Visual Design Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Highwire is reimagining what a creative designer can be. We are an AI-native, sector-expert, outcome-obsessed partner to the world's most innovative companies. As our AI Design Lead, you sit at the intersection of human-centered creative craft and machine-driven scale. You are a designer and a systems architect, defining how we build repeatable creative workflows that turn potential into influence. You will play a central role in operationalizing AI across our creative workflows, ensuring that our work maintains its gravity and cultural relevance while accelerating delivery.

About You:

You are a design hybrid with a deep appreciation for the traditional craft of visual communication and a forward-thinking mastery of AI. You have spent the last three years in the trenches of LLM-driven platforms, moving beyond simple prompting to build scalable, production-ready creative systems. Your portfolio proves your ability to command large-scale brand work that resonates, and your experience demonstrates that you understand how to harness technology to amplify-not replace-the human element.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect AI-Native Creative Systems: Partner with our Innovation and Creative teams to build and refine workflows that translate approved human-first designs into scalable, multi-format asset systems.
• Bridge Craft and Scale: Maintain Highwire's standard for high-quality, high-gravity creative output while overseeing the automated generation, versioning, and adaptation of assets for global campaigns.
• Human Oversight: Execute AI-assisted production workflows in accordance with client branding and compliance requirements, with mandatory human review and approval at all production stages before submission.
• Operationalize AI Integration: Deeply integrate LLMs and design APIs (Figma, Canva, Adobe Firefly, etc.) into our daily creative lifecycle, streamlining the journey from concept to execution.
• Brand Compliance: Maintain and execute AI-assisted compliance checks against client brand guidelines and visual standards.
• Modular Production: Build and version modular asset systems that can support scaled campaign production across formats and channels, with the flexibility to surge as launch volume fluctuates.
• Guardrails Maintenance: Maintain and update AI production guardrails libraries and brand standards documentation as brands and campaigns evolve, documenting prompt structures, workflow decisions, and asset versioning for team knowledge and QA purposes.
• Creative Governance & QA: Conduct quality assessment of AI-generated output across diverse client industries (B2B tech, healthcare, financial services), ensuring assets meet brand standards and strategic intent before escalating to senior Creative leads for final approval.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with senior Creative leads and account teams to ensure all AI outputs align with client-specific marketing objectives, ensuring our technology-enabled services increase multi-service attachment and client ROI.
• Mentorship: Champion the use of AI tools across the wider creative team, fostering a culture of experimentation and raising the baseline of our agency's AI fluency.

Candidate Requirements

• LLM Deep-Dive: 3+ years of professional, hands-on experience working directly with LLM-driven platforms and AI-integrated design apps (e.g., generative image models, LLM-based layout tools).
• Prompt Art Direction Engineering: Demonstrated fluency in structuring, iterating, and version-controlling prompts within production AI environments, beyond what general LLM platforms can do.
• Proven Design Craft: A robust portfolio of large-scale brand work that demonstrates mastery of typography, layout, motion design, and visual storytelling-competing with top-tier agency work.
• Strategic & Technical Fluency: Proven ability to translate creative strategy into technical workflows; you don't just understand the "what," but the "how" of automating high-quality design.
• Production Scalability: Comfort operating in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment with fluctuating production demands and the ability to adapt quickly to shifting campaign priorities.
• Agency Experience: Experience working in a fast-paced agency environment, comfortable with shifting priorities, tight deadlines, and complex, multi-stakeholder feedback loops.
• Team Integration: Experience working as an embedded contributor, executing within defined systems and escalating creative decisions to senior leads appropriately.
• System-First Mindset: Experience in building design systems, template libraries, and component-based creative architectures that scale.
• Collaborative Spirit: A demonstrated history of partnering across disciplines (Content, Strategy, Accounts) to ensure design is a primary driver of business outcomes.

The salary range for this position is $80,000 to $105,000, with the final offer based on a combination of factors, including education, relevant experience, skills, prior training, internal equity, and local geographic market data. This role also includes a competitive benefits package with medical, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k) matching, generous paid time off, and additional perks designed to support your overall well-being and growth. #LI-Hybrid