AI Design Lead

Highwire•San Francisco, CA

4d•$80,000 - $105,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Highwire is reimagining what a creative designer can be. We are an AI-native, sector-expert, outcome-obsessed partner to the world’s most innovative companies. As our AI Design Lead, you sit at the intersection of human-centered creative craft and machine-driven scale. You are a designer and a systems architect, defining how we build repeatable creative workflows that turn potential into influence. You will play a central role in operationalizing AI across our creative workflows, ensuring that our work maintains its gravity and cultural relevance while accelerating delivery. About You: You are a design hybrid with a deep appreciation for the traditional craft of visual communication and a forward-thinking mastery of AI. You have spent the last three years in the trenches of LLM-driven platforms, moving beyond simple prompting to build scalable, production-ready creative systems. Your portfolio proves your ability to command large-scale brand work that resonates, and your experience demonstrates that you understand how to harness technology to amplify—not replace—the human element.

Requirements

LLM Deep-Dive: 3+ years of professional, hands-on experience working directly with LLM-driven platforms and AI-integrated design apps (e.g., generative image models, LLM-based layout tools).
Prompt Art Direction Engineering: Demonstrated fluency in structuring, iterating, and version-controlling prompts within production AI environments, beyond what general LLM platforms can do.
Proven Design Craft: A robust portfolio of large-scale brand work that demonstrates mastery of typography, layout, motion design, and visual storytelling—competing with top-tier agency work.
Strategic & Technical Fluency: Proven ability to translate creative strategy into technical workflows; you don’t just understand the “what,” but the “how” of automating high-quality design.
Production Scalability: Comfort operating in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment with fluctuating production demands and the ability to adapt quickly to shifting campaign priorities.
Agency Experience: Experience working in a fast-paced agency environment, comfortable with shifting priorities, tight deadlines, and complex, multi-stakeholder feedback loops.
Team Integration: Experience working as an embedded contributor, executing within defined systems and escalating creative decisions to senior leads appropriately.
System-First Mindset: Experience in building design systems, template libraries, and component-based creative architectures that scale.
Collaborative Spirit: A demonstrated history of partnering across disciplines (Content, Strategy, Accounts) to ensure design is a primary driver of business outcomes.

Responsibilities

Architect AI-Native Creative Systems: Partner with our Innovation and Creative teams to build and refine workflows that translate approved human-first designs into scalable, multi-format asset systems.
Bridge Craft and Scale: Maintain Highwire’s standard for high-quality, high-gravity creative output while overseeing the automated generation, versioning, and adaptation of assets for global campaigns.
Human Oversight: Execute AI-assisted production workflows in accordance with client branding and compliance requirements, with mandatory human review and approval at all production stages before submission.
Operationalize AI Integration: Deeply integrate LLMs and design APIs (Figma, Canva, Adobe Firefly, etc.) into our daily creative lifecycle, streamlining the journey from concept to execution.
Brand Compliance: Maintain and execute AI-assisted compliance checks against client brand guidelines and visual standards.
Modular Production: Build and version modular asset systems that can support scaled campaign production across formats and channels, with the flexibility to surge as launch volume fluctuates.
Guardrails Maintenance: Maintain and update AI production guardrails libraries and brand standards documentation as brands and campaigns evolve, documenting prompt structures, workflow decisions, and asset versioning for team knowledge and QA purposes.
Creative Governance & QA: Conduct quality assessment of AI-generated output across diverse client industries (B2B tech, healthcare, financial services), ensuring assets meet brand standards and strategic intent before escalating to senior Creative leads for final approval.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with senior Creative leads and account teams to ensure all AI outputs align with client-specific marketing objectives, ensuring our technology-enabled services increase multi-service attachment and client ROI.
Mentorship: Champion the use of AI tools across the wider creative team, fostering a culture of experimentation and raising the baseline of our agency’s AI fluency.

Benefits

medical
dental
vision coverage
401(k) matching
generous paid time off
Competitive salary with merit-based opportunities for growth
Flexible hybrid work model tailored to your schedule and lifestyle
Generous vacation policy, including extended summer and winter breaks
Early log-off on Fridays through our Empower Hours program
401(k) plan with employer matching
Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, plus FSA options
Paid parental leave benefits
Commuter benefits
Annual Growth Mindset stipend for books, events, or learning experiences
Monthly technology reimbursement
Wellness benefit program for mental and physical health
501c3 donation matching program
Mentorship and ongoing professional development opportunities
Monthly recognition and team celebrations
Employee referral and new business referral bonuses
Quarterly Highwire events and team gatherings
Dog-friendly office environment
A supportive, inclusive, and collaborative workplace where you can grow and do your best work