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Graphic Design Manager Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Visa

Manager, Graphics Design

San Francisco, CA · On-site

We are looking for a Marketing Graphic Design Manager who is first and foremost an exceptional presentation designer and visual storyteller. This role sits at the intersection of design, storytelling ...

Lifelong Learning

Graphic Design Specialist

Lancaster, CA · On-site

$26.25 - $36.75/hr

Assists the Creative Design Manager in establishing visual tone, character, and messages that will ... Develop graphics and layouts for product illustrations, company logos, and websites. * Determine ...

Visa

Manager, Graphics Design

San Francisco, CA · On-site

We are looking for a Marketing Graphic Design Manager who is first and foremost an exceptional presentation designer and visual storyteller. This role sits at the intersection of design, storytelling ...

PedalFree LLC

Junior Graphic Designer

Santa Cruz, CA

$23.50 - $31.25/hr

The Junior Graphic Designer is a full-time, salaried position and reports to the Design Manager. Responsibilities: Work with design team to generate graphic concepts for ongoing design projects ...

Champions Group Holdings

Graphic Design Intern

Brea, CA · On-site

$20/hr

We're seeking an enthusiastic Graphic Design intern to help bring our creative vision to life. This ... File Management: Organize and maintain design files, ensuring accessibility and version control

FastSigns

Graphic Design

El Cajon, CA · On-site

$18/hr

... Graphic Designer/Production Specialist RESPONSIBILITIES: * Prioritize the daily workflow for design ... Manage the daily production meeting with all staff. * Keep the installation calendar accurate and ...

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All JobsGraphic Design JobsGraphic Design Manager JobsGraphic Design Manager Jobs in California

Graphic Design Manager information

See California salary details

$33.1K

$71.2K

$108.6K

How much do graphic design manager jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 12, 2026, the average yearly pay for graphic design manager in California is $71,166.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $60,700.00 and $79,900.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

Is a graphic design manager a stressful job?

A graphic design manager often faces stress related to tight deadlines, managing multiple projects, and coordinating team members. The role requires strong organizational skills and the ability to handle client feedback, which can contribute to work pressure, especially during busy periods or project revisions.

What does a graphic design manager do?

A Graphic Design Manager oversees a team of graphic designers, ensuring that all visual materials align with a company's brand and goals. They are responsible for planning, assigning, and reviewing design projects, as well as providing creative direction and feedback. Additionally, they collaborate with marketing, product, and other departments to deliver cohesive visual content, manage project timelines, and maintain quality standards. Their role often includes mentoring designers and helping to develop creative strategies for campaigns.

What is a graphic design manager?

A graphic design manager is responsible for overseeing a team of graphic artists and designers and interacting with clients regarding projects. In this role, your job duties include ensuring the visual design work is continued as scheduled, providing guidance to junior designers, and utilizing their creative talent to further the design of a project. You also have a hands-on role in creating various forms of visual communication such as web page graphics, ads, brochures, and logos. The qualifications for this career include a bachelor's degree in art, graphic design, or a related field. To succeed in this role, you need strong leadership, communication, and creative skills. You also need prior experience working as an artist or a graphic designer on projects.

What is the difference between Graphic Design Manager vs Graphic Designer?

AspectGraphic Design ManagerGraphic Designer
CredentialsBachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Visual Arts, or related field; experience in design and leadershipBachelor's degree or certification in Graphic Design or related area
Work EnvironmentLeads design teams, collaborates with clients, oversees projectsCreates visual content, works on design projects individually or in teams
Industry UsageUsed in marketing, advertising, corporate brandingUsed across various industries for creating visual assets

The main difference is that a Graphic Design Manager oversees design teams and manages projects, while a Graphic Designer focuses on creating visual content. The manager role involves leadership and strategic planning, whereas the designer role emphasizes hands-on design work.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a graphic design manager, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Graphic Design Manager, you need strong visual design skills, leadership abilities, and experience with branding, typically supported by a degree in graphic design or a related field. Proficiency in industry-standard tools such as Adobe Creative Suite, project management software, and sometimes knowledge of web design platforms is essential. Outstanding communication, creative direction, and team collaboration skills help you inspire and manage creative teams effectively. These skills are crucial for delivering high-quality design projects, meeting client expectations, and driving team performance in a competitive creative environment.

