Associate Design Director

Adelphi Group; Detroit (MI); On-site; USD 120,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Omnicom is seeking an Associate Design Director at Critical Mass to lead the visual design of large-scale websites and digital products, building a scalable design system and mentoring a team.

You will work with UX, strategy, and development to create developer-ready Figma files, ensure accessibility, and guide design decisions through senior stakeholder reviews.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in UI, digital, or web design, including 2+ years leading designers.
• Portfolio of large-scale websites and digital products, with design systems and brand expression.
• Hands-on experience building and documenting Figma design systems with variables and tokens.
• Strong prototyping skills in Figma and similar tools.
• Expert visual craft in typography, color, layout, and UI best practices.
• Deep knowledge of user centered design and accessibility.
• Experience designing for enterprise CMS platforms, Sitecore preferred.
• Confidence presenting to senior client stakeholders and defending design decisions.
• Collaborative style for cross-functional teams and stakeholders.
• Mentor designers and guide their growth.

Responsibilities

• Present work to clients with clarity and confidence, grounding decisions in research and user needs.
• Express the brand through type, color, imagery, and motion as guidelines evolve.
• Build and maintain a scalable design system with flexible components and clear docs.
• Build interactive prototypes in Figma to show behavior and motion.
• Define token architecture and naming conventions, mapping tokens to code.
• Partner with UX from the start to shape designs across user flows and IA.
• Design to WCAG 2.2 AA standards with accessibility in mind.
• Deliver developer-ready Figma files with component states and specs.
• Lead visual QA to ensure Sitecore content aligns with designs.
• Mentor junior designers and review work daily.
• Collaborate with UX, strategy, content, and technology teams to stay aligned.

Skills

UI/UX design

Design leadership

Figma

Design systems

Prototyping

Typography & color

Accessibility

Sitecore

Client presentation

Mentoring

Tools

Sitecore

Job description

Agency:

Critical Mass

Job Function:

Creative

Job Subfunction:

Design

Job Description:

As Associate Design Director, you will lead the visual design of large scale websites and digital products from first concept to launch. You will bring the client’s brand to life in digital, build a scalable design system that keeps the experience consistent as it grows, and work closely with UX, strategy, and development teams. You will lead a team of designers, raise the bar on craft, and stay hands on in the work.

What you’ll do

• Present work to clients with clarity and confidence, grounding your choices in research and user needs. Handle feedback in real time with sound judgment and turn it into clear direction for the team.

• Express the brand through type, color, imagery, and motion with care and intent. The client’s brand refresh is still evolving, so you will adapt the work as their guidelines change.

• Build and maintain a scalable design system with flexible components that work across templates and products, and clear documentation that keeps the whole team aligned.

• Build interactive prototypes in Figma to show how designs behave, from transitions to motion, so clients and developers can see the experience before it is built.

• Define the token architecture and naming conventions, partnering with developers so tokens map cleanly to code and keep every visual decision consistent, from color and type to spacing, radius, elevation, and motion.

• Partner with UX from the start to shape detailed designs that carry through the logic of user flows, information architecture, and interaction patterns.

• Design to WCAG 2.2 AA standards, with real attention to users with limited vision or mobility.

• Deliver developer ready Figma files with clear component states, responsive behavior, and visual specs.

• Understand how Sitecore shapes what content authors control, and lead visual QA so builds match approved designs.

• Guide junior designers by breaking deliverables into clear tasks, reviewing work daily, and holding the work to a high standard.

• Collaborate with UX, strategy, content, and technology teams, track dependencies from content to launch, and keep everyone aligned when opinions differ.

What you bring

• 7+ years in UI, digital, or web design, including 2+ years leading designers or design workstreams.

• A portfolio of results driven case studies that shows large scale work across websites and digital products, including design systems and brand expression, and clearly explains your design decisions.

• Hands on experience building and documenting Figma design systems with variables and tokens, plus a working knowledge of how tokens are implemented in front end code.

• Strong prototyping skills in Figma and similar tools, with the ability to bring interactions and motion to life for reviews and testing.

• Expert visual craft in typography, color, layout, and UI best practices, with a record of creating intuitive interfaces that express a brand with clarity.

• Deep knowledge of user centered design and accessibility, and a history of championing both with teams and clients.

• Sharp problem solving skills and the ability to turn user needs into effective design solutions.

• Experience designing for enterprise CMS platforms. Sitecore is strongly preferred.

• Confidence presenting to senior client stakeholders and defending design decisions.

• A collaborative style that keeps cross functional teams and stakeholders moving toward shared goals.

• A proven ability to mentor designers and guide their growth.

Salary Range: $120,000 - $140,000

To the extent permissible by local law, Omnicom’s policy requires employees to work in the office for a minimum of three days a week, unless additional in-office days are directed by their agency or manager.

Omnicom is committed to hiring and developing exceptional talent. We agree that talent is uniquely distributed, and we’re focused on developing inclusive teams that can bring the best solutions to everything we do. We strongly believe that celebrating what makes us different makes us better together. Join us—we look forward to getting to know you. We will process your personal data in accordance with our Recruitment Privacy Notice.

Link to Recruitment Privacy Notice: https://www.omc.com/privacy-notice

For US Job Seekers:

It is the policy of Omnicom and any of its affiliates to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, religion, color, ethnic origin, gender, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, disability, or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state, or local law. EOE/AA/M/D/V/F.