Creative Design Lead

About the role

You will own the end-to-end creative design for DuckDuckGo's marketing campaigns across Duck.ai, search, browsers, and subscriptions, translating strategic objectives into high-craft, on-brand visual concepts. You will lead ideation and execution with minimal oversight, driving projects from initial scoping through final delivery and postmortem analysis. As a hands-on creator, you will use Figma and the Adobe Creative Suite to build compelling marketing creative while shaping the design narrative. You will partner with cross-functional stakeholders to align on scope, user impact, and brand consistency during scoping and ideation. You will evolve our brand language by introducing fresh creative concepts that strengthen recognition and trust online. You will mentor and advise fellow designers on marketing and brand execution, establishing yourself as a go-to design authority. You will leverage qualitative and quantitative insights to inform design decisions and optimize campaign performance. You will communicate clearly through written project scopes that define the problem, user impact, and proposed path forward.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Design and lead creative campaigns for Duck.ai, search, browsers, and subscriptions, using tools like Figma and the Adobe Creative Suite.
• Drive end-to-end ownership of design work from concept through execution across multiple concurrent campaigns with minimal oversight.
• Translate strategic marketing objectives into high-craft, on-brand visual concepts that reinforce trust and usability.
• Navigate cross-functional scoping and ideation sessions, aligning stakeholders on goals, user impact, and creative direction.
• Evolve the DuckDuckGo brand language through fresh creative concepts and reusable systems that improve production efficiency.
• Build and maintain a go-to resource for brand and marketing design, advising other teams on execution best practices.
• Mentor and develop fellow designers, sharing expertise in marketing design and brand consistency.
• Use qualitative and quantitative insights to iterate and optimize design solutions for campaign performance.
• Communicate project scope in writing, clearly defining problems, user impact, and the proposed path forward.
• Explore multiple creative directions, generating ideas that balance business goals with user needs and brand integrity.
• Ensure final deliverables meet high standards of craftsmanship, clarity, and accessibility across all platforms.
• Support the launch and growth of products such as Duck.ai and App Tracking Protection through targeted marketing creative.
• Collaborate with product and marketing teams to integrate design thinking into campaign strategy from inception to launch.
• Establish reusable design systems and components that streamline marketing production and maintain brand coherence.
• Act as a strategic partner to product and marketing stakeholders, influencing decisions through design rationale and evidence.

Requirements

• 9+ years of hands-on marketing or advertising design experience at a recognizable consumer-facing brand, either working in house or agency side.
• Versatility in design with a portfolio demonstrating range, depth, strong execution, and a distinct creative point of view.
• High proficiency in design fundamentals, including typography, color, and composition.
• Strong working knowledge of Figma and the Adobe Creative Suite.
• Exceptional creativity, aesthetic judgment, and design intuition.
• A track record of proven experience developing original ideas and leading creative direction across conceptual and strategic execution for marketing campaigns.
• Comfort driving projects end-to-end with minimal oversight, including scoping, stakeholder alignment, creative direction, and delivery.
• An impact-driven approach, using qualitative and quantitative insights to inform design decisions.
• Strengths in generating ideas, exploring multiple creative directions, and inspiring peers through clear communication.
• Ability to articulate design rationale in written project scopes that define the problem, user impact, and proposed path forward.
• Experience advising or mentoring other designers is a plus.
• Commitment to aligning work with DuckDuckGo's culture of trust, inclusivity, and empowered project management.
• Willingness to engage with cross-functional teams during scoping, ideation, and postmortem activities.
• Capacity to balance strategic thinking with hands-on craft in a fast-paced, remote-first environment.

Nice to have

• Experience advising or mentoring other designers.
• Familiarity with privacy-focused or consumer technology brands.
• Demonstrated ability to build reusable design systems for marketing.

Practical notes

This role is fully remote with no specified hours, travel, or visa requirements. Employment is full-time. Compensation details are provided as annual salary and stock options. The company is committed to equal opportunity and provides reasonable accommodation during the hiring process upon request.