Design Lead

This is a boutique, women-led branding studio in New York, founded in 2012; it has spent over a decade guiding organisations through the moments that define them: IPOs, acquisitions, market launches. The work reaches decision-makers directly.

This role exists because the studio is maturing. Its art directors have outgrown pure individual contribution, and there’s now a deliberate middle layer being built between them and the Creative Director.

You’ll lead projects end-to-end – packaging, brand identity, space-tech, naming, high-profile rebrands – while staying hands-on in Figma yourself. You’ll manage a team of genuinely exceptional art directors who are strong makers but new to being managed, giving them a layer to run to and freeing creative leadership to lead.

The point of this role is authorship: you’ll shape creative direction, not just contribute to it, and defend the standard narounds are measured in weeks, not the eighteen-month brand exercises that happen elsewhere. The variety keeps the work sharp; the direct client access keeps it honest.

• $100,000 – $140,000
• Hybrid working: four days in-studio
• 14-person team
• Structured onboarding
• Proven internal growth model

• You’re a Senior Designer or Art Director at a small, excellent branding agency, used to high pace and high volume rather than long single-brand engagements.
• Your craft and taste are strong, your brand identity portfolio is real, and CPG experience helps. You’ve started leading projects and are ready for a formal layer of responsibility over talented individual contributors.