Freelance Strategic Designer

Important Note to Applicant

Our Freelance Strategic Designer role is not a full time position. This is a project based, on call engagement with Sand. We ask that you complete our brief assignment before applying for the position. You will be able to upload your application along with your assignment under the application questions. You can find the link to the assignment here.

Please note the closing date for applications is the 8th of May.

About Sand

Sand Technologies is a global Physical AI company using data and AI to make critical industries work better. We partner with governments, cities and enterprises to improve how essential systems operate across healthcare, water, energy, telecommunications and infrastructure.

Our work delivers proven real-world impact. We have built AI systems that help manage London’s water supply, supported telecom network planning across hundreds of cities, and developed digital healthcare platforms serving tens of millions of people across Africa. From intelligent command centers to AI-powered infrastructure platforms, we help organizations sense, analyze and act in complex environments.

Our people are ambitious, curious and relentlessly practical. Our teams work alongside clients in the field, solving hard problems and deploying solutions that last. With colleagues across Africa, Europe, the UK and the US, we operate across the full stack - from research and engineering to deployment and capability building.

Our mission is simple: to harness AI to solve humanity’s most pressing challenges.

Role Summary

The CEO’s Office is building a small bench of Strategic Designers who can help translate complex ideas into powerful visual narratives. This is not a traditional design role - we’re looking for individuals who can think critically about messaging, structure, and audience, and use design as a tool to drive clarity and impact.

You’ll work closely with members of the CEO’s office to craft high-stakes materials, from CEO keynote decks and internal presentations to strategic storytelling assets that shape how ideas land across the organisation.

This is not a full time role, this is a project-based, on-call engagement. We plan to select 4–5 designers to collaborate with us on an ongoing basis as needs arise.

Specific Responsibilities

• Transform complex concepts into clear, compelling visual stories.

• Design high-impact presentations for CEO speeches, executive communications, and internal strategic moments.

• Partner with leadership and the CEO’s Office to refine narrative flow, not just visuals.

• Bring structure and clarity to ideas that are still evolving.

• Maintain high design standards while working quickly in fast-paced environments.

• Ensure consistency with Sand’s tone, brand, and strategic messaging.

Skill Requirements - Essential

• Experience designing executive-level decks or strategic presentations.

• Strong skills in Google Slides, PowerPoint, or Figma (bonus if you move fluidly across tools).

• Background in consulting, startups, strategy, communications, or executive design environments is a plus.

• Ability to think critically about messaging, hierarchy, and audience.

• A strong visual storyteller - you understand how ideas flow, not just how slides look.

• Able to translate abstract or complex strategy into simple, meaningful visuals.

• Comfortable working with senior stakeholders and iterating quickly based on feedback.

• Detail-oriented and highly organised.

• Fast, reliable, and able to operate under tight timelines when needed.

Engagement Model

• Project-based collaboration (not full-time employment). You can sign up for this role while still working full time. However, we do ask that if you commit to a project, it might require long hours as the timeline to deliver is usually less than a week.

• Designers will be part of a small curated bench that the CEO’s Office engages as needs arise.

• Compensation is provided per project, depending on scope and complexity.