Technical Illustrator

At Wizard on Demand, we help software-as-a-service companies get more customers by publishing and promoting technical articles, blog posts and guides. Our client list includes some names you’ll be proud to tell your friends about. We are a fully distributed team with no physical office — everyone works online.

We are looking for a Technical Illustrator to join our team on a part-time or full-time freelance basis.

Why work as a technical illustrator?

We offer an opportunity to get deeper into software, programming, and technology as a designer. By working on technical illustrations, you’ll learn to break down complex topics and explain ideas visually. Designing detailed illustrations is a great way to learn, grow, and showcase your insight.

The topics we need to illustrate are very specific and in-depth. We don’t create generic “cryptocurrency” or “AI” articles. Here are some examples of past illustrations we created:

• How to create a REST API using a leading Python natural language processing framework
• A reference architecture for a cloud-based notification system
• How an Extract-Load-Transform data pipeline works
  

“But I am not an engineer, how will I illustrate these topics?”, you might wonder. Our answer is teamwork. You’ll work together with our talented technical writers on each illustration project. The writer who’s working on the article will help you break down all the technical concepts and come up with illustration ideas. Over time, you’ll develop a deeper understanding of technologies you illustrate and will be able to do more of the work independently.

At Wizard on Demand, we all work remotely and have flexible working hours. As long as you find a suitable time to get feedback from team members working with you and finish your assignments on time, there are no set hours when you have to be online.

Each illustration is a short project that has a clear beginning and end. Once an illustration is done, it’s published and you can move on to the next project. By working on short projects, you can get productive much more quickly than in other jobs, receive specific and actionable feedback, and implement that feedback right away in the following projects.

What is it like to work with us?

Watch our recruiter Ryan and our founder Alexey discuss the Wizard on Demand company culture and the basics of how we work:

The work you’ll do with us

Here is what you can expect to do as a technical illustration designer:

• Create header images, diagrams, and charts based on low-fidelity drafts.
• Implement simple design systems to accelerate the implementation of future illustrations.
• Ideate illustration concepts with our Technical Writers via Slack and video calls.
• Understand technical topics to be able to create on-point illustrations for technical concepts.
• Suggest improvements for our illustration creation process.
  

We have an open and progressive style of working. We value feedback and are always looking for ways to improve our processes and tools. When you join us, you are welcome to give your opinions on how we can do things better.

Example of past illustrations we created

Here’s an example of an illustration we created for a client article:

We had to remove the specific company and product names — thanks for your understanding!

The outcome, after all the steps, looked as follows:

What you need for us to hire you

The fol­low­ing require­ments are a must-have for us:

• Experience of creating illustrations for a technical audience. You don’t have to have programming-specific experience, could also be science, law, civil/electrical engineering, medical illustrations, etc.
• Experience working with online media: blog post illustrations, web graphics.
• Great written and spoken English.
• Your own laptop which you can work on, plus a quiet space with Inter­net access that you can work from (your home, a coworking space, the municipal lib­rary, a café, etc).
• A good attitude towards working in a team in a remote-only environment.
  

Bonus points:

• Experience working with Figma and Excalidraw
• A background in computer science, data analysts, software development, or other areas of technology. This includes past jobs, side projects, university degrees, academic research, or anything in between.

How to apply

Please fill out the form below and answer the following questions in the “Application questions” section:

1. Describe your experience with creating illustrations for a technical audience. Include 2-3 links to your past work,

2. Which timezone are you located in?

3. Please share 1-2 areas of technology you’re interested in.

Thanks!

Your team at Wizard on Demand