Design Director, UI/UX

Darkroom is a technology-driven growth marketing firm focused on growth-stage consumer companies. We were founded in 2017 out of a conviction that the iconic ad agencies of tomorrow would look very different. Darkroom is a human services firm built on a universal AI commerce layer called Matter. Our model deploys a unique blend of senior, human resources enriched by an agentic technology stack that enhances output, efficiency, and revenue generation for our clients.

Our team has been responsible for billions of dollars in trackable revenue across the various e-commerce marketplace, direct-to-consumer, and social commerce programs under management. Using research aggregated across these engagements, we accelerate results for our portfolio by developing high-impact digital strategies that unlock gateways to revenue growth, transform marketing operations, and prioritize profitability.

What started as a boutique design agency evolved into one of the fastest-growing private companies in America (Inc. 5000), one of the most successful results-driven performance media agencies of the 2020s (Varos), and esteemed recognition by Forbes 30 Under 30 for our founders' contribution in Marketing & Advertising (Forbes).

We are hiring a Design Director - a visionary leader with a strong design background who thrives in driving high-quality design execution across various platforms as well as managing creative talent. You'll combine strategic oversight with hands-on involvement, ensuring that every design project meets the highest standards of excellence.

This role requires deep experience in branded UI/UX design. You're a senior-level design lead that can independently own multiple web design engagements simultaneously. Navigating client feedback and pushback is an everyday muscle you successfully work with. You can show deep experience in being able to thread the needle between game-changing UI, conversion-oriented UX, and technical feasibility, all on a tight timeline. Clients are consistently impressed by your knowledge of e-commerce heuristics and how you combine that with unique and branded design. You love working with developers to understand how to make your ideas come to life and sell clients on design solutions and tradeoffs they have to make to complete engagements on-time.

You pride yourself on being able to effortlessly spin up a new brand design system for a client that feels differentiated, elevated, and informed by your strategic market analysis. You have consistently merged business thinking with exceptional visual craft into scalable brand identities that work across paid media, retention, web, social, and packaging.

In addition to your individual contributor responsibilities, you will report to the Director of Creative and play a key role in guiding a talented team of designers, overseeing the delivery of exceptional designs for paid ads, emails, landing pages, and e-commerce web design. With your deep expertise in UI/UX and brand design, you'll empower your team to elevate their skills while maintaining a high bar for creative output and attention to detail.

This role requires a balance of creativity, business strategy, and leadership in a fast-paced, collaborative environment. You'll work closely with marketing, product, and development teams to ensure the alignment of design goals with broader business objectives. Your ability to drive creative strategy and manage multiple projects with precision will be essential to your success. Darkroom is a career incubator for ambitious talent looking to operate at the intersection of business, design, and innovation.

This is a fully remote role operating in the EST Time Zone and all business is conducted 100% in English.

Senior Individual Contributor Responsibilities:

• Lead 1-3 UI/UX engagements as needed, focusing on creating branded e-commerce websites.

• Emphasize branded UI, conversion-focused UX, and clarity in design approaches.

• Present design work to clients, explaining design choices based on effective reasoning and UX principles.

• Manage design projects independently from discovery to hand-off, adhering to timelines and collaborating with developers to ensure feasibility.

• Develop component systems and maintain design guidelines for consistency.

Management Responsibilities:

• Manage a team of designers, starting with 2-4 direct reports and expanding as the team grows. Provide support in strategy, project management, design feedback, performance evaluation, and handling escalations.

• Conduct weekly 1:1s with direct reports to assess client health, offer feedback, and oversee career development.

• Ensure high-quality work output from direct reports, focusing on visual craft, UX expertise, and meeting deadlines.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including marketers, strategists, developers, and clients, to develop project plans, understand business objectives, and address client issues.

• Refine internal processes for client work in coordination with the Director of Creative. Provide training and feedback to enhance the skills of the design team.

You Should Apply if this Sounds Like You:

• 3-6+ years of senior-level web design experience with e-commerce companies, with at least 1 year of people management experience preferred. Must have experience in responsive web design.

• Digital portfolio showcasing web design and branding skills, including color theory, hierarchy, composition, and typography.

• Self-motivated, proactive, and detail-oriented with a strong sense of ownership.

• Experience collaborating with developers and documenting designs for development hand-off.

• Comfortable with client-facing responsibilities in English, including leading discovery calls and resolving client feedback.

• Capable of providing constructive internal feedback and guiding direct reports to improve their work.

• Ability to tackle ambiguous problems, understand business challenges, design solutions, and execute them effectively.

• Proficiency in Figma, including features like Auto Layout, Components, and Variants, is essential.

• Experience with Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator) is required.

• Bonus: Familiarity with HTML/CSS or frameworks like Tailwind.

Working at Darkroom

Darkroom is not a typical agency. We are looking for A players that want to build something great. There is no room in our organization for mediocrity and candidates that are not at the top of their game do not last. We move fast, think deeply, and expect every team member to bring insight and rigor to everything they touch. We hold a high bar for performance, creativity, and ownership — but we also support each other relentlessly. No egos, no red tape — just world-class talent building something remarkable.

We believe in autonomy with accountability, truth over comfort, and outcomes over optics. If you want to build and win alongside some of the smartest people in the business, you'll thrive here.

• Location, location, (or no) location: Remote-first culture with a strong community base. With Hubs in the Bay Area, New York, Philly, Lisbon, Sao Paulo, and Barcelona

• Parental Leave: flexible parental leave benefits to support new parents during this important transition, ensuring time to bond with their families while maintaining work-life balance.

• Endless opportunities for growth: Our agency is founded on an interdisciplinary approach, giving Darkroomers insights into services far beyond your job description. Grow your skills and interests beyond your niche and stay at the forefront of the industry through total immersion in cross-functional collaboration.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Darkroom is an equal opportunity workplace—we are dedicated to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national orientation, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.