Director, Visual Design

DEPT®•New York, NY

2d•$157,500 - $200,000•Remote

About The Position

The Director, Visual Design, is the leader of the Visual Design discipline, responsible for defining the vision, standards, and future direction of design across the organization. Part visionary, part practitioner, and entirely uncompromising when it comes to quality, you serve as both a strategic leader and a hands-on creative partner who elevates the work, the team, and the discipline. Working closely with Creative Directors, Motion, Production, and cross-functional leadership, you will shape how design is practiced across campaigns, digital experiences, product-inspired marketing, and emerging creative platforms. You are responsible for establishing a clear point of view on craft, design systems, AI-enabled workflows, and the evolving role of design in modern creative organizations. You are a tastemaker with an intuitive understanding of culture, technology, and visual communication. You know how to balance creative ambition with operational excellence, helping teams produce work that is both aesthetically exceptional and built to scale. Through mentorship, discipline leadership, and a relentless commitment to craft, you create an environment where designers can do the best work of their careers. As a member of the creative leadership team, you will play a critical role in shaping the long-term evolution of the design discipline. You will help define future capabilities, champion emerging technologies and AI-assisted workflows, and ensure the organization continues to raise the bar for design excellence across every touchpoint.

Requirements

8+ years of proven experience in design and interactive work for leading brands, including 2+ years in a leadership role.
Bachelor’s Degree in Design, Visual Arts, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
Mastery of design tools, including Adobe Creative Suite and Figma (including components, variants, and auto layout), and familiarity with essential collaboration tools (e.g., Hubspot, Google Suite, Slack).
Strong knowledge and experience in visual design. Experience developing and maintaining a robust design system.
Deep AI workflow knowledge.
Demonstrated ability to provide strategic vision and creative inspiration to large, diverse teams.
Excellent public speaking and presentation skills with the ability to clearly articulate complex information to clients and internal stakeholders.
Highly detail-oriented, proactive, comfortable navigating complex organizations, and focused on strategic problem-solving and process efficiency.

Responsibilities

Define and evolve the vision, standards, and long-term direction of the Visual Design discipline.
Establish a culture of design excellence, setting a high bar for craft, systems thinking, usability, and execution across all work.
Lead, mentor, and inspire Associate Design Directors, Principal Visual Designers, and broader design teams, helping develop talent and future leaders within the organization.
Partner closely with Creative Directors, Motion, Production, and cross-functional stakeholders to ensure design is integrated effectively across campaigns, experiences, and emerging platforms.
Serve as the senior authority on design systems, visual consistency, and scalable creative production.
Champion the adoption of AI-assisted design workflows, automation, and emerging creative technologies that improve efficiency, scalability, and creative impact.
Establish the long-term roadmap for design capabilities, including talent development, workflow innovation, design systems, and future-facing creative technologies.
Provide strategic guidance on complex creative initiatives, helping teams navigate ambiguity and elevate the quality of design solutions.
Build trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders, helping communicate the value of design and guide organizations toward successful outcomes.
Continuously evolve processes, workflows, and ways of working that enable teams to deliver exceptional work at scale.