Senior Designer, US
About the job
The Senior Designer, US reports directly to the Creative Director, US and plays a leading role in shaping how Blue Bottle comes to life across the US market.
This is a multidisciplinary design role for someone who thinks in ideas and systems rather than a single medium. You will move fluidly between brand, campaigns, digital, print, packaging, merchandise, and physical cafe experiences, translating a creative idea across channels while maintaining a cohesive and distinctly Blue Bottle point of view.
You are both a conceptual thinker and a hands-on designer. You can establish the visual idea for a campaign, then understand how that idea should flex from a digital experience to a printed piece, a package, a product, or a cafe environment. You are equally comfortable starting with a blank page, refining an existing system, and getting into the details required to bring the work beautifully to life.
Working closely with the Creative Director, you will work on design for US product launches, campaigns, café marketing, activations, and brand initiatives. You will also help guide freelance designers as needed, providing thoughtful design direction and raising the quality and consistency of the work.
Strong communication and presentation skills are essential. You will articulate creative ideas and design rationale to Marketing and cross-functional partners, collaborate throughout the development process, and help turn business and brand opportunities into compelling creative solutions.
Employees are required to be based within 50 miles of one of the following established Blue Bottle Coffee geographic locations: The San Francisco Bay Area or Los Angeles
You will:
Lead design from concept through execution across digital, print, merchandise, and physical brand experiences, creating cohesive ideas that translate thoughtfully across mediums
Develop visual concepts and systems for integrated campaigns, product launches, seasonal initiatives, and other key US brand moments
Design packaging, merchandise, and branded products with an understanding of how individual expressions contribute to a larger brand system
Create digital experiences and assets across eCommerce, email, social media, paid media, and other evolving digital channels
Design physical and printed brand expressions including cafe signage, menus, environmental graphics, marketing collateral, wayfinding, and consumer-packaged goods
Translate creative concepts across scale and context-from a social asset or email to a package, café window, product, or physical activation-without losing the strength of the original idea
Prototype ideas through 2D and 3D mockups to explore, communicate, and refine concepts before production
Partner with Marketing, Product, Cafe, Digital, and other cross-functional teams to understand business needs and turn them into strong creative solutions
Present creative concepts and design rationale clearly and persuasively to cross-functional partners and senior stakeholders
Lead projects through iteration, production, and final execution, maintaining a high level of craft and attention to detail throughout
Guide and provide feedback to full-time and freelance designers, helping establish clear creative direction while supporting their development
Partner with vendors and production partners to explore materials, fabrication techniques, printing, packaging, and other methods of bringing ideas to life
Contribute to the continued evolution of Blue Bottle’s brand standards, visual systems, and design guidelines
Stay curious about culture, design, technology, materials, and emerging creative mediums, bringing new ideas and approaches into the work
You are:
A multidisciplinary designer who is energized by moving between mediums rather than specializing in only one
A conceptual thinker who can develop a strong creative idea and translate it into a cohesive visual system
Equally invested in the idea and the execution-you care about the big picture and the smallest details
Flexible and quick to respond to changing business priorities and comfortable navigating ambiguity
Able to move between projects, scales, and mediums while maintaining consistency and quality
Comfortable working under creative direction while bringing a strong point of view and independent thinking to the work
Fast and generative, able to explore and iterate multiple creative directions without sacrificing craft
Comfortable managing multiple, occasionally competing deadlines
Proactive and solutions-oriented, approaching constraints as opportunities for creative problem solving
Collaborative and energized by working closely with other designers as well as partners outside of Creative
A strong communicator-verbally, visually, and in writing
Comfortable giving and receiving thoughtful, constructive feedback
Highly organized with exceptional attention to detail
A strategic design thinker who understands how individual creative expressions contribute to a larger brand system
Deeply curious about culture, art, design, fashion, food, hospitality, and the world around you
You have:
8+ years of professional design experience within an agency, in-house creative team, studio, or similarly multidisciplinary environment
A portfolio demonstrating exceptional conceptual thinking and versatility across multiple mediums, including digital, print, packaging, product, and/or physical brand experiences
Experience leading integrated projects or campaigns from initial concept through production and execution across multiple channels
Experience leading, mentoring, or directly managing designers and creative collaborators
Strong experience in print and packaging design, including preparing press-ready files and overseeing production and press checks
Strong understanding of digital design across eCommerce, email, social media, and other digital platforms
Experience designing within established brand systems while knowing when and how to thoughtfully evolve them
Fluency in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign), Figma, and Google Workspace
Strong knowledge of typography and an exceptional eye for composition, hierarchy, image-making, and detail
Experience working with vendors, fabricators, printers, or production partners to bring physical creative ideas to life
A Few Benefits We Offer:
- Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage for eligible employees starting on your first day
- Best-in-class coffee training and continuing education
- Free membership into the Specialty Coffee Association of America and discounts on events (including Expos and Championships)
- 401(k) plan
- Paid time off & paid volunteer hours
- 50% discount on all products, both online and in-cafe; this includes food, beverages, whole-bean coffee, and merchandise
- Flexible spending account & commuter benefits
- Employee Assistance Program
- Additional benefits information