Associate Design Director

** Associate Designer Director
**** Amsterdam/Rotterdam, hybrid

DEPT® is a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, our 4,000+ specialists deliver growth invention services across Brand & Media, Experience, Commerce, CRM, and Technology & Data. We’re 50|50 tech and marketing, partner-led, and first to move. Clients include Google, Lufthansa, Meta, eBay, and OpenAI. We have been certified B Corp and Climate Neutral since 2021.

JOB PURPOSE*
* This role is part of our
*** Experience & Engineering
**** team based in the Netherlands. We combine our skills in developing future-ready technical solutions with our expertise in creating beautiful designs to deliver exceptional and engaging digital experiences that build lasting relationships with our clients like Gant, Inter Milan,  and Just Eat Takeaway.

As an Associate Design Director, you operate at a studio-wide level: shaping the craft vision, elevating design excellence, and steering the strategic direction of our visual design practice. You ensure quality across accounts, drive operational standards, and keep our craft innovative, consistent and competitive. You influence senior stakeholders, guide multidisciplinary teams, mentor talent, and represent DEPT® externally, strengthening our creative reputation and contributing directly to sales, growth and thought leadership.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

Own craft direction across complex projects and accounts, ensuring work is aligned, elevated and unmistakably DEPT®.

Raise the bar by defining standards, sharpening processes, and enabling teams to deliver consistently exceptional work.

Guide clients and internal teams with clear, high-level creative and product direction that goes beyond the brief.

Drive innovation through experimentation and curiosity, creating work that sets benchmarks and wins awards.

Shape the future of the design practice by evolving craft vision, building team capabilities, and fostering a culture of mentorship and continuous learning.

Support pitches and growth opportunities with strong creative POVs that connect craft to business impact.

Represent DEPT® externally through talks, posts and publications that amplify our creative reputation.

WHAT YOU BRING:

10+ years of experience in visual/UI/UX design, including 3+ years at senior or leadership level.

Serious craft expertise: a portfolio demonstrating strategic impact, systems thinking, and high-quality execution across complex digital ecosystems.

A strategic thinker who influences product, design, and business decisions with clear vision and rationale.

A recognised design voice: inspires teams, elevates craft standards, and contributes to the wider design community.

Mentorship mindset: actively builds others up through coaching, structured feedback, and knowledge sharing.

Continuously curious: eager to master emerging tools, AI workflows, motion, and design trends.

Deep understanding of visual principles, accessibility, and modern interaction patterns.

Mastery of Figma and design systems; motion skills (Jitter, AE, etc.) are a plus.

Confident communicator able to articulate design direction with clarity and conviction.

Working proficiency in English.

WE OFFER

A flexible, hybrid working policy (2-3 days from the office, depending on location) and the opportunity to work from abroad for 13 weeks a year.

24 vacation days per year and the possibility to buy an unlimited number of extra vacation days.

DEPT®/YOU Learning Menu and DEPT®/YOU Special Programs. Develop your skills with courses and programs tailored to your needs.

Stay happy and healthy with a contribution to your health through the Open Up platform, gym and wellness discounts, and healthy lunches…