Graphic Designer

Graphic Designer

Our mission is simple but critical: to build pathways for adult learners to earn high-quality, workforce-aligned degrees and credentials from North Carolina's public universities. At Project Kitty Hawk, our work reflects our company values:

• Collaboration – We prioritize our partners' success and reputation, aligning every initiative with their goals, reflecting their values, and enhancing their impact.
• Innovation – We innovate, not replicate. As creative problem solvers, we use data-driven insights to push boundaries, continuously improve our services, develop solutions, and redefine what it means to serve nontraditional learners.
• Empathy – We understand the unique challenges of nontraditional learners, and are committed to supporting them with empathy, respect, and solutions that fit their needs.
• Integrity – We operate with transparency and accountability in everything we do. We uphold honesty, take ownership of our work, and maintain the highest standards.
• Teamwork – We embody the collaboration we seek. We always strive to be dependable, supportive, and solutions-oriented teammates.

Together, we partner with universities in the University of North Carolina (UNC) System to produce innovative, flexible degree and credential programs in high-demand fields. Each PKH team member plays a vital role in advancing this mission and shaping the future of education for adult learners.

These values will enable us to realize PKH's vision: to make North Carolina's public universities the top choice for adult learners and to amplify the UNC System's role as a national leader in higher education innovation, access, and student success. By joining our team, you have an opportunity to contribute to our achievement of that vision, in the process helping to create opportunities for thousands of learners to earn their success and move up the economic ladder.

At Project Kitty Hawk we hire talented people who are not only dedicated to our mission but share our belief that working together makes us stronger and more effective. In this organization you'll find individuals with a range of interesting backgrounds and life stories; the true magic happens when those individuals come together to solve problems in service of a common goal.

The Role

Project Kitty Hawk is seeking an experienced Graphic Designer with deep expertise in paid media, advertising creative, and performance-driven design. This role is responsible for developing compelling visual assets that support enrollment marketing, brand awareness, lead generation, and student engagement campaigns across digital channels.

The ideal candidate combines strong design fundamentals with a sophisticated understanding of advertising creative, audience targeting, and conversion-focused design. You'll work closely with creative and marketing strategists, media buyers, content writers, and university partners to create high-performing campaigns that help prospective students discover educational opportunities.

Experience designing for paid social, display advertising, landing pages, and digital marketing funnels is essential. Motion graphics, animation, and video editing capabilities are highly desirable. The ideal candidate is also comfortable in leveraging AI-powered creative tools and modern design platforms to improve efficiency, enhance creativity, and support rapid experimentation.

What you'll do:

• Design and produce creative assets for paid media campaigns across platforms including Meta, LinkedIn, Google Display Network, YouTube, and emerging channels.
• Develop static and animated ad creative optimized for engagement, conversion, and enrollment goals.
• Create visual concepts that align with university brand standards while supporting campaign and business objectives.
• Design landing page graphics, email marketing assets, presentations, infographics, and digital campaign collateral.
• Conduct brand research on university partners to understand and accurately apply their visual identity systems, tone, and brand standards across all creative executions.
• Interpret, implement, and adhere to partner brand guidelines with precision, ensuring all creative assets feel native to the institution while supporting campaign performance goals.
• Collaborate with growth marketing teams to translate campaign strategies into effective creative executions.
• Analyze creative performance data and apply insights to improve campaign effectiveness and creative testing initiatives.
• Support A/B and multivariate testing efforts by creating multiple creative concepts and asset variations.
• Utilize AI-powered creative tools responsibly to accelerate ideation, concept development, asset production, and workflow efficiency while maintaining high standards of quality and brand integrity.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams using Figma to develop concepts, design systems, campaign assets, and stakeholder presentations.
• Explore emerging creative technologies and recommend new tools, workflows, and best practices that improve team efficiency and campaign performance.
• Manage multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining exceptional attention to detail and meeting deadlines.
• Present creative concepts to stakeholders and incorporate feedback from internal teams and university partners.
• Maintain and evolve creative systems, templates, and asset libraries that support scalability and consistency.

What you bring:

• Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communication, Advertising, Marketing, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• 4–7+ years of professional graphic design experience, with significant experience supporting paid media, digital advertising, or growth marketing campaigns.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating expertise in performance marketing, paid social advertising, digital campaigns, and conversion-focused design.
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
• Strong working knowledge of Figma for collaborative design, prototyping, asset management, and stakeholder review workflows.
• Experience designing for social media advertising, display advertising, email marketing, landing pages, and web-based campaigns.
• Demonstrated ability to research, interpret, and apply external brand guidelines from university or institutional partners, producing work that reflects authentic brand alignment while meeting campaign objectives.
• Demonstrated understanding of visual hierarchy, typography, color theory, brand systems, and user-centered design principles.
• AI literacy and experience leveraging generative AI and creative automation tools to support ideation, content creation, production workflows, and creative exploration.
• Ability to balance creative excellence with business objectives and performance outcomes.
• Strong communication, collaboration, presentation, and project management skills.
• Experience working in fast-paced environments with multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.
• Knowledge of accessibility standards, inclusive design practices, and responsive digital experiences.

Required Submission:

Portfolio Requirement: Candidates must submit a portfolio showcasing paid media, digital advertising, campaign design, and other relevant work. Examples demonstrating performance-focused creative, motion graphics, animation, or video content are strongly encouraged.

$70,000 - $75,000 a year

What We Offer

Project Kitty Hawk offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes full medical/dental/vision coverage, a 401K with match, and a generous time-off policy with paid volunteer time. In addition, we are committed to providing competitive salaries with the potential for performance bonus and remote working flexibility.

Project Kitty Hawk is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate based on actual or perceived race, creed, color, religion, alienage or national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, disability or handicap, sex, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, arrest record, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.

Project Kitty Hawk is dedicated to this policy concerning recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, training, compensation, benefits, employee activities, and general treatment during employment. For individuals with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation, please contact Kelly Snow at View email address on click.appcast.io.