At AKQA (part of WPP), our Experience Design discipline sets the standard for innovation, creativity, and craft. As a Lead Experience Designer, you’ll imagine what’s next and help make what matters. You will lead innovative work for ambitious brands, creating pioneering digital experiences that feel intuitive, engaging, and emotionally resonant for audiences around the world.
In this role, you will conceive and deliver digital experiences that combine imagination, cultural intelligence, and technology to create meaningful products and services. Working alongside a multidisciplinary team of strategists, visual designers, UX architects, and researchers, you will shape online platforms, design systems, mobile applications, and emerging digital experiences. You will lead by example, mentoring designers, inspiring clients, and delivering visionary work.
As part of AKQA, you’ll work in an innovative and inclusive culture, surrounded by some of the brightest minds in their fields. You’ll have the opportunity to learn and grow within a creative and technically advanced team, with access to ongoing personal and professional development. Our hybrid in-studio/WFH model supports balance and flexibility, and we’re committed to your career growth as well as your work/life balance.
ROLE REQUIREMENTS
- Lead and guide a team of Experience Designers to deliver impactful and engaging digital experiences.
- Maintain a high standard of design craft, ensuring quality and attention to detail across all work.
- Translate brand strategy and user insight into clear, effective design solutions across digital platforms.
- Develop and evolve design systems, component libraries, and guidelines that support scalable experiences.
- Collaborate closely with strategists, technologists, and delivery teams to ensure ideas are practical, effective, and well executed.
- Provide mentorship and constructive feedback to support the growth and development of design talent.
- Present design thinking clearly and confidently to clients and internal stakeholders.
QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS
- A strong portfolio demonstrating high-quality experience design across digital products and platforms.
- Solid product design experience, from UX architecture through to refined visual interface design.
- Experience leading designers and contributing to the delivery of complex digital projects.
- Strong communication and presentation skills with the ability to influence stakeholders.
- Excellent visual design sensibility across layout, hierarchy, colour, motion, and typography.
- Proficiency in modern design tools such as Figma and other collaborative design platforms.
- Experience working within agile, cross-functional teams in agency or product environments.
- A genuine passion for design culture, creativity, and continuous innovation.
We believe great work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach including required in-office days. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.
AKQA is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.
About WPP
WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit WPP.com.
Skills Required
- Lead and guide a team of Experience Designers to deliver digital experiences
- Maintain a high standard of design craft and attention to detail
- Translate brand strategy and user insight into effective design solutions
- Develop and evolve design systems, component libraries, and guidelines
- Collaborate closely with strategists, technologists, and delivery teams
- Provide mentorship and constructive feedback to support designer growth
- Present design thinking clearly and confidently to clients and stakeholders
- Strong portfolio demonstrating high-quality experience design across digital products and platforms
- Solid product design experience from UX architecture to refined visual interface design
- Experience leading designers and contributing to delivery of complex digital projects
- Strong communication and presentation skills with ability to influence stakeholders
- Excellent visual design sensibility across layout, hierarchy, colour, motion, and typography
- Proficiency in modern design tools such as Figma and other collaborative design platforms
- Experience working within agile, cross-functional teams in agency or product environments
- A genuine passion for design culture, creativity, and continuous innovation
AKQA Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about AKQA and has not been reviewed or approved by AKQA.
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Parental & Family Support — Policies include fully paid parental leave for all parents, adoption support, and family leave for caregiving needs. Additional supports such as subsidized backup childcare and regional enhancements reinforce family care.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage offers multiple plan options with full preventive care, mental‑health resources, and dental and vision coverage. Some regions provide 24/7 virtual doctor access and supplementary healthcare budgets for services not covered by insurance.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time‑away provisions include generous paid holidays with increases over tenure and a companywide year‑end closure. Special, study, and event‑based leave (e.g., weddings, moving) broaden the range of available time off.
AKQA Insights
What We Do
The imaginative application of art and science. AKQA is a design and communications company that employs 2,200 professionals in 29 studios across five continents. Awarded two Cannes Lion Grand Prix’s in 2019, and recently named by Gartner and Forrester as one of the world’s leading experience design and innovation agencies.
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