Design Director, Opinion

Job Posted 7 Days Ago Posted 7 Days Ago
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New York, NY
160K-180K Annually
Senior level
Digital Media • News + Entertainment
Our mission is simple: We seek the truth and help people understand the world.
The Role
The Design Director oversees Opinion art direction, collaborates with teams, mentors talent, and ensures high-quality visual storytelling across platforms.
Summary Generated by Built In

The mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. That means independent journalism is at the heart of all we do as a company. It’s why we have a world-renowned newsroom that sends journalists to report on the ground from nearly 160 countries. It’s why we focus deeply on how our readers will experience our journalism, from print to audio to a world-class digital and app destination. And it’s why our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it’s worth paying for. 

The New York Times Opinion department is looking for a Design Director to work with editors and visual teams to distinguish our coverage wherever it is encountered. You will help convey to audiences on all platforms how Times opinion coverage is distinct from newsroom coverage.

You will partner with senior visual leaders, collaborating with graphics, photography, video and podcast teams. You will work with Opinion editors and teams across the company to reach new audiences with ideas and formats that provoke intelligent conversation and debate. You are an imaginative leader, able to  translate complex ideas into accessible narrative experiences with a high standard of craft.

This is both a design and management role. You will be responsible for hands-on design and art direction. You will also play an active part in the broader design community, mentoring outside artists and designers as contributors and cultivating new talent.  

This is a hybrid position based in New York City and includes regular attendance in the office each week per your departmental guidance.

Responsibilities:

  • Collaborate with the editors to build and achieve a shared vision.

  • Oversee the art direction of the daily Opinion report and the weekly Sunday Opinion, including high-impact cover stories, across print and digital.

  • Oversee design of print executions: daily, weekly and special editions.

  • Collaborate with digital teams on design execution of art direction, typography, and ideating innovative storytelling experiences. 

  • Infuse high-level creative teams with the support and spirit necessary to achieve common visual goals.

  • Identify, propose and produce visually-driven story ideas and special coverage.

  • Work with cross-discipline teams, help translating visuals across all Opinion mediums: print, digital, audio and video. 

  • Recruit, commission and direct work from outside artists.

  • Manage illustration and freelance budgets; advocate for additional bandwidth.

  • Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.

  • You will report to the Creative Director.

Basic Qualifications:

  • 7+ years of operational design experience in print (not simply directing but creating).

  • 3+ years of experience managing designers and art directors.

  • Experience with all fundamentals of design — across print, digital, mobile and video platforms. 

  • Knowledgeable experience with design software: Figma, Indesign, Adobe suite.

  • Relationships with a roster of Illustrators, photographers, film-makers and videographers, both emerging and established, globally and nationally.

  • Experience shaping, designing and developing editorial content with a variety of visuals. 

  • Experience communicating visual ideas to many audiences through dialogue, sketch or wireframe (editors, writers, engineers, other designers, etc.).

  • Portfolio of work that show extraordinary design capabilities; typographic, illustrative and conceptual. 

Preferred Qualifications:

  • 2+ years of digital design experience with some understanding of product limitations.

  • Familiar with sound UX/UI guidance for complex storytelling with working knowledge of front-end design wireframes.

  • Experience working in a news/media environment.

  • Highly-developed judgment of trends and styles in both illustration and photography. 

  • Experience maintaining brand identities while working with emerging platforms.

  • Experience building collaborative environments that foster trust, mentorship and growth opportunities.

  • Experience working under tight-deadlines while processing multiple stakeholder feedback. 

REQ-018029

The annual base pay range for this role is between:

$160,000$180,000 USD

The New York Times is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce, one that reflects the varied global community we serve. Our journalism and the products we build in the service of that journalism greatly benefit from a range of perspectives, which can only come from diversity of all types, across our ranks, at all levels of the organization. Achieving true diversity and inclusion is the right thing to do. It is also the smart thing for our business. So we strongly encourage women, veterans, people with disabilities, people of color and gender nonconforming candidates to apply.

The New York Times Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of an individual's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics. The New York Times Company will provide reasonable accommodations as required by applicable federal, state, and/or local laws. Individuals seeking an accommodation for the application or interview process should email reasonable.accommodations@nytimes.com. Emails sent for unrelated issues, such as following up on an application, will not receive a response.

The Company will further consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable "Fair Chance" laws. 

For information about The New York Times' privacy practices for job applicants click here.

Please beware of fraudulent job postings. Scammers may post fraudulent job opportunities, and they may even make fraudulent employment offers. This is done by bad actors to collect personal information and money from victims. All legitimate job opportunities from The New York Times will be accessible through The New York Times careers site. The New York Times will not ask job applicants for financial information or for payment, and will not refer you to a third party to do so. You should never send money to anyone who suggests they can provide employment with The New York Times. 

If you see a fake or fraudulent job posting, or if you suspect you have received a fraudulent offer, you can report it to The New York Times at security@nytimes.com. You can also file a report with the Federal Trade Commission or your state attorney general.

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The Company
New York , NY
16,912 Employees
On-site Workplace
Year Founded: 1851

What We Do

The New York Times is powered by the idea that independent, deeply reported journalism fuels a healthy and engaged society.

Our reporters, columnists, editors, engineers, designers, data analysts, developers and marketers breathe life into the most important topics of our time and tell stories that might otherwise go untold.

Whether bringing new truths to light with our reporting, building innovative products that deliver a best-in-class digital experience, or analyzing data to understand how we can best serve our readers, our people power the world’s top destination for journalism.

Working at The Times means envisioning and developing the future of journalism. Bring your passion, perspective and experience and join us as we seek the truth and help people understand the world.

Check out our career opportunities (nytco.com/careers) and follow our page to connect with Times employees, journalists and readers.

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