Staff Brand Designer
Job description
Build a Safer World.
TRM Labs provides AI-powered intelligence solutions that help public and private sector agencies investigate and disrupt crime. TRM's platforms enable investigators to trace illicit activity, build cases, and construct operating pictures of threat networks. Leading agencies and businesses worldwide rely on TRM to make the world safer and more secure.
About TRM
TRM Labs is on a mission to build a safer world for billions of people. We help governments, financial institutions, and crypto businesses detect and stop illicit activity across blockchains, fighting fraud, terrorism financing, and other financial crime with data and technology.
The work is serious, but the way we show up doesn’t have to be forgettable. As TRM has grown, our brand has become one of our most important assets: it’s how the market understands who we are, why the mission matters, and why the best people and customers choose to work with us. We're looking for a Staff Brand Designer to set the craft standard with our team. This designer has an eye that is precise, considers execution, and the work around them gets better just by virtue of their presence.
The role
This is a role for an experienced visual designer. You’ll own the most complex and high-visibility brand design work at TRM across campaigns, web, social, events, sales and marketing, reports, and every surface brand design touches. You’ll help define what visual excellence looks like as our brand continues to evolve, and you'll raise the quality floor for everyone around you.
You'll lead through the work, through design direction, and through mentorship rather than through direct management. This is an individual-contributor craft role today, but can grow.
How we think about AI
We’re building an AI-first creative team. It does not mean design by prompt, and it does not mean fewer designers. Taste, judgment, and craft are scarce and valuable things, and they stay firmly human-led. AI is how we extend them: exploring more directions before committing to one, getting to a rough first pass faster, producing variations at a scale that wasn't previously realistic, and reclaiming time for the decisions that actually deserve it.
We’re looking for someone who has already folded AI into their own practice in some form, has a point of view on where it helps and where it gets in the way, and wants to help the team build that fluency together. You don’t need to have it all figured out. You do need to be actively experimenting and learning, and you should expect to help set the standard for how a high-craft brand team uses these tools well.
What you'll do
Set and uphold the craft standard for TRM’s brand: across campaigns, web, social, events, thought-leadership reports, and sales and marketing collateral.
Lead the most complex and high-visibility brand design projects end-to-end, from brief through delivery, at consistently high craft.
Partner with creative and marketing leadership to evolve TRM’s creative direction: defining and executing visual standards across typography, imagery, layout, and color.
Translate complex, data-heavy subject matter (blockchain intelligence, investigations, risk) into infographics, data visualizations, and shareable graphics that make dense information land for technical and non-technical audiences alike.
Provide hands-on craft oversight across brand output: reviewing work, raising the quality floor, and helping the team make better decisions.
Build and steward brand systems and documentation that scale across programs, formats, and audiences without losing soul and know when to break the system for the right reason.
Commission and art-direct external creatives: agencies, illustrators, and motion designers.
Mentor and elevate other designers through critique, pairing, and direct feedback: raising craft through the work, not just in conversation.
Advance the team’s AI-native design practice: bringing AI-assisted tools into concepting, iteration, and production, and helping teammates build the same fluency. Human taste and judgment lead. AI extends the range and speed of what we can explore.
Collaborate with brand strategists, copywriters, product marketing, and leadership on how TRM shows up across every channel.
Treat briefs as a floor, not a ceiling. Push past them, take big swings, and explore new formats.
What you'll bring
7-10+ years of brand design experience, including high-craft environments: agency, editorial, elevated consumer, or design-forward tech.
A portfolio that is excellent. Work must demonstrate mastery of typography, layout, color, and composition across a range of brand contexts.
A clear aesthetic point of view: you can articulate what makes something great and what makes something fall short, and you've built that perspective through years of rigorous practice.
Fluency in brand systems: you understand how to build for scale and consistency, and you've stewarded a brand through growth or change.
Proven ability to make complex information land: data visualization, infographics, and editorial design that turn dense material into something clear and compelling.
Experience operating at a staff level: you work autonomously, influence without authority, and make decisions that shape the output of an entire team.
Deep fluency in Figma and the Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign), across both digital and print formats.
Experience with digital and web design: building component libraries, working with developers.
Strong verbal, written, and presentation skills: you can communicate the process, intent, and impact of your design decisions with clarity.
An AI-first mindset: hands-on experience bringing generative AI tools into real creative work, a clear-eyed view of where they help and where they fall short, and a genuine appetite to keep growing those skills as the tools evolve.
Curiosity, restraint, and a genuine passion for doing work that's worth doing.
Nice to have (plus skills, not requirements)
Motion design and animation
3D design
Note: This is a design and craft role. True coding and web development are not required, but this role will involve some vibe coding and AI vibe designing
How to apply
Submit your portfolio along with your application. We'd love to see one or two pieces — ideally publicly available — that show your range across brand design, editorial or program branding, infographics or data visualization, and design-system thinking.
The following represents the expected range of compensation for this role:
Individual pay is determined by skills, qualifications, experience, and location. The compensation details listed in this posting reflect the US base salary only.
The estimated base salary range for this role is $202,000 - $220,000.
Additionally, this role may be eligible to participate in TRM’s equity plan.
Please note – we factor in the different costs for geographies outside the United States.
Application Instructions
If you’re interested in joining TRM, we encourage you to apply directly. Every application is reviewed by our Talent team.
