Director, Brand Design
Databricks
Req ID: MKTQ225R81
Databricks is seeking an experienced Design Director to guide and grow a team of talented designers while shaping the future of our brand. This senior role blends creative leadership with people management: you’ll lead the evolution of our visual identity across physical and digital touchpoints while mentoring and developing a high-performing design team.
As Design Manager, you’ll help set the creative vision and ensure excellence in every execution—from digital and web, global campaigns and digital experiences to events and branded environments. You’ll partner closely with cross-functional teams and external agencies, balancing hands-on design insight with strategic oversight to deliver impactful, consistent brand experiences.
The impact you will have:
Leadership & Team Management
- Lead, mentor, and develop a small team of designers, fostering growth, collaboration, and design excellence.
- Provide clear direction, constructive feedback, and career development opportunities.
- Help prioritize projects, allocate resources, and set timelines to meet business and creative goals.
Brand & Creative Direction
- Own and evolve the Databricks brand system across physical and digital environments.
- Define and communicate a cohesive design vision that supports company strategy and elevates brand impact.
- Champion design thinking and advocate for best-in-class creative processes across the organization.
- Willingness to get your hands dirty in design work
Creative Execution & Collaboration
- Guide and review team work across campaigns, events, digital products, and environmental graphics.
- Partner with marketing, product, events, and workplace teams to bring the brand to life in physical and digital spaces.
- Direct external agencies and vendors to ensure quality, consistency, and alignment with brand standards.
- Translate complex ideas into simple, bold visual narratives that reflect our values and mission.
Operational Excellence
- Shape creative briefs, manage project intake, and oversee schedules and deliverables.
- Establish and maintain high standards for craft, clarity, and consistency across all brand expressions.
Help improve and develop processes to streamline efficiency and workflows
What we look for:
- 10+ years of professional design experience in brand, visual, or environmental design; at least 2–3 years managing or leading a design team.
- A portfolio that demonstrates strong conceptual brand systems, environmental/experiential design, and integrated campaigns.
- Expertise in Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, and presentation tools (Keynote, Google Slides).
- Proven ability to lead projects from concept to execution while guiding others to deliver outstanding work.
- Experience managing agencies, vendors, and production partners.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders.
- Strong eye for typography, layout, color, and spatial/experiential design.
- A strategic mindset and ability to connect creative vision to business objectives.
Nice to Have
- Background in web, event design, wayfinding, signage, or large-scale environmental graphics.
- Video production knowledge and experience.
- Motion or 3D design skills.
Pay Range Transparency
Databricks is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The pay range(s) for this role is listed below and represents the expected salary range for non-commissionable roles or on-target earnings for commissionable roles. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to job-related skills, depth of experience, relevant certifications and training, and specific work location. Based on the factors above, Databricks anticipates utilizing the full width of the range. The total compensation package for this position may also include eligibility for annual performance bonus, equity, and the benefits listed above. For more information regarding which range your location is in visit our page here.
About Databricks
Databricks is the data and AI company. More than 10,000 organizations worldwide — including Comcast, Condé Nast, Grammarly, and over 50% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform to unify and democratize data, analytics and AI. Databricks is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices around the globe and was founded by the original creators of Lakehouse, Apache Spark™, Delta Lake and MLflow. To learn more, follow Databricks on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
Benefits
At Databricks, we strive to provide comprehensive benefits and perks that meet the needs of all of our employees. For specific details on the benefits offered in your region, please visit https://www.mybenefitsnow.com/databricks.
Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
At Databricks, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone can excel. We take great care to ensure that our hiring practices are inclusive and meet equal employment opportunity standards. Individuals looking for employment at Databricks are considered without regard to age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other protected characteristics.
Compliance
If access to export-controlled technology or source code is required for performance of job duties, it is within Employer's discretion whether to apply for a U.S. government license for such positions, and Employer may decline to proceed with an applicant on this basis alone.