Design Director, Contract - US Remote

WHY DEPT®?

We are a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, we create what is next by pioneering ideas, acting fast, and moving further because standing still just is not in our DNA.

We are drawn to people who stay curious, move with intent, and never stop inventing. Our culture runs on three values: better together, relentlessly curious, and get sh*t done. It is how we work, how we grow, and how we make things that matter.

At DEPT®, you will find the freedom to explore, the space to collaborate, and the trust to make a real impact for our clients, for each other, and for the world we are helping to build.

THE ROLE:

We are looking for a Director, Visual Design who is part visionary, part practitioner, and entirely uncompromising when it comes to quality. You will act as a "player-coach", a hands-on collaborator who leads by doing. You won’t just manage the work; you will define it.

You will partner with design and creative leadership to push into unexplored territories, challenging the team to build world class brand expressions across integrated campaign touchpoints and digital ecosystems that don't just solve client problems but fundamentally shape how users perceive the brand. You are a tastemaker with an intuitive grasp of culture, fashion, and technology, capable of guiding a team to produce work that is aesthetically pioneering and strategically sound.

Your experience and hands on skill will play a crucial role in leading craft teams to world-class work as well as guiding clients and partners toward successful outcomes. Your fluency in the world of design across brand, motion, and digital helps you lead large scale, integrated teams towards successful outcomes. 

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

• Closely collaborate with multidisciplinary teams of talented people across the agency and projects.
• Define the standard, acting as the aesthetic anchor for the team, setting an incredibly high bar for visual design, typography, and interaction. You are the guardian of the craft.
• Lead from the front, operating as a hands-on leader. You will sketch, design, prototype, and polish alongside your team, demonstrating what "excellence" looks like in the files.
• Pioneer new solutions to drive the creative vision for large-scale digital products, ensuring we aren't just meeting requirements but creating industry-defining work.
• Play an integral role in delivering the overarching creative and design strategy, ensuring the team's activities align with and significantly contribute to the organization's strategic short and long-term success.
• Cultivate talent and mentor a multidisciplinary team of designers. Elevate their thinking through clear, actionable feedback, regular 1:1s, and by fostering an environment of optimism and creative risk-taking.
• Build unwavering trust with high-level clients. You will present complex creative strategies with clarity, identifying decision-makers and turning them into partners.
• Translate raw strategic insights into tangible visual languages. You ensure the "why" works just as hard as the "how."
• Bring a fresh, insightful point of view that inspires both the internal team and the client, putting the team and client first.
• Define and implement successful design strategies, setting high visual and conceptual standards for all company efforts (including websites, branding, UX, and content).
• Generate strategic insights and moodboards to facilitate creative innovation.
• Drive complex digital projects from kick-off to completion, ensuring the team's deliverables exceed client expectations and stay within budget and deadlines. 
• Establish project direction, craft guidelines, and assist with production as needed.
• Actively contribute to the design discipline through mentoring, conversation, and proposing ideas to elevate company operations and improve processes.

WHAT YOU BRING:

• 8+ years of proven experience in design and interactive work for leading brands, including 2+ years in a leadership role.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Design, Visual Arts, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Mastery of Figma (including components, variants, and auto layout) and familiarity with essential collaboration tools (e.g., Hubspot, Google Suite, Slack).
• Strong knowledge and experience in visual design, user-centered experience design, interaction design, and brand development. Experience developing and maintaining a robust design system.
• Demonstrated ability to provide strategic vision and creative inspiration to large, diverse teams.
• Excellent public speaking and presentation skills with the ability to clearly articulate complex information to clients and internal stakeholders.
• Highly detail-oriented, proactive, comfortable navigating complex organizations, and focused on strategic problem-solving and process efficiency. 

WE SUPPORT YOU BEING YOU: 

DEPT® is an equal opportunity employer (EOE). We believe our work is its best when our people feel safe and free to be themselves. We’re committed to an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment and selection process and workplace, regardless of anyone’s identity, background, beliefs, lifestyle or disabilities. So tell us about any accommodations you need. It’s totally confidential and only used to make sure you feel fully supported at every step. 

DEPT® participates in E-Verify, meaning your Form I-9 information will be sent to the federal government to confirm you are authorized to work in the U.S. 

We are a B Corp-certified company passionate about purpose-driven work.  Our hope is that you can feel good about the contributions DEPT® is making to the world and we always have an open door for your ideas in making the world a better place. 

DEPT® is a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, our 4,000+ specialists deliver growth invention across Brand & Media, Experience, Commerce, CRM, and Technology & Data. We’re 50|50 tech and marketing, partner-led, and first to move. Clients include Google, Lufthansa, Coach, eBay, and OpenAI.

Learn more about DEPT®

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, & INCLUSION

At DEPT®, we take pride in creating an inclusive workplace where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive. We actively seek to recruit, develop, nurture, and retain talented individuals from diverse backgrounds, with varying skills and perspectives.

Not sure you meet all qualifications? Apply, and let us decide! Research shows that women and members of underrepresented groups tend not to apply for jobs when they think they may not meet every requirement, when in fact they do. We believe in giving everyone a fair chance to shine. 

We also encourage you  to reach out to us and discuss any reasonable adjustments we can make to support you throughout the recruitment process and your time with us.

Want to know more about our dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion? Check out our efforts here.

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