Designer Jobs

What do designer jobs pay?

Hourly posted pay for designers varies. The median posted hourly pay is $22.97 an hour. The middle half of postings start between $19.63 an hour and $25.94 an hour.

For salaried roles, the median posted annual pay is $93,300 a year. The middle half of postings start between $72,800 a year and $125,900 a year.

Olive first saw 312 new designer postings in the last 30 days. The weekly count fell from about 310 to about 95 in the week of October 5, 2026, and a one-week step that size points to a change in how Olive takes in postings, not in hiring for designers, so this page doesn't read a trend from it.

Who is hiring designers?

Employers hiring designers range from retail giants to engineering firms. The top employer is Home Depot with 538 open postings, followed by Sargent & Lundy with 105. Technical and professional services firms are also hiring, including Accenture with 102 postings, Crate & Barrel with 68 postings, and Jacobs with 57.

How to get hired for designer jobs

To secure one of the designer jobs, you should focus on developing key drafting and modelling skills. The most requested skill is autocad, which appears in 14% of postings. Other valuable software skills include revit, requested in 7% of listings, and microstation, found in 7% of postings.

Experience and education are also key factors. Only 11% of open postings are marked entry level, and the median minimum required experience is 5 years. A bachelor's degree or higher is requested in 60% of postings that state an educational requirement.

• Build a portfolio showcasing technical drafting and structural layouts.
• Develop proficiency in the core computer-aided drafting platforms.

Designer interview questions

Prepare to answer technical and situational questions about drafting accuracy, client feedback, and software troubleshooting.

• How do you handle a situation where a client's aesthetic preferences conflict with spatial or structural constraints?
• Describe a time when you found a critical dimension error in a drawing set just before final sign-off. How did you resolve it?
• When receiving contradictory feedback on a layout from multiple senior stakeholders, how do you manage the revisions?
• Can you walk through your process for auditing your own CAD files to ensure precision and compliance with drafting standards?

Where the designer jobs are

Geographically, the state with the highest number of designer jobs is California with 276 postings, followed by Texas with 179 postings, and New York with 173. Opportunities also exist in Florida with 123 postings, and Ohio with 78.

Major metropolitan areas are the primary hubs. The top city is New York, NY with 89 listings, followed by San Francisco, CA with 76, Houston, TX with 36, Chicago, IL with 35, and Austin, TX with 29.

For those seeking flexible arrangements, 4% of postings are fully remote, representing 76 open roles. Hybrid options make up 15% of the market, offering 322 opportunities.

Questions people ask

What do designer jobs pay?

The median posted annual salary is $93,300 a year for designer jobs, and the median posted hourly pay is $22.97 an hour.

Are there remote designer jobs?

Yes, there are 76 fully remote designer jobs available, which represents 4% of all active listings. Another 15% of positions are listed with hybrid work schedules.

What software skills are most needed for designer jobs?

The most requested skill is autocad, which is asked for in 14% of postings. It is followed by revit and microstation, which each appear in 7% of listings.

Who are the top employers for designers?

The leading employer is Home Depot with 538 open roles. Other top hirers include Sargent & Lundy and Accenture.