Associate Director of Creative, AI

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About Darkroom

Darkroom is a
- driven growth marketing firm focused on growth‑stage consumer companies. Founded in 2017, we strive to create the next generation of ad agencies by combining human talent with an AI commerce layer called Matter. Our model deploys a blend of senior, human‑centered resources enriched by an agentic technology stack that enhances output, efficiency, and revenue generation for our clients. We have delivered billions of dollars in trackable revenue across e‑commerce, direct‑to‑consumer, and social commerce programs and have been recognized as a top private company, a premier performance media agency, and a Forbes 30 Under 30 contributor.

About The Role

We are looking for an experienced Associate Director of Creative to join our team. The Associate Director is a player/coach designer who leads a pod of Designers and delivers AI‑powered Creative Direction, Marketing Design, and UI/UX Design at a high bar of client service and visual quality. You will bring expertise in integrating AI tools like Chat
GPT, Perplexity, and Midjourney into your workflows to drive efficiency and innovation.

This role reports to the Director of Creative. In the first 60 days you will help the creative team integrate Chat
GPT and AI into their work to discover and implement efficiencies, build AI‑workflows and trainings, and own Creative Direction engagements that impact paid marketing and organic channels for e‑commerce clients.

The position is a fully remote role operating in the EST time zone and all business is conducted 100% in English. We are open to candidates in Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, and Spain.

Management Responsibilities

• Manage a team of designers, starting with 1–2 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 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 and provide training and feedback to enhance the design team’s skills.

Senior Individual Contributor Responsibilities

• Champion AI‑powered work by delivering trainings on best practices and building efficient workflows with the Director of Creative.
• Lead Creative Direction engagements focused on transforming paid or organic marketing channels through deliverables such as content calendars, creative briefs, and strategic proposals.
• Lead 1–2 UI/UX engagements as capacity allows, focusing on branded e‑commerce websites with conversion‑focused UX and clarity in design approaches.
• Present design and creative direction work to clients, explaining 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.

You Should Apply if this Sounds Like You

• 3–6+ years of senior‑level design experience, with at least 1 year of people‑management experience preferred.
• Experience in creative direction, marketing design, or responsive web design.
• Digital portfolio showcasing web design, marketing design, and branding skills, including color theory, hierarchy, composition, and typography.
• Self‑motivated, proactive, and detail‑oriented with a strong sense of ownership.
• Experience working with AI tools and producing client‑ready assets powered by AI outputs.
• 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 such as Auto Layout, Components, and Variants.
• Experience with Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator) is required.

Working at Darkroom

Darkroom is not a typical agency. We look for A players who want to build something great. There is no room for mediocrity, and we expect every team member to bring insight and rigor to everything they touch. We hold a high bar for performance, creativity, and ownership, while supporting each other relentlessly. We believe in autonomy with accountability, truth over comfort, and outcomes over optics.

• Remote‑first culture with a strong community base and hubs in the Bay Area, New York, Philly, Lisbon, Sao Paulo, and Barcelona.
• Flexible parental leave benefits to support new parents during this important transition.
• Endless opportunities for growth: our agency’s interdisciplinary approach lets you gain insights beyond your job description and stay at the forefront through 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.