What are the main challenges a graphic design manager faces when leading a creative team?

Graphic Design Managers often encounter the challenge of balancing creative vision with client or company objectives, ensuring that the team's work aligns with brand guidelines and project goals. They must also manage varying skill levels and personalities within the team, fostering collaboration while encouraging individual creativity. Additionally, handling tight deadlines and adapting to shifting project priorities require strong organizational and communication skills. Building a positive, productive environment where feedback is constructive and designers feel empowered is key to overcoming these challenges.
More about Graphic Design Manager jobs
What are the most commonly searched types of Graphic Design jobs in California? The most popular types of Graphic Design jobs in California are:
What are popular job titles related to Graphic Design Manager jobs in California? For Graphic Design Manager jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Graphic Design Manager jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Graphic Design Manager jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Graphic Design Manager jobs? Cities in California with the most Graphic Design Manager job openings:
Graphic Design Manager jobs near you
Infographic showing various Graphic Design Manager job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 94% Full Time, and 6% Contract. Highlights an 94% In-person, and 6% Hybrid job distribution, with an average salary of $71,166 per year, or $34.2 per hour.

Manager, Graphics Design

Visa

San Francisco, CA • On-site

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Re-posted 3 days ago

Visa rating

8.6

Company rating: 8.6 out of 10

Based on 20 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

5th of 21 rated payment service providers

Job description

About Us
Visa is a world leader in payments technology, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories, dedicated to uplifting everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.
At Visa, you'll have the opportunity to create impact at scale - tackling meaningful challenges, growing your skills and seeing your contributions impact lives around the world.
Join Visa and do work that matters - to you, to your community, and to the world. Progress starts with you.
Job Description
We are looking for a Marketing Graphic Design Manager who is first and foremost an exceptional presentation designer and visual storyteller. This role sits at the intersection of design, storytelling, and marketing-working directly with marketing, Account Executives (AEs), sales leaders, and cross-functional partners to turn ideas into compelling marketing materials that influence executive decisions and win business.
This is a hands-on individual contributor role with leadership expectations. The ideal candidate is a self-directed, highly collaborative designer who communicates confidently with MS and sales leaders and owns work end-to-end, raising the bar on the quality and clarity of pitch narratives. Sitting in the NA Deal Design & Development organization, this Marketing Graphic Design Manager will also be able to tap into best practices and thrive sitting within a collaborative community of an established and effective presentation designers.
We are seeking a Marketing Graphic Design Manager to create agency-level, high-impact visuals and documents that help our sales teams tell compelling partnership stories and win new business. You thrive in white space, bring precision to your craft, and excel at translating complex inputs into elegant, client-centric design.
Core Responsibilities:
  • Design client-centric Custom and Semi-Custom presentations and documents in Word and PowerPoint, aligned to client brand standards and internal C-suite expectations
  • Advise on overall structure, layout, visual design, and copy editing to elevate clarity, flow, and impact
  • Create simple, elegant visuals that distill complex ideas into clear, persuasive narratives
  • Translate data and content into compelling infographics, visuals, and light animations
  • Develop storyboards and end-to-end customer journeys that support client and consumer value propositions
  • Produce high-fidelity mockups that bring Visa products and solutions to life
  • Maintain and curate a repository of current product, solution, and corporate content
  • Identify, document, and promote best practices, case studies, and reusable assets across verticals
  • Ensure consistency and alignment to a cohesive "One Visa" narrative across all deliverables

Lead Opportunity & Pitch Development:
  • Design high-impact pitch decks and executive presentations that clearly articulate opportunities and client-centric value propositions
  • Partner with Marketing Services (MS), Account Executives (AEs), and Deal teams to shape story flow, structure, and messaging-beyond slide design
  • As needed, collaborate with Product teams to translate product UI into client-branded mockups for use in presentations

