Head of Design

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Head of Design

Company: Exchange Life

Location: United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Design Leadership / Creative Operations

Date Posted: 2026-09-23

Experience Level: Mid-Senior Level (5-10 years implied)

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the end-to-end visual design strategy and execution for multiple Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) ecommerce brands.

• Drive the creation and refinement of high-impact product imagery, packaging, and advertising creatives, with a strong emphasis on commercial appeal and conversion optimization.

• Leverage advanced AI image generation and editing tools to produce compelling product and lifestyle visuals, maintaining brand consistency and quality.

• Provide critical design review and mentorship to other designers, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and elevated visual standards.

• Take ownership of design challenges, proactively identifying opportunities for visual enhancement and problem-solving without direct instruction.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Head of Design," the salary range and description suggest a senior individual contributor role with leadership responsibilities rather than a traditional management position overseeing a large team. The emphasis is on hands-on design execution and strategic visual guidance. The "5-10 years" experience level is inferred from the senior nature of the role and the expectation of leading design efforts and reviewing others' work.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive visual design strategy for all ecommerce brand assets, including product detail pages (PDPs), lifestyle shots, and packshots.

• Design and oversee the production of innovative packaging that enhances brand perception and shelf appeal.

• Create compelling advertising creatives, particularly for Meta platforms, that drive customer acquisition and engagement.

• Utilize AI image generation tools to produce high-quality, contextually relevant product and lifestyle imagery, optimizing for commercial impact.

• Craft impactful text-in-image creatives, ensuring strong typography, composition, and brand messaging.

• Conduct thorough reviews of design work from junior designers or external contributors, providing clear, constructive, and actionable feedback for improvement.

• Proactively identify opportunities to enhance brand visual quality and consistency across all touchpoints.

• Collaborate with marketing and product teams to translate business objectives into impactful visual solutions.

• Stay abreast of emerging design trends, AI technologies, and ecommerce best practices to continuously elevate the brand's visual output.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities clearly indicate a need for a blend of hands-on design execution, strategic thinking, and a degree of design oversight or mentorship. The emphasis on "owning" design problems and reviewing others' work points to a senior, influential role within the creative function.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio and demonstrated practical experience in commercial design are paramount. Equivalent practical experience and a proven track record can substitute for formal education.

Experience:

• 5-10 years of dedicated experience in commercial product design, with a significant focus on the ecommerce or DTC landscape.

• Proven experience in leading design initiatives and providing constructive feedback or mentorship to other designers. Required Skills:

• Expertise in Ecommerce and Product Imagery: Demonstrated ability to create high-converting product photos, packshots, and lifestyle creatives tailored for online sales platforms.

• Advanced AI Image Generation & Editing: Proficiency in using AI tools for generating realistic product and lifestyle imagery, alongside advanced editing and compositing skills.

• Strong Typography & Composition: Excellent understanding of visual hierarchy, layout, color theory, and typography for impactful visual communication.

• Text-in-Image Creative Development: Skill in creating visually appealing and message-driven creatives that effectively incorporate text.

• Commercial Design Acumen: A keen eye for what drives sales and customer engagement in a commercial context.

• Problem-Solving & Initiative: Ability to independently identify design challenges and propose/implement effective solutions.

• Design Review & Mentorship: Experience in providing clear, actionable feedback to peers or junior designers to elevate their work.

• Brand Quality Maintenance: Commitment to upholding and improving overall brand visual standards.

Preferred Skills:

• Agency or design studio background, providing exposure to diverse client needs and project types.

• Direct experience with DTC ecommerce operations and understanding of their unique design requirements.

• Familiarity with specific product categories such as jewelry, gifts, or pet products.

• Proficiency in Figma for collaborative design workflows and prototyping.

• Advanced image compositing and retouching workflows for polished final assets.

• Experience designing high-converting ecommerce product pages or advertising creatives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Nice to Have" skills provide a clear roadmap for candidates looking to differentiate themselves, particularly those with Figma, advanced compositing, or direct conversion-focused design experience.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Product-Focused Work: The portfolio must prominently feature examples of product imagery, packaging designs, and commercial creatives, rather than solely logos or general branding projects.

• Commercial Impact Demonstration: Showcase how your designs have contributed to business objectives, such as increased conversion rates, improved customer engagement, or enhanced brand perception.

• AI Integration Examples: Include specific examples of AI-generated or AI-assisted product and lifestyle imagery, demonstrating your proficiency and creative application of these tools.

• Text-in-Image Examples: Present creatives that effectively combine typography and visuals to convey a clear message.

• Design Leadership Evidence: If applicable, include examples or descriptions of your experience reviewing, critiquing, or mentoring other designers, highlighting your ability to guide and improve creative output.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design & Optimization: Demonstrate an understanding of efficient design workflows, from concept generation and AI prompting to final asset delivery, with a focus on optimizing for speed and quality.

• AI Prompting & Iteration: Showcase your process for developing effective AI prompts and iterating on generated imagery to achieve desired commercial outcomes.

• Quality Assurance & Feedback Loops: Illustrate how you ensure the quality of design assets and the process for incorporating feedback from stakeholders or design reviews.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a "product-focused" portfolio and demonstrating "commercial impact" is crucial for this role. Candidates should highlight projects where their design directly influenced sales or brand perception. Evidence of AI proficiency is a non-negotiable requirement.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $15 - $16 per hour.

This is an hourly rate for a fully remote, full-time position. Based on industry benchmarks for senior-level design roles with leadership responsibilