How to hire a senior designer

How to hire a senior designer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior designer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a senior designer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior designer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a senior designer do?

Post a senior designer job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your senior designer job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a senior designer for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a senior designer to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a senior designer that fits the bill.

   This list presents senior designer salaries for various positions.

   Type of Senior Designer	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Designer	Graphic designers create visual concepts, using computer software or by hand, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, and captivate consumers. They develop the overall layout and production design for various applications such as advertisements, brochures, magazines, and corporate reports.	$34-68
   Designer/Art Director	An art director collaborates with the design and art staff for books, public relations firms, advertising agencies, or newspaper publishers. Art directors create designs and layouts that embody the organization and send the message they want the audience to get... Show more	$28-75
   Graphic Designer, Marketing	A graphic designer of marketing specializes in developing creative imagery as part of a company's marketing efforts. Their responsibilities typically revolve around coordinating with the marketing team to share insights and strategies, conceptualizing designs in adherence to objectives and deadlines, and preparing presentations... Show more	$16-33

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Sketch
   • Graphic Design
   • Human Centered Design
   • User Experience
   • UI
   • CAD
   • Autocad
   • Design Concepts
   • Design Solutions
   • Product Design
   • Project Management
   • CSS
   • HTML
   • Invision

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Identify, plan and lead brainstorming sessions for new blue-sky product opportunities across all boys' lines.
   • Design all marketing collateral within those standards including flyers, ads, conference materials, brochures, and design mailed pieces.
   • Implement HTML and CSS tags.
   • Format designs and media for use in print and web applications; deliver production-ready graphics in HTML and CSS.
   • Design and production of marketing materials, PowerPoint templates for pitch decks, event graphics, various collateral and HTML e-mails.
   • Lead the team in brainstorming sessions and assist with market research and testing.

   More senior designer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior designer job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A senior designer salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a senior designer in Oklahoma may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level senior designer usually earns less than a senior-level senior designer. Additionally, a senior designer with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average senior designer salary

   $102,058yearly

   $49.07 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior designer salary

   $72,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 31, 2025

   Average senior designer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$146,796	$71
   2	California	$131,348	$63
   3	Massachusetts	$104,985	$50
   4	Oregon	$104,862	$50
   5	District of Columbia	$104,317	$50
   6	New York	$98,880	$48
   7	Arizona	$98,780	$47
   8	Texas	$98,241	$47
   9	Maryland	$93,732	$45
   10	Colorado	$93,312	$45
   11	Wisconsin	$91,996	$44
   12	North Carolina	$91,766	$44
   13	Pennsylvania	$91,703	$44
   14	Utah	$90,574	$44
   15	Michigan	$88,193	$42
   16	Illinois	$87,601	$42
   17	Ohio	$85,672	$41
   18	Florida	$84,960	$41
   19	Minnesota	$80,859	$39
   20	South Carolina	$80,681	$39

   Average senior designer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Lyft	$161,450	$77.62
   2	Google	$158,568	$76.23	102
   3	Squarespace	$155,811	$74.91	2
   4	The Walt Disney Company	$153,569	$73.83	32
   5	StubHub	$153,245	$73.68	8
   6	Atlassian	$153,239	$73.67	8
   7	DoorDash	$152,953	$73.54	40
   8	Apple	$152,605	$73.37	51
   9	Microsoft	$150,445	$72.33	55
   10	PayPal	$149,750	$72.00	24
   11	Didi Chuxing	$147,452	$70.89
   12	eBay	$145,745	$70.07	1
   13	The Weitz Company	$145,653	$70.03	1
   14	Zoox	$143,979	$69.22	8
   15	Evernote	$143,786	$69.13
   16	Sharecare	$142,340	$68.43
   17	Levi Strauss & Co.	$139,151	$66.90	2
   18	Pinterest	$138,193	$66.44	2
   19	Walmart	$137,440	$66.08	26
   20	Warner Bros.	$136,999	$65.86	17

4. Writing a senior designer job description

   A good senior designer job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a senior designer job description:

   Senior designer job description example

   Responsible for the design and creative development of WFM marketing materials. Leads creative development for graphic Team Members at the national, regional, and store level. Develops graphic design production and distributes communication pieces for organization-wide use. Advises diverse teams and locations about creative strategy, technology, methods, and standards. Ensures effective and consistent graphic design and production for internal and external communication materials.
   Senior Designer
   
   We're searching for a Senior Designer to join our Amazon Fresh creative team. As the Senior Designer, you will bring to life and execute the brand identity for Amazon Fresh and report to the Creative Director, Design. You'll collaborate daily with your senior counterparts in Art Direction, Copy and Packaging to create an ownable, memorable and cohesive design system to Amazon Fresh.
   
   To be successful in this role, this Sr. Designer will be an expert in executing design systems across all brand touch points (physical retail signage and merchandising displays, traditional media-outdoor/posters, digital placements onsite, paid social). You'll work with the Creative Director of Design to expand/evolve the brand guidelines and are prolific in your exploration boundary pushing solutions.
   
   You are the model designer that others on the team aspire to for hard skills and teamwork. No task is too large or small for you. While the Designers do not report to you, you are passionate about mentoring them with your talent and seeing them flourish.
   
   This role is based in Austin TX, within the Whole Foods Market corporate offices. We are a nurturing culture and big egos don't work out here. We thrive on collaboration, are laid-back but hard-working. You'll be joining a creative department that believes “we're all teachers and students.”, so come with the energy to teach and the humility to learn.
   
   Responsibilities
   Execute and evolve the Amazon Fresh brand style guide across all in-store and digital channels Design and execute promotional and seasonal campaigns Present work to Creative Director of DesignCollaborate with counterparts in Art Direction, Copy and Packaging to ensure campaign consistency and that design is optimally executed for each channel Mentor other designers on the team through exceptional design, teamwork and patience
   
   Skills
   Expert proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (familiarity with Google Sketch and Figma) Agility and adaptability in learning new tools and design platforms Great presentation skills Proven ability to impart focus by developing clear goals and priorities Proven ability to operate among ambiguity and fast-changing business goals Proven ability to build cross-functional partnerships and inspire collaboration and action Proven ability to juggle multiple projects while maintaining a clear sense of priorities
   
   Qualifications
   6+ years of ad/design agency or in-house brand experience Expertise in visual design, branding and physical retail design Leadership experience a plus but not mandatory
   
   At Whole Foods Market, we provide a fair and equal employment opportunity for all Team Members and candidates regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, marital status, disability, or any other legally protected characteristic. Whole Foods Market hires and promotes individuals solely based on qualifications for the position to be filled and business needs.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right senior designer for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with senior designers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit senior designers who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   To find senior designer candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit senior designers, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new senior designer

   Once you've decided on a perfect senior designer candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new senior designer. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a senior designer?