Brand Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Brand Designer

Company: Rho

Location: New York City, New York, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Marketing / Brand Design

Date Posted: May 05, 2026

Experience Level: 5-10 Years (Mid-Senior Level)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the evolution and execution of Rho's visual identity system as a strategic growth asset, ensuring brand coherence across all touchpoints.

• Lead end-to-end campaign creative development, from conceptualization to final production for digital, OOH, social, and experiential channels.

• Translate complex financial concepts into clear, compelling visual storytelling tailored for a tech founder audience.

• Integrate and leverage AI design tools proactively within the workflow for ideation, asset generation, and workflow optimization.

• Collaborate cross-functionally to deliver scalable branded materials that support Product, Events, Partnerships, and Sales initiatives.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a high-ownership, high-leverage opportunity within a lean, fast-paced team, emphasizing the strategic impact of design on business outcomes like conversion lift and CAC, rather than purely aesthetic considerations. The explicit mention of AI integration suggests a forward-thinking approach to design processes.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Visual System Ownership: Extend, evolve, and maintain Rho's brand identity, ensuring consistency and pushing the brand's visual language forward across all platforms and campaigns.

• Campaign Creative Execution: Conceptualize, design, and oversee the production of campaign assets across digital (web, email, paid social, performance creative), Out-of-Home (OOH), social media, and experiential events.

• Cross-Channel Design Application: Adapt and apply brand guidelines to a wide array of marketing materials, including digital interfaces, email campaigns, social media graphics, performance advertising creative, promotional merchandise (swag), event collateral, and video content.

• Motion Design Integration: Design with an understanding of brand behavior, rhythm, and personality in mind, collaborating with video teams on storyboards, motion assets, and graphic overlays.

• Strategic Visual Storytelling: Translate intricate financial services concepts and product features into easily digestible and visually engaging narratives for a target audience of tech founders.

• Performance-Driven Design: Partner with marketing teams to create on-brand creative assets optimized for conversion, with a focus on understanding and tracking associated business results (e.g., engagement rates, conversion lift).

• Cross-Functional Brand Support: Develop and deliver templated, scalable branded assets and guidelines for internal teams including Product, Events, Partnerships, and Sales to ensure brand consistency.

• AI-Powered Workflow Integration: Actively utilize AI tools (e.g., Claude, generative image tools) for ideation, concept variation generation, prompt engineering for production-quality assets, and exploring novel design workflows that enhance efficiency and creative output.

• Brand Ecosystem Development: Design and maintain a cohesive brand experience across physical, digital, and environmental touchpoints, ensuring all expressions of the brand are interconnected and reinforce the core identity.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic brand stewardship and hands-on execution, with a strong emphasis on performance marketing integration and the proactive adoption of AI technologies in the design process, which is a key differentiator for this role.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio and demonstrated experience in brand design and visual communication are paramount.

Experience: 4+ years of experience in brand design, ideally with a combination of agency and in-house experience, demonstrating a track record of building and evolving brands.

Required Skills:

• Brand Identity & Systems: Proven ability to develop and maintain comprehensive brand identity systems and visual languages.

• Campaign Conceptualization & Execution: Demonstrated experience in driving creative campaigns end-to-end across multiple channels.

• Multi-Channel Design Proficiency: Expertise in designing for web, email, paid social, performance creative, OOH, and experiential marketing.

• AI Design Tool Fluency: Genuine and active proficiency with AI design tools for ideation, image generation, and workflow enhancement (not just aspirational).

• Figma Mastery: Advanced skills in Figma for UI/UX design, prototyping, and collaborative design workflows.

• Adobe Creative Suite Proficiency: Expert-level command of Illustrator, Photoshop, and After Effects for graphic design, image manipulation, and motion graphics.

• Motion Design Fundamentals: Working knowledge of motion design principles, storyboarding, designing for animation, and experience directing or executing video assets using tools like After Effects or Jitter.

• Craftsmanship: Deep understanding and application of typography, color theory, composition, and visual hierarchy.

• Systems Thinking: Ability to design within and expand upon established brand ecosystems, understanding interconnectedness across physical, digital, and experiential touchpoints.

• Communication & Collaboration: Strong creative director-level communication skills, ability to articulate design decisions, provide context, and collaborate effectively with stakeholders.

• Business Acumen: Ability to tie design decisions directly to business outcomes, such as engagement rates, conversion lift, and Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC).

• Ownership Mentality: A proactive and deeply accountable approach to work, with a focus on shared success rather than territoriality.

Preferred Skills:

• Familiarity with product design principles and ability to design in harmony with product teams.

• Experience with 3D design tools like Cinema 4D or Blender.

• Background in art direction or creative strategy.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "genuine fluency with AI design tools — already in use, not aspirational" and the specific mention of AI tools like Claude and Jitter, along with the requirement to "design with AI, not just alongside it," strongly indicates that candidates should be prepared to showcase practical, integrated AI usage in their portfolio and during interviews.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Conceptual Range & Systems Thinking: Showcase projects that demonstrate a strong ability to generate innovative concepts and build cohesive, scalable brand systems.

• Multi-Channel Execution: Include examples of how you've applied brand identity across diverse platforms (digital, print, OOH, social, experiential) and integrated them into cohesive campaigns.

• High Craft Across Deliverables: Present work that exemplifies meticulous attention to detail in typography, color, layout, and overall visual polish, across various asset types.

• AI Integration Case Studies: If possible, highlight projects where AI tools were integral to the ideation, execution, or enhancement of the design process, explaining the impact and workflow.

• Performance-Oriented Creative: Include examples where design decisions were demonstrably linked to achieving specific business objectives (e.g., conversion lift, engagement metrics).

Process Documentation:

• Brand System Evolution: Detail the process by which you've evolved existing brand identities, including research, strategic rationale, and execution across touchpoints.

• Campaign Development Workflow: Illustrate your end-to-end process for developing campaign creative, from brief interpretation and concept development to production and post-campaign analysis.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Templating: Provide examples of how you've created standardized brand assets and workflows to support other departments, ensuring scalability and consistency.

• AI Workflow Integration: Be prepared to articulate your current or proposed workflow for integrating AI tools into the design process, including prompt engineering strategies and output refinement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio should explicitly demonstrate the candidate's ability to not only create visually compelling work but also to think strategically about brand as a growth driver and to integrate cutting-edge technologies like AI into their daily design practice and process development.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $110,000 - $138,000 USD per year.

Explanation of Range: This range is based on the provided salary information, reflecting a mid-to-senior level Brand Designer role in a major metropolitan area like New York City, considering the company's industry (Fintech/Startup) and the specific requirements of the role, including advanced AI proficiency and end-to-end campaign ownership.

Benefits:

• Equity: Opportunity to own a stake in the company's growth.

• Healthcare Benefits: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.

• Paid Time Off: Generous paid time off to support work-life balance.

Working Hours: 40 hours per week (standard full-time). The on-site requirement in New York City suggests a typical business schedule, though flexibility may be available depending on team needs and project demands.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is provided directly by the company. The explanation is based on industry benchmarks for similar roles in New York City and the stated experience level. The benefits are listed as provided by the company.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Financial Technology (Fintech) / SaaS. Rho operates as a modern banking platform for startups, aiming to streamline financial operations for businesses.

Company Size: The description implies a lean, fast-paced startup environment. While not explicitly stated, a company offering equity and comprehensive benefits often operates in the startup/growth phase, suggesting a team size that allows for high individual impact and direct collaboration.

Founded: Rho was founded with the mission to provide a connected platform for startup banking needs, indicating a focus on innovation and addressing unmet needs in the financial sector for emerging companies.

Team Structure:

• Lean & Fast-Paced: The role is described as "high-ownership, high-leverage" on a "lean, fast team," suggesting a flat hierarchy and direct collaboration.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: The Brand Designer will work closely with the Brand Lead, VP of Marketing, and other departments like Product, Events, Partnerships, and Sales.

• Strategic Integration: Design is positioned as a "strategic growth asset," indicating that the design team is integral to marketing and business strategy, not just an execution arm.

Methodology:

• Systems-Oriented Design: Emphasis on treating the brand as a strategic, interconnected system.

• Performance-Driven Approach: Design decisions are explicitly linked to business outcomes and measurable results.

• AI-First Workflow: Proactive integration of AI tools into the daily design process for efficiency and innovation.

• Human Support Backed Platform: While this refers to the product, it suggests a company culture that values support and client-centricity, which may extend to internal team dynamics.

Company Website: https://www.rho.co/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is characterized by agility, a strong focus on measurable business impact, and a forward-thinking adoption of technology, particularly AI, within its creative processes.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Brand Design Career Level: This role is positioned at a mid-to-senior level (5-10 years experience), requiring significant autonomy and the ability to set craft standards. It's a key individual contributor role with substantial influence over brand presentation.

Reporting Structure: The Brand Designer will report to the Brand Lead and work closely with the VP of Marketing, indicating a direct line of communication with marketing leadership.

Brand Design Impact: The role is designed to significantly impact Rho's growth by elevating its brand presence, driving campaign performance, and making complex financial concepts accessible. Design is viewed as a critical driver of engagement, conversion, and Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC).

Growth Opportunities:

• Brand Strategy Contribution: Opportunity to influence and shape the future direction of Rho's brand identity and visual strategy beyond execution.

• Leadership in Craft: Set the "craft bar" for design within the team and potentially mentor junior designers or external agencies.

