Lead Curator, Curation Strategy & Programs San Francisco, California / Remote

Visual Supply Co; San Francisco (CA); Remote; USD 145,000 - 155,000; Full time

Job summary

VSCO is looking for a Lead Curator to evolve its curation practices and inspire its global creative community. This pivotal role will lead the modernization of curation processes, ensuring quality and diversity while driving community engagement. With a focus on artistic expression and collaboration, the Lead Curator will enhance VSCO’s distinct creative identity and advocate for innovative storytelling. Ideal candidates will possess a strong background in photography curation and dynamic program leadership.

Benefits

Healthcare insurance for employees and families

Flexible Time Off

401K retirement plan

Company-paid parental and medical leave

Equity options

Discretionary bonuses based on performance

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in photography curation or editorial roles on digital platforms.
• Strong cross-functional communication and collaboration skills.
• Experience in building creative programs that highlight artistic communities.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead modern curation practices across programs and partnerships.
• Maintain a stream of exceptional work in the VSCO Collection.
• Collaborate with Product, Marketing, and Data teams for integrated strategies.

Skills

Photography curation

Creative program leadership

Editorial direction

Data analysis

Collaboration

Education

Experience in digital platforms

Job description

About VSCO

VSCO (pronounced vis–co) is a platform that equips photographers with the tools, community, and exposure they need to expand creatively and professionally. VSCO maintains a rich and authentic creative environment that serves photographers at all levels – preserving a home for creative opportunity, inspiration, and connection.

At VSCO, our mission is to nurture creativity so you can make it. We empower photographers to connect with other creatives and businesses with our suite of creative tools that spans from mobile to desktop and across our global community. We are looking for humble overachievers and self-starters who are naturally curious, highly organized, and thrive in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment. We foster a culture of collaboration, inclusion, ambition, and progress.

About the role

At VSCO, we believe in the power of creativity to move culture forward. We're seeking a Lead Curator to help us honor that belief — someone who can thoughtfully evolve our curation practices, elevate emerging voices, and inspire our global community. This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of creative storytelling on a platform built for creators, by creators.

As Lead Curator, you will have a pivotal role on our Brand team in advancing and scaling VSCO’s curation practices to align with our evolving strategic goals. With a deep commitment to our distinctive creative point of view, this role drives the modernization, optimization, and amplification of our curation processes across programs, events, and partnerships.

Working at both strategic and executional levels, the Senior Curator identifies opportunities for innovation in how we source, select, and surface community content, representing the creative identity of the VSCO community across all touch points. This role combines an expert eye for photography with operational rigor and impact-driven thinking, and a commitment to equity and integrity in creative expression.

The day-to-day

Strategic Leadership & Process Optimization

• Serve as the primary architect of VSCO’s evolving curation models, bridging human artistry with machine learning systems to modernize processes without losing creative nuance.
• Redefine and scale the current curation pipeline, ensuring sustainable growth while maintaining editorial excellence, reinforcing VSCO's creative identity, and supporting business goals. Define requirements for new tools and processes that innovate our approach to curation.
• Design and lead strategic frameworks for ongoing curation programs and new initiatives, optimizing for impact, quality, diversity, and retention. Define and create new programs derived from understanding the business and needs of the community.

Community Elevation + Amplification

• Maintain and elevate a consistent stream of exceptional work in the VSCO Collection, ensuring alignment with our curation charter: thoughtful compositions, intentional perspectives, exceptional skill, and creative experimentation.
• Identify and surface diverse voices within our international community and new creative styles, with a rigorous lens on cultural relevance and representation, creative innovation, and community impact.
• Define and lead high-impact collaborations with creators, shaping narratives that build authenticity, brand trust, and engagement across all platforms.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Thought Leadership

• Act as a key partner to Product, Marketing, and Data teams, ensuring curation initiatives are integrated into broader company strategies.
• Provide strategic guidance on the development, training, and refinement of curation algorithms, championing the balance between machine-driven efficiency and human artistic judgment.
• Leverage your expertise and influence to advocate for creator-first approaches and educate the company on the evolving landscape of creative storytelling.

Measurement, Insight, and Impact

• Define business outcomes for curation programs, tracking the influence of curated content on engagement, retention, and brand health.
• Regularly collect, analyze, and synthesize data to inform curation strategies and evolve programs based on measurable outcomes and community feedback.
• Lead retrospectives and publish internal reports that synthesize creative, operational, and community learnings.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in photography curation, creative program leadership, editorial direction, or equivalent roles, preferably on digital platforms.
• Independently and collaboratively building and scaling programs that highlight artistic communities.
• Experience working with or advising on machine learning or algorithmic systems.
• Highly organized, systems-minded, and entrepreneurial in optimizing processes for scale and impact.
• Deep expertise in photography, visual culture, and emerging creative trends across diverse communities and geographies.
• Proven ability to lead through ambiguity, drive operational excellence, and balance creative intuition with data-driven strategy.
• Strong cross-functional communication and collaboration skills, with a proven ability to influence product, marketing, and leadership teams.
• Experience initiating and maintaining a range of strong collaborative relationships with creators.
• A virtual first workplace with bi-annual company-wide travel events to connect and play
• Competitive Salary & Equity
• Healthcare insurance, vision, dental insurance for employees and families
• Flexible Time Off
• Company-paid parental, medical and caregiver leave

Why VSCO?

We value the creative process and our employees’ opinions — input is encouraged, regardless of your position or title. We want to work with people who are driven and demonstrate initiative in taking our mission to the next level.

We believe in building a safe place for creative expression and celebrating that which makes us human, welcoming unique and personal backgrounds and experiences. We’re proud to foster diverse perspectives within VSCO as we continue to build an inclusive culture.

Compensation

The base salary for this position will vary based on several factors, such as relevant experience, location and your approved internal leveling assessed during the interview process. The base salary range for this role is $145,000 - $155,000. Salary is one component of our total compensation package. This position also qualifies for equity (i.e. stock options) and is eligible for discretionary bonuses based on performance. The benefits available for this position include flexible time off, a 401K retirement plan, insurance (medical, dental, vision, life/AD&D, short and long term disability), and 11 paid holidays. We also provide paid sick time as required by state and local law. Additional benefits and perks contained in our standard employee benefits package are also offered for this position.

Please note:

The application window for this role will be open until at least 6/16/25. This opportunity will remain online based on business needs which may be before or after the specified date.

Be careful of fraudulent job posts.

If you receive outreach from someone claiming to work for VSCO, please verify they are communicating through the proper channels (vsco.co email domain or through Greenhouse).

Note that VSCO will never ask for financial information or sensitive personal information during the application process.

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