Instrument is a design and technology company. We build brands, products, and experiences that move businesses forward—by making the complex simple.
For over 20 years, we’ve partnered with companies like Google, ServiceNow, Uber, Eventbrite, and ŌURA, helping them navigate change, launch new ideas, and grow with intention.
Our work spans Brand, Marketing, and Product, but what defines us is how we work. We bring strategy, design, and engineering together from the start, moving quickly from idea to execution and refining as we go. We aim to do great work and be great to work with, because both matter.
We’re a collaborative, hands-on team with roots in Portland and New York and a distributed presence across the U.S. and Europe. We build teams around the needs of the work, staying nimble without sacrificing craft.
We value curiosity, perspective, and continuous learning, and we’re committed to building an inclusive environment where people can do their best work.
If that sounds like you, we’d love to meet you.
The Role
Great creative leadership starts with a powerful idea – and the ability to make that idea stronger at every step.
As a Creative Director at Instrument, you’ll set the creative vision for ambitious work spanning brand, identity and design systems, web, and digital experiences. You’ll lead from the idea outward: shaping the concept, pushing the craft, inspiring multidisciplinary teams, and building the kind of client trust that allows great work to happen.
We’re looking for an exceptional conceptual thinker and brand leader—a creative generalist with high taste, strong creative conviction, and the presence to bring both teams and senior clients along with a vision. Your foundation is in brand and conceptual creative, but your range extends beyond any one discipline. You’re equally energized by building a brand from the ground up, evolving an identity system, shaping a digital experience, or finding the big idea that connects them all.
Depending on the needs of the work, this role may span multiple accounts or focus deeply on a single client partnership. In either case, you’ll have the opportunity to build meaningful client relationships, develop a deep understanding of their business, and shape the creative vision across a range of challenges.
What You'll Do
- Set and champion the creative vision across projects, developing big ideas that are strategically grounded, distinctive, and built to extend across different types of work.
- Lead creative across brand, identity and design systems, web, and digital experiences, creating a strong through-line from concept through execution.
- Maintain an exceptional bar for craft and originality, pushing the work and helping multidisciplinary teams deliver at their highest level.
- Serve as a senior creative partner to clients, confidently presenting and selling ideas, navigating feedback and ambiguity, and building trust with senior stakeholders.
- Lead and inspire multidisciplinary teams, bringing designers, writers, strategists, technologists, and producers together around a shared creative vision.
- Balance multiple projects and creative workstreams while maintaining consistency, momentum, and quality.
- Contribute to new business and account growth by shaping creative approaches, identifying opportunities, and helping turn ambitious ideas into compelling pitches and expanded partnerships.
What You'll Bring
- Significant experience leading creative at an agency, studio, or similarly multidisciplinary environment, with demonstrated ownership of the creative vision from concept through execution.
- An exceptional portfolio demonstrating big conceptual thinking, brand and identity work, and a consistently high bar for visual craft.
- Deep expertise in brand and conceptual creative, paired with credible experience leading websites and other digital experiences.
- The ability to develop and recognize powerful ideas and evolve them into cohesive creative systems and experiences.
- Strong creative judgment and the ability to push teams beyond the expected while giving clear, actionable direction.
- Experience leading multidisciplinary creative teams and bringing different disciplines together around a shared vision.
- A strong track record of presenting and selling creative work to senior clients, navigating complex conversations, and building lasting client trust.
- Experience balancing and directing multiple creative workstreams without losing sight of the larger idea or quality of execution.
- Comfort working with ambiguity and adapting your approach as the creative challenge, client, or medium changes.
- A collaborative leadership style grounded in curiosity, clarity, high standards, and a genuine investment in helping others do their best work.
Pay Range
- The expected pay range for this position is $150,000 - $200,000. This range reflects the potential compensation across multiple levels and U.S. geographic pay regions. Final compensation is determined by the candidate's level and their work location. Instrument uses three regional pay ranges to account for cost of living (US1 +15%, US2 +7.5%, US3 Base). Learn more about our pay philosophy and regional pay structure.
What We Offer
- Medical, dental, and vision coverage
- 401k with employer matching
- Unlimited PTO + company wide closures
- Work From Home and Wellbeing monthly stipend
- HSA Employer Contribution
- Professional Development Stipend
- Paid Parental Leave
Flexible, Hybrid Work Environment
Great Compensation with Annual Reviews (Learn more about our Pay Philosophy)
401(k) Matching with Immediate Vesting
Robust Medical, Vision, and Accident Insurance
Generous Paid Holidays and unlimited PTO
Monthly Wellbeing Stipend
Career Management and Leadership Training
Similar Jobs
What you need to know about the San Francisco Tech Scene
Key Facts About San Francisco Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 365,500; 13.9% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: Google, Apple, Salesforce, Meta
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, fintech, consumer technology, software
- Funding Landscape: $50.5 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, Greylock Partners, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins
- Research Centers and Universities: Stanford University; University of California, Berkeley; University of San Francisco; Santa Clara University; Ames Research Center; Center for AI Safety; California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
