Graphic Designer - Lead

airpay payment services; Navi Mumbai; On-site; INR 1,500,000 - 2,100,000; Full time

Job summary

airpay payment services seeks a Design Lead with 10+ years of experience to drive design thought leadership and brand identity across all touchpoints. You will lead a small in-house team, collaborate closely with stakeholders, and own the design system for both airpay money and airpay capital. Fintech/BFSI experience is a plus.

The role emphasizes independent ownership, AI-enabled ideation, and video storytelling, with responsibility for UI/UX contributions and cross-channel design execution.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive experience in graphic design and video editing.
• Adobe Creative Suite mastery (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects).
• Strong art-direction experience and ability to lead projects end-to-end.

Responsibilities

• Lead design leadership and brand stewardship across campaigns, platforms, and products.
• Design marketing collateral across emails, social, print, and digital assets; drive visual storytelling.

Skills

Design leadership

Brand stewardship

Art direction

Communication

Independent operator

Education

Bachelor's/Master’s degree in Graphic Design or related

Tools

Photoshop

Illustrator

InDesign

After Effects

Job description

We're looking for a Graphic Designer with minimum 10+ years of experience who will serve as our Design Lead- someone who doesn't just execute but drives design thought leadership across the brand. This role sits at the intersection of strategic visual thinking, people management, AI-powered design tools, and video storytelling. You'll own how the brand shows up across every digital and offline touchpoint.

You will lead a small in-house design team, collaborate closely with business stakeholders, and play a critical role in shaping the brand's visual identity across platforms for both airpay money and airpay capital. This is a high-ownership role - you'll be expected to drive things independently, not wait for direction.

Prior experience in a Fintech/BFSI environment (good to have).

Key Responsibilities:

1. Design Leadership & Brand Stewardship

• Own and evolve the visual identity of the brand across campaigns, platforms, and products.
• Lead logo creation, sub-branding, campaign identities, and brand systems.
• Act as a design thought partner to marketing, digital, and business teams.
• Ensure brand consistency while pushing creative boundaries in a regulated category (fintech/financial/BFSI services).

2. Marketing & Communication Design

• Design social media creatives and performance marketing creatives across Meta, YouTube, and other paid channels - with a strong sense of what drives clicks, conversions, and thumb-stops.
• Conceptualise and create marketing collateral across the full spectrum: emails, WhatsApp creatives, brochures, brand books, danglers, standees, website, app, CRM and product communication assets, print, OOH, sales and partner collaterals.
• Translate complex financial concepts into clear, engaging visual stories that resonate with a mass consumer audience.
• Bridge the gap between marketing design and product design - contributing to UI/UX for the app and website, ensuring the brand experience is seamless from the first ad a user sees to the screens they interact with daily
• Leverage AI design tools (Midjourney, Firefly, Runway, DALL·E, Adobe AI tools, and similar) to speed up ideation, prototyping, visual storytelling, and experimentation.
• Use AI tools for faster editing, auto-captioning, visual enhancements, and ideation across static and video formats.
• Experiment with AI-generated visuals, videos, and workflows to improve efficiency and creativity across the team.
• Create scalable design systems and assets using AI-assisted workflows.
• Stay ahead of global design and AI trends; introduce best practices to the team.
• Bring basic to intermediate video editing and motion graphics skills - short-form videos, reels, explainer videos, and campaign edits.
• Lead and mentor a team of graphic designers, fostering a collaborative and high-output design environment.
• Provide constructive art direction and feedback to junior designers, ensuring consistent quality across all deliverables.
• Manage multiple design projects simultaneously, prioritising tasks and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

5. Compliance & Brand Governance

• Ensure all creative output aligns with brand guidelines, tone, and messaging - no exceptions.
• Adhere to RBI regulations and fintech compliance requirements in all creative assets, working closely with legal and compliance teams where needed.

Required Qualifications:

Must-Haves

• 10+ years of progressive experience in graphic design & video editing, with a proven track record of leading design projects and teams.
• Graphic design mastery — exceptional proficiency in layout, typography, colour theory, and visual hierarchy.
• Art direction experience — ability to define and guide the visual style of projects and campaigns, not just execute.
• Adobe Creative Suite expertise — Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects (proficiency, not just familiarity).
• Working knowledge of video editing tools — Premiere Pro, After Effects, or similar.
• Hands-on experience with AI-powered creative tools — practical understanding of their capabilities, limitations, and integration into design workflows.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating brand identity & logo design, integrated marketing campaigns, and digital-first thinking.
• Communication skills — ability to articulate design concepts, present rationale to stakeholders, and give clear creative feedback.
• Independent operator — comfortable driving projects end-to-end without handholding.

Good-to-Haves

• Prior experience in a Fintech/BFSI environment.
• Proficiency in advanced design software beyond the standard Adobe suite.
• Understanding of UX/UI principles as they relate to visual design.
• Experience working with agencies and cross-functional teams.
• Strong understanding of digital, social, and performance-led design (what works in a feed vs. what looks good in a portfolio).

Education

• Bachelor's/Master’s degree in Graphic Design, Fine Arts, Visual Communications, or a related field preferred.

Your portfolio is central to the shortlisting process. Please ensure it demonstrates the following:

Body of Work

• A comprehensive portfolio showcasing a minimum of 10 years of professional graphic design work, with emphasis on leadership and art direction roles.
• Successful execution of diverse design projects illustrating a strong command of typography, layout, and visual storytelling.
• Case studies highlighting the strategic use of AI tools for image and video generation - detailing the process, challenges, and outcomes.
• Examples of conceptual development from initial brief to final polished creative assets, showcasing the ability to translate ideas into compelling visuals.
• Evidence of leading design initiatives, team collaboration, and art direction, with clear examples of impact on brand or business outcomes.

Process Documentation

• Examples of your approach to managing the design workflow - from concept ideation to final delivery - highlighting efficiency and quality control.
• How you stay current with design trends and AI technologies, and how this knowledge is integrated into your design process.
• Methods for collaborating with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to ensure design solutions meet business objectives.
• Examples of how you provide art direction and feedback to junior designers to foster their development and maintain design standards.