Brand Director

MetaLab; United States; Remote; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Metalab, a design-focused studio in the United States, seeks a Brand Director who blends vision with hands-on craft to shape brand experiences across digital and experiential touchpoints. You’ll lead with strategic insight, mentoring designers and guiding projects from insight to identity and expression for clients and internal initiatives.

You’ll partner with executives, build cohesive brand systems, and push the boundaries of brand in motion, 3D, and interaction design, ensuring clarity,

Qualifications

• 10+ years in brand design or leadership in digital-first environments.
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams end-to-end.
• Portfolio shows visual identity, systems, storytelling across digital touchpoints.
• Experience presenting to executives and translating vision into strategy.
• Proficient in modern tools and motion/interaction design.

Responsibilities

• Define the vision for brand design at Metalab and elevate brand practice.
• Mentor Brand Designers through all stages of the process from insight to expression.
• Partner with clients at strategic level to articulate, evolve, and scale brands.
• Oversee and refine brand systems for product, marketing, and motion design.
• Ensure brand engagements embody clarity, consistency and purpose.
• Drive creative direction for major initiatives and maintain brand cohesion.

Skills

Brand leadership

Mentorship

Strategic storytelling

Cross-disciplinary

Executive presenting

Motion design

Design systems

Workshop facilitation

Communication

Tools

Figma

Illustrator

After Effects

Job description

At Metalab, design is at the heart of everything we do. As the Brand Director, you’ll lead with vision, craft, and strategic insight—shaping how brands come to life across digital and experiential touchpoints. Building on Metalab’s legacy of design excellence, you’ll champion the creative direction and strategic development of brand experiences that connect meaningfully with users, drive business impact, and push the boundaries of what brand can mean in the digital era.

As a director, you’ll blend thought leadership with hands‑on mentorship. You’ll cultivate an environment where teams are inspired to create their best work, ensuring every brand we touch embodies clarity, creativity, and craft.

What You’ll Do

Lead the Work

• Define the vision for brand design at Metalab—elevating our brand practice to new levels of creative excellence.
• Guide and mentor Brand Designers of all levels through all stages of the brand process—from insight to identity to expression.
• Partner with clients at a strategic level, helping founders and executives articulate, evolve, and scale their brands for digital‑first environments.
• Oversee and refine brand systems that translate seamlessly into product experiences, marketing ecosystems, and motion design.
• Ensure every brand engagement—internal or client‑facing—embodies clarity, consistency, and purpose.

Shape Creative Direction

• Drive the creative process for major brand initiatives, setting the tone for identity systems, storytelling frameworks, and brand guidelines.
• Collaborate with Product Design leadership to ensure cohesive brand‑to‑product experiences.
• Lead cross‑disciplinary reviews, elevating critique culture and building team fluency in storytelling, systems thinking, and craft.
• Push creative boundaries by integrating motion, 3D, and interaction design to create dynamic, immersive brand moments.

Champion Collaboration and Growth

• Partner closely with the Chief Design Officer and Partnerships team in new business pursuits—pitching visionary, brand‑led design approaches.
• Collaborate with Marketing to ensure Metalab’s own brand maintains the highest standard of craft and cohesion across all expressions.
• Foster team culture rooted in openness, mentorship, and curiosity, ensuring Metalab remains a place where designers grow and thrive.
• Build bridges across disciplines, connecting brand, product, and marketing to create holistic experiences.

Technical & Strategic Competencies

• Visionary Brand Leadership – You inspire creative excellence, lead with clarity, and communicate a compelling brand vision that motivates teams and earns client trust. You’re adept at balancing creative risk‑taking with strategic rigor—ensuring every brand direction is both aspirational and grounded in business value.
• Hands‑on Design Craft – You don’t just direct great design; you do it. As one of the most senior contributors in the work, you lead by example with exceptional craft and attention to detail. You’re fluent in modern tools and practices, able to concept, design, and refine at a world‑class level. You bring hands‑on design energy to pitches, reviews, and live work, ensuring every output reflects the highest creative standards.
• Brand Systems Expertise – You translate complex ideas into coherent, scalable brand systems—visual, verbal, and experiential. You understand how identity lives across environments, from pixels to motion to storytelling, and can direct others to execute at this level.
• Strategic Storytelling – You see brand as narrative—how story, identity, and experience intersect. You guide teams and clients through this lens, helping them articulate what makes their brand meaningful and distinctive.
• Cross‑Disciplinary Collaboration – You work fluidly across product design, strategy, and marketing, ensuring brand vision permeates all layers of experience. You bring a systems mindset to brand‑building, connecting the dots across every touchpoint.
• Mentorship & Critique – You elevate the design community within Metalab by coaching, inspiring, and setting standards for exceptional creative work. You foster a culture of constructive critique and shared learning.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in brand design, creative direction, or design leadership—preferably in a digital‑first environment.
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and large‑scale brand engagements from strategy through execution.
• A portfolio that demonstrates mastery in visual identity, brand systems, and storytelling across digital touchpoints.
• Experience presenting to executive stakeholders, with the ability to translate creative thinking into strategic outcomes.
• Proficiency in modern design tools (Figma, Illustrator, After Effects, etc.) and an understanding of how brands extend through motion, interaction, and content.
• Strong facilitation and communication skills—you guide workshops and strategic sessions with confidence and empathy.
• Deep knowledge of design trends, emerging tools, and the evolving role of brand in the digital ecosystem.
• A passion for mentoring others and shaping the future of design culture at Metalab.

Equal opportunity employer

Research shows that women and other marginalized groups tend to only apply for a job when they meet every single criteria. Does this role sound like it was made for you, yet you don’t check every box? Reach out anyways! We’re an equal opportunity employer and are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and diverse environment for employees from all walks of life. We hire based on talent, and we’re proud of our global perspective.