The Fountain Group is actively recruiting a Graphic Designer for a high-profile client based in San Francisco, California. This hybrid contract role pays up to $56 per hour on W2 and runs for five months, with a strong possibility of extension. If you have serious design experience and want to work on campaigns for one of the biggest names in tech, this opportunity deserves your full attention.
What The Fountain Group Is Looking For
The job posting does not mince words. The Fountain Group wants a Senior Designer, not just someone who can execute tasks. They want a creative thinker who can define and solve complex marketing problems from concept through final delivery.
This is a broad, fast-moving role. You will shift between teams, projects, and formats regularly. The ability to adapt quickly without losing quality is non-negotiable.
The ideal candidate brings:
- Excellent design craft across both digital and print formats
- Strong conceptual abilities, not just execution skills
- A pulse on current industry trends and best practices
- Confidence to try bold, new creative directions
- Credibility among peers, being the designer others come to for input
The Core Skills You Must Have
Three tools are listed as must-have skills: Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, and Google Suite. These are baseline requirements. Applying without proficiency in all three puts you at an immediate disadvantage.
Beyond those tools, the role demands at least five years of graphic design experience. Some of that experience must come from the tech industry, either through direct employment or agency work serving tech clients.
Additional skills that strengthen your application include:
- Motion and animation experience
- Working knowledge of Adobe After Effects
- Familiarity with AI workflows, specifically Google Gemini and Nano Banana
- Basic understanding of Salesforce products, listed as a teachable skill
Motion and After Effects are optional but listed as a big plus. Candidates who bring those skills to the table will stand out in a competitive applicant pool.
What the Work Actually Involves
The scope of this role is genuinely wide. You will concept and design across multiple formats and channels. No two weeks will look the same.
Your primary design responsibilities will include:
- Creative campaigns, e-books, and social campaign assets
- Email materials and web updates
- Webpages and presentation decks
- Immersive experiences for large-scale events
One standout responsibility is designing for Dreamforce, described in the posting as the biggest software conference in the world. Work at that scale requires precision, creative vision, and the ability to perform under pressure.
The hybrid structure means one or two days on-site per week at the San Francisco location in the 94105 zip code. Remote work covers the rest of the week.
Understanding the Hiring Process
The Fountain Group operates as a staffing firm placing designers with its clients. That means your hiring process involves two layers: impressing The Fountain Group recruiter and then meeting the expectations of the end client.
Typically, the process moves through these stages:
- Application and portfolio review by the recruiter
- Phone or video screen with The Fountain Group team
- Portfolio presentation to the client's creative leadership
- Final interview with stakeholders or creative directors
- Offer and onboarding through The Fountain Group on W2
Timelines for staffing agency placements tend to move faster than traditional corporate hiring. Responding quickly to recruiter outreach matters more than many candidates realize.
How to Build a Portfolio That Gets Noticed
A portfolio is required, and it carries enormous weight in this process. A generic collection of pretty work will not cut it at the senior level. Your portfolio needs to tell a story about your thinking, not just your execution.
Structure your portfolio strategically. Lead with work that matches this role directly. Campaign work, digital assets, event materials, and tech industry projects should all feature prominently.
For each case study, show three things:
- The problem or brief you were solving
- Your creative process and reasoning
- The final deliverable and any measurable results
If you have worked on large-scale events or conference branding, highlight that work specifically. Experience at that scale maps directly to the Dreamforce work mentioned in the posting.
Interview Tips for This Role
Creative interviews at the senior level focus heavily on how you think, not just what you have made. Expect questions about your process, how you handle ambiguous briefs, and how you collaborate with non-designers.
Prepare to speak about specific projects in detail. Vague answers about "working on campaigns" will not land well with experienced creative directors. Use real numbers, real constraints, and real outcomes wherever possible.
A few areas to prepare thoroughly:
- How you manage feedback from internal stakeholders who are not designers
- How you balance speed with quality when deadlines compress
- Examples of bold creative risk-taking and what happened as a result
- Your experience with tech industry clients and any enterprise-scale campaigns
If you have experience with AI tools like Google Gemini, bring that up naturally. Familiarity with modern AI workflows signals that you are current, adaptable, and forward-thinking.
How to Stand Out as a Candidate
Many applicants will have Figma and Adobe skills. Far fewer will combine that with tech industry experience, motion capabilities, and an AI-informed workflow. Leaning into those differentiators is your clearest path to standing out.
Tailor your resume language to match the posting directly. Words like "concept," "execution," "stakeholder collaboration," and "campaign design" appear in the job description for a reason. Mirroring that language helps your application pass both automated filters and human review.
Reach out to The Fountain Group recruiter promptly after applying. Staffing firms fill roles quickly. Candidates who engage early tend to move through the pipeline faster than those who wait passively.
Additional ways to separate yourself from the competition:
- Include a brief, customized cover note that connects your background to this specific role
- Show examples of work made for or about tech products
- Demonstrate familiarity with Salesforce or enterprise software marketing, even at a surface level
- Link to a clean, fast-loading portfolio site rather than sending a PDF
Salary and Contract Details Worth Knowing
The posted pay rate runs up to $56 per hour on W2. As a W2 contractor, you receive standard tax withholding, which differs from independent contractor arrangements. Factor that into your rate expectations before negotiating.
The initial assignment spans five months. The posting explicitly notes a high possibility of extension. Many contract roles at major tech firms convert to longer engagements or even full-time positions when the work is strong and the relationship is solid.
San Francisco's cost of living is high, and $56 per hour reflects a competitive market rate for senior design talent in that market. Understanding where that figure sits in the broader landscape helps you enter conversations with clarity.
Ready to apply? Submit your portfolio and application directly through the listing at The Fountain Group Graphic Designer posting on RemoteOK and make sure your portfolio is updated, focused, and ready for review before you hit send.
