Design Director – Freelance

Responsibilities:

• Lead design direction across two concurrent website redesigns, ensuring a cohesive system-driven approach across both experiences
• Define and evolve a shared design system, including components, patterns, and templates that scale across multiple sites
• Guide and mentor a team of designers, providing clear feedback and direction to elevate the work
• Partner closely with product, engineering, and production to ensure feasibility and quality in execution
• Stay close to the work—reviewing flows, wireframes, and high-fidelity designs to maintain a high bar for craft and usability
• Establish and reinforce best practices for responsive design, accessibility, and component-based thinking
• Drive alignment with stakeholders, clearly articulating design rationale and decisions
• Identify risks, gaps, or inconsistencies across both builds and proactively solve for them
• Balance speed and quality in a fast-moving, iterative environment

Requirements:

• 8+ years of experience in digital product or web design, with time spent in a Design Director or Lead role
• Proven experience leading large-scale website redesigns, ideally for enterprise or eCommerce brands
• Strong expertise in design systems and component-based design, with experience scaling across multiple properties
• A portfolio demonstrating both high-level design direction and hands-on execution
• Experience managing and mentoring designers while staying close to the work
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills, especially with engineering and product partners
• Ability to articulate design decisions clearly to stakeholders and clients
• High attention to detail with a passion for craft, interaction, and usability.

Benefits:

• ⭐ Competitive hourly rate