Lead design strategy and discovery for a retail modernization initiative, defining visual and interaction language for quoting, search, inventory, and payments. Create a modular design system bridging modern aesthetics with API-driven architectures and legacy data. Ensure device-agnostic UX across mobile, tablet, and POS, align design with technical constraints, drive accessibility/usability standards, and communicate a long-term platform vision for multi-vertical expansion.
Role Overview
We are seeking a visionary Creative Director to lead the design strategy for a foundational modernization initiative. In this role, you will oversee the transition from legacy systems to a high-performance, customer-facing platform. You will be responsible for defining the creative vision that simplifies complex retail workflows—such as quoting and inventory management—while ensuring the design is scalable across various devices and future business verticals.
Key Responsibilities
- UX Strategy & Definition: Lead the creative discovery phase to define the visual and interaction language for core customer-facing workflows, including Search, Quoting, Inventory, and Payments.
- Systemic Vision: Establish a cohesive design system that bridges modern aesthetic standards with the functional requirements of API-based routing layers and legacy data structures.
- Device-Agnostic Design: Oversee the UX definition for various hardware form factors, ensuring a seamless experience across mobile, tablet, and stationary POS devices.
- Architecture Alignment: Collaborate with Technical Architects and Program Managers to ensure the creative vision is implementable within the technical constraints of the MVP scope.
- Narrative & Storytelling: Articulate the "long-term platform vision" to stakeholders, demonstrating how the initial MVP pilot will evolve into a multi-vertical, feature-rich ecosystem.
- Design Excellence: Maintain high standards for usability and accessibility, ensuring that operational complexity (like backend WMS functions) is shielded from the customer-facing experience.
Required Experience & Skills
- Design Leadership: Extensive experience leading creative teams through digital transformation projects, specifically within Retail, POS, or Transactional Platforms.
- Modular Design Systems: Proven ability to build scalable design languages that can expand from a single MVP into multiple business verticals.
- Should require experience in AI-driven SDLC execution.
- Hardware/Software Integration: A deep understanding of how digital interfaces interact with physical hardware and retail environments.
- Strategic Thinking: Ability to balance the "ideal state" design with the practicalities of a phased rollout and API-driven limitations.
- Discovery Mastery: Expert-level experience in using discovery insights to refine project scope and technical architecture.
Compensation, Benefits and Duration
Minimum Compensation: USD 60,000
Maximum Compensation: USD 210,000
Compensation is based on actual experience and qualifications of the candidate. The above is a reasonable and a good faith estimate for the role.
Medical, vision, and dental benefits, 401k retirement plan, variable pay/incentives, paid time off, and paid holidays are available for full time employees.
This position is available for independent contractors
No applications will be considered if received more than 120 days after the date of this post.
Photon San Francisco, California, USA Office
San Francisco, United States
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