Principal Designer

Job Title

Job Description

About The Position:

People Inc. is looking for a Principal Designer to take on some of the company's most varied, visible, and important work.

You'll work directly with the Chief Communications Officer and Chief Design Officer on the work that most visibly represents People Inc.: our events, our brand identity, our sites, what we put in front of investors, and the spaces we work in. Much of it has no precedent, so not every project starts with a defined brief. You'll collaborate with leadership to frame the problem, and along with the Senior Creative Director, develop the concept and creative direction and bring it to life.

That means pairing ambitious creative thinking with close attention to the details that make the work successful. For events, you'll work directly with vendors, production companies, and internal partners to carry the design through production, and stay involved through on-site execution. You'll bring fresh ideas for what our events can be and the resourcefulness to make the most of the budget, spaces, materials, and time available.

You'll lead other designers and outside partners project by project while staying hands-on. This is a role for someone highly experienced and influential who loves making the work and seeing it through.

In-office Expectations: At least three days per week at our 225 Liberty Street headquarters in New York City.

About The Team:

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The Design Group at People Inc. brings together multiple teams supporting Revenue Design, Brand & Editorial Design, Product & UX Design, Design Systems, Creative Operations, Transactional Creative, and Events.

This role will work across corporate, brand, communications, and experiential design, partnering closely with senior leadership and designers across the organization.

About The Positions Contributions:

Weight %

Accountabilities, Actions and Expected Measurable Results

Corporate, Brand & Communications Design 70%

• Lead high-visibility work from problem definition through final execution, including:
  • People Inc. Villa at Cannes, People Talks, Dinner with People, and Brand Showcases
  • People Inc. and People Incorporated sites, corporate and brand identity, and presentation systems
  • Investor Relations materials, including earnings decks, campaigns, and employee communications
  • Office and experiential design, video walls, sizzle reels, and other motion-led experiences
• Work directly with senior leadership and cross-functional partners to establish creative direction, present work, make decisions, and maintain a high standard of craft.

Creative Direction, Mentorship & Design Development 30%

• Define loosely defined problems and develop clear creative approaches before execution.
• Direct designers, agencies, and creative partners project by project; provide feedback, run creative reviews, and mentor designers and emerging leaders.
• Introduce new tools and approaches, including AI, when they improve the quality or efficiency of the work.
• Remain accountable for the quality of the result without requiring an ongoing people-management structure.

The Role's Minimum Qualifications and Job Requirements:

Education:

Bachelor's degree preferred in design, graphic design, visual communication, or related field, and/or equivalent experience.

Experience:

• 10+ years of professional design experience
• A portfolio demonstrating refined taste and sound creative judgment across multiple disciplines and formats, including completed events and experiential work
• Demonstrated experience taking event design from concept through production and on-site execution, with direct responsibility for the details of the finished experience
• Experience working directly with vendors, fabricators, and production companies, including reviewing production specifications, materials, proofs, and installation details
• Experience working at a high-profile company, brand, agency, or organization where design is highly visible and the bar for the work is high
• Experience maintaining a cohesive brand across formats and partners, and contributing to its thoughtful evolution
• Experience across brand, corporate communications, print, digital, presentation, experiential, environmental, and campaign design
• Broad expertise across brand, corporate communications, print, digital, presentation, experiential, environmental, and campaign design

Specific Knowledge, Skills, Certifications and Abilities:

• A clear point of view about design and the ability to clearly articulate your ideas
• The ability to move fluidly between concept, direction, and hands-on design
• Meticulous attention to detail and the ownership to carry work through its final execution
• A resourceful approach to making ambitious work happen: you see constraints as creative challenges and find possibilities in the spaces, materials, and resources at hand.
• The ability to work within a strong corporate brand, recognize and correct drift, and identify where thoughtful evolution can strengthen the identity
• Expert proficiency in design software (Adobe Creative Cloud, Figma) and presentation software (G-slides, PPTX)
• Experience using AI and emerging design tools, including Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and the judgement to identify when and how they can be used to improve the quality of creative, efficiency, and productivity.
• Working knowledge of motion and video workflows, and the ability to help direct them
• A collaborative, direct, and low-ego approach, with the confidence to challenge an idea when there's a better one
  

It is the policy of People Inc. to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. In addition, the Company will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.Accommodation requests can be made by emailing hr@people.inc.

The Company participates in the federal E-Verify program to confirm the identity and employment authorization of all newly hired employees. For further information about the E-Verify program, please click here: https://www.e-verify.gov/employees

Pay Range

The pay range above represents the anticipated low and high end of the pay range for this position and may change in the future. Actual pay may vary and may be above or below the range based on various factors including but not limited to work location, experience, and performance. The range listed is just one component of People Inc's total compensation package for employees. Other compensation may include annual bonuses, and short- and long-term incentives. In addition,People Inc. provides to employees (and their eligible family members) a variety of benefits, including medical, dental, vision, prescription drug coverage, unlimited paid time off (PTO), adoption or surrogate assistance, donation matching, tuition reimbursement, basic life insurance, basic accidental death & dismemberment, supplemental life insurance, supplemental accident insurance, commuter benefits, short term and long term disability, health savings and flexible spending accounts, family care benefits, a generous 401K savings plan with a company match program, 10-12 paid holidays annually, and generous paid parental leave (birthing and non-birthing parents), all of which may vary depending on the specific nature of your employment with People Inc. and your work location. We also offer voluntary benefits such as pet insurance, accident, critical and hospital indemnity health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance.