Art Director, Performance — Remote AI-Driven Social Creative

Upstart; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 138,000 - 182,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Equity grants

401(k)

Health coverage

ESPP

Onsite perks

Wellness allowance

Job summary

Upstart, a digital-first AI lending marketplace, is seeking an Art Director, Performance to craft high‑impact creative for Paid Social channels and partner with Marketing and Creative teams. You’ll shape evergreen and influencer work across Meta, TikTok, Google, and new channels, blending performance insights with brand expertise.

You’ll apply AI‑assisted design approaches, guide cross‑functional partners, and help drive Upstart’s growth through innovative, data‑driven campaigns.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in art direction, design, or a related creative discipline.
• Portfolio demonstrating excellence in leading and executing best‑in‑class, high‑impact performance creative across paid social channels.
• Expert‑level proficiency in design software (Adobe Creative Suite and Figma) and AI‑assisted design tools and workflows.
• Bachelor’s degree in Design, Visual Communications, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead the creative vision and execution across Paid Social channels, ensuring design excellence, platform relevance, and brand consistency across all creative assets.
• Stay informed on performance and testing results, applying learnings to generate creative hypotheses, inform future assets, and proactively develop new creative tests.
• Partner cross‑functionally and with external agencies to concept, design, and deliver best‑in‑class evergreen and influencer creative that drives measurable results.
• Strengthen creative systems and workflows to improve speed, scalability, consistency, and output as channels evolve.
• Apply generative AI throughout the creative process to accelerate ideation and asset development while maintaining strong creative judgment and oversight.

Skills

Art direction

Portfolio leadership

Channel knowledge

Performance testing

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Design, Visual Communications, or related field

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Figma

Job description

Upstart, a digital-first AI lending marketplace, is seeking an Art Director, Performance to craft high‑impact creative for Paid Social channels and partner with Marketing and Creative teams. You’ll shape evergreen and influencer work across Meta, TikTok, Google, and new channels, blending performance insights with brand expertise.

You’ll apply AI‑assisted design approaches, guide cross‑functional partners, and help drive Upstart’s growth through innovative, data‑driven campaigns.