Design Director

The Role

You are equal parts designer and leader — a true tastemaker with strong creative judgment and a clear point of view. This is a deeply embedded role, dedicated to a single, complex, future-facing platform where creativity, systems thinking, and generative tools intersect. You understand both creativity and practicality, and you navigate that duality with confidence.

Responsibilities

• Identify, curate, and refine standout ideas in close collaboration with the Creative Director.
• Bring sharp, creative judgment and a refined point of view, framing work clearly and persuasively.
• Encourage and nurture this same level of taste and discernment within your team.
• Split your time between leading and designing. Champion exceptional brand identities and are hands-on in making them real — designing directly when needed and directing photographers, animators, illustrators, and specialist craft collaborators to push the work in new directions.
• Bring a strong, informed perspective on generative tools and AI. Understand the broader AI landscape and can engage in thoughtful, critical discourse — shaping strong prompts and systems, challenging ideas constructively, and ensuring the work is innovative, intentional, and never driven by hype.
• Collaborate deeply with the team around you, mentoring wherever possible. Manage both up and down, acting as a trusted conduit between the Creative Director and Designers, ensuring clarity, momentum, and creative excellence.
• Build compelling narratives, deliver thoughtful presentations, and confidently lead workshops and client working sessions. Extend the dialogue, challenge assumptions, and evolve ideas in true partnership.
• Collaborate closely with the Strategy team throughout immersion and strategic phases, shaping creative responses that are conceptually strong, culturally relevant, and commercially sound.
• Demonstrate an exceptional understanding of branding and the creative practitioners within it. Deliver work for today’s most impactful companies and the builders shaping what comes next.
• Demonstrate ownership of your role and actively seek, take, and apply feedback from your manager. Provide clear, actionable feedback and meaningful support to your team, helping them grow creatively and professionally.
• Have a strong awareness of the time, craft, and collaboration required to produce excellent work. Manage your own time and your team’s time effectively — calendars, meetings, and scopes — to deliver high-quality work on schedule.
• Be comfortable working in person from our Culver City studio and open to global travel when needed.
• Have a strong command of Figma, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Pitch, and stay curious about emerging tools and workflows that elevate the work.

Qualifications

Exceptional understanding of branding and the creative practitioners within it. Deliver work for today’s most impactful companies and the builders shaping what comes next. Strong command of Figma, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Pitch. Strong awareness of the time, craft, and collaboration required to produce excellent work. Comfortable working in person from our Culver City studio and open to global travel when needed.