Design Director

Title: Design Director Location: San Francisco, New York, 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. This is an embedded, high-impact role with an operational split of hands-on visual craft and team leadership. You will act as an autonomous "player-coach" who leads by doing—defining the work directly in working files, setting the bar for excellence, and solving complex design challenges in real time. 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.

You will fully own major digital workstreams, product detail pages (PDPs), and large-scale interactive launches. Operating comfortably within established, robust design systems, you will translate high-level narratives and brand strategy into compelling, innovative web experiences. You are a tastemaker and strategic problem solver capable of navigating ambiguity, prioritizing deadlines, and fostering deep creative trust.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

• Own Hands-On Craft: Lead from the front by sketching, designing, prototyping, and polishing in Figma. Define industry-leading visual standards, typography, narrative storytelling, and interaction design for high-traffic web pages and product launches.
• Lead Within Design Systems: Creatively push boundaries while maintaining strict consistency and rigor within complex, multi-tiered design systems and digital component libraries.
• Drive Embedded Client Collaboration: Flourish in a highly embedded, fast-paced environment. Collaborate directly and transparently with client creative leads through live co-creation, sprint-based ideation, shared working files, and regular standups.
• Navigate Ambiguity & Prioritize: Operate with high autonomy, translating high-level, ambiguous briefs into clear, phased deliverables under strict launch timelines.
• Team Guidance & Mentorship: Provide creative direction and support to the team. Elevate junior and mid-level talent through actionable feedback, design critiques, and structured mentorship.
• Manage Deadlines & Production: Partner with project and client leadership to ensure workstreams exceed aesthetic standards while delivering strictly on schedule.

WHAT YOU BRING:

• 8+ years of proven experience in digital visual design, web design, and interactive work for world-class brands, including 2+ years in a design leadership or lead practitioner capacity.
• Exceptional Portfolio: A proven track record demonstrating world-class digital craft, narrative web design, PDPs/e-commerce experiences, interactive storytelling, and sophisticated typographic hierarchy.
• Design Systems Mastery: Deep expertise designing within and scaling robust, multi-brand digital design systems in Figma (auto-layout, nested components, design tokens, responsive variants).
• Embedded Client Fluency: Extensive experience presenting work and working directly with enterprise client creative leads and cross-functional partners.
• Agility & Autonomous Ownership: High comfort level working in rapid sprint cycles, live collaborative files, and fast-moving launch cadences.
• Time Zone Flexibility: Ability to work core hours aligned with Pacific Time (PT) (candidates located across US time zones welcome, provided they can flex to PT hours when needed).
• Tools: Mastery of Figma and Adobe Creative Suite; familiarity with modern collaboration tools (Slack, Google Workspace).

WHAT DO WE OFFER?

• Healthcare, Dental, and Vision coverage
• 401K plan, plus matching
• PTO
• Paid Company Holidays
• Parental Leave

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.