Designer, Brand + Interaction + Systems - Cognition Studio (Seattle, WA)
Company Description
Cognition is a strategy and visual communication firm specializing in the life sciences sector. Our mission is to help organizations build trust and knowledge in new science, research, and medicine. We excel in creating accurate scientific storytelling, strong brands, and human-centered solutions to generate value in emerging medical technology, research, and healthcare. Our expertise includes biotechnology, venture capital, and global health platforms, products, and services.
Location: Seattle, WA (onsite/hybrid).
Level: High-Mid, 5+ years of experience.
Compensation: $110,000–$120,000.
The Role
We’re hiring a high-skill mid-level Visual Designer who blends design craft, interaction and strategy. You’ll work across brand and visual identity systems, web and interactive experiences, and print/digital collateral—building cohesive, scalable systems rather than one-off assets. This is not a generalist role; it’s for a designer who excels at craft and systems, collaborates seamlessly in a hybrid consultancy, and thrives in science/health innovation, corporate communications, and business design.
You’ll contribute across the full design lifecycle—discovery and concepting, systemization and component design, production and QA—partnering with strategists, writers, other designers, and developers. If you’re hungry to collaborate with clients doing ambitious, world-changing work, we’d love to meet you.
To view this job and apply, click here.
Key Responsibilities
Design systems & identity: Create and evolve brand and visual identity systems (logos, typography, color, components, motion/interaction patterns) that scale across channels.
Digital & interaction: Design responsive web and product UI (flows, wireframes, high-fidelity comps, component libraries) and partner closely with developers for smooth handoff.
Visual communication: Craft visually compelling layouts, narratives, and campaign assets for web, presentations, and print; maintain fidelity to strategy and audience needs.
Systems thinking: Build reusable patterns, component documentation, and guardrails to ensure consistency and speed across large-scale programs.
Quality & delivery: Manage your own workstreams, balance multiple projects, and uphold high craft standards through rigorous review and production QA.
Collaboration: Facilitate critiques and co-creation sessions; translate feedback into clear design decisions for clients and cross-functional teams.
Impact & outcomes: Tie design choices to strategic intents (brand position, user goals, accessibility, performance); measure and iterate.
Qualifications
Required
Bachelors of Design
5+ years professional experience in visual design with demonstrable work across brand/identity, web/interactive, and systems (agency, consultancy, or in-house).
Portfolio that showcases craft excellence, systemization, and large-scale design systems (not just one-off comps).
Proficiency in Figma (components, variants, libraries), Adobe CC (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign); comfort with prototyping tools (e.g., Figma Prototype).
Strong interaction design fundamentals (hierarchy, flow, usability, responsive behavior) and accessibility awareness (contrast, type, structure).
Clear client communication, structured problem framing, and ability to present rationale to both design and non-design stakeholders.
Preferred
Experience designing within life sciences, healthcare, or global health.
Exposure to motion for UI/brand, and to design tokens or documentation platforms.
Understanding of web implementation to improve feasibility and handoff.
Systems design, or design library and application across a wide variety of media (environmental, social, print, etc.)
What Success Looks Like
Cohesive design systems that scale across brand, digital, and print.
Interfaces and artifacts that are clear, accessible, performant, and on-brand.
Confident collaboration with clients who bring bold, ambitious ideas—and thoughtful guidance that elevates outcomes.
How We Work
Hybrid collaboration from Seattle for team members mostly in Seattle, but also working across the US with in office work, and onsite sessions and client meetings.
We’re strategy-first, pace-smart, and quality-obsessed—balancing creativity with real-world delivery in regulated, science-forward environments.
Clientele are global, with concentration in the Bay Area, Boston, Philly, UK, and Asia.
How to Apply
Please include a portfolio URL, resume, and a brief note describing a systems challenge you solved (and how you measured success).
Equal Employment Opportunity
Cognition Studio, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a workplace free of discrimination and harassment. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and experiences.
