Design Director

JDO Ltd; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

JDO USA in Midtown Manhattan is seeking a hands-on Design Director to lead day-to-day design delivery from our studio, setting a high creative standard across the team. This role includes mentoring, client collaboration and guiding packaging and branding work for Personal Care, Beauty and Alcohol.

Based in New York, the role is ideally full-time, with 3 days per week in the studio, and opportunities to shape studio culture while exploring strategic, brand-aligned solutions.

Qualifications

• Strong portfolio across global FMCG packaging (personal care, beauty, alcohol).
• Able to mentor junior team members and bring clarity to work across global offices.
• Maintain pace without losing sight of the bigger picture.
• 6+ years in agency environments delivering across categories and multiple workstreams.

Responsibilities

• Creative thinking and crafting excellence to meet high creative standards.
• Strategic and brand alignment with client business, audience mindset and brief intent.
• Studio process and project delivery across multiple workstreams with resource planning.
• Team collaboration and contribution to foster bravery, clarity and growth.
• Leadership and mentoring, providing clear, thoughtful feedback and learning opportunities.
• Commercial acumen: manage project scope, creative viability and resourcing to balance ambition with delivery.

Skills

Packaging design

Branding experience

Team leadership

Creative direction

Job description

Shape beautifully crafted work in our New York studio.
We’re looking for a hands-on Design Director to support and lead day-to-day design delivery from our Manhattan studio, helping to set a high creative standard across the team. We are also currently recruiting for an ACD/CD for this studio so please be sure to apply for the correct level depending on your specific experience. We are only interested in candidates with packaging and branding experience, specifically within Personal Care, Beauty and Alcohol. You will also need to be prepared to work within the tobacco and oil categories.

WHO YOU ARE

You’re a natural leader: strategic, insightful and creatively driven. You see the potential in every brief and the opportunity in every constraint. You bring calm confidence to the room, balancing clarity with care and guiding the team to deliver their best work. You inspire belief – in the work, in the process and in the people around you. Your vision is sharp, your instincts are trusted and your leadership lifts everything it touches .

RESPONSIBILITIES

Creative thinking & crafting excellenceYou set the creative standard for your team, guiding and shaping the work to meet JDO’s high bar for originality, relevance and beauty. You push for design that provokes emotion, inspires belief and holds true to the brand’s purpose. You inspire confident, strategic use of AI across the team, knowing where it adds value and where human creativity must lead.

Strategic & brand alignmentYou connect the creative to the bigger picture. You understand your client’s business, the audience’s mindset and the brief’s intent, and you use that knowledge to shape bold, brand-right solutions. You challenge assumptions thoughtfully and champion clarity throughout.

Studio process & project deliveryYou lead multiple workstreams with confidence and care. You make informed choices around project structure and resource allocation, based on clear understanding of brief complexity, timings and budgets. You work closely with account and production teams to keep work flowing and teams supported.

Team collaboration & contributionYou help create a studio environment that fosters bravery, clarity and growth. You contribute with presence, guide with generosity and ensure conversations stay constructive and focused. You help your teams feel energised, empowered and part of something bigger.

Leadership & mentoringYou coach and support others by modelling high standards and holding space for learning. You give clear, thoughtful feedback and help people grow through clarity, care and stretch. Your presence brings confidence to clients, teams and peers alike.

Commercial acumenYou take ownership of project scope, creative viability and team resourcing. You balance creative ambition with sustainable delivery: ensuring time is tracked, hours are respected and decisions support long-term value. You guide others in understanding how commercial clarity empowers creative freedom.

EXPERIENCE

You'll need to:

Have a strong portfolio across global FMCG (personal care, beauty and alcohol) packaging

Be a team builder, able to mentor more junior team members and bring clarity to others working across our global offices

Work with pace without losing sight of the bigger picture

Have 6+ years in agency environments delivering across categories and multiple workstreams

LOCATION AND FLEXIBILITY

Role is based in Manhattan
Ideally full-time (40 hours, 3 days per week in the studio)

JDO USA

A chance to shape and grow something new From our studio in midtown Manhattan, just steps from the Empire State Building, we partner with clients across North America. As part of this small but ambitious team, you’ll help shape the culture of the studio, building smart ways of working, setting a high creative bar and bringing our values of bravery, generosity and clarity into everything we do.

We’re part of JDO’s international network of designers, strategists and client partnership experts, working with some of the world’s most loved and influential brands. Our work spans brand and creative strategy, packaging and product design, innovation and sustainability, and experiential and campaign activation.

Whatever the brief, we create brand worlds that connect, inspire and stay relevant in an ever-changing landscape.

About us

JDO is an award-winning design agency, expertly helping brands deliver on their promises by creating experiences people can see, feel, and believe.

With boundless creativity and craftsmanship, we craft identities and brand worlds that drive success. Partnering with visionaries and disruptors alike, we turn brand promises into powerful belief.

Our promise to every member of our team is a career that matters. One where your talent is recognised, your growth is supported, and your individuality is celebrated.

Be part of a team that brings energy, generosity and craft into every room – and shows up for each other, every single day. Together, we design for distinction, push boundaries and stay curious, always seeking a better way.

We believe creativity thrives on diversity – of background, identity, experience and thought. We’re committed to building a workplace where everyone feels safe, seen and supported to grow.