Freelance Sr. Studio Retoucher Job at MERGE in Kansas City

Overview

We bring together the minds and passions of creative pioneers, tech innovators, and data explorers to help ambitious clients solve business challenges and rise to the top. MERGE has enduring client partnerships with American Express, T-Mobile, LG, Subway, Kate Spade NY, Coach, The North Face, Meta, Adobe, BlueCross BlueShield, Abbott, Astellas, Supernus, CSL, GE Healthcare, Broward Health, Indiana University Health, Nationwide, and Morgan Stanley. With offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Kansas City, Montreal, New York City and Los Angeles. MERGE uses a talent-to-task process that enables clients to think higher and feel deeper about their customers.

Promote Health, Wellness & Happiness

We are committed to promoting health, wellness and happiness in the world by partnering with purpose-driven clients in healthcare, life science, and consumer products. Our deep vertical expertise and category insights stem from decade-long partnerships with our top clients.

Emerge to the Top of Your Career

At MERGE, we strive to create a superior work experience where talented and ambitious people grow. An experience that encourages people to think higher and feel deeper. An experience where people engage their minds and hearts to do the best work of their careers.

Position

Freelance Sr. Studio Retoucher

Responsibilities

• Be a proficient subject matter expert (SME) in image color, retouching and manipulation with a passion for cutting-edge industry trends in retouching execution and technology.
• Provide high-quality image retouching to high-level tasks as needed.
• Convert images to feature effective resolution for digital and print projects from Camera RAW through deliverable.
• Serve as an ambassador for MERGE and Studio's asset management best practices.
• Know when to escalate issues with potential solutions to the direct manager and flag image deficiencies for approval to correct.
• Understand color print separation processes and the development of separate file builds for digital and print files.
• Understand the surface-level tasks performed by peers in Creative, Program Management, and other groups to know when to push back or share empathy.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of retouching experience.

Educational Requirements

• Bachelor's degree preferred, or Associate degree/trade school, and/or equivalent work experience.

Other Skills & Requirements

• A portfolio showcasing professional-quality lifestyle retouching, color balance, and image manipulation.
• Proficiency in Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator.
• Experience with Figma and other digital design tools.
• Strong knowledge of Google Workspace (Sheets, Docs, Slides, Drive, Email, Chat).
• Experience with 3D modeling and animation software preferred.
• Ethical AI integration for retouching workflows.

Notifications

• This role requires minimal internet upload speeds of 25 Mbps, use of MERGE assigned laptop, software and proprietary management software.

#LI-AP1

#LI-HYBRID

Salary & Employment Details

The salary range for this role is $55.00 - $80.00 hourly, based on skills, experience, location, and other relevant factors. The salary pay range is subject to change and may be modified at any time. Applicants for employment in the US must have work authorization that does not require sponsorship of a visa.

MERGE is committed to transparency and equity. We include salary ranges in job postings to ensure fair compensation practices.

Company Culture & Equal Opportunity

At MERGE, we’re committed to fostering an environment where team members thrive in both their careers and personal lives. MERGE believes in transparency and equity and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We welcome and celebrate diversity regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status or abilities. We believe that diversity drives creativity.

Work Model

MERGE offers a hybrid work model. If you live in a city with an office (Chicago, Denver, Atlanta, New York, Boston, Kansas City), you are encouraged to come into the office 2 days a week. What office are you able to go to?

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, candidates may respond to voluntary self-identification questions. Completion is voluntary and confidential; it will not affect hiring decisions. See our Equal Employment Opportunity policy for more details. Information collected may be used to measure outreach and recruitment efforts pursuant to applicable laws.

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability, Form CC-305, is available as part of government requirements. Expires 04/30/2026. This form is voluntary and confidential; information will be used for compliance purposes only.

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.