Join Us

Join our network of product designers, design engineers and AI product designers for freelance and full-time work with our clients. Enjoy flexible work, amazing opportunities and community without the commute. Work when you want, where you want, on what you want. We put you in control on how you want to engage with us and our clients.

HUSH logo

UX Designer

Freelance • Remote

Working Not Working logo

Product Manager

Full-Time • Hybrid

Twill logo

UX Writer

Freelance • Remote

Landor & Fitch logo

Sr. Product Designer

Freelance • Remote

Under Armour logo

Sr. Strategist

Freelance • Remote

BASIC/DEPT® logo

UX Director

Freelance • Remote

SuperRare logo

Design Ops Manager

Full-Time • Remote

Tory Burch logo

Sr. Product Manager

Freelance • Remote

CBRE logo

Sr. UX Writer

Freelance • Remote

Originate logo

UI Designer

Freelance • Remote

Chief logo

Head of Design

Full-Time • Hybrid

NYU Langone Health logo

Sr. UX Researcher

Freelance • Remote

Wish logo

Product Designer

Freelance • Remote

Crunchbase logo

Product Manager

Full-Time • Hybrid

BCG Digital Ventures logo

Strategist

Freelance • Remote

Flexport logo

Design Ops Director

Full-Time • Remote

Our Approach

Repairing the relationship between talent & recruiters

Transparency & Courtesy

We know recruiters have a bad reputation. We're committed to changing this narrative. At Academy, every candidate matters to us. We ensure transparent, timely, and respectful communication with clear feedback about your candidacy at every step of the hiring process. If you have questions about your candidacy, our business model, or about the role we will be there to answer them for you.

Industry Expertise

Knowing our field inside out is not just our strength, but also our commitment. Our team consists of industry experts who not only understand the nuances of the UX field, but also speak your language. This expertise enables us to bridge the trust gap often seen in traditional recruitment processes.

Expert Feedback

We believe that career guidance should not be a privilege, but a standard. That's why we provide all our candidates with feedback at every stage of their journey. Our expert recruiters provide thoughtful feedback and constructive advice to help enhance your skills, boost your confidence, and improve your candidacy.

Human Approach

Traditional recruiting often hinges on a contingency model, which does not incentivize spending quality time with candidates. At Academy, we work in a different model that prioritizes the candidate experience. We invest significant time in understanding each candidate's unique skills, passions, and needs to align them with the most suitable opportunities.

Benefits

Your Career, Your Way

Flexible Career Options

Whether you're seeking freelance or full-time opportunities, we cater to your needs. Be it a fresh full-time role at a company, a chance to be part of our in-house Studio team, or a short/long-term contract assignment, we have a range of options for you.

Compensation That Counts

We believe in fair pay and strive to match industry benchmarks. Contractors compensation will be negotiated based on our client's project budget and we will assist those seeking a full-time role with salary negotiations.

Employee Benefits

For contractors, partnering with us makes you a temporary (W2) employee of Academy. As an added advantage, our employees are eligible for benefits such as accrued sick leave, state unemployment (if applicable), and workers compensation.

Feedback

Feedback Tailored to Your Journey

While we strive to provide comprehensive feedback to all candidates, the depth of our feedback is tailored to the stage you reach in our application process. Here's what you can expect:

Early-Stage Applicants

If you apply without a portfolio or with work that doesn't meet our evaluation criteria, or don't have the requisite work experience we'll direct you to relevant articles to help you improve.

Mid-Stage Applicants

For those with adequate work and experience that falls short in other areas like "i.e visual design ability, storytelling, or organization, lack of specific work experience like B2C, SaaS, 0-1" we'll provide articles along with written feedback to guide your improvement.

Advanced-Stage Applicants

Candidates who meet our evaluation criteria and proceed to the interview stage will receive a combination of verbal, written, and article-based feedback for a well-rounded evaluation.

Roles

Our sole focus is on the UX disciplines

We place talent in both fulltime and freelance roles. In full-time roles, we assist you in negotiating a competitive salary that aligns with your qualifications.

For freelance roles, it's important to us that you're paid fairly, and we strive to match industry averages. We will negotiate your rate depending on what our clients project budget and the market will bear.

Working with us as a freelancer means you'll be a Temporary (W2) Employee of Academy. As a benefit to our temporary employees you will be eligible for the following: accrued sick leave, state unemployment (if applicable), and workers compensation.

