Job Title: Thumbnail Designer

Company: Zero Protocol

Workplace Type: On-Site

Location: Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Employment Type: Full-time

About the Job

Zero Protocol is a bilingual (Telugu + English) podcast about ambition, identity, self-awareness, and inner growth. We talk to founders, creators, and thinkers who are figuring out success on their own terms, without the noise.

We publish on YouTube, Instagram, and audio platforms. Two things matter to us: the conversations we host, and whether anyone actually watches them.

We're hiring a Thumbnail Designer. Your job is the first three seconds, the moment someone decides to click or keep scrolling.

Role Overview

You'll design thumbnails that make the right person stop scrolling at 11pm, without misleading them about what's inside.

There's a difference between

- a thumbnail that gets clicks
- a thumbnail that gets the wrong clicks
- a thumbnail that builds trust in the channel over time

You should be able to design for all three, and preferably without reaching for a screaming face and a red arrow every time.

Key Responsibilities

- Design thumbnails for every long-form episode and short-form clip
- Work with the team on title-thumbnail pairing and packaging
- Build and maintain a visual system so thumbnails feel consistent, not repetitive
- Go through raw footage and transcripts to find the actual moment worth selling
- A/B test variants and read the CTR data instead of just going with a hunch




- Adapt designs across YouTube, Instagram, and Shorts
- Turn things around fast before publishing days without cutting corners

What You Need to Be Valuable At

You should probably apply if:

- You know what actually works on YouTube thumbnails: contrast, expression, text hierarchy, how it reads at thumbnail size on a phone
- You can watch a raw cut or read a transcript and spot the one frame that sells the episode
- Your judgment should be editorial, not just technical. Photoshop skills alone won't cut it
- You'd rather build a repeatable system than start from scratch every episode
- You're fine working somewhere fast-moving where quality matters and nobody's going to hold your hand
- You can run with something without needing it spelled out

You'll probably do well here if:

- You've designed thumbnails for a channel, creator, or media brand that actually grew
- You get Indian internet behavior, what actually stops the scroll here
- You know eye-catching and clickbait aren't the same thing
- You have taste
- You have judgment To apply, send:
- Portfolio or work samples: thumbnails specifically, not general design work
- Links to channels or projects where your thumbnails are live
- A short note on why this role fits you
- 3 YouTube thumbnails you think work well, and why
- 1 redesign of a thumbnail from one of our existing episodes

Apply here: [email protected]

📌 Thumbnail Designer (Hyderabad)
🏢 Zero Protocol
📍 Hyderabad