an innovative, winning, and welcoming workplace, then a flamin’ good career in our Restaurant Support Center is right for you.

At our Support Center, we believe our best work is done Together, when departments collaborate and everyone is confident in contributing their ideas. This is why we are in the office 3 days per week.

Let’s Get Loco! What’s in it for you!

• STRONG office culture recognized as a Great Place to Work® and driven by our core values: Simple. Together. Relentless. Ownership. Nimble. Growth
• Career growth opportunities
• Competitive pay and bonus potential
• Medical + Dental + Vision Insurance + HSA Savings Account
• 401(K) Retirement Plan with company match and immediate vesting
• Paid Vacation + Sick Pay + 12 Paid Holidays
• Employee Assistance Program
• Free El Pollo Loco food + restaurant discounts
• PerkSpot discounts program

POSITION PURPOSE:

The Senior Graphic Designer serves as the design team's day-to-day creative execution lead and a creative thought partner to the Senior Manager. Taking art direction and base design elements from the Senior Manager of Graphic Design, this role leads the development of complete, high-fidelity asset systems across digital, print, social, and in-restaurant channels. Beyond execution, the Senior Graphic Designer contributes original ideas and design perspectives during ideation and concepting, pushing beyond only fulfilling the brief. As both a hands-on designer and a project leader, this role produces senior-level creative work on priority initiatives, serves as a trusted resource and project leader for the design team, building out full campaign asset suites, and partnering with cross-functional teams and external agencies to bring brand campaigns to life on time and on brand. Receiving creative direction and partnering with the Senior Manager, Graphic Design.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead the end-to-end execution of major creative initiatives, creating new design directions and translating exiting design elements into complete, high-fidelity asset systems across digital, print, social, and in-restaurant channels.
• Produce high-fidelity design work for priority brand campaigns, key initiatives, and elevated creative that requires senior-level craft.
• Serve as a trusted resource for the design team, offering feedback and technique expertise when needed to help them hone meticulous, high-quality execution. Provide project leadership across campaign work in flight, ensuring quality, consistency, and brand adherence across the team's output.
• Working alongside the design team to build out the complete range of adaptations, resizes, and channel-specific creative from established concepts.
• Serve as a creative thought partner to the Senior Manager and design team during ideation and concepting, contributing original ideas, creative perspectives, and design recommendations that push the work forward and elevate campaign concepts beyond the initial brief.
• Serve as a day-to-day project lead on creative work in flight, managing timelines, deliverables, stakeholder feedback, revisions, and cross-functional coordination.
• Partner with marketing, product, communications, and other internal stakeholders to translate briefs into creative solutions and deliver integrated campaigns on time and on brand.
• Collaborate with external creative and production agencies on projects that require partner support, ensuring seamless integration, quality control, and consistent brand execution.
• Serve as a day-to-day steward of brand consistency.
• Act as a dependable source of design knowledge the team can lean on for guidance on technique, tools, and production workflow, elevating the collective craft of the design team over time.
• Stay informed about advancements in design tools, AI capabilities, and industry trends, applying them to elevate the team's creative output and streamline production.
• Other activities, duties or responsibilities that are assigned by your supervisor.

QUALIFICATIONS — EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, LICENSE/CERTIFICATIONS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to satisfactorily perform the essential functions of the job, with or without a reasonable accommodation. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. The requirements listed below are representative of the education and/or experience required.

Education/Work Experience:

BA/BS degree in Graphic Design, or similar educational experience in Design or related field. 5+ years of design experience with progressive responsibility, ideally in restaurant, retail, or multi-unit concepts with frequent product launches and concurrent campaigns throughout the year. Demonstrated experience leading creative execution end-to-end, from concept through delivery. Prior experience providing craft feedback, project leadership, and technical guidance to more junior designers (without formal people-management responsibility) is required. Client-side or agency experience welcomed.

License/Certifications:

• Possess and maintain a valid driver's license.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Exceptional design skills with a portfolio demonstrating high-fidelity, impactful creative work across multiple mediums including digital, print, social, and campaign work.
• Mastery of Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), with a strong understanding of print production, color management, prepress, and file preparation across digital and print destinations.
• Experience with motion graphics and video (After Effects, Premiere Pro) is a plus but not required.
• Strong understanding of design principles, typography, color theory, layout, and brand systems.
• Ability to take art direction and base design elements from a design leader and expand them into complete, on-brand asset systems across multiple formats and channels.
• Comfortable serving as a trusted design resource, sharing technique expertise and feedback when needed, without owning formal responsibility for their development.
• A creative-forward mindset. Comfortable both executing against clear direction AND contributing original ideas, alternative perspectives, and creative recommendations during ideation. Pushes the work rather than only fulfilling the brief.
• Strong project management skills, comfortable owning multiple concurrent projects, deadlines, and stakeholder relationships in a fast-moving in-house creative environment.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to explain creative decisions to both creative and non-creative audiences.
• Adept at working cross-functionally with marketing, product, and communications teams, and at partnering with outside agencies and production vendors.
• Detail-oriented, dependable, and takes ownership of quality output that is on-time and on-brief
• Passion for innovation, creativity, and staying current on design trends, tools, and technology, including AI-assisted design tools.
• Ability to work at the Support Center consistent with the hybrid work policy.
• Must be willing and able to travel locally within Southern California to photoshoots and restaurant locations, and to out-of-state locations as needed, by car or airplane.

Our Company

In 1980 the first American El Pollo Loco opened on Alvarado Street in Los Angeles, quickly becoming a destination for the best citrus-marinated, fire-grilled pollo in town. Over the past four decades, El Pollo Loco has grown into more than 500 restaurants across 9 states, becoming an L.A. mainstay and cultural benchmark along the way. Today, we continue to work just as hard to always provide our customers with Quality Chicken. Fast. Easy. Affordable.

The pay range identified is the hourly or salary rate El Pollo Loco expects to pay for the posted position. This range does not include any benefits or bonus opportunities that might be available for the position based on position and eligibility criteria. At El Pollo Loco, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at the high end of the range. Individual pay decisions will vary based on a variety of factors including years of experience, industry experience, education, geography, etc.