Independent Contractor: Senior Web Designer; WordPress + UX Lead

Description

We are seeking a senior web designer and UX lead to redesign and modernize two closely related luxury aviation brands:
Silver Air Private Jets and Flight Club. This is a high-impact, executive-facing engagement requiring refined visual judgment, strategic thinking, and expert execution.

Department: Marketing

Location: Santa Barbara

Compensation: $85.00 - $150.00 / hour

• Lead a full redesign of both websites with shared UX logic and distinct visual identities.
• Establish a timeless, editorial luxury design intended to remain relevant for 3–5 years, not trend cycles.
• Design video-forward hero experiences using cinematic motion and subtle transitions that feel intentional and restrained.
• Make strong visual decisions before perfect assets exist, while clearly defining future asset requirements.
• Execute a mobile-first design approach (majority of traffic is mobile).
• Create clear information hierarchy that enables fast comprehension for high-intent visitors.
• Apply restraint and subtraction to convey luxury—clarity over volume.
• Ensure interfaces feel bespoke and gallery-like, not templated or agency-polished.

• Evaluate and redesign the end-to-end lead capture experience across both brands.
• Recommend and implement the optimal approach (native Hub Spot, custom-built, or hybrid), grounded in UX, data integrity, and performance.
• Integrate cleanly with Hub Spot as a CRM and data layer, not as a hosting or design platform.
• Eliminate duplicate contacts, inconsistent attribution, and unreliable form behavior.
• Design premium, low-friction form experiences appropriate for a luxury audience.
• Preserve performance and visual integrity while maintaining accurate tracking and reporting.

• Lead custom Word Press theme development (Gutenberg and/or ACF familiarity preferred).
• Build structured CMS logic that enables safe, non-technical content updates without compromising design.
• Support database-driven components (fleet listings, modular landing pages, structured content).
• Prioritize performance optimization, particularly on mobile.
• Deliver a clean, maintainable backend with no vendor lock-in.
• Manage a disciplined staging → QA → launch workflow.
• Provide clear documentation and admin handoff for internal teams.
• Collaborate with external back-end engineers if required, while maintaining ownership of quality.

• 1–2 on-site days per week in Santa Barbara during discovery, key reviews, and launch preparation.
• Remaining work completed independently and remotely.
• Direct collaboration with executive leadership, including the CEO.
• Weekly working sessions and live design reviews.
• Fast, iterative execution based on feedback.
• Clear ownership of deliverables, timelines, and quality.
  Comfort operating under evolving direction without defensiveness.
• Ability to advise, challenge, and refine decisions with clarity and professionalism.

• Deep Word Press expertise, including custom theme development, performance optimization, and long-term maintainability (no template assembly).
• Strong UX instincts with a refined editorial luxury design sensibility.
• Portfolio demonstrating modernized Word Press builds, including before/after examples that show elevation, not just change.
• Experience designing and implementing premium, low-friction form experiences for high-trust audiences.
• Proven experience integrating Hub Spot (or comparable CRM) as a data and lead-capture layer (forms, attribution, tracking).
• Demonstrated experience in luxury environments (aviation, travel, hospitality, private equity, high-end real estate, or comparable).
• Comfort working directly with executive leadership and iterating under high standards.
• U.S.
  
  -based, with the ability to travel to Santa Barbara for key working sessions.

• Experience designing video-forward hero experiences with restrained motion and cinematic sensibility.
• Understanding of conversion psychology for luxury and UHNW audiences (clarity, trust, pacing over urgency).
• Familiarity with charter aviation, private aviation, or UHNW clientele expectations.
• Ability…