Digital Designer

Digital Designer (HYBRID)

At ESS Companies (ESSC), we empower people to own their futures by redefining the employee and client experience. As a 100% employee-owned family of heavy civil construction companies, we don't do this for fame or fortune — we do it #ForTheWorkers. Our purpose fuels our passion, our passion drives our performance, and our performance strengthens the partnerships that build strong communities. This is who we are. This is what we do. And the men and women of our subsidiary companies, Emery Sapp & Sons, Achen-Gardner Construction, Rummel Construction, Monks Construction, ESCO Construction, and Premier Testing Laboratories, live out these values every day.
Our people build infrastructure that lasts for generations — and we approach our digital and brand work with the same long-term vision. This role is responsible for the execution, design, and optimization of digital experiences across all ESSC brands — ensuring every interaction is visually compelling, user-friendly, and aligned with brand standards. It requires a strong balance of design expertise, UI/UX thinking, and digital execution, along with the ability to translate content and strategy into engaging, high-performing digital experiences. If you're the kind of designer who thrives on bringing structure to complexity, takes pride in systems thinking, and wants your work to matter beyond the screen — this role was built for you.
Planning & Discovery
Conduct discovery, gather stakeholder input, and develop sitemaps, user flows, and project briefs that set digital projects up for success
Synthesize user research, stakeholder feedback, and heuristic reviews to inform design decisions before execution begins
Design & Execution
Own day-to-day UI/UX design across the ESSC brand family's web presence — from wireframes and prototypes through developer-ready UI designs, specs, and handoff
Collaborate with developers and integration experts to ensure design feasibility and maintain design integrity throughout implementation
Lead the execution and ongoing evolution of the ESSC Enterprise Design System, including component libraries, interaction patterns, tokens, and documentation — within a strategic framework established by the Creative Brand Manager
Apply and extend brand guidelines across digital touchpoints, ensuring visual and experiential consistency across our subsidiary brands
Support digital components of campaigns, events, and enterprise initiatives as needed
Contribute graphic design support for select marketing initiatives — including social media, email campaigns, and event materials — as bandwidth allows
Quality & Delivery
Conduct cross-browser and cross-device testing to ensure consistent functionality, performance, and appearance across digital experiences
Manage your own project workload efficiently — tracking priorities, communicating timelines, and delivering quality work on deadline
Help define and document UX standards and best practices for the broader team
Collaboration & Ongoing Support
Collaborate with marketing, communications, and technology team members to deliver cohesive digital experiences across wholly owned websites, microsites, event websites, and ongoing campaigns as needed
Create and maintain design systems, component libraries, and UI style guides
Continuously analyze user data and performance metrics to identify opportunities for optimization
Attend company events and represent the firm at industry events as needed
You're a good fit if...
You hold a Bachelor's degree in UI/UX Design, Interaction Design, Visual Communications, or a related discipline
You have 4–6 years of UI/UX design experience, with a portfolio that demonstrates both marketing/brochure site work and product or application design
You think in systems — components, tokens, patterns — and get genuinely excited about design infrastructure
You're fluent in Figma, including auto layout, variables, component architecture, prototyping, and sitemap/flow documentation
You have a working understanding of HTML and CSS — enough to know what's buildable, communicate clearly with developers, and design with implementation in mind
You apply user-centered design principles naturally — balancing aesthetic quality with usability, accessibility, and real-world performance
You're a strong brand reader — you can internalize a brand system, apply it with precision, and flag when something's off
You can hold your own in Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop) and contribute to graphic design needs when the work calls for it
You communicate design decisions clearly — to leadership, marketers, and developers alike
You sweat the details: spacing, hierarchy, accessibility, interaction states, edge cases
You're as comfortable executing within an established framework as you are contributing ideas to evolve it — and you know the difference
You own your workload — you track your own deadlines, flag blockers early, and deliver without needing to be managed closely
You thrive in both independent deep work and collaborative creative sessions
You have experience handing off production-ready specs and assets to development teams
You play well with others and bring a positive, no-ego approach to creative collaboration
You take initiative and drive projects forward without waiting to be told what to do
You have a sense of humor (big plus)
Bonus skills/experience:
Know a little about the A/E/C industry? Bonus! Civil construction? Double bonus!
Experience with or interest in design systems at scale — multi-brand, enterprise, or holding company environments
Familiarity with web-based animation — CSS transitions, Lottie/After Effects exports, or libraries like GSAP or Framer Motion
Familiarity with web accessibility standards (WCAG)
We use Monday.com (project management), WordPress (website), and Shade (digital asset management) — knowing those is a head start
¿Hablas español? We routinely translate content into Spanish — a huge plus if you can write or QC Spanish copy
Location This team member will work out of the Kansas City, MO office located in the River Market district. Other office locations would be considered. Some regional travel may be required, including a few overnight stays here and there. ESSC offers a comprehensive and competitive package including access to top-notch tech tools and flex time.
Hybrid Work Schedule:
Monday/Friday - Remote
Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday - Office
But wait, there's more. ESSC offers its employee-owners a variety of additional perks and bonus opportunities:
Industry-leading Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
401(k) and financial health education
Comprehensive health benefits and insurance
Flexible Spending and Health Savings Accounts
Casual and professional work environment
Paid training and continuing education
Paid time off (PTO)
Wellness program
Referral bonus program
Apprenticeship programs
Leadership and training programs
Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities