Design Director

Monks•San Francisco, CA

15h•Onsite

About The Position

Monks is seeking an experienced Design Director to provide creative leadership for an embedded team supporting one of its largest technology clients. This is an in-person, client-facing role working alongside client stakeholders at the client's Menlo Park, California office 4–5 days per week. The Design Director will maintain creative continuity and a consistent standard of craft across teams, shifts, locations, and deliverables, applying established design systems while keeping the work engaging and appropriate to its audience and channel. The role guides designers and motion creatives, reviews digital, web, editorial, presentation, graphic, and motion work, and helps the team deliver polished content at speed. The Design Director partners with the Executive Producer, client stakeholders, technical writers, and AI and creative technology specialists to balance quality with timing and business priorities, resolve creative questions, and improve workflows. The position also supports the evolution of templates, component libraries, and documentation, mentors team members, and requires discretion with confidential and highly sensitive information. The role guides a distributed creative team working across global locations and shifts, with availability during core client working hours and flexibility around urgent priorities. It is subject to Monks’ Return to Office policy, which may change. Monks describes its culture as focused on craft, innovation, momentum, collaboration, and diverse perspectives, and states its commitment to equal opportunity, inclusion, and sustainable growth.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in design, art direction, or creative direction within an agency, technology company, or in-house creative organization.
Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary design teams and maintaining quality across high-volume or rapid-turn work.
Deep familiarity with established brand systems, component libraries, templates, and scalable design frameworks.
Strong digital and web design experience, including responsive layouts and accessibility considerations.
Ability to assess work quickly, provide decisive direction, and distinguish critical issues from subjective preferences.
Strong understanding of typography, hierarchy, composition, visual storytelling, and motion principles.
Experience collaborating with production, editorial, product, legal, and technical stakeholders.
Professional fluency in written and spoken English.
Excellent presentation, communication, and feedback skills.
Interest in AI, emerging technology, and production innovation.
Ability to work onsite at the client’s Menlo Park, California office 4–5 days per week.
Availability during core client working hours and flexibility around urgent priorities.

Responsibilities

Provide day-to-day creative leadership for the embedded design and motion team.
Maintain continuity and a consistent creative standard across locations, shifts, and workstreams.
Translate established brand guidelines and design systems into clear, actionable direction.
Ensure work is visually cohesive, accurate, and appropriately tailored to its audience and channel.
Review and guide digital, web, editorial, presentation, graphic, and motion deliverables.
Partner with the Executive Producer to balance creative quality with timing, capacity, and business priorities.
Work directly with client stakeholders to clarify creative direction, resolve feedback, and keep work moving.
Provide clear, consolidated feedback that enables teams to execute efficiently.
Identify when existing components or templates can be used and when a new design solution is required.
Support the evolution of templates, component libraries, and documentation as program needs develop.
Collaborate with technical writers to ensure design supports the clarity and integrity of complex subject matter.
Mentor designers and motion creatives, providing practical guidance and helping them operate with greater independence.
Partner with AI and creative technology specialists to explore responsible ways to improve workflows, consistency, and production efficiency.
Maintain discretion when working with confidential and highly sensitive information.
Guide a distributed creative team across global locations and shifts, with availability during core client working hours and flexibility around urgent priorities.