Company Overview
[$COMPANY_OVERVIEW]
Role Overview
[$COMPANY_NAME] is seeking an experienced Creative Director (Web Design) to lead cross-disciplinary teams in defining, designing, and delivering high-performance digital experiences. You will own the creative vision and execution for web and progressive web applications (PWA), design systems, and brand-driven interactive interfaces. This senior role requires a strategic thinker who combines mastery of visual design, UX, and front-end technologies with proven leadership in scaling design operations and partnering with product, engineering, and marketing to drive measurable business outcomes.
Responsibilities
- Own and articulate the end-to-end creative direction for web products, including information architecture, interaction design, visual systems, motion, and content strategy across desktop, tablet, and mobile breakpoints.
- Lead and scale a multidisciplinary design organization (UI/UX designers, motion designers, content designers, front-end engineers), establishing processes for hiring, coaching, performance reviews, and professional development.
- Define and evolve a robust, accessible design system (tokens, components, documentation) used by product and engineering teams; champion consistency, reusability, and performance optimizations.
- Collaborate with engineering leadership to align on technical feasibility, front-end architecture, and production implementations using technologies such as React, Next.js, TypeScript, CSS-in-JS (Emotion/Styled Components) or modern CSS (Grid/Flexbox), and web performance tooling.
- Drive UX research, customer discovery, and A/B experimentation in partnership with product analytics to validate design hypotheses and measure impact on KPIs (conversion, engagement, retention, Lighthouse scores).
- Lead architecture decision records (ADRs) for major design and front-end initiatives; ensure trade-offs are documented and agreed with stakeholders.
- Own brand-to-product fidelity: translate brand guidelines into scalable UI patterns, motion systems, and micro-interactions that enhance usability without sacrificing performance.
- Establish design KPIs and cadence for retrospectives, design critiques, and release readiness reviews; ensure accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA+), internationalization (i18n), and privacy-by-design are baked into deliverables.
- Represent design at the executive level, presenting roadmaps, resource needs, and business impact. Mentor senior designers and act as a hiring bar-raiser.
Required and Preferred Qualifications
Required:
- 10+ years of professional design experience with 5+ years in leadership roles (Design Director, Creative Director, Head of Design) with demonstrable impact on web products.
- Portfolio showing end-to-end product and brand work for web or PWA that includes design systems, motion, performance trade-offs, and measurable outcomes.
- Deep expertise in responsive web design, information architecture, interaction design, and web accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA or higher).
- Proven track record partnering with engineering teams on React/Next.js, TypeScript, front-end performance (Lighthouse, bundle splitting), and CI/CD for design-to-production workflows.
- Experience defining and scaling component libraries, design tokens (JSON/CSS variables), and tooling for designer-developer handoff (Figma, Storybook, Chromatic).
- Strong quantitative and qualitative research skills: comfortable using analytics (Google Analytics/GA4, Mixpanel, Amplitude) and running A/B tests to validate design decisions.
- Exceptional communication skills with experience presenting to C-suite and aligning multi-functional teams around product objectives.
Preferred:
- Experience with headless CMS architectures, Jamstack deployments, and SEO best practices for dynamic content.
- Familiarity with performance optimization techniques (server-side rendering, edge caching, Critical CSS, image optimization) and privacy-compliant analytics strategies.
- Background in marketing-led design and brand campaigns that required tight integration between product and marketing funnels.
- Certifications or coursework in accessibility, UX research methods, or product management.
Technical Skills and Relevant Technologies
- Design: Figma (advanced), Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, principle-based motion tools (After Effects, Lottie).
- Design Systems & Handoff: Storybook, Chromatic, Zeroheight, design tokens, CSS variables.
- Front-end & Platforms: HTML5, modern CSS (Grid, Flexbox), SASS, JavaScript/TypeScript, React, Next.js, Gatsby, Progressive Web Apps (PWA), Web Components.
- Performance & Observability: Lighthouse, WebPageTest, Bundle analyzers, Core Web Vitals, RUM/analytics (GA4, Mixpanel, Amplitude).
- Accessibility & Internationalization: WCAG 2.1 standards, ARIA, i18n libraries, RTL layout considerations.
- Tooling & Workflows: Git, CI/CD pipelines, Storybook integration, automated visual regression testing.
Soft Skills and Cultural Fit
- Strategic leadership: ability to translate business goals into design strategy and prioritize high-impact initiatives.
- Mentorship: track record of developing senior and junior designers, conducting effective critiques, and fostering psychological safety.
- Cross-functional influence: experience driving alignment across product, engineering, marketing, and research teams.
- Data-informed creativity: comfortable blending user research, analytics, and intuition to make design decisions.
- Bias for clarity and documentation: maintains ADRs, design specs, and onboarding materials that scale the team.
- Inclusive design mindset: advocates for accessibility, localization, and diverse user needs in all deliverables.
Benefits and Perks
Salary range: [$SALARY_RANGE]
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans with employer contributions.
- Equity grants and long-term incentive programs.
- Generous paid time off, parental leave, and flexible holidays.
- Professional development stipend, conference budget, and learning allowance.
- Wellness benefits including mental health support and employee assistance programs.
- Home office stipend and modern collaboration tools for hybrid work.
Equal Opportunity Statement
[$COMPANY_NAME] is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Candidates from non-traditional educational or career paths are encouraged to apply.
Location
This is a hybrid role. A successful candidate will be expected to work from the office at least 3 days per week in [$COMPANY_LOCATION]; flexibility for remote work part of the week is supported. Applicants must be able to commute to the [$COMPANY_LOCATION] office on the required days or have arrangements to meet collaboration needs in person.
Application Instructions
We encourage applicants who meet many — but not necessarily all — of the qualifications to apply. Please submit a resume, link to your portfolio demonstrating web design and system work, and a brief cover letter describing a recent project where you led design direction, measurable impact, and technical collaboration. Applications from diverse backgrounds and career trajectories are welcome.