Pirates Wanted: Graphic Designer
Every ecommerce business deserves the cheapest shipping rates. That’s why Pirate Ship’s simple shipping software levels the playing field for small businesses, giving them free access to the deepest shipping discounts with no fees or hidden costs. We’re currently on the lookout for an exceptional pirate to join our crew as a Graphic Designer.
As a Graphic Designer at Pirate Ship you’ll be in charge of keeping our brand cohesive, relevant, and visually compelling across every touchpoint. We’re looking for a hands-on creative with strong design and conceptual skills with a portfolio that showcases exceptional visual craft, branding, and campaign execution. You’ll quickly develop new assets on your own or in cahoots with your crew, whether it’s as small as a new Facebook ad or as big as overseeing integrated campaigns alongside our agencies. If creativity fulfills something in your soul, you’ve found your crew.
Pirate Ship is a remote-first company, and like any jolly crew of pirates we operate in a casual and creative atmosphere, where everyone’s ideas are welcome and having fun is encouraged. We offer competitive pay, exceptional benefits, and the opportunity to tell people you’re a pirate when they ask what you do. As Steve Jobs said, “It’s more fun to be a pirate than to join the navy!”
Responsibilities:
- Turn the charts into treasure maps: Translate brand strategy and creative briefs into compelling visual executions.
- Navigate from crow’s nest to cannon deck: Move fluidly between big-picture concept thinking and precise, production-ready execution.
- Gather round the grog: Show up to brainstorms contributing bold & unexpected ideas, and help build on others ideas with a “yes, and” mindset.
- Fly the flags: Design across the full marketing mix (campaigns, digital, ecomm, social, OOH, etc) with a consistent, considered aesthetic.
- Balanced buccaneering: Develop and iterate on multiple design directions simultaneously, pushing beyond the first idea to find the strongest solution.
- Keep the fleet in formation: Maintain and evolve an existing visual brand system across every touchpoint without losing coherence or creative energy.
- Load the cannons wisely: Design with a strong understanding of how design drives conversion without sacrificing brand.
- Fore rigging: Create campaign visuals that are conceptually sharp and visually arresting, not just well-executed.
- Chart a course: Collaborate closely with copy and creative leadership to ensure design and language work together as a unified brand expression.
- Support your crew: Contribute to a collaborative creative culture where experimentation is encouraged and the best idea wins regardless of where it comes from.
- Address the Captain’s quarters: Present and communicate creative rationale clearly to internal stakeholders and leadership.
- Captain the visual fleet: Work with and help direct photographers, retouchers, and external creative partners to maintain visual standards.
- Trade with trusted ports: Partner with external vendors, agencies, and freelancers to ensure it meets the brand's creative bar.
- Know when to lower the sails: Balance bold, expressive design with the discipline to know when restraint is the stronger choice.
- Ride the seas of change: You’re comfortable in a remote environment where there’s lots of change.
- Sail from your port o’ call: You’re able to work from home and connect with your crewmates throughout the day over chat, voice, and video through company provided equipment. Quarterly in-person meetings at varied locations.
- Hoist the Jolly Roger: Share your experience, expertise and interest with the crew to enhance our fun and progressive culture.
- At this time we are only accepting applicants in the following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Requirements/Minimum Qualifications:
- 6+ years of professional design experience in brand driven, digital first, or high growth environments.
- Proficiency in industry standard design tools (Figma, Adobe, Creative Suite, and AI).
- Demonstrated visual design fundamentals (Typography, composition, color, hierarchy).
- Proven ability to move from a brief to a big idea, and then execute.
- Deep understanding of brand development, visual identity systems, and maintaining consistency across multi-channel campaigns.
Bonus Points For/Preferred Qualifications:
- YARRrrr! The ability to speak like a pirate!
- A mix of agency and in-house creative experience.
Compensation & Benefits:
- Compensation - The pay range for this role is $100,000 - $115,000 yearly USD plus a performance based bonus.
- Vacation Time - We offer 144 hours of accrued vacation time to start to keep our pirates rested & rejuvenated!
- Paid Holidays - 12 paid holidays per year.
- Paid Sick Time - 80 hours annually.
- Medical Insurance - 100% covered for Pirates by the company and kicks in the first of the month after enrollment. If you want to add any dependents (spouse, partner or children), they’ll be 50% covered.
- Dental and Vision - 100% covered for Pirates and 50% covered for dependents.
- 401(K) - We offer a Traditional 401(K) and a Roth 401(K), and pirates who contribute 1-3% of their annual salary get matched 100% by the company.
- Parental Leave - Full 12 weeks for parents for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child.
- Home Office Reimbursement - We provide a one-time home office reimbursement of up to $1,500 to purchase an ergonomic desk and chair.
- Other Stipends for Remote Individuals - Wifi & snacks, we’ve got y’er back!
- Virtual Tacos for ARRrrrsome Rewards- “Hey Taco!” is our employee recognition program where you can give and receive virtual "Tacos" which can be redeemed for rewards.
We Sail Under Our Three Pirate Codes:
- People Over Plunder - Screwing people over is a game for lily-livered landlubbers! We believe that doing what’s right is the tide that raises every ship, including ours.
- Clarity, Not Confusion - Confusion is tyranny. Clarity is freedom. We strive to make things easy to understand and tackle real needs for our customers.
- Play or Perish - A life without laughter isn’t worth living. Why should that be any different in business?
Our Values Reflect Who We ARRrrr:
- Be Fair - Accessible to everyone, so no one’s left out.
- Be Nice - Empathy, humanity, and humor go a long way.
- Be Real - Be reliable and back up the pirate talk.
We work to ensure our company is a safe and supportive environment for everyone. As our crew continues to grow rapidly, we want to do all we can to create an environment where everyone can feel included.
How we do this:
- We pay well and offer world-class health benefits so you can focus on being a balanced pirate!
- No degree? No problem. We value experience of all kinds!
- The crew helps select nonprofits for our quarterly donation program.
- We don’t shy away from hard conversations. Building a better world takes constant feedback, conversations and hard work!
- We do engagement surveys twice a year to constantly iterate our policies and procedures.
- We acknowledge the identities and experiences of everyone.
Pirate Ship is committed to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) and equal pay to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. Pirate Ship will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as needed.
Before candidates officially set sail with Pirate Ship, we do conduct a post-offer, pre-employment background check. But don’t worry, Pirate Ship is all about second chances! We proudly consider qualified applicants with prior arrest or conviction records. Our commitment to building a diverse and talented crew means that we look at the whole person, not just their past, and we do so in line with local, state, and federal laws. So, whether you're a first-time sailor or have a bit of history, we’re excited to explore the possibility of you joining our crew!
We welcome feedback for making our company a lighthouse in the industry.
