Junior Graphic Designer

Role overview

This opportunity is for a junior graphic designer supporting a federal public affairs and communications program tied to the Marine Corps. The role focuses on creating polished visual materials for strategic communication, internal messaging, public affairs, and stakeholder outreach in a fast-moving government customer setting.

This is an early-career position, but it still calls for a professional attitude, close attention to detail, quick responsiveness, and the ability to work from direction within a formal federal environment. Strong design basics, comfort with Adobe Creative Suite, familiarity with Section 508 accessibility expectations, and the ability to produce accurate quick-turn deliverables are important.

The job is mostly remote in a hybrid setup, but the selected candidate must live within roughly 75 miles of Washington, DC and be available for occasional on-site meetings or support in the National Capital Region.

Location and work setup

Location: Washington, DC Region. Work arrangement: hybrid, with remote work as the primary mode. The candidate must be based within about 75 miles of Washington, DC for occasional in-person requirements.

Compensation and employment details

Employment type: full-time. Annual salary range: $40,000 to $55,000. The role is tied to a secure federal support environment and the candidate must be able to obtain and keep a Secret clearance.

What you will do

• Create graphic design assets that support federal public affairs, communication strategy, and stakeholder engagement needs.
• Produce visual materials for digital channels, print, presentations, social media, websites, and briefing support.
• Build layouts, templates, infographics, visual summaries, briefing slides, handouts, social graphics, and related communication pieces.
• Contribute to multimedia deliverables such as still visuals, motion-based graphics, text treatments, image preparation, and platform-specific content.
• Make sure all output follows customer direction, brand rules, style guidance, and approved messaging.
• Apply foundational Section 508 accessibility practices to graphics, documents, presentations, and digital products.
• Edit, crop, resize, format, and optimize images and graphics for use across different platforms.
• Handle rapid updates and revisions based on comments from the Program Manager, customer, and senior communication staff.
• Keep project files, source assets, and final deliverables well organized.
• Work through formal review and approval steps before any product is released.
• Share status updates, deadlines, blockers, and clarification needs clearly with the Program Manager and team.
• Take direction professionally and implement feedback accurately and quickly.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in graphic design, digital media, visual communication, communications, marketing, or a related discipline; or at least 3 years of directly relevant graphic design or digital graphics experience.
• Hands-on experience with Adobe Creative Suite, especially Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
• Exposure to Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, or similar motion graphics tools is considered an advantage.
• A portfolio that shows clean, professional design work.
• Ability to produce graphics for presentations, social media, web, print, and executive-level communications.
• Basic awareness of Section 508 compliance and accessibility needs for visual and digital content.
• Strong precision in layout, spelling, formatting, alignment, image quality, and consistency.
• Ability to follow detailed instructions and apply feedback without repeated corrections.
• Comfort working under shifting priorities and short timelines in a fast-paced environment.
• Professional communication and conduct in a federal customer support setting.
• Must live within approximately 75 miles of Washington, DC.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret clearance.

Preferred background

Experience with federal customers, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy, the Marine Corps, or other military/public affairs environments is preferred. Additional value is placed on familiarity with Marine Corps or DoD communication products, public affairs materials, strategic communication support, senior leader briefings, campaign graphics, talking-point visuals, executive presentations, and formal brand or style guides. Knowledge of digital asset organization, captioning, file naming, archival practices, and accessibility best practices such as alt text, contrast, readable typography, and accessible layouts is also beneficial.

Candidate profile

The ideal hire is dependable, coachable, detail-focused, and comfortable working in a demanding federal support environment. Senior-level design experience is not required, but the person should be able to accept direction, produce clean and accurate work, respond professionally to feedback, and make corrections quickly. In this role, design is expected to support the customer’s message, meet deadlines, follow standards, and deliver reliable professional output.

Work environment

The environment is formal, fast-moving, and deadline-driven. Tasks may require multiple revisions and structured reviews. The successful candidate should be comfortable operating within approval workflows and keeping communication professional at all times.

Additional information

The employer notes that artificial intelligence tools may be used to help with parts of the hiring process, including reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, assessing responses, and identifying possible inconsistencies or verification signals from submitted materials. These tools support recruiting work but do not replace human judgment, and final hiring decisions are made by people. Contact the employer directly for more information about data handling.

The posting also references a hiring campaign tag: #HireFinder.