Creative Director (Remote, US)

About the role

This role defines and evolves creative vision for Newsela across a multi-brand portfolio. You will partner with executive leadership to translate business strategy into cohesive, high-impact brand experiences.

Designers shape how products look and feel. Designers create user flows, wireframes, prototypes, and polished visuals. They test ideas with users and iterate on feedback. Design work spans research, interaction design, and visual design. Collaboration with product and engineering happens daily. Design decisions are judged by outcomes such as usability, conversion, and customer satisfaction. Most design teams keep a living design system to keep products consistent.

Key facts

Requirements

10+ years of design experience, ideally blending top-tier creative agency environments with sophisticated in-house brand teams.

The ability to present complex creative concepts, mood boards, and visual systems directly to executive leadership is demonstrated, with rationale behind design choices clearly articulated.

Success in leading and developing high-performing creative teams through coaching, clear creative direction, and constructive feedback is proven, including managing internal designers, agencies, and external creative partners.

Experience within, evolving, and scaling complex visual identity systems is deep, including navigating brand transitions through growth and modernization.

Experience operating within highly mature, structured creative workflows is shown, with a passion for establishing frameworks such as briefs, review cycles, and asset management in a growing environment.

A portfolio demonstrating exceptional craft across digital, print, and multi-channel brand campaigns is required, showcasing an ability to handle complex, multi-product ecosystems.

Expert-level mastery of Adobe Creative Cloud, including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Premiere/After Effects, is required.

Proficiency in Canva to build scalable templates for broader team use is required.

Experience using JIRA or similar enterprise project management tools to manage creative ticketing, workflows, and timelines is required.

A Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Fine Arts, Communication Design, or equivalent practical experience is required.

Willingness to collaborate in person and travel for special projects and occasions is required.

Nice to have

Experience in EdTech, SaaS, or multi-product corporate environments is highly preferred.

Practical notes

You are expected to work remotely from the US and travel for special projects.

Typical interview steps

Design interviews usually include a portfolio review, a design exercise, and a team conversation. Candidates present past work and explain their process and decisions. Some loops include a live design challenge. Communication matters as much as the visual output. Portfolios are strongest when they show the problem, the constraints, and the iteration, not just the final screens. Interviewers also watch how you take feedback.

Good to know

The role centers on brand strategy and visual identity systems within a multi-product EdTech environment. Design tools such as Adobe Creative Cloud, Canva, and JIRA are central to the workflow. The position requires frequent collaboration with executive stakeholders and external partners. Strong process discipline and scalable creative frameworks are essential for success.

Questions to ask

Worth asking in any interview: how the team measures success, who the role works with daily, what the onboarding looks like, and what the company is trying to achieve this year. Asking what past hires did well is a strong final question. Keep the list short and pick the questions that matter most to you.

Career growth

Design careers grow from junior to senior, staff, and principal levels. Some designers move into design management or design operations. Specializations include UX research, interaction design, and brand design. Cross-functional influence grows with seniority. Senior designers are expected to influence product strategy, not just execute visuals. Building a habit of user research strengthens any design career.