Design Lead - Immediate Hire (Project Based)

Application Deadline: 31 January 2025

Department: Consulting Services

Employment Type: Part Time

Location: New York | Fidi

Compensation: $40.00 - $45.00 / hour

Description

Karp Strategies is seeking an experienced and talented Design Lead, Technical Specialist to work with us part time (15-20 hrs/week) for the next 3-4 months  spearheading environmental graphic design and technical projects. The key focus of this position will be the planning, design, and installation of exhibit spaces for the Gateway Program’s Weehawken Community Engagement Center, which is set to open in late spring. This is an exciting opportunity for a seasoned professional to work on high-impact, public-facing designs that will educate, engage, and inspire, keeping Weehawken and the surrounding communities informed about the project.
We are looking for creative thinkers, candidates who are entrepreneurial and willing to take research risks to put big ideas out there, and who are comfortable working with a wide range of stakeholders. Candidates who are interested in putting their writing and design skills to use communicating ideas externally will excel in this role. Your work will play a key role in shaping significant projects, making a visible and lasting impact on the public. Interested candidates should apply TODAY.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, planning, and installation of exhibit spaces for the Weehawken community engagement center over the next 3–4 months.
• Manage environmental graphic design projects, ensuring alignment with project objectives, timelines, and budgets.
• Oversee coordination with graphic vendors, sign fabricators, and exhibit fabrication teams, ensuring seamless execution of all fabricated elements. Manage two other part time designers to ensure project execution.
• Create compelling designs and technical drawings using tools like InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, CAD tools, and SketchUp.
• Use SignAgent Pro for project management and documentation.
• Work collaboratively with internal teams, stakeholders, and external partners to ensure designs are meaningful, inclusive, and impactful. This includes working directly with the Gateway team, outreach and engagement leads, and other team members to receive feedback and direction and to coordinate.
  
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Architecture, Planning, or a related field.
• 15+ years of professional experience in environmental graphic design, with a proven track record in technical project management.
• Extensive experience with planning, designing, and delivering exhibit spaces or similar projects.
• Strong proficiency in InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, CAD tools, and SketchUp; familiarity with SignAgent Pro is highly preferred.
• Excellent project management skills, with the ability to balance competing priorities, deadlines, and budgets.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with experience collaborating with diverse teams, fabricators, and stakeholders.
• A passion for creating public-facing designs that educate, inspire, and foster community connection.
• Spanish proficiency is a plus, but not required
• Work in a start-up environment with a close-knit team and our project partners on misc. tasks, big or small, as they arise.  
• A deep curiosity about planning issues and an interest in incorporating an equity lens to our work is strongly encouraged.
  
  

Benefits

This position is paid hourly  at a rate of $40 - $45. We anticipate that this role will work up to 20 hours each week with possible work falling on evenings and weekends. 

Placement of a candidate within this salary band will be based on the competencies crucial to success in the role of rated proficiency for each area.


Karp Strategies benefits for this role include paid Sick Leave, Federal Holidays, and investment in each team member’s professional growth.