Senior Design Manager

Stellar Development Foundation•San Francisco, CA

6d•$165,000 - $245,000

About The Position

Interested in working on cutting-edge blockchain technology and creating equitable access to the global financial system? Since 2014, the mission-driven team at the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has helped fuel the tremendous growth of the Stellar blockchain network, an open-source platform that operates at high-scale today. Developers and companies around the world build on it, and the SDF team is expanding to support the rapidly growing and changing Stellar ecosystem. The Experiential Marketing team manifests the invisible power of the Stellar network through industry-defining creative and immersive environments, turning abstract technical potential into a tangible reality. As our Senior Design Manager, you will balance strategic ownership and hands-on design deliverables. You will own creative vision and execution across all touchpoints, leading brand and design output across digital, campaigns, brand activations, and events, establishing and evolving Stellar’s visual identity as the blockchain for financial services. This role offers a unique opportunity to shape how one of the most innovative blockchain foundations shows up in the world. You will span environmental design, event identity systems, digital campaigns, and branded content. Leading a high-performing design team and managing external agency relationships, you will be the driving creative force, ensuring a unified, world-class brand across every channel. We are looking for someone energized by the intersection of bold vision and rigorous execution within our fast-moving, mission-driven environment.

Requirements

7+ years of design experience, including at least 2 years leading or managing a design team or multi-disciplinary creative function.
A hands-on design practice you are proud of — you are still producing high-quality work yourself, not only directing and managing others. Your portfolio reflects both your craft and your leadership.
A portfolio demonstrating excellence across brand identity, digital, campaign, and experiential design — with clear evidence of company-wide creative leadership and high-quality output at scale.
Deep expertise in building and stewarding brand identity systems — developing guidelines, extending them across channels, and maintaining consistency across a large organization.
Experience directing creative output across multiple channels simultaneously — digital, social, campaign, environmental, and event — with a strong command of what great looks like in each.
A track record of owning external agency and vendor relationships end-to-end, from brief through delivery, with high standards for quality and an ability to get the best out of creative partners.
Expert-level, active proficiency in Figma and Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign) — you use these tools daily, not just in oversight. Comfortable directing motion, video, and production partners.
Experience driving cross-functional creative work with minimal oversight, including developing creative strategy, presenting to senior leadership, and influencing decisions across the org.
The ability to write clear, well-structured creative briefs that align stakeholders and get agencies and production partners to the right output efficiently.
Strong organizational instincts — you can manage multiple workstreams, anticipate risks, and maintain a high creative bar under deadline pressure.
Genuine curiosity about and working knowledge of the blockchain, fintech, or Web3 space — you understand the audience, the culture, and the opportunity.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience in crypto, DeFi, Web3, or financial technology marketing.
Motion graphics, video production, or animation experience — either hands-on or directing external partners.
Background in experiential or environmental design — booth builds, branded installations, immersive activations.
Experience scaling a design function: hiring, building process, and raising the creative bar across a growing team.
Familiarity with 3D design or spatial visualization tools.

Responsibilities

Take ownership of creative vision and execution across all channels — digital, social, brand campaigns, activations, and events — ensuring every touchpoint reflects the quality, consistency, and visual ambition of the Stellar brand.
Establish and evolve SDF's visual identity and design system, developing brand guidelines and toolkits that enable consistent, on-brand execution across the entire marketing organization.
Lead creative output for flagship programs including Meridian 2026 and the Stellar House series, spanning environmental design, event identity, collateral, signage, swag, and digital assets.
Direct the design and production of integrated marketing creative — including paid digital, organic social, email, web, and campaign assets — ensuring cohesive brand storytelling across all formats.
Manage and mentor a high-performing design team, providing clear creative direction, actionable feedback, and ongoing development support to elevate both their craft and their impact.
Own external agency and production vendor relationships end-to-end: briefing, directing, and quality-controlling output across brand, creative, and production partners with minimal supervision.
Partner with the Sr. Director of Experiential Marketing and cross-functional stakeholders — including communications, developer relations, partnerships, and product marketing — to deliver integrated creative strategies that serve the full funnel.
Pitch and present creative concepts to leadership with clarity and conviction; translate business objectives into compelling, executable creative strategies.
Proactively identify and resolve creative bottlenecks; continuously improve team workflows, briefing processes, and production timelines to increase output quality and velocity.
Bring a broad view of creative excellence — across media, beyond blockchain and fintech — introducing new visual ideas that keep Stellar's brand fresh and ahead of the curve.
Roll up your sleeves and produce polished, on-brand design work yourself — from concept through final deliverable — across digital, campaign, and experiential contexts. This is a making role as much as a leading one.

Benefits

Competitive health, dental & vision coverage with most plans covered at 100% for the employee + any dependents
Flexible time off + 15 company holidays, including a company-wide holiday break
Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for both non-birthing and birthing parents, as well as up to 14 weeks of paid pregnancy leave for birthing parents
Gym reimbursement ($80 per month)
Life & ADD (up to $50K)
Short & Long-term disability
401K with 4% match
Health & Dependent Care FSA Accounts
Commuter benefits with $250/month employer contribution
Health Savings Account (HSA) with monthly employer contribution
Family building benefits through Kindbody
Wellbeing benefits (One Medical, Rightway, Headspace)
L&D budget of $1,500/year
Daily lunch and snacks in the office
Company retreats