Own Design End-to-End:
  • Independently manage multiple workstreams from concept through final delivery
  • Create and maintain presentation templates, visual systems, and reusable assets that balance speed with quality
  • Ensure alignment with brand standards, storytelling best practices, and executive-level expectations

Elevate Craft & Collaboration:
  • Create refined visuals, infographics, diagrams, and animations to represent experiences, capabilities, and complex concepts
  • Collaborate cross-functionally (e.g., Legal, Product, Design) to deliver cohesive, trusted partner experiences
  • Act as a thought partner to MS and AEs, especially early in opportunity shaping and deal development
  • Confidently articulate design rationale, ask the right questions, and challenge assumptions to improve outcomes
  • Share and implement best practices with NA Deal Design & Development and MS design peers to continuously raise the bar on craft, consistency, and impact

Operate with a Builder's Mindset:
  • Move quickly with a strong sense of ownership, balancing speed with high design standards
  • Leverage modern tools-including Visa-approved AI design and content tools-to accelerate thinking, iteration, and execution
  • Continually raise the bar on presentation quality, storytelling clarity, and effectiveness

Design & Storytelling Skills:
  • Expert-level PowerPoint skills (layout, hierarchy, storytelling, executive polish).
  • Strong command of Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign); Figma or equivalent-direct experience with recent AI-enhanced functionality a plus.
  • Deep understanding of typography, layout, visual hierarchy, and narrative structure.
  • Ability to simplify complexity without losing strategic nuance.

Collaboration & Communication:
  • Comfortable sharing perspectives openly, challenging ideas thoughtfully, and working across seniority levels and functional groups (internal and external)
  • Strong executive-grade communication - able to explain the "why" behind design decisions.
  • Trusted partner who can influence without authority and collaborate across teams.

Mindset & Ways of Working:
  • Highly self-directed with strong ownership mentality.
  • Curious, proactive, and willing to challenge the status quo.
  • Organized, reliable, and able to juggle multiple priorities without dropping quality.
  • Comfortable using AI and modern tools to improve speed, quality, and clarity.

Visa requires at least 3 days in office, expectations of these days will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager.
Visa requires at least 3 days in office, expectations of these days will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager.
Qualifications
Basic Qualification:
  • 5 or more years of relevant work experience with a Bachelors Degree or at least 2 years of work experience with an Advanced degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 0 years of work experience with a PhD.

Preferred Qualifications:
  • 6 or more years of work experience with a Bachelors Degree or 4 or more years of relevant experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or up to 3 years of relevant experience with a PhD.
  • Proven experience supporting sales teams, partnerships, or business development.
  • Experience operating independently in fast-paced, ambiguous environments.

U.S. Applicants Only
The estimated salary range for this position is $129,200.00 to $ 206,700.00 USD per year, which may include potential sales incentive payments (if applicable). Salary may vary depending on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this position may be eligible for bonus and equity.Visa has a comprehensive benefits package for which this position may be eligible that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), FSA/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, and Wellness Program.
Work Hours
Varies upon the needs of the department.
Travel Requirements
This position requires travel 5-10% of the time.
Mental/Physical Requirements
This position will be performed in an office setting. The position will require the incumbent to sit and stand at a desk, communicate in person and by telephone, frequently operate standard office equipment, such as telephones and computers.
Visa is an EEO Employer
Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protect veteran status. Visa will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the EEOC guidelines and applicable local law, including the requirements of Article 49 of the San Francisco Police Code.

What Visa employees say

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Hours and flexibility

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Visa logo

About Visa

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Visa is a global leader in digital payments, facilitating over 215 billion transactions annually across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through an innovative, reliable, and secure payments network, empowering individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive. When you become a part of Visa, you join a purpose-driven culture that values growth, embraces diversity, and recognizes the significance of your contributions. We believe in creating inclusive economies that uplift everyone, everywhere. Your work at Visa will directly impact billions of people worldwide, enabling access to financial services and shaping the future of money movement.

Industry

Finance and insurance

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

San Francisco, CA, US

Year founded

1958

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