Lead Thumbnail Designer

LEAD THUMBNAIL DESIGNER | REMOTE

To Apply:

ROLE:

As the Lead Thumbnail Designer at Knwn Local, you'll build and develop a team of 5-10+ thumbnail designers who create scroll-stopping visuals that drive channel growth for America's top real estate leaders. This is a player-coach leadership role where you'll spend 60-80% of your time managing, mentoring, and building systems, and 20-40% hands-on designing complex projects.

You'll own design quality standards, team development, and creative operations across the agency, partnering closely with Pod Managers, Creative Director, and leadership on strategic initiatives. Your success is measured not by how many thumbnails you design, but by how well your team performs, grows, and delivers results that drive client success.

This role is perfect for someone who loves developing designers as much as designing itself - someone who gets energized by building systems, coaching talent, and multiplying impact through others. If you want to stay purely hands-on without management responsibilities, this isn't the right fit.

Apply now:

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Team Leadership & Development (50-70% of role)

• Directly manage 5-8 thumbnail designers conducting weekly 1-on-1s focused on skill development and performance

• Lead bi-weekly team design reviews with constructive feedback and best practice sharing

• Build comprehensive onboarding programs and training materials for new designer hires

• Create career development pathways with clear promotion criteria for design team members

• Conduct performance reviews and manage accountability through the Clarify Instrument Coach Decide framework

• Handle hiring (writing JDs, screening portfolios, conducting interviews, making offers)

• Build 2-5+ year relationships with designers through proactive retention and engagement strategies

• Conduct skip-level meetings with junior designers to assess team health and identify early warning signs

Creative Excellence & Standards (20-30% of role)

• Design 15-30 high-impact thumbnails per month for VIP clients and complex projects

• Own and evolve agency-wide creative quality standards, brand guidelines, and style guides

• Establish QA processes that maintain 90%+ first-approval rate across all designers

• Lead A/B testing strategy and performance analysis across the entire client portfolio

• Serve as final creative approval for all thumbnails before client delivery

• Drive creative innovation through monthly experimentation initiatives and "Good Flops"

• Create and maintain design team's template library and asset management systems

Strategic Collaboration & Systems (10-20% of role)

• Partner with Pod Managers on client strategy and creative direction for key accounts

• Present creative strategy and performance insights in Monthly Client Strategy Calls with clients

• Collaborate with executive leadership on agency-wide creative vision and initiatives

• Build scalable workflows, capacity planning, and resource allocation systems

• Create performance dashboards tracking team metrics (CTR, approval rates, turnaround times)

• Document best practices, SOPs, and knowledge base for the design function

• Contribute to quarterly planning, annual strategy summits, and company OKRs

REQUIREMENTS:

Leadership & Design Experience

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6+ years of professional design experience with 2+ years managing creative teams

• Proven track record leading, developing, and scaling design teams of 5+ people

• Minimum 3+ years creating high-performing YouTube thumbnails with proven CTR results

• Experience hiring designers, conducting performance reviews, and managing accountability

• Portfolio showcasing thumbnails that contributed to channel growth (include CTR data)

• Comfortable with difficult conversations (performance issues, firing, conflict resolution)

Technical & Strategic Skills

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Expert-level proficiency in Photoshop, Illustrator, and Figma (portfolio required)

• Deep understanding of YouTube algorithms, CTR optimization, and viewer psychology

• Data-driven approach with ability to interpret analytics and translate into design strategy

• Experience with A/B testing methodologies, performance analysis, and optimization

• Strong presentation skills for client-facing strategy calls and executive meetings

• Understanding of creative team economics (capacity planning, resourcing, budgeting)

Communication & Cultural Leadership

• Exceptional written and verbal communication for feedback, presentations, and documentation

• Demonstrated ability to give feedback that accelerates growth and elevates work quality

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Extreme Ownership - Takes full accountability for team results; never blames or makes excuses

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Beyond Excellence - Sets impossibly high standards and inspires team to exceed them

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Proactive Curiosity - Anticipates problems, asks better questions, and stays ahead of needs

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Mission Focus - Obsesses about client success and team development over personal recognition

RESULTS:

Team Performance

• Your design team consistently maintains 90%+ first-approval rate across all designers

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Designer retention rate exceeds 85% annually with clear development and career progression

• New designers productive at 80% capacity within 30-60 days through your training systems

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100% of direct reports show measurable skill improvement quarter-over-quarter

• Team operates at 80-90% capacity utilization - productive output without burnout

Quality & Impact

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Zero client escalations due to design quality issues or missed deadlines from your team

• Agency-wide thumbnail CTR averages 5-10% (significantly above platform benchmarks)

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95%+ on-time delivery rate across your entire team's project portfolio

• Design workflows, templates, and style guides documented and adopted agency-wide

• Your team generates innovative thumbnail strategies that drive agency-wide adoption

Strategic Leadership

• Design function viewed as strategic partner by Pod Managers and leadership

• Successfully contribute to client strategy with design insights that drive performance

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Client satisfaction scores remain >4.5/5 for design quality and communication

• At least 1-2 designers promoted or advancement-ready annually due to your mentorship

• Leadership views design as a strategic differentiator, not just an execution function

COMPENSATION & GROWTH:

Salary & Benefits

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Starting Range: $42,000 - $72,000 USD/year depending on experience and team size managed

• Fully Remote

• Flexible Time Off policy & Company Wide Holiday Breaks (we trust you to manage your time and energy)

• Professional development budget for courses, plugins, and creative tools

• Potential Health Insurance Reimbursement (after 60-90 day trial period options including Medical, Dental, Vision)

• Potential to earn Monthly wellness allowance

• Potential to earn Home office stipend for equipment and software

• Leadership development program

• Access to industry-leading tools, plugins, and AI-assisted editing software

• Clear career progression with transparent promotion criteria

Performance Metrics You'll Own

• Team Performance: Design Quality Score, First-Approval Rate (90%+), CTR performance

• Team Development: Skill progression, promotion readiness, retention rate (85%+)

• Operational Excellence: Capacity utilization (80-90%), on-time delivery (95%+)

• Strategic Impact: Innovation initiatives, process improvements, client satisfaction (>4.5/5)

LOCATION:

• 100% Remote

WHO WE ARE:

Knwn Local helps America's top real estate leaders (ranked by Wall Street Journal Real Trends) attract more clients and grow their brands through strategic YouTube presence. Our clients manage $30M-$300M+ real estate teams and brokerages.

We're scaling from 55+ to 200+ channels with the mission of helping agents dominate their local markets through long-form video content that builds trust and authority.

Our Core Values: Ex