Design Director — Utica-Rome Area

Design Directors lead the creative heart of a project, from early ideas to final delivery. You’ll set the vision, guide designers and writers through execution, and bring clarity and perspective to every stage of the work. You’re someone who can turn strategy into concepts, concepts into systems, and systems into beautiful, functional design, while helping the team and our clients see where an idea can go. You have a sharp eye for craft, communicate clearly and generously, and stay curious about new tools and where design is headed.

At Rudy, everyone designs, directors included. Staying hands-on is how we stay sharp, stay current and keep our work honest. Design Directors are leaders, collaborators and co-authors who move easily between making the work and guiding it. You’ll lead brands built from scratch, refreshes of established ones, and work that brings clarity to complex challenges across digital, physical and experiential touchpoints. You’re confident making creative calls and know how to bring out the best in the people around you.

We’re looking for unique talent: people who take creative risks, have a real appetite for experimentation, and are excited to push what’s possible, with past work that shows it. You’re curious, culturally tuned-in, and drawn to work that has both conceptual depth and visual ambition.

This Role Will Have You

• Lead design and creative direction across brand identity, systems, campaigns, digital, print and everything in between

• Design hands-on alongside the team, from early explorations to final craft

• Guide designers, writers and interns from exploration through execution, with clear direction and feedback

• Shape strategy into creative: turn research and messy inputs into compelling concepts and clear directions

• Partner with studio leadership, strategists, technologists and collaborators to bring ideas to life

• Shape and share the work with clients, building trust and bringing them along on the thinking

• Champion experimentation, AI-enhanced workflows and non-linear exploration, and push the work into new territory

• Hold a high bar for detail, quality and conceptual integrity across every project

• Mentor the team and help foster a studio culture of critique, generosity and play

You Might Be a Great Fit If

• You have 8+ years of experience in branding, digital design or adjacent creative fields, including leading projects

• You still love to make things, and you have a hard time imagining not designing

• You have mastery of the fundamentals – layout, type, hierarchy, storytelling – and more importantly, can teach them

• You take smart risks and are energized by ideas that haven’t been tried yet

• You love the big swing and the tiny detail, and know which one a project needs

• You have range: you can lead identity, digital and campaign work without losing clarity

• You give feedback that makes work and people better, and welcome it in return

• You value craft, but you’re not precious – you iterate, explore and evolve until the work sings

Bonus Points For

• Experience directing motion, 3D or illustration

• Fluency in Figma, AI workflows, prototyping tools and modern digital design practices

• Interest in culture, ideas, technology and the future of what creative studios can be

Compensation And Benefits

• Salary: $110 - $130k, plus quarterly profit sharing and performance bonuses

• 401(k) retirement plan

• 3 weeks paid vacation, plus paid sick days

• Two-week studio closure at the end of the year, plus culture-forward holidays

• Medical, dental and vision insurance, with premiums covered for individuals

• Complimentary access to wellness and mental health services

• Life insurance

• Annual company retreat

• 2 weeks a year to work from any time zone

• 6 Learning Days a year

• One design event, festival or conference a year, on us

• Pre-tax commuter benefits and FSA

This is a hybrid role based in our Chinatown, NYC studio. We have a strong preference for NYC-based candidates, but are open to remote for the right person, working East Coast hours.

Email us your portfolio, resume and a note on why you’d like to join us – and include ‘Design Director’ as the subject line: ••••••••