News Designer

Application Instructions

Please list all professional experience and explain any gaps in employment history. All of your application materials, which may include PDF files of work samples and/or links to audio, video, photography or graphics, must be uploaded to the field labeled Resume/Cover Letter/Work Samples to be considered for the position.

Join the future of news

We’re on a mission to deliver riveting storytelling for all of America. At The Washington Post, you’ll help reinvent news. Our work is driven by a deep investigative spirit and enhanced by innovation to bring audiences closer to the stories that matter most.

About Our Team

The Washington Post is powered by the passion and talent of our people. It takes all of us to reinvent news. Beyond our award-winning News and Opinions teams, we work across many departments, including Brand & Events, Communications, Customer Care, Engineering & Product, Finance, Human Resources, Legal, Marketing & Advertising, Print Operations, and Sales.

Why This Role Matters

The Washington Post is seeking a creative, collaborative and visually sophisticated designer to help shape how audiences experience our journalism across digital platforms.

News Design is a team of visual journalists who elevate The Post’s reporting through compelling, reader-centered storytelling. Working across digital formats and platforms, news designers collaborate with journalists throughout the newsroom to create presentations that deepen understanding, capture attention and make our journalism distinctive.

We are looking for a designer with exceptional visual instincts, strong editorial judgment and a passion for solving storytelling problems. The ideal candidate understands how typography, composition, color, imagery and interaction can work together to make journalism clearer and more powerful. They should be equally energized by creating an ambitious custom presentation for a major enterprise story and finding smart, elegant solutions on a tight news deadline.

This is a highly collaborative role. News designers work alongside reporters, editors, photographers, graphics journalists, illustrators and developers, contributing ideas from the earliest stages of a story through publication. We are looking for someone eager to experiment, take thoughtful creative risks and help evolve the visual identity of The Washington Post.

This position is based in our Washington, D.C., newsroom and will require some night and weekend work.

What Motivates You:

• You believe thoughtful design can fundamentally improve how audiences understand and experience journalism.
• You enjoy finding the right visual approach for a story through typography, imagery, color, composition and interaction.
• You are energized by solving complicated storytelling problems and turning them into intuitive reader experiences.
• You thrive on collaborating with journalists from different disciplines.
• You enjoy balancing ambitious long-term projects with the urgency of breaking and developing news.
• You are curious about new technologies, formats and approaches to digital storytelling.

How You’ll Support the Mission:

• Collaborate with reporters, editors and visual journalists to conceive and build distinctive digital storytelling experiences.
• Identify stories that would benefit from enhanced visual presentation and help develop the right design approach for each.
• Create engaging, content-driven designs, illustrations and visual packages that are smart, original and reader-centered.
• Guide the visual storytelling process from initial concept through publication, incorporating feedback and maintaining a high level of craft throughout.
• Design experiences that work effectively across desktop, mobile, newsletters, social platforms and other digital surfaces.
• Partner with developers and other visual journalists on interactive and custom storytelling projects.
• Contribute to breaking and major news coverage, developing sophisticated visual solutions on tight deadlines.
• Use art direction, illustration, animation and other techniques when they can strengthen a story.
• Review work carefully for visual consistency, accessibility and accuracy before publication.
• Contribute ideas that help evolve The Post’s visual identity and push our digital storytelling forward.

The Skills and Experiences You Bring:

• A strong portfolio demonstrating excellent visual design, creative thinking, initiative and curiosity.
• Experience designing digital editorial experiences, interactive applications or other content-rich products.
• Sophisticated understanding of typography, composition, color, visual hierarchy and information design.
• Strong editorial instincts and a passion for using design in service of storytelling.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with an ability to build productive relationships across disciplines.
• A demonstrated ability to manage multiple short- and long-term projects and deliver refined work under deadline pressure.
• A thoughtful, ethical approach to incorporating new technologies including AI-assisted tools into the design brainstorming process, with sound judgment about where they strengthen the work but knowing human craft and editorial judgment must lead.
• Experience with art direction, animation, illustration, original artwork or maintaining a cohesive visual identity is a plus.
• Fluency with design tools such as Figma, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
• Experience with HTML, CSS or JavaScript and familiarity with modern web frameworks such as React, Svelte, Angular or Vue is a plus.
• A commitment to accessibility, accuracy and the highest standards of visual journalism.

Interested candidates should upload a résumé, cover letter and portfolio highlighting representative work to our jobs portal. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled, but those received by Oct. 9 will be prioritized. The cover letter should be addressed to News Design Director Christine Ashack and Head of Visuals Soo-Jeong Kang.

The salary range for this position is: $85,100 - $127,700. The actual salary within this range will depend on individual skills, experience and qualifications as they relate to specific job requirements

Collaboration makes us stronger. That’s why our offices are designed with open layouts, modern technology, and easy access to transportation. With certain exceptions for newsgathering and business travel, we work on-site five days a week.

Compensation and Benefits

Wherever you are in your life or career, The Washington Post offers comprehensive and inclusive benefits for every step of your journey:

• Competitive medical, dental and vision coverage

• Company-paid pension and 401(k) match

• Three weeks of vacation and up to three weeks of paid sick leave

• Nine paid holidays and two personal days

• 20 weeks paid parental leave for any new parent

• Robust mental health resources

• Backup care and caregiver concierge services

• Gender affirming services

• Pet insurance

• Free Post digital subscription

• Leadership and career development programs

Benefits may vary based on the job, full-time or part-time schedule, location, and collectively bargained status.