Before applying, review the job description carefully and highlight the experience and impact that best demonstrate the required qualifications. Please also provide thoughtful and accurate answers to the application questions, as these will be used to evaluate your qualifications for the role.
If you send your resume directly to someone at TRM, we can’t guarantee it will reach the appropriate hiring team. Applying directly is the best way to ensure you’re considered.
What to Expect From Our Interview Process
Our process is designed to understand how you think, solve problems, and deliver impact, while giving you the opportunity to evaluate TRM. Most interview processes include a case study, AI skills assessment, and Leadership Principles interview.
Recruiter Intro: Explore your experience, motivations, and alignment with the role.
Hiring Manager: Dive deeper into your relevant experience, skills, and impact.
First Round: Typically 1–2 interviews focused on the skills most critical to the role.
Final Round: Typically 3–5 interviews to go deeper on your craft, problem-solving, and alignment with TRM.
References: We’ll speak with former colleagues who can provide perspective on your work and impact.
Offer: If it’s a mutual fit, your recruiter will walk you through your offer and answer your questions.
Welcome to TRM: Once you sign, we’ll get you ready for your first day and onboarding.
Your recruiter will share your specific interview plan and preparation guidance along the way.
Learn more about interviewing at TRM
Life at TRM
We are building a safer world. That promise shows up in how we work every day.
TRM moves quickly. We are a high velocity, high ownership team that expects clarity, follow-through, and impact. People who thrive here are energized by hard problems, experimentation, and continuous feedback. If something takes months elsewhere, it will ship here in days.
Our work sits at the intersection of AI, national security, and fighting crime. The problems are complex, the stakes are real, and the environment evolves quickly. The pace and intensity of the work reflect the importance of the mission. As a result, the way we operate requires a high level of ownership, adaptability, collaboration, and creative problem-solving.
At TRM, you should expect:
Priorities and targets to change quickly as we experiment and iterate
Work that often requires operating with a high degree of ambiguity
A high level of personal ownership and accountability
Close collaboration across teams and functions
Frequent, high-touch communication
Creative problem solving and out-of-the-box thinking
A pace that rewards urgency, adaptability, and outcomes
This environment is energizing for people who enjoy building, solving hard problems, and making progress in situations that are not always fully defined. It also requires comfort navigating ambiguity, adjusting course as new information emerges, and maintaining focus and positivity in a fast-moving and intense environment.
We also recognize that this style of operating is not for everyone. If you are primarily optimizing for predictability or a consistently balanced workload, we encourage you to use the interview process to pressure test whether this environment is truly the right fit. We want teammates who thrive here, not just survive here.
At the same time, many people find this work deeply rewarding. If you are excited by meaningful problems, motivated by ambitious goals, and energized by working alongside mission-driven colleagues, there is a good chance you will find TRM to be an exceptional place to grow and contribute. Learn more about Interviewing at TRM
AI Fluency at TRM
AI fluency is a baseline expectation at TRM.
We believe AI meaningfully changes how top performers operate. We expect every team member to use AI to accelerate and reimagine their craft, not just automate surface tasks.
At TRM, AI fluency means you are among the top 10 percent of operators in your function in how you apply AI to:
Accelerate repeatable workflows
Structure and solve problems
Improve output quality
Increase speed and leverage
You will be evaluated on applied AI fluency during the interview process.
Leadership Principles
We hire and grow against three leadership principles. They’re the standards for how we operate, treat each other, and make decisions.
Impact-Oriented Trailblazer: We put customers first and move with speed, focus, and adaptability. We treat every plan like an experiment – test, ship, measure, and iterate quickly.
Master Craftsperson: We care deeply about our craft. We balance speed with high standards, own outcomes end‑to‑end, and invest in getting better everyday.
Inspiring Colleague: We add clarity and energy, not noise. We bring humility, candor, and a one‑team mindset — giving and receiving feedback to make the team stronger.
Join our Mission
At TRM, we care deeply about our craft. We are looking for individuals who want their work to matter, who experiment with speed and rigor, and who take pride in building a safer world for billions of people. If you’re excited by TRM’s mission but don’t check every box, we encourage you to apply — we hire for slope, judgment, and the will to learn fast.
TRM is a Series C company with $220M in total funding, backed by Goldman Sachs, Bessemer, Y Combinator, Thoma Bravo, and others. Headquartered in San Francisco, TRM operates as a distributed-first company with hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., London, and Singapore. Learn more about building tools for defenders.
Privacy Policy and Additional Information
By submitting your application, you agree to allow TRM Labs to process your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
We collect the information you provide (such as your resume, work history, and contact details) solely for the purpose of evaluating your candidacy for current and future roles at TRM.
Because our hiring cycles for certain positions may span 24 to 36 months, we retain your personal information for up to 36 months from the date of your application. After that period, your data is deleted unless a different retention period is required or permitted by law.
If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction with applicable data protection laws, you have the right to access, correct, or request deletion of your personal data at any time before that period ends. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@trmlabs.com.
To notify TRM Labs that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.
The use of AI tools of any kind (including but not limited to notetakers, interview assistants, and real-time coaching tools such as Otter.ai, Fireflies, Fathom, Cluey, or similar) during TRM interviews is not permitted without prior approval from TRM. TRM uses its own internal tools for note-taking to ensure a consistent and confidential experience for all candidates.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this form.
Recruitment agencies
TRM Labs does not accept unsolicited agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to TRM employees. TRM Labs is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes and will not pay fees to any third-party agency or company without a signed agreement.