Associate Director of Creative (AI)

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 looking for an experienced and talented Associate Director of Creative to join our team.

The Associate Director of Creative is a player/coach designer who will work as a manager of a pod of Designers, as well as delivering your own AI-powered Creative Direction, Marketing Design, and UI/UX Design engagements at high bar of client services and visual quality. You bring expertise in integrating AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Midjourney into your workflows to drive efficiency. You thrive on finding new ways to use AI to break barriers and being on the cutting edge of this paradigm shift.

In this role, you’ll report to the Director of Creative. You’ll use your strong design background to be an advocate for our design processes and philosophy, and supervise a small cohort of Designers by providing feedback on their work to develop their skillsets across paid ads, emails, landing pages, and e-commerce web design. Your main focus in the first 60 days will be helping the creative team integrate ChatGPT and AI into their work to discover and implement efficiencies. You’ll bring your expertise in AI workflows to help build processes and trainings with the Director of Creative. You’ll also be responsible for owning Creative Direction engagements that impact paid marketing and organic channels for e-commerce clients.

We’re looking for a candidate with deep experience in using AI to power their work at a commercial level, and who can apply this experience to the direction and development of junior designers. A strong candidate has a best-in-class visual eye, attention-to-detail, and client services acumen.

This is a fully remote role operating in the EST Time Zone and all business is conducted 100% in English. Open to candidates in the following locations: 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 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.

Senior Individual Contributor Responsibilities:

• Be a champion for AI-powered work, holding trainings on best practices for the team and building efficient workflows for the team in partnership with the Director of Creative.

• Lead Creative Direction engagements focused on transforming paid or organic marketing channels through deliverables like content calendars, creative briefs, and strategic proposals.

• Lead 1-2 UI/UX engagements as capacity allows, focusing on creating branded e-commerce websites. Emphasize branded UI, 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. Must have 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 is required.

• 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.

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.

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