Executive Design Director (Brand & Product)

The role

You will shape the future of creative at the intersection of brand, experience and product. You will lead design strategy, coach senior leaders, and contribute hands-on to client work.

What you will do

• Define and evolve Metalab's product and brand design vision
• Coach senior design leaders and project teams
• Model creative excellence through hands-on design work
• Own design quality across the department
• Guide strategic direction across brand and product design engagements
• Oversee, create and refine brand systems
• Lead cross-disciplinary reviews
• Partner with clients at a strategic level
• Collaborate with design leadership to influence department direction and operations
• Partner with the Partnerships team on new business pursuits and pitches

Required qualifications

• At least 12 years of experience in brand and product design, creative direction, or digital design leadership in a digital-first environment
• At least 2 years leading design teams at a senior director or executive level
• Ability to maintain at least a 4-hour overlap with Pacific Time (PST) business hours
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and large-scale product-led brand engagements
• Portfolio demonstrating mastery in visual identity, brand systems, and storytelling across digital touchpoints
• Fluency in modern design tools and emerging AI tooling
• Ability to translate complex ideas into coherent, scalable brand and product design systems
• Experience presenting to and influencing executive stakeholders
• Experience working cross-functionally with product, engineering, marketing, and executive teams
• Strong facilitation and communication skills
• Deep knowledge of design trends and the evolving role of brand, product and experience design
• Track record of elevating design communities through mentorship and inclusive practices

About the company

Companies come to Metalab to create products that improve lives, reshape markets, and shift culture.