Creative Director

Checkr; Denver, San Francisco (CO, CA); Hybrid; USD 197,000 - 232,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Learning and development allowance

Cash and equity compensation

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Fertility/adoption/parental planning:

Flexible PTO

Monthly wellness stipend

Job summary

Checkr is seeking a Creative Director, Brand, to set the brand’s creative vision and build a scalable Brand Studio. You will lead the team, shape the brand identity, and advise executives on positioning across Checkr’s marketing portfolio.

You will partner across Marketing, HR, Product, and Communications, guiding iconic campaigns and ensuring AI-assisted tools enhance the craft without replacing human judgment.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience leading brand and creative teams.
• Proven track record building or scaling a brand function.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating brand-building across channels.
• Experience translating strategy into distinctive creative work.
• Experience advising executives on brand positioning.

Responsibilities

• Set and lead the creative vision for Checkr’s brand across channels.
• Evolve brand identity system with consistent language and design standards.
• Inspire Brand Studio team with strong direction and mentorship.
• Develop high-impact campaigns from concept through execution.
• Build an operating system for brand standards, briefs, and reviews.
• Define and track brand health metrics like awareness and sentiment.
• Own high-visibility brand moments and ensure strong craft and on-brand AI use.
• Advise executives on brand positioning and narrative alignment with GTM priorities.

Skills

Brand leadership

Brand strategy

AI in branding

Team leadership

Executive advising

Tools

AI tools

Job description

About Checkr

Checkr is building the data platform to power safe and fair decisions. Over 140,000 companies and millions of people rely on Checkr for AI verification in the moments that matter most: getting a new job, a new place to live, a car ride, childcare, even a date. Customers include Uber, Pennymac, Airbnb, Doordash, and Anthropic.

We’re a team that thrives on solving complex problems with innovative solutions that advance our mission. Checkr is recognized on Forbes Cloud 100 2025 List and is a Y Combinator 2024 Breakthrough Company.

Reporting to Checkr's VP of Marketing, the Creative Director, Head of Brand will set the creative vision for how Checkr shows up in the world, while owning and evolving our newly refreshed brand identity.

This role will lead Checkr's Brand Studio team and creative execution across Marketing's full portfolio of work, turning brand strategy into distinctive, memorable creative that builds recognition and preference for Checkr. The role will build brand into an operating system - clear standards, briefs, and review processes paired with AI-powered, self-serve tools - so the rest of the company can produce great work without the team touching every asset. Partnering closely with teams across Marketing, Internal Communications, HR, and Product, and advising executives on how Checkr shows up and is perceived, this leader will play a defining role in the company's reputation as it continues to grow.

What you’ll do

• Set and lead the creative vision for Checkr, translating brand strategy into distinctive ideas, campaigns, and experiences that build recognition and strengthen the brand over time
• Own and evolve Checkr's newly refreshed brand identity system - visual language, voice, and design standards - ensuring it's applied consistently and thoughtfully while continuing to push the brand creatively as the company scales
• Lead and inspire the Brand Studio team, raising the creative bar through strong direction, mentorship, and a high standard of craft, while continually exploring new ways of working - including AI tools and processes - used additively to extend the team's craft, never in place of it
• Lead the development of high-impact brand campaigns and creative platforms from concept through execution, bringing strong creative judgment to work across channels and formats
• Build brand into an operating system - standards, briefs, review cycles, and clear decision rights - paired with AI-powered, self-serve tools, and partner across Checkr to put those tools directly in every team's hands
• Define and track brand health (awareness, sentiment, consistency) to measure the impact of brand investment beyond individual campaigns
• Own creative execution and exercise final judgment on high-visibility brand moments - from campaigns and product launches to executive communications - ensuring the work is strategically sound, creatively distinctive, and executed at a high level of craft, including knowing when AI-generated work is off-brand or needs a human hand
• Advise Checkr's executives on brand positioning and narrative, and partner with Marketing leadership to align brand strategy with go-to-market priorities

What you bring

• 10+ years of experience increative and brand leadership
• including experience building or significantly scaling a brand function - not just maintaining one
• A strong portfolio of brand-building work demonstrating exceptional creative thinking, conceptual ability, and craft across campaigns, channels, and experiences
• A proven track record of developing distinctive creative ideas and translating brand strategy into work that earns attention and builds brand recognition
• Exceptional creative taste and judgment, with the ability to recognize great work, articulate what makes it great, and help teams make it better
• Demonstrated use of AI tools in real, shipped brand work, with a clear point of view on where automation belongs and where human judgment and craft are non-negotiable
• Proven judgment shaping brand and narrative at the company level, with experience advising executives on positioning
• Rigorous measurement instincts - defines and owns brand health metrics like awareness and sentiment as a discipline in their own right, alongside campaign performance
• Strong people leadership experience, with a track record of building, inspiring, and developing high-performing creative teams, and comfort operating with high autonomy in a fast-moving environment
• An A-player mindset with a strong bias for action: you raise the bar, move with urgency, stay resilient through ambiguity, and take ownership to deliver meaningful outcomes.

Pay Transparency Disclosure

We use geographic cost of labor as an input to develop ranges for our roles and as such, each location where we hire may have a different range. If this role is remote, we have listed the top to the bottom of the possible range, but we will specify the target range for an exact location when you are selected for a recruiting discussion. For more information on our compensation philosophy, see our website.

On-target Earnings OR Base Salary range (San Francisco, CA)

$233,000 - $274,000 USD

On-target Earnings OR Base Salary range (Denver, CO)

$197,000 - $232,000 USD

What We Offer

• A fast-paced and collaborative environment
• Learning and development allowance
• Competitive cash and equity compensation, and opportunity for advancement
• 100% medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Up to $25K reimbursement for fertility, adoption, and parental planning services
• Flexible PTO policy
• Monthly wellness stipend

At Checkr, we believe an in office work environment strengthens collaboration, drives innovation, and encourages connection. Our hub locations are Denver, CO; San Francisco, CA; Nashville, TN; and Santiago, Chile. Individuals are expected to work from the office 3+ days a week. In-office perks are provided, such as lunch five times a week, a commuter stipend, and an abundance of snacks and beverages. A relocation stipend may be available for those willing to relocate to a Checkr hub location.

Equal Employment Opportunities at Checkr

Checkr is committed to building the best product and company, which requires hiring talented and qualified individuals with a diverse set of perspectives and lived experiences. Checkr believes in hiring people of all backgrounds, including those whose histories are impacted by the justice system in accordance with local, state, and/or federal laws, including the San Francisco’s Fair Chance Ordinance.

Applicant Privacy Policy

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For applicants in Massachusetts:

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.