Levels

  • Mid-level
  • Senior
  • Leadership
  • Executive

Application Process

We don’t just vet, we help you grow

We care deeply about the talent we work with and want to ensure that that each and every person will be setup to succeed with our clients. We promise to be honest, thorough and give you clear next steps or feedback on your candidacy.

  1. 01

    We review each application, putting special emphasis on our evaluation criteria.

  2. 02

    Successful candidates will be invited to a interview with our recruiting team and have an opportunity to share their work and experience with us.

  3. 03

    Once approved by our recruiting team candidates will be invited to present a case study to the Academy hiring manager.

  4. 04

    If approved for hire, candidates will be presented with opportunties that align with their passions and skillsets.

  5. 05

    Candidates will be presented to our clients hiring manager as a candidate to be interviewed. If accepted they will go through the clients interview process.

  6. 06

    If selected, we will onboard the candidate to Academy or help you negotiate your full-time compensation and start date with our clients HR team.

Google logo
Amazon logo
InVision logo
Meta logo
airbnb logo
Uber logo
Microsoft logo
HBO logo
HUSH logo
LG logo
AT&T logo
Time Inc logo
Verizon logo
Working Not Working logo
B-reel logo
AKQA logo
Chief logo
American Express logo
Tory Burch logo
Under Armour logo
Dish Network logo
Superhuman logo
Grammarly logo
BCG Digital Ventures logo
NYU Langone Health logo
SuperRare logo
Wish logo
Landor & Fitch logo
Flexport logo
Twill logo
Crunchbase logo
BASIC/DEPT® logo

Open Roles

We always have new roles we are trying to fill. Be sure to check back for more as they are always changing.

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Testimonials

  • Lindsay

    Sr. UX Researcher

    Academy offers a rare blend of professional growth opportunities alongside mentorship and personalized career support. The team is incredibly knowledgeable and also takes interest in the personal and professional growth of the freelancers that they work with. In a moment of transition in my career from Innovation Strategy to UX Research, Academy helped me articulate my goals and provided me with the opportunities to see them through while working with incredible clients and designers. I would highly recommend Academy to any freelance or full-timers looking to expand their portfolio of work.

  • Sergio

    Design Director

    Academy presented me with great opportunities that I would not have found otherwise, with a clientele ranging from specialized design boutiques to Big Tech, and with the flexibility of working with different types of engagements for both short and long-term assignments. I cannot recommend it enough to other creatives looking to make their next big career move.

  • Meghna

    Sr. Product Designer

    I have been fortunate enough to work with Academy for over 4 years, and through them have worked with some of the best agencies and clients in my career. Academy is able to maintain a high standard for both talent and clients and is a strong advocate for forward-thinking design and processes. As a freelancer, navigating career progression and client relationships is exceptionally difficult but Academy has always advocated for me as a designer and always puts the talent first. They also go above and beyond by providing mentorship and advice that has propelled my career forward. It is a privilege to work with Academy and look forward to continuing our relationship.

  • Jae

    Sr. Product Designer

    Working with Academy has been a phenomenal experience. I was able to grow a lot as a designer working on cool future-facing projects along with an exciting client. I would definitely recommend Academy to other designers looking to hone in on their craft.

  • Fern

    Sr. Strategist

    The team at Academy paired me with a dream project - a project I probably would never have been matched with otherwise. Academy's infrastructure is as streamlined as a big company but as intimate as a startup. It's really nice to know that there's a team out there really putting in the work to find a great fit both for the freelance side and the client-side.

  • George

    Sr. Strategist

    When I teamed up with Academy, I just started freelancing after burning out from my job. Two years later, I’m now working with the C suite of some of the most influential companies in the world. Academy stuck with me through the highs and the lows along my journey and provided me with opportunities that are second to none.

  • Tyler

    Sr. Product Designer

    With Academy, I’ve experienced a proactive, transparent, and supportive agency that provides top-tier opportunities. As a freelancer, Academy played a huge role in not only providing opportunities that are rewarding and satisfying but also supporting me outside of the office. My relationship with Academy has been great, they’re a perfect agency to grow as a freelance designer. I’m looking forward to more opportunities with them and would recommend them to any designer without reservation.

FAQ

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