Freelance Visual Designer

This is Cradle

Proteins are the molecular machines of life, used for many therapeutic, diagnostic, chemical, agricultural and food applications. Designing and optimizing proteins takes a lot of expert knowledge and manual effort, through the use of custom computational and biological tools.

Machine learning is revolutionising this space, by enabling high-fidelity protein models. At Cradle, we offer a software platform for AI-guided discovery and optimization of proteins, so that biologists can design proteins faster and at scale. We are already used by clients across pharma, biotech, agritech, foodtech, and academia.

We're an experienced team of roughly 60 people. We've built many successful products before and have enough funding for multiple years of runway. We are distributed across two main locations, Zurich and Amsterdam, and are focused on building the best possible team culture.

We offer our employees a very competitive salary, a generous equity stake (for full time employees) in the company and a wide range of benefits and career progression opportunities.

The Role

At Cradle, you'll create stunning visual narratives that communicate the science of protein design – the tiny machines of life that will allow us to cure diseases and tackle climate change. As our freelance Visual Designer (2-3 days per week), you'll craft compelling presentations, design eye-catching posters, expand our web presence in Framer, and evolve our visual identity across all touchpoints. You'll translate complex AI and biology concepts into beautiful, clear visual stories that inspire scientists, investors, and partners alike.

Your Impact

• Design visually stunning decks and presentations that tell Cradle's story and explain complex protein engineering concepts to diverse audiences
• Create engaging posters and visual materials for conferences, publications, and scientific communications, including the Cradle blog
• Create visuals for social media (linkedin, twitter, youtube etc.)
• Build new pages and experiences for our website in Framer, maintaining our visual standards
• Evolve and maintain the design system for the Cradle app, ensuring visual consistency and beauty and delight
• Design conference booth experiences, swag, and other brand touchpoints that make Cradle memorable
• Collaborate with Cradle’s scientists to transform dense scientific concepts into clear, beautiful visualizations that anyone can understand
  
  

Your Expertise

Great candidates will have experience with most of the following areas, while being eager to develop in others:

• Exceptional visual design skills with a portfolio demonstrating beautiful, cohesive work
• Proven ability to work within and enhance existing visual styles and brand guidelines
• Strong storytelling abilities – you can craft visual narratives that guide viewers through complex ideas
• Experience creating presentation decks that wow audiences and communicate clearly
• Proficiency with Framer for web design and prototyping
• Comfort diving deep into technical subjects and emerging with clear visual explanations
• Experience building and maintaining design systems
  
  

Nice to haves

• Experience visualizing scientific, technical, or data-heavy content
• Background in or fascination with biology, AI, or scientific visualization
• Experience with motion design or interactive visualizations
• Previous work with biotech, scientific, or deep tech companies
• Able to write engaging and brand-consistent copy that convey the core benefits of our product
  
  

This is a freelance position averaging 2-3 days per week, with flexibility to scale up during busy periods. We're looking for someone who can jump into our fast-paced environment and immediately elevate our visual communications.

We recognize that talent comes in many forms, and passion and potential are just as important as experience. Cradle is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive.

A notice about recruitment scams: Please be aware that scammers are posing as us in order to get your personal details or money. We only communicate via @cradle.bio email addresses, we only make job offers after having met you in person at our office in Zurich or Amsterdam, and we never ask you to pay for anything during the interview process.