Principal Creative

Engine; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 204,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Hybrid-hub model

Remote-friendly policy

Job summary

Engine is seeking a Principal Creative to join its Brand team in San Francisco. This role goes beyond direction, activating the Engine brand across high-impact moments and building creative platforms that define how the brand shows up in the world.

You’ll lead integrated campaigns, digital experiences, and growth creative, defining big ideas that anchor initiatives and guiding work from brief to delivery with rigor.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in creative direction or integrated marketing.
• Portfolio shows strong conceptual thinking across brand campaigns and growth creative.
• Proven track record of developing brand platforms from brief through launch.
• Strong project leadership; organized, decisive, and maintains momentum.
• Comfortable partnering with strategists, designers, copywriters, and producers.
• Able to lead both large campaigns and focused, craft-driven projects.
• Confident presenter with executive-level communication.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of brand and campaign platforms that scale across channels.
• Activate the Engine brand across initiatives including campaigns and launches.
• Own projects from brief through delivery, maintaining a high creative bar.
• Partner with Brand Strategy to ensure sharp insight and clear positioning.
• Lead multi-disciplinary teams and agency partners with clear direction.
• Oversee smaller projects with the same ambition and craft as large campaigns.
• Present concepts to senior stakeholders with clarity and conviction.
• Identify opportunities to extend the brand into new channels and formats.

Skills

Creative direction

Integrated marketing

Brand campaigns

Campaign platforms

Executive presenting

Collaboration with strategists

Job description

About Engine

Engine is the AI-native platform for intelligent travel. For a decade, Engine has built the proprietary technology and supply behind modern business travel, serving over 40,000 customers and nearly 2 million travelers, along with leading travel and AI companies that build on Engine's infrastructure. One system powers business travel, group travel, human agents, and AI agents.

About Engine

That work has earned Engine recognition as TravelTech's Reservation Platform of the Year (2026), a spot on Inc.'s Power Partners list (2026), and one of Built In's Best Places to Work (2020–2026).

We're looking for bold, ambitious people to help redefine how businesses manage and experience travel. Working here, you can expect exponential growth, an ambitious pace, full ownership, and high-caliber colleagues who push you to do the best work of your career. Every hire raises the bar.

Come outpace the ordinary and build the future of travel with us.

About the Role

We're looking for a Principal Creative to join our Brand team. This role goes beyond creative direction and executing campaigns. It's about activating the Engine brand across its highest-impact moments and building the creative platforms that define how the brand shows up in the world.

You’ll lead integrated brand campaigns, digital experiences, growth campaigns, social content, and beyond. You'll define the big ideas that anchor each initiative and drive them through to delivery with creative rigor and strategic clarity. This role requires someone who is as comfortable developing a campaign platform as they are rolling up their sleeves on a focused, highly creative project.

This role is critical to how Engine's brand comes to life in the market. You'll partner closely with Brand Strategy to ensure every campaign and experience is rooted in sharp insight and clear positioning—translating strategy into work that is bold, cohesive, and built to perform across every touchpoint.

What You'll Do

• Lead the development of brand and campaign platforms — translating strategy into big, extensible ideas that scale across channels and contexts
• Activate the Engine brand across a wide range of initiatives including integrated campaigns, digital experiences, growth campaigns, product launches, and brand moments
• Own projects from brief through delivery — setting creative direction, driving decisions, and maintaining a high creative bar at every stage
• Partner closely with Brand Strategy to ensure creative work is grounded in sharp insight, clear positioning, and strategic intent
• Lead and inspire multi-disciplinary creative teams and agency partners, providing clear direction and meaningful feedback throughout the creative process
• Oversee smaller, highly creative projects with the same ambition and craft as large-scale campaigns, no project is too small to be exceptional
• Present creative concepts and campaign platforms to senior stakeholders and executive leadership with clarity and conviction
• Identify opportunities to extend and evolve the Engine brand into new channels, formats, and moments

What We're Looking For

• 12+ years of experience in creative direction or integrated marketing, with a portfolio that demonstrates strong conceptual thinking across brand campaigns, digital experiences, and growth creative
• Proven track record of developing brand and campaign platforms from brief through launch, at an exceptionally high creative bar
• Strong project lead, you are organized, decisive, and able to drive complex creative initiatives forward without losing creative momentum
• Deep partnership instincts, you know how to work closely with strategists, designers, copywriters, and producers to get to the best possible work
• Equally comfortable leading large-scale integrated campaigns and highly focused, craft-driven creative projects
• Highly conceptual with a sharp eye for how ideas extend and behave across touchpoints, channels, and formats
• Confident communicator and presenter who can advocate for creative decisions at the executive level
• Comfortable operating in a fast-moving environment where strategic clarity and creative ambition have to coexist

Applications for this role will be accepted through October 15th or until the role is filled. We encourage you to apply early, as we may begin reviewing applications before the deadline.

Compensation

Our compensation packages are based on several factors, including your experience, expertise, and location. In addition to a competitive base salary, all roles receive equity. Depending on the role, total compensation may also include an annual bonus. Your recruiter will share your complete compensation package as you move through the process.

Base Pay Range

$204,000-$240,000 USD

The Engine Edge: Perks & Compensation

We believe in rewarding great work with great benefits:

• Compensation: Competitive base pay tied to role and experience, with equity for all employees. Some roles are also eligible for bonuses or commissions.
• Benefits: Check out our full list at engine.com/culture
• Environments for Success: Different roles have different needs in terms of the environments that drive success which is why we have a hybrid-hub model. Whether you are in one of our amazing offices or fully remote, we'll make sure you have what you need to succeed.

Perks and benefits may vary based on employment type, location, and more