Creative Lead, Experiential Marketing

Zendesk•San Francisco, CA

22h•$179,000 - $269,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Zendesk Creative Team develops high-impact brand moments that reflect Zendesk’s voice, look, and feel, and maintains a consistent brand experience through guidelines, creative direction, and collaboration with agencies and Marketing partners. The Creative Lead for Experiential Marketing will extend Zendesk’s creative platform across digital and in-person experiences, using imagination, innovation, and storytelling to create engaging interactions aligned with the brand and business goals. This role is part of Creative Leadership and works closely with the Experiential Marketing team, Creative Studio, Communications, executive leadership, agencies, and business stakeholders. It combines strategic leadership with hands-on creative direction to deliver immersive experiences and shape how people interact with the Zendesk brand. The role owns the event design system and leads creative direction for flagship events, including Relate, Showcase, and AI Summit. The position is hybrid, with the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week and in person at a Zendesk office. Travel to site visits and/or on-site events is required. The US annualized base salary range is $179,000 to $269,000. The role may also be eligible for bonus, benefits, or related incentives.

Requirements

Strong expertise in event branding, with a focus on customer experience.
Understanding of production processes.
Experience with brand activations and attendee engagement.
Experience with cross-functional group facilitation, creative ideation, executive engagement, and strategic concept development.
Strong business acumen, including financial literacy, executive presence, and project management.
Customer-obsessed, entrepreneurial, persistent, action-oriented, and broadly skilled.
Ability to translate complex business problems into inspiring creative opportunities.
Willingness to travel to site visits and/or on-site events.
Proven ability to work effectively across time zones.
Experience using generative AI tools as part of the creative process.
Proficiency in Adobe, Figma, and Google apps.

Responsibilities

Own the design system for Zendesk’s event architecture, including visual principles, templates, and components that scale across event types and channels.
Translate brand strategy and event objectives into connected experiences across presentations, livestreams, and in-person environments.
Set guidance and quality standards so internal teams and agency partners apply the event system consistently while making each event distinct.
Lead creative direction for Relate, Showcase, AI Summit, and other flagship events, translating event strategy into memorable customer experiences.
Develop storytelling across the full attendee journey, including demand generation, registration, and in-person and digital experiences.
Partner with the Experiential Marketing team and external agencies from concept through execution to maintain a high creative standard.
Build partnerships across Creative, Experiential Marketing, agencies, Communications, executive leaders, and business stakeholders to align work around shared event goals.
Create an environment of candor, respect, psychological safety, and constructive critique.
Guide and mentor creative partners, share best practices, and help the broader team deliver its best work.
Provide clear creative direction and feedback to internal creative teams and agency partners.