Job Description

Digital Designer (HYBRID)

ESS Companies (ESSC) empowers people to own their futures by redefining the employee and client experience. As a 100% employee-owned family of heavy civil construction companies, we do this #ForTheWorkers. Our purpose fuels our passion, our passion drives our performance, and our performance strengthens the partnerships that build strong communities. This role is responsible for the execution, design, and optimization of digital experiences across all ESSC brands — ensuring every interaction is visually compelling, user-friendly, and aligned with brand standards. It requires a strong balance of design expertise, UI/UX thinking, and digital execution, along with the ability to translate content and strategy into engaging, high-performing digital experiences. If you're the kind of designer who thrives on bringing structure to complexity, takes pride in systems thinking, and wants your work to matter beyond the screen — this role was built for you.

Planning & Discovery

• Conduct discovery, gather stakeholder input, and develop sitemaps, user flows, and project briefs that set digital projects up for success
• Synthesize user research, stakeholder feedback, and heuristic reviews to inform design decisions before execution begins

Design & Execution

• Own day-to-day UI/UX design across the ESSC brand family's web presence — from wireframes and prototypes through developer-ready UI designs, specs, and handoff
• Collaborate with developers and integration experts to ensure design feasibility and maintain design integrity throughout implementation
• Lead the execution and ongoing evolution of the ESSC Enterprise Design System, including component libraries, interaction patterns, tokens, and documentation — within a strategic framework established by the Creative Brand Manager
• Apply and extend brand guidelines across digital touchpoints, ensuring visual and experiential consistency across our subsidiary brands
• Support digital components of campaigns, events, and enterprise initiatives as needed
• Contribute graphic design support for select marketing initiatives — including social media, email campaigns, and event materials — as bandwidth allows

Quality & Delivery

• Conduct cross-browser and cross-device testing to ensure consistent functionality, performance, and appearance across digital experiences
• Manage your own project workload efficiently — tracking priorities, communicating timelines, and delivering quality work on deadline
• Help define and document UX standards and best practices for the broader team

Collaboration & Ongoing Support

• Collaborate with marketing, communications, and technology team members to deliver cohesive digital experiences across wholly owned websites, microsites, event websites, and ongoing campaigns as needed
• Create and maintain design systems, component libraries, and UI style guides
• Continuously analyze user data and performance metrics to identify opportunities for optimization
• Attend company events and represent the firm at industry events as needed

You're a good fit if...

• You hold a Bachelor's degree in UI/UX Design, Interaction Design, Visual Communications, or a related discipline
• You have 4–6 years of UI/UX design experience, with a portfolio that demonstrates both marketing/brochure site work and product or application design
• You think in systems — components, tokens, patterns — and get genuinely excited about design infrastructure
• You're fluent in Figma, including auto layout, variables, component architecture, prototyping, and sitemap/flow documentation
• You have a working understanding of HTML and CSS — enough to know what's buildable, communicate clearly with developers, and design with implementation in mind
• You apply user-centered design principles naturally — balancing aesthetic quality with usability, accessibility, and real-world performance
• You're a strong brand reader — you can internalize a brand system, apply it with precision, and flag when something's off
• You can hold your own in Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop) and contribute to graphic design needs when the work calls for it
• You communicate design decisions clearly — to leadership, marketers, and developers alike
• You sweat the details: spacing, hierarchy, accessibility, interaction states, edge cases
• You're as comfortable executing within an established framework as you are contributing ideas to evolve it — and you know the difference
• You own your workload — you track your own deadlines, flag blockers early, and deliver without needing to be managed closely
• You thrive in both independent deep work and collaborative creative sessions
• You have experience handing off production-ready specs and assets to development teams
• You play well with others and bring a positive, no-ego approach to creative collaboration
• You take initiative and drive projects forward without waiting to be told what to do
• You have a sense of humor (big plus)

Bonus skills/experience:

• Know a little about the A/E/C industry? Bonus! Civil construction? Double bonus!
• Experience with or interest in design systems at scale — multi-brand, enterprise, or holding company environments
• Familiarity with web-based animation — CSS transitions, Lottie/After Effects exports, or libraries like GSAP or Framer Motion
• Familiarity with web accessibility standards (WCAG)
• We use Monday.com (project management), WordPress (website), and Shade (digital asset management) — knowing those is a head start
• ¿Hablas español? We routinely translate content into Spanish — a huge plus if you can write or QC Spanish copy

Location This team member will work out of the Kansas City, MO office located in the River Market district. Other office locations would be considered. Some regional travel may be required, including a few overnight stays here and there. ESSC offers a comprehensive and competitive package including access to top-notch tech tools and flex time.

Hybrid Work Schedule:

• Monday/Friday - Remote
• Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday - Office

But wait, there's more. ESSC offers its employee-owners a variety of additional perks and bonus opportunities:

• Industry-leading Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
• 401(k) and financial health education
• Comprehensive health benefits and insurance
• Flexible Spending and Health Savings Accounts
• Casual and professional work environment
• Paid training and continuing education
• Paid time off (PTO)
• Wellness program
• Referral bonus program
• Apprenticeship programs
• Leadership and training programs

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

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