Art Director

Upstart

24d•$138,000 - $220,000•Remote

About The Position

Upstart's Brand & Creative team shapes how the brand comes to life across every touchpoint — defining our voice, personality, and emotional connection with borrowers and partners. We sit within Growth, designing and creating for impact across all channels, from the digital surfaces where consumers first discover us to the campaigns and brand systems that make Upstart trusted and remembered. As the Art Director, Performance at Upstart, you’ll create high-impact creative across our Paid Social channels, including Meta, TikTok, Google, and emerging channels. Partnering closely with Marketing and Creative, you’ll develop best-in-class work across evergreen and influencer programs with both in-house teams and external agency partners. You’ll combine performance insights, channel best practices, and brand expertise to create innovative work that drives the future growth of Upstart.

Requirements

6+ years of experience in art direction, design, or a related creative discipline.
Portfolio demonstrating excellence in leading and executing best-in-class, high-impact performance creative across paid social channels.
Strong knowledge of channel-specific creative best practices, with experience using performance data and structured testing to inform creative decisions, iterations, and future optimization.
Expert-level proficiency in design software (Adobe Creative Suite and Figma), with experience using AI-assisted design tools and workflows.
Bachelor’s degree in Design, Visual Communications, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Nice To Haves

Ability to organize and lead multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced environment.
Skilled in collaborating with cross-functional partners and managing external agency or vendor relationships.
Ability to clearly articulate creative decisions and recommendations to creative and non-creative stakeholders.
Ability to translate business and performance goals into compelling creative strategies and concepts.
Knowledge of copy development and how messaging supports creative concepts and executions.

Responsibilities

Lead the creative vision and execution across Paid Social channels, ensuring design excellence, platform relevance, and brand consistency across all creative assets.
Stay informed on performance and testing results, applying learnings to generate creative hypotheses, inform future assets, and proactively develop new creative tests.
Partner cross-functionally and with external agencies to concept, design, and deliver best-in-class evergreen and influencer creative that drives measurable results.
Strengthen creative systems and workflows to improve speed, scalability, consistency, and output as channels evolve.
Apply generative AI throughout the creative process to accelerate ideation and asset development while maintaining strong creative judgment and oversight.

Benefits

Competitive compensation, including base pay, bonus opportunities, and annual equity grants that vest quarterly
Retirement benefits to help you plan for the future, including a 401(k) or Group Retirement Savings Plan with a company match of $2 for every $1 contributed, up to $15,000 annually (USD in the US, CAD in Canada)
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) with discounted stock purchase options for eligible employees (US only)
Comprehensive health coverage designed to support you and your family, including medical, dental, vision, and wellness resources for US and supplemental health coverage for Canada.
Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart for eligible plans (US only)
Income protection benefits, including life insurance and disability coverage for added financial security
Paid time off, sick leave, and company holidays, in line with local requirements
Paid family and parental leave to support caregiving and major life moments (duration varies by country)
Family-centered benefits to support fertility, parenthood, and caregiving needs
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offering mental health support and life-centered resources
Financial wellness resources, including access to financial planning tools and a financial concierge service (US Only)
Annual wellness allowance to support your physical and emotional well-being and personal development, based on what matters most to you
Annual productivity allowance to invest in relevant tools and resources you need to do your best work, no matter where you work from
Connection and community through team events, all-company updates, and employee resource groups (ERGs)
Onsite perks, including catered lunches and fully stocked micro-kitchens when working from one of our offices in the Bay Area, Austin, Columbus, and New York City (opening Summer 2026!)