Lead Designer, Totei

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Job Description: Totei is looking for a Lead Designer to help bring these stories to life visually, emotionally, and experientially across a range of mediums. You’ll collaborate closely with the Editor in Chief, photo and social editors, and other creative partners to develop elegant layouts, define visual storytelling systems, commission original art, and shape how we present narratives end to end.

You’ll be hands-on in execution while also setting the creative bar and building scalable systems. Over time, you'll help grow creative processes and mentor junior contributors. Forward-thinking and ambitious design is core to Totei, and this is a rare opportunity to join an early team and help shape an innovative visual identity.

Job Requirements:

Core design work

  • Lead editorial design across digital and social channels (features, social accounts, newsletters, infographics, art direction, etc.)

  • Define and evolve Totei’s visual systems — typography, grid, illustration style, and brand elements

  • Build prototypes, templates, and tools to support scalable design workflows

  • Lead interactive storytelling and custom editorial treatments

  • Refine details while zooming out to guide overall creative direction

  • Manage freelance contributors and mentor potential future hires

Creative leadership

  • Set a high standard for design quality through refined visual and experiential execution

  • Collaborate closely with editorial leadership and cross-functional partners to shape and deliver a bold, cohesive vision for the full user journey.

  • Lead with a user-first mindset, elevating experience design as a key driver of value and differentiation.

  • Reinforce the brand’s identity and integrity through design choices that build credibility and clearly communicate what sets us apart.

  • Promote a culture of rapid prototyping and design-led problem solving that empowers teams to test, learn, and refine impactful experiences.

Basic qualifications

  • 5+ years of experience in digital design, with a strong foundation in both visual and interactive work

  • A refined eye for typography, layout, color, motion, and user behavior, with the ability to translate these elements into intuitive, beautiful experiences

  • Proficient in Figma and skilled in fast-paced, iterative design and prototyping workflows

  • Experienced in developing and maintaining cohesive digital design systems that scale across platforms and screen sizes

  • Familiarity with designing for multimedia formats — including video, audio, and graphics — and integrating them seamlessly into digital experiences

  • Strong grasp of designing for social media, with the ability to create compelling visual assets that are optimized for engagement across channels like Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn

Preferred qualifications

  • Deep interest in storytelling, editorial process, and the craft of journalism

  • Able to operate in a fast-moving environment, with flexibility around evenings or weekends when needed

  • Background in media, culture, or editorial product design, with insight into editorial dynamics

  • Some facility with front-end technologies including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

Type of Job: Design

City: New York

State/Country: New York

Duration: Full-time

Company: Totei

About Our Company: Launching soon, Totei is a digital magazine devoted to sparking inspiration by deepening understanding of artistic craftsmanship. Through vivid storytelling and high-quality multimedia journalism, Totei shines a light on the processes, philosophies, and practices of the world’s most compelling creative individuals — from visionary designers and craftspeople to iconoclastic artists and cultural thinkers.

Contact Name: Ben Williams

Contact Email: careers@totei.com

How to Apply: To apply, send the following to careers@totei.com with the subject “Lead Designer - [Your Name]:

  • Your résumé

  • Your portfolio or 2-5 links to work that best represents your range as a designer

  • Cover letter optional