The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world's population sees AP journalism every day.

The AP seeks a designer passionate about visual storytelling and U.S. politics and eager to put lessons from experimentation into practice to join our growing team of diverse journalists focused on digital audiences. We’re looking for a designer to become part of a team creating smart, insightful, and entertaining visualizations of data – specifically those focusing on voting, elections, and democracy. This is a two-year grant-funded position with an opportunity to extend.

Responsibilities: Reporting to the interactives news editor and based in Washington, D.C. or New York City, you will be part of a team that designs engaging visualizations to help people understand the day's most important stories related to elections and democracy. In this role, you’ll focus on stories related to U.S. elections, government, politics, and democracy, with the goal of combatting misinformation and misunderstanding about and within the American democracy via rich and robust explanatory journalism.

We’re looking for someone who can communicate interactive story ideas through wireframes and prototypes with interactive developers, data analysts, reporters, and editors. In this role, you will make data-driven stories approachable and accessible. You should be at home with standard design tools: Figma and Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Excel, etc.). Visual expression is essential, but we’re more interested in how you gather and iterate on user feedback.

Qualifications: We’re looking for a highly motivated, independent, and detail-oriented designer committed to using their critical thinking to advance the AP staff's robust and fact-based reporting. You embrace UX fundamentals and have a keen eye for layout, typography, and storytelling techniques. You’re a creative person with empathy for readers and a curiosity to learn more about them.

You want to be part of a team. You collaborate, communicate, and mentor people of varying expertise. You understand that there’s always more to know, and you expect to learn from your teammates in addition to sharing what you know. You’re looking for a collegial environment that involves consistent communication, design reviews, pairing up, and sharing ideas with people from diverse backgrounds, areas of expertise, and experience. You are also able and willing to work at night and on weekends, as coverage demands, as AP is a 24/7 operation.

We will consider strong candidates who do not meet every listed qualification. You may use a cover letter to describe the unique qualifications you would bring to this role.

Other qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, such as at least one year of full-time work as a newsroom designer or visual journalist in a daily newspaper, broadcast station, online or digital news outlet, or AP bureau.
• All applicants must be able to work in the U.S. or gain permission to do so.
• Advanced-level professional competency in written and spoken English. Professional competency in a language besides English is a plus.

The anticipated salary range for this position is $58,218-$105,000 contingent on experience and other job-related factors. Employees are eligible to participate, according to the terms of the official plan documents, in a 401(k) plan, employer-sponsored health insurance plan, and are eligible for paid time off and holidays in accordance with AP policy.

THE DEADLINE TO APPLY FOR THIS POSITION IS APRIL 9, 2023 AT 11:59 PM EST.

AP seeks to build an inclusive organization grounded in respect for differences. We support all aspects of diversity and provide equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or status as a veteran. We encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply.