Art Director, Opinion

About the Role:

The New York Times is looking for a creative and collaborative Art Director to join our award-winning Opinion Design team. Partnering closely with Opinion Print Editors, you will reimagine our daily pages to establish a distinct visual identity separate from the newsroom. You will demonstrate your talent to organize complex information and create engaging designs. As a story-first editorial partner, you will combine sophisticated typography, photography, data visualization, and commissioned artwork, or create real-time illustration when needed, to push the boundaries of print layouts. You are passionate about print and interested in generating innovative ways to present and adapt digital-first content. You will bring advanced editorial design experience, strong project management skills to support daily deadline pressure, a deep passion for journalism, and a portfolio demonstrating versatile, high-impact narrative storytelling.

This is an in-office position based in New York and includes regular attendance in the office four days each week. There may be some flexibility to work remotely per your departmental guidance.

Responsibilities:

• Conceptualize and execute design solutions from initial concept through publication across print and digital platforms
• Partner with editors, photo editors, and key stakeholders to align visual vision, define story approach, and translate complex interactive/video journalism into print formats
• Commission and art direct illustrations, growing a deep network of creative talent to elevate storytelling
• Push layout boundaries through sophisticated art placement, structure, and illustration integration
• Craft display copy and edit text independently to improve layout flow
• Manage full project lifecycles within proprietary publishing systems, meeting tight daily deadlines in a fast-paced constantly evolving news environment
• Provide flexible coverage for the Sunday section when schedules require
• Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world
• You will report to the Design Director, Opinion.

Basic Qualifications:

• 5 years of print and digital design experience leading editorial projects, product launches, and redesigns alongside senior leadership
• Proven art direction and visual editing skills, including commissioning talent, curating photo assets, and illustrating directly under tight timelines
• Mastery of design tools (Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, pagination software) and pre-press production, including color correction and print-ready prep

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong communicator capable of managing a high-intensity, news-driven schedule, including nights and weekends
• Experience in a newsroom or media environment with a strong visual judgment of illustration and photography trends
• Passion for off-platform visual storytelling and strong knowledge of domestic and international competitors
• Experience optimizing design workflows to support editorial deadlines and team efficiency managing multiple stakeholder feedback

#LI-Hybrid

This position is represented by the NewsGuild of NY.

REQ-020579