Director, Environmental Creative (SF - Hybrid)

Director, Creative (SF - Remote, Hybrid)

We are a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, we create what is next by pioneering ideas, acting fast, and moving further because standing still just is not in our DNA.

We are drawn to people who stay curious, move with intent, and never stop inventing. Our culture runs on three values: better together, relentlessly curious, and get sh*t done. It is how we work, how we grow, and how we make things that matter.

At DEPT®, you will find the freedom to explore, the space to collaborate, and the trust to make a real impact for our clients, for each other, and for the world we are helping to build.

THE ROLE

We are seeking a visionary Director, Creative who thinks beyond the screen and understands the power of physical environments, including retail. In this role, you will be the architect of our clients’ brand’s physical presence, tasked with pushing creative boundaries both expressively and graphically.

You will not just design stores; you will build flexible systems that breathe life into our clients’ brand. We need a leader who can guide a team through the full creative spectrum, iterating from “mild to wild” to discover the perfect balance between avant‑garde storytelling and practical producibility.

In this role, you will lead a cross‑functional team to deliver distinct brand experiences and ensure brand content and campaign messaging are consistent and cohesive across all touchpoints. Additionally, you will join an embedded team, working onsite with the client weekly to oversee launches and collaborate across multidisciplinary teams and stakeholders.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Closely collaborate with multidisciplinary teams of talented people across the agency and projects.
• Lead the creative team in rigorous conceptual exploration grounded in our ability to deliver. You must be comfortable driving the work from safe, foundational ideas (“mild”) to boundary‑pushing, disruptive concepts (“wild”), ensuring we explore the full limits of what is possible before refining for execution.
• Orchestrate a seamless story across all physical touchpoints. This includes directing the strategy for in‑store digital screens, physical print collateral, and subtle experiential details (texture, lighting, flow).
• Partner lock‑step with the senior copywriter. You will work as a cohesive unit to ensure the visual environment and the narrative voice are inextricably linked and mutually elevating.
• Distinct from one‑off installations, you will establish a robust, scalable design system for our client’s stores. This system must be rigid enough to maintain brand consistency but flexible enough to adapt to different footprints and markets.
• Infuse physical spaces with expressive design elements. You will determine how typography, color, and animation live within a three‑dimensional architecture.
• Strong knowledge of visual design, user‑centered experience design, interaction design, brand development, and the creative process.
• Ability to lead internal teams with strategic vision and creative inspiration.
• An entrepreneurial and independent spirit.
• A diverse sense of taste with the knowledge necessary to apply to various challenges.
• Bring deep empathy to the users you design for, the brands you help evolve, and the internal teams you lead and collaborate with.
• Innovation and experimental thinking that generate innovative thinking.

WHAT YOU BRING

• 8+ years in creative leadership, specifically with a focus on Experiential Design, Environmental Design, or Retail Innovation.
• A deep understanding of how humans move through and interact with physical spaces. You can read floor plans as well as you can critique a layout.
• A portfolio of work that demonstrates the ability to translate brand strategy into immersive physical experiences. Must show examples of work scaling from concept to built reality.
• Familiarity with material fabrication, print production techniques, and digital display technologies.
• Mastery of the Adobe Creative Suite; familiarity with spatial tools (SketchUp, Rhino, or similar) is a strong plus.
• Demonstrated ability to provide strategic vision and creative inspiration to large, diverse teams.
• Excellent public speaking and presentation skills with the ability to clearly articulate complex information to clients and internal stakeholders.
• Highly detail‑oriented, proactive, comfortable navigating complex organizations, and focused on strategic problem‑solving and process efficiency.

WHAT DO WE OFFER?

• Healthcare, Dental, and Vision coverage
• PTO
• Paid Company Holidays

WE SUPPORT YOU BEING YOU

DEPT® is an equal‑opportunity employer (EOE). We believe our work is its best when our people feel safe and free to be themselves. We’re committed to an inclusive and barrier‑free recruitment and selection process and workplace, regardless of anyone’s identity, background, beliefs, lifestyle or disabilities. So tell us about any accommodations you need. It’s totally confidential and only used to make sure you feel fully supported at every step.

DEPT® participates in E‑Verify, meaning your Form I‑9 information will be sent to the federal government to confirm you are authorized to work in the U.S.

We are a B Corp‑certified company passionate about purpose‑driven work. Our hope is that you can feel good about the contributions DEPT® is making to the world and we always have an open door for your ideas in making the world a better place.

This is a remote role; however you must be located within 50 miles of San Francisco, CA to be considered.

Location: San Francisco, CA
Salary Band: $171,000 - $215,000 USD