• Cross-Functional Expertise: Gain deep experience working across product, marketing, sales, and partnerships, understanding how design integrates with various business functions.

• AI Design Specialization: Develop cutting-edge expertise in AI-driven design workflows, becoming a leader in this emerging field within the company.

• Fintech Industry Immersion: Deepen understanding of the financial technology landscape and its unique design challenges and opportunities.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers substantial growth potential for a designer who wants to have a tangible impact on a growing startup's brand and is eager to pioneer AI integration in design. The emphasis on business outcomes provides a clear path for demonstrating value and career advancement.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: On-site in New York City. This suggests a traditional office setting where in-person collaboration is valued.

Office Location(s): New York City, New York, United States. This location offers access to a vibrant creative and business ecosystem.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: As an on-site role within a lean startup, expect a highly collaborative atmosphere with frequent interaction with team members.

• Tools & Technology: Access to industry-standard design software (Figma, Adobe Creative Suite) and a mandate to utilize cutting-edge AI design tools.

• Team Interaction: Regular touchpoints with Brand Lead, VP of Marketing, and other cross-functional teams, fostering a dynamic and integrated work environment.

Work Schedule: Standard full-time (40 hours/week). While the role is on-site, the fast-paced startup environment may necessitate occasional flexibility to meet project deadlines, balanced by the company's provision of PTO.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement in New York City points to a company that values in-person collaboration and team synergy, typical of many growth-stage startups aiming to foster a strong company culture.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of resume and portfolio to assess experience, skills, and alignment with the role's requirements, especially AI proficiency and brand systems thinking.

• Portfolio Presentation & Discussion: A session where the candidate presents their portfolio, focusing on conceptual range, systems thinking, multi-channel execution, and how design decisions tie to business outcomes. Expect questions about AI integration and workflow.

• Skills-Based Assessment/Challenge: Potentially a design challenge or case study focusing on translating complex concepts into visual narratives or evolving a brand element, possibly with an AI component.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with the Brand Lead, VP of Marketing, and potentially other team members (e.g., Product, Marketing) to evaluate collaboration style, communication, and cultural fit.

• Final Round: May involve senior leadership to discuss strategic vision and overall fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight AI Integration: Clearly showcase projects where AI was used, detailing the specific tools, prompts, and impact on the design process and final output.

• Demonstrate Systems Thinking: Present a cohesive brand system and explain how different elements work together across various touchpoints.

• Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, include metrics or qualitative feedback that demonstrate how your design work contributed to business goals (e.g., engagement, conversion, brand perception).

• Showcase Conceptual Range: Include diverse projects that illustrate your ability to think conceptually and adapt your style to different campaign needs and audiences.

• Articulate Your Process: Be prepared to walk through your design process for key projects, explaining your rationale, decision-making, and problem-solving approaches.

Challenge Preparation:

• Deconstruct the Brief: If given a challenge, carefully analyze the target audience (tech founders), the product (fintech platform), and the desired outcome (e.g., brand clarity, campaign effectiveness).

• Focus on Strategy: Be ready to explain the strategic thinking behind your design choices, not just the aesthetic execution.

• Embrace AI: If appropriate, consider how AI tools could be leveraged to accelerate your process or explore novel solutions during a timed challenge.

• Practice Articulation: Rehearse explaining complex design concepts and their business implications concisely and clearly.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on AI in the job description suggests that candidates should be prepared to discuss their AI tools and workflows extensively during the interview process, potentially even demonstrating them.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential for UI/UX design, prototyping, and collaborative workflows. Candidates must be proficient.

• Adobe Creative Suite:

  • Illustrator: For vector graphics, logos, and complex illustrations.
  • Photoshop: For image editing, manipulation, and raster graphics.
  • After Effects: For motion graphics, animation, and video asset creation.

• AI Design Tools: Explicitly mentioned requirement. This likely includes:

  • Generative AI for Images: Tools like Midjourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, or similar for ideation and asset generation.
  • AI for Text and Briefs: Tools like Claude for drafting creative briefs, conceptualizing, or generating copy elements.
  • AI for Motion/Video: Tools like Jitter or similar for animating graphics or creating motion assets.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly listed as design tools, the requirement to "track the results" and "tie design decisions to business outcomes" implies familiarity with or ability to interpret data from:
  • Web Analytics Platforms: (e.g., Google Analytics, Mixpanel) to understand user behavior and campaign performance.
  • Ad Platform Analytics: (e.g., Meta Ads Manager, Google Ads) for performance creative metrics.

CRM & Automation:

• Not directly a design tool, but understanding how design assets are used within CRM and marketing automation platforms (e.g., for email campaigns) would be beneficial.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of "AI Design Tools" and specific examples like Claude and Jitter indicates these are not just preferred but core to the role's expected workflow and innovation. Candidates should be ready to demonstrate their practical application.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Brand Design Values:

• Craftsmanship & Excellence: A deep respect for visual quality, typography, composition, and detail. "Bad kerning registers before you've read the word."

• Strategic Impact: Design is viewed as a critical driver of business growth, not just an aesthetic exercise. Decisions must be tied to measurable outcomes.

• Innovation & Proactivity: Embracing new technologies like AI and actively seeking ways to push creative boundaries and improve workflows.

• Ownership & Accountability: Taking full responsibility for projects from concept to completion, with a collaborative spirit.

• Clarity & Communication: Articulating design rationale clearly and effectively to stakeholders, bringing others along in the creative process.

• Inclusivity & Diversity: As stated in the company's diversity commitment, valuing diverse perspectives and creating an equitable environment.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Working closely with marketing, product, sales, and partnership teams to ensure brand consistency and support their objectives.

• Creative Director Mentality: Communicating with context, bringing stakeholders along early, and articulating decisions with clarity.

• Lean Team Dynamics: High degree of collaboration, direct communication, and shared responsibility within a small, fast-moving team.

• Feedback-Oriented: Likely a culture where constructive feedback is exchanged to elevate the work.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture emphasizes a blend of high creative standards, strategic business alignment, and proactive adoption of technology, all within a collaborative and accountable startup environment.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Brand Cohesion with Campaign Agility: Maintaining a strong, consistent brand identity while executing diverse, high-volume campaign creative across multiple channels.

• Translating Complex Fintech Concepts: Visually communicating sophisticated financial services to a tech-savvy but potentially non-expert audience.

• Integrating AI Seamlessly: Moving beyond experimental use of AI to deeply embedding it into production workflows for efficiency and novel creative output.

• High-Ownership, Lean Team Environment: Managing a broad range of responsibilities with limited resources and a fast pace requires strong prioritization and self-management.

• Demonstrating ROI of Design: Quantifying the impact of design decisions on key business metrics in a tangible way.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Pioneering AI in Design: Becoming an expert in AI-driven design workflows, potentially leading future initiatives in this area.

• Strategic Brand Development: Contributing to the strategic evolution of Rho's brand identity and its long-term vision.

• Fintech Industry Expertise: Gaining deep knowledge of the unique design challenges and opportunities within the financial technology sector.

• Cross-Functional Skill Development: Enhancing collaboration and communication skills by working across diverse departments.

• Mentorship & Leadership: Opportunity to influence design standards and potentially mentor junior team members or external partners as the company grows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are framed as opportunities for growth, particularly in the rapidly evolving field of AI in design and in contributing strategically to a growing fintech brand.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you treated brand as a strategic growth asset. How did your design decisions directly impact business outcomes like conversion lift or CAC?"

• "Walk us through your process for evolving a brand's visual system. How do you ensure coherence across all touchpoints?"

• "How have you used AI tools in your design workflow? Provide specific examples of how AI helped you achieve something that wasn't possible before, or significantly improved efficiency."

• "How do you approach translating complex technical or financial concepts into clear, compelling visual stories for a specific audience?"

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Rho's mission and the fintech industry?"

• "How do you approach collaboration within a lean, fast-paced startup environment, especially with cross-functional teams like Product and Sales?"

• "Our culture values ownership and proactivity. Can you share an example of a time you took initiative beyond your stated responsibilities?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Narrative Flow: Structure your presentation around key projects, telling a story that highlights your strategic thinking, process, and impact.

• AI Integration Spotlight: Dedicate specific slides or sections to showcase your AI workflow and its tangible benefits. Be ready to discuss your prompt engineering skills.

• Metrics & Outcomes: For each relevant project, clearly present the business objectives and the results your design work achieved, using data where possible.

• Brand System Depth: For brand identity projects, explain the strategic rationale behind your choices and how the system is designed to be versatile and scalable.

• Conciseness & Clarity: Be mindful of time. Focus on the most impactful projects and articulate your points clearly and succinctly.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should prepare to demonstrate not only their design skills but also their strategic thinking, business acumen, and advanced proficiency with AI design tools, as these are key differentiators for this role.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Brand Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 3-5 of your most impactful projects that best showcase your brand systems thinking, multi-channel campaign execution, and, crucially, your integrated use of AI design tools. Ensure these projects demonstrate a clear link to business outcomes.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight your 4+ years of brand design experience, proficiency in Figma and Adobe Creative Suite, and specific experience with AI design tools. Quantify achievements where possible, focusing on impact related to brand evolution and campaign performance.

• Prepare Your AI Narrative: Be ready to articulate your personal workflow and philosophy regarding AI in design. Have specific examples of tools used, prompts, and the resulting impact on efficiency or creative output.

• Research Rho: Understand Rho's mission, target audience (startups), and the fintech landscape. Consider how your design philosophy aligns with their brand and business goals.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

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