Digital Designer

Role: Digital Designer (Hybrid) – ESSC Title: UI/UX Designer At ESS Companies (ESSC), we empower people to own their futures by redefining the employee and client experience. As a 100% employee‑owned family of heavy civil construction companies, we don’t do this for fame or fortune — we do it #ForTheWorkers. Our purpose fuels our passion, our passion drives our performance, and our performance strengthens the partnerships that build strong communities. This is who we are. This is what we do. And the men and women of our subsidiary companies, Emery Sapp & Sons, Achen‑Gardner Construction, Rummel Construction, Monks Construction, ESCO Construction, and Premier Testing Laboratories, live out these values every day. Our people build infrastructure that lasts for generations — and we approach our digital and brand work with the same long‑term vision. Overview This role is responsible for the execution, design, and optimization of digital experiences across all ESSC brands — ensuring every interaction is visually compelling, user‑friendly, and aligned with brand standards. It requires a strong balance of design expertise, UI/UX thinking, and digital execution, along with the ability to translate content and strategy into engaging, high‑performing digital experiences. What you’ll be doing Planning & Discovery: Conduct discovery, gather stakeholder input, and develop sitemaps, user flows, and project briefs that set digital projects up for success. Synthesize user research, stakeholder feedback, and heuristic reviews to inform design decisions before execution begins. Design & Execution: Own day‑to‑day UI/UX design across the ESSC brand family’s web presence — from wireframes and prototypes through developer‑ready UI designs, specs, and handoff. Collaboration: Work with developers and integration experts to ensure design feasibility and maintain design integrity throughout implementation. Design System Leadership: Lead the execution and ongoing evolution of the ESSC Enterprise Design System, including component libraries, interaction patterns, tokens, and documentation — within a strategic framework established by the Creative Brand Manager. Brand Consistency: Apply and extend brand guidelines across digital touchpoints, ensuring visual and experiential consistency across our subsidiary brands. Campaign & Marketing Support: Support digital components of campaigns, events, and enterprise initiatives as needed; contribute graphic design support for select marketing initiatives—including social media, email campaigns, and event materials—as bandwidth allows. Quality & Delivery: Conduct cross‑browser and cross‑device testing to ensure consistent functionality, performance, and appearance across digital experiences. Project Management: Manage your own project workload efficiently—tracking priorities, communicating timelines, and delivering quality work on deadline. UX Standards: Help define and document UX standards and best practices for the broader team. Collaboration & Ongoing Support: Collaborate with marketing, communications, and technology team members to deliver cohesive digital experiences across wholly owned websites, microsites, event websites, and ongoing campaigns as needed. Design System Maintenance: Create and maintain design systems, component libraries, and UI style guides. Analytics & Optimization: Continuously analyze user data and performance metrics to identify opportunities for optimization. Representation: Attend company events and represent the firm at industry events as needed. Qualifications Hold a Bachelor’s degree in UI/UX Design, Interaction Design, Visual Communications, or a related discipline. Have 4–6 years of UI/UX design experience, with a portfolio that demonstrates both marketing/brochure site work and product or application design. Think in systems—components, tokens, patterns—and get genuinely excited about design infrastructure. Be fluent in Figma, including auto layout, variables, component architecture, prototyping, and sitemap/flow documentation. Have a working understanding of HTML and CSS—enough to know what’s buildable, communicate clearly with developers, and design with implementation in mind. Apply user‑centered design principles naturally—balancing aesthetic quality with usability, accessibility, and real‑world performance. Be a strong brand reader—internalize a brand system, apply it with precision, and flag when something’s off. Have proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop) and contribute to graphic design needs when required. Communicate design decisions clearly—to leadership, marketers, and developers alike. Sweat the details: spacing, hierarchy, accessibility, interaction states, edge cases. Be comfortable executing within an established framework and contributing ideas to evolve it. Own your workload—track your own deadlines, flag blockers early, and deliver without needing close supervision. Thriving in both independent deep work and collaborative creative sessions. Experience handing off production‑ready specs and assets to development teams. Play well with others and bring a positive, no‑ego approach to creative collaboration. Take initiative and drive projects forward without waiting to be told what to do. Have a sense of humor (big plus). Bonus skills/experience: Knowledge of the A/E/C industry or civil construction; experience or interest in design systems at scale—multi‑brand, enterprise, or holding company environments; familiarity with web-based animation—CSS transitions, Lottie/After Effects exports, or libraries like GSAP or Framer Motion; familiarity with web accessibility standards (WCAG). Experience with Monday.com (project management), WordPress (website), and Shade (digital asset management) is a head start. Spanish language proficiency is a huge plus. Location This team member will work out of the Kansas City, MO office located in the River Market district. Other office locations would be considered. Some regional travel may be required, including a few overnight stays here and there. Hybrid Work Schedule Team members are welcome to work in the office on remote days if they prefer: Monday/Friday – Remote; Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday – Office. Benefits Industry‑leading Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) 401(k) and financial health education Comprehensive health benefits and insurance Flexible Spending and Health Savings Accounts Casual and professional work environment Paid training and continuing education Paid time off (PTO) Wellness program Referral bonus program Apprenticeship programs Leadership and training programs Equal Opportunity Employer Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities. The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60‑1.35(c). #J-18808-Ljbffr ESS Companies, Inc.