Design Director, Brand Design

Summary

Join Wealthsimple's Brand Design team as their Director and lead a talented team in defining the company's visual identity. You will champion Wealthsimple's brand across all touchpoints, collaborating with marketing and cross-functional teams to create cohesive designs. This leadership role requires hands-on design contributions, strategic thinking, and mentoring a team of designers. You will ensure design excellence, foster a collaborative environment, and act as a key point of contact between the design team and other departments. The ideal candidate possesses extensive design leadership experience, a strong portfolio showcasing diverse design skills, and excellent cross-functional collaboration skills.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in design leadership, with a portfolio that showcases your design expertise across diverse disciplines (we’d love to see OOH campaigns, digital, photography, potentially 3D/motion)
• Hands-On Creative Leadership: Beyond directing, you will actively contribute to the creative process, crafting exceptional work that resonates with our audience. This includes web design, digital campaigns, photography direction, and potentially 3D/motion work
• Strong understanding of Wealthsimple’s brand and visual identity, with the ability to uphold and evolve it as the company grows
• Proven experience managing and mentoring a team of designers, with a focus on fostering their individual development and design craft
• A strategic thinker with the ability to translate business objectives into design solutions that delight users and achieve company goals
• Excellent cross-functional collaboration skills, with experience working with teams in marketing, editorial, product, and communications. You thrive in a collaborative environment and can build strong relationships with cross-functional teams
• Deep understanding of design tools and software, including but not limited to Adobe Creative Suite and Figma
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present and defend design decisions to both internal and external stakeholders. You can articulate design rationale effectively and present your ideas with confidence

Responsibilities

• Own and drive the design vision and direction for large-scale brand design initiatives, while ensuring quality and consistency across all projects
• Champion Wealthsimple’s distinct brand identity, ensuring it is consistently represented across all touchpoints
• Collaborate closely with marketing leadership to develop creative solutions that drive business and marketing objectives
• Partner with cross-functional teams including Growth, Product Marketing, Communications, and Product Design to ensure design solutions align with company goals and maintain a cohesive experience
• Balance strategic design leadership with hands-on execution, actively contributing to the creative process
• Lead, mentor, and grow a small team of talented designers across various design disciplines
• Advocate for design excellence, continuously pushing the team to innovate while maintaining high standards for design work
• Cultivate an inclusive, collaborative, and feedback-driven environment for your team, encouraging growth and the development of new skills
• Provide clear and constructive feedback, both to team members and stakeholders, to ensure the quality and impact of design deliverables
• Act as a key point of contact between the design team and other departments, effectively communicating design rationale and aligning with broader organizational goals

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in the financial services or tech industries is a plus, but not required
• A passion for staying on top of design trends, innovation, and best practices

Benefits

• Competitive salary with top-tier health benefits and life insurance
• Retirement savings matching plan using Wealthsimple for Business
• 20 vacation days per year and unlimited sick and mental health days
• Up to $1,500 per year towards wellness and professional development budgets respectively
• 90 days away program: Employees can work internationally in eligible countries for up to 90 days per calendar year
• A wide variety of peer and company-led Employee Resource Groups (ie. Rainbow, Women of Wealthsimple, Black @ WS)
• Company-wide wellness days off scheduled throughout the year