Associate Design Director, Social, MAC

The Estée Lauder Companies; New York (NY); On-site; USD 88,000 - 144,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Wellness programs

Retirement plans

Paid leave

Education programs

Paid holidays

Job summary

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. in New York seeks an Associate Design Director, Social to shape MAC’s global social strategy and creative vision.

Partner with the Director of Social Creative to drive social-first campaigns for new launches and evergreen content across Instagram, TikTok, and other channels. This hands-on leadership role requires on-set directing, mentoring a small design team, and collaboration across Editorial, Production, Consumer Engagement and Artistry to ensure a cohesive,

Qualifications

• BA or BFA preferred in design, art, or related field.
• 5+ years of design experience with on-set directing.
• Portfolio required: social-first, beauty direction, short-form video.
• Beauty industry experience and makeup/Artistry knowledge.
• Strong understanding of social campaign planning and cadence.

Responsibilities

• Develop breakthrough, social-first campaigns for new product launches and equity initiatives.
• Lead creative shoots from lo-fi to high-production content; direct and design as needed.
• Create on-brand captions and maintain tone across social channels.
• Extend TikTok and Instagram strategy across MAC’s digital ecosystem and campaigns.
• Collaborate with Editorial, Consumer Engagement, and Production teams.
• Identify talent and partners for social asset creation and campaigns.
• Communicate design requirements to Designers and Video Editors across projects.
• Stay ahead of industry trends and platform tools.

Skills

Social-first design

Leadership on set

Video editing

Creative direction

Platform knowledge

Education

BA or BFA

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

After Effects

Dash Hudson

Figma

Keynote

PowerPoint

Job description

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is one of the world’s leading manufacturers, marketers, and sellers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products, and is a steward of luxury and prestige brands globally. The company’s products are sold in approximately 150 countries and territories under brand names including: Estée Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Lab Series, Origins, M·A·C, La Mer, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Aveda, Jo Malone London, Bumble and bumble, Darphin Paris, TOM FORD, Smashbox, AERIN Beauty, Le Labo, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, GLAMGLOW, KILIAN PARIS, Too Faced, Dr.Jart+, the DECIEM family of brands, including The Ordinary and NIOD, and BALMAIN Beauty.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Associate Design Director, Social will partner closely with the Director of Social Creative to shape and execute M·A·C’s global social media strategy and creative vision.

This includes leading the development of social content for new product launches, concepting and executing social-first campaigns, and developing evergreen content strategies across M·A·C’s key social channels.

This person should live and breathe short-form content and culture, with a strong understanding of how to create work that feels elevated, distinctive and native to each platform.

This role will work closely across Editorial, Brand Image, Production, Consumer Engagement, Digital and Artistry to ensure social creative is strategically aligned and visually cohesive with the broader brand ecosystem.

This is a highly hands-on creative role, spanning everything from capturing and editing lo-fi social content to concepting and directing high-production photo and video shoots.

The Associate Design Director, Social will be able to concept and direct, while also designing, filming, editing and building social creative themselves as needed based on the project.

This person will also manage and mentor a small team of designers, oversee social production and guide creative execution from concept through final delivery, while maintaining a consistent visual and editorial point of view across M·A·C’s global social channels.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Collaborate with the Director, Social Creative to develop breakthrough, social-first campaigns across new product launches and equity initiatives—elevating M·A·C’s look and feel, driving engagement and reaching new audiences.
• Collaborate with Designers and Video Editors based on the scope of each project, while also being able to independently design, film, edit and produce social assets for global 360 campaigns, with a focus on Instagram and TikTok. Oversee creative development, pre-production, production and post-production across assigned campaigns.
• Lead and art direct creative shoots from lo-fi content to high-production photo and video—ensuring strong visual expression, clear creative direction and social-first execution.
• Partner with Consumer Engagement and the Social Editor to develop earned TikTok concepts for high-priority campaigns.
• Collaborate with the Audience team to optimize campaigns through strategic asset development, cadence planning, performance insights and benchmarking.
• Partner with Editorial to maintain a strong, consistent tone of voice across social, including writing and refining captions to ensure copy feels on-brand, engaging and platform-native. Support community engagement and commenting across select platforms.
• Extend TikTok and Instagram strategy across M·A·C’s broader digital ecosystem, ensuring social ideas translate effectively across key brand touchpoints.
• Develop and oversee owned social content briefs for MAC makeup artists, external creators, regional channels and celebrity ambassadors.
• Clearly communicate creative direction and design requirements to Designers, Video Editors and cross-functional partners throughout all stages of production.
• Identify and introduce emerging talent, creators, vendors and agencies for social asset creation and campaigns.
• Stay ahead of industry, cultural and platform trends including emerging technologies.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

• BA or BFA preferred.
• 5+ years of design experience, including proven experience leading and directing on set.
• Portfolio required, demonstrating social-first creative thinking, hands-on design and editing, beauty related creative direction, short-form video and work across both lo-fi and high-production content.
• Beauty experience required, with a strong understanding of makeup and Artistry and experience directing photo and video shoots with celebrity talent.
• Strong understanding of social campaign planning, content sequencing and cadence development across global and regional channels.
• Ability to interpret social performance data and apply insights to creative development and optimization.
• Exceptional visual taste and a strong point of view across beauty, fashion, entertainment and culture.
• Deep understanding of global social platforms, the digital media landscape and emerging platform tools.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, Keynote, PowerPoint and Figma, with working knowledge of After Effects and basic video editing.
• Experience using social publishing and scheduling tools, including platforms such as Dash Hudson.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to clearly articulate creative direction and collaborate across business, creative and technical teams.
• Strong organizational and prioritization skills, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams and collaborate across disciplines.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment.

Pay Range:

The anticipated base salary range for this position is $87,550.00 to $143,800.00. Exact salary depends on several factors such as experience, skills, education, and budget. Salary range may vary based on geographic location. In addition to base salary, this position is eligible for participation in a highly competitive bonus program with the possibility for overachievement based on performance and company results.

In addition, The Estée Lauder Companies offers a variety of benefits to eligible employees, including health insurance coverage (medical, dental, and vision insurance), wellness and family support programs, life and disability insurance, retirement savings plans, paid leave programs, education-related programs, paid holidays and vacation time, and many others. Many of these benefits are subsidized or fully paid for by the company.

Equal Opportunity Employer

It is Company's policy not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions), gender identity or gender expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, military service and veteran status, physical or mental disability, protected medical condition as defined by applicable state or local law, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws and ordinances. The Company will endeavor to provide a reasonable accommodation consistent with the law to otherwise qualified employees and prospective employees with a disability and to employees and prospective employees with needs related to their religious observance or practices.

Michigan Applicants: Persons with disabilities needing accommodations for employment must notify the company in writing of the need for an accommodation within 182 days after the date the person with a disability knew or reasonably should have known that an accommodation was needed.

Philadelphia Applicants: Philadelphia's Fair Chance Hiring Law

Rhode Island Applicants: The company is subject to chapters 29-38 of title 28 of the general laws of Rhode Island and is therefore covered by the state's workers' compensation law.