[Hiring] Creative Assistant, Illustration @Hadley Designs

Role Description

Do You Turn Great Creative Direction Into Finished, On-Style Product Art? At Hadley Designs, we believe that learning should be enjoyable, engaging, and screen-free. We are seeking an Illustration & Product Design Assistant to work hand-in-hand with our Chief Creative Officer, taking her creative direction and carrying it through to finished, production-ready product art.

This is a maker's seat, not a template-and-layout role. If you love to draw, have a genuine eye for cute, playful, kid-friendly design, and want to grow your craft inside a brand that ships beautiful products every month, this is a rare opportunity to build your portfolio while doing work that reaches millions of families.

Key Responsibilities

• Original Illustration & Artwork:
  • Create new artwork and complete sets in Hadley Designs' established style across our product lines.
  • Draw and illustrate original elements like characters, motifs, patterns, and scenes that fit our cute, kid-friendly aesthetic.
• Product Design Execution:
  • Turn the CCO's concepts and creative direction into finished, production-ready product designs.
  • Carry a design from initial handoff through final build-out without kicking work back up the chain.
• Creative Production Support:
  • Own the execution offload (variations, building out a design across a full set, and file prep) that frees the CCO's hands.
  • Prepare print and production files to spec, and build mockups and product previews for listings.
• Style Consistency:
  • Keep every piece on-style and on-brand across the full product set.
  • Maintain the living style-reference so the look stays consistent as the catalog grows.
  • As-needed: occasional ad-ops support (A+ content, storefront updates, CMYK ad images) and revisions on existing product lines.

How Success Is Measured

• First-pass approval rate: the share of deliverables the CCO accepts with no major rework.
• New original art created: the volume of original artwork generated to feed the product pipeline.
• Sets / SKUs completed: finished design sets shipped per month.
• On-time delivery: the share of assigned pieces delivered by the agreed deadline.
• Framework-to-finish independence: the share of projects carried from CCO handoff to production-ready without kicking work back up.

Qualifications

• A portfolio of original illustration work that shows a cute, playful, kid-friendly or product-design sensibility.
• Working proficiency in Adobe Illustrator for native illustration (not just file handling or layout).
• Ability to match and extend an existing art style, completing a set so new pieces sit naturally alongside the originals.
• Strong ability to take written and verbal creative direction and turn it into finished work.
• Reliability on deadlines while managing several pieces at once.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience preparing print / production files to spec.
• Familiarity with the children's, educational, or consumer-product space.
• Comfort with lightweight project tools (Notion, ClickUp) and file organization.

Benefits

• Impact: Your work will directly impact how families experience learning through the Hadley Designs brand.
• Culture: Join a passionate, mission-driven team that values trust, creativity, and collaboration.
• Flexibility: Enjoy the freedom of a remote role with flexible working hours.
• Growth: Learn directly from our Chief Creative Officer and build a portfolio of shipped, real-world product work.
• Remote-first work environment.
• Paid time off and holidays.
• Access to learning resources and professional development.
• Free access to Hadley Designs products.
• Regular interaction with leadership, including the CEO and CCO.
• Stability from a decade as a family-founded, mission-driven brand.

Apply Today

If you're ready to make a meaningful impact in a growing company that's shaping the future of learning, apply now to join the Hadley Designs team as our Creative Assistant, Illustration. Help us create a lasting impact on families, educators, and children worldwide.

P.S: If you don't hear from us within four weeks of your application, please consider that as our decision to move forward with other candidates, but we truly appreciate your interest in Hadley Designs.