Associate Design Director

TL;DR

Associate Design Director: Leading conceptual creative development and execution across branding, campaigns, content, and experiential work with an accent on defining visual direction and elevating design craft. Focus on translating strategic insights into culturally resonant ideas and mentoring design talent while maintaining hands-on execution.

Location: Hybrid in New York City (in office Monday-Thursday, Fridays remote)

Salary: $145,000–$165,000/year

Company

MATTE is a 360° creative studio specializing in strategic ideation, branding, web design, and content creation for forward-thinking brands.

What you will do

• Lead creative concepting for brand identities, integrated campaigns, content, and experiential projects.
• Define and drive visual direction, setting creative standards and ensuring excellence across projects.
• Design and oversee high-level work across digital, print, motion, and spatial environments.
• Translate strategic insights into bold, culturally resonant creative ideas.
• Act as a senior creative voice in internal reviews and client presentations, articulating rationale.
• Provide hands-on creative leadership and mentorship to designers.

Requirements

• 8–9+ years of experience in design and art direction within creative agencies or studios.
• Exceptional portfolio demonstrating branding and campaign work with concept leadership.
• Strong ability to develop and scale visual systems across multiple touchpoints.
• Deep cultural fluency and a sharp design point of view.
• Experience leading projects, mentoring designers, and collaborating cross-functionally.
• On-set experience working with directors, photographers, and production teams.
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, and Cinema4D.

Culture & Benefits

• Full Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage.
• 401k with a 4% company contribution match.
• Fully covered yearly Citibike membership and Talkspace membership.
• Competitive PTO package, End of Year Recharge paid time off.
• Sabbatical Program option after three years of employment.
• Parental Leave for all new parents.