Design Director
Design Director at Monks providing day-to-day creative leadership for an embedded design and motion team serving one of its largest technology clients, working onsite in Menlo Park. The role focuses on applying established design systems, reviewing digital/editorial/motion deliverables, mentoring creatives, and exploring AI-driven production workflows.
- Compensation
- $135K–$145K / yr
- Location
- San Francisco
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Not specified
- Employment
- Not specified
- Experience
- 8+ years
- Category
- Design
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- 8+ years of experience in design, art direction or creative direction within an agency, technology company or in-house creative organization
- Experience leading multidisciplinary design teams and maintaining quality across high-volume or rapid-turn work
- Deep familiarity with established brand systems, component libraries, templates and scalable design frameworks
- Strong digital and web design experience, including responsive layouts and accessibility considerations
- Ability to assess work quickly, provide decisive direction and distinguish critical issues from subjective preferences
- Strong understanding of typography, hierarchy, composition, visual storytelling and motion principles
- Experience collaborating with production, editorial, product, legal and technical stakeholders
- Professional fluency in written and spoken English
- Excellent presentation, communication and feedback skills
- Interest in AI, emerging technology and production innovation
- Work onsite at the client's office in Menlo Park, CA 4–5 days per week
- Availability during core client working hours with flexibility around urgent priorities
Full description
Please note that we will never request payment or bank account information at any stage of the recruitment process. As we continue to grow our teams, we urge you to be cautious of fraudulent job postings or recruitment activities that misuse our company name and information. Please protect your personal information during any recruitment process. While Monks may contact potential candidates via LinkedIn, all applications must be submitted through our official website ().
About the Role
Monks is seeking an experienced Design Director to provide creative leadership for an embedded team supporting one of our largest technology clients. Working in person alongside client stakeholders, this role will maintain creative continuity, uphold a high standard of craft and ensure work remains cohesive across teams, shifts and deliverables.
The ideal candidate has deep experience working within robust design systems and knows how to apply established standards without making the work feel mechanical. You will guide designers and motion creatives, resolve design questions quickly and help the team deliver polished editorial and marketing content at speed.
An interest in AI, emerging technology and new approaches to creative production is essential.
Work Location & Schedule
This role requires working onsite at our client's office in Menlo Park, CA, 4–5 days per week.
In This Role, You Will
- Provide day-to-day creative leadership for the embedded design and motion team.
- Maintain continuity and a consistent creative standard across locations, shifts and workstreams.
- Translate established brand guidelines and design systems into clear, actionable direction.
- Ensure work is visually cohesive, accurate and appropriately tailored to its audience and channel.
- Review and guide digital, web, editorial, presentation, graphic and motion deliverables.
- Partner closely with the Executive Producer to balance creative quality with timing, capacity and business priorities.
- Work directly with client stakeholders to clarify creative direction, resolve feedback and keep work moving.
- Provide clear, consolidated feedback that enables teams to execute efficiently.
- Identify when existing components or templates can be used and when a new design solution is required.
- Support the evolution of templates, component libraries and documentation as program needs develop.
- Collaborate with technical writers to ensure design supports the clarity and integrity of complex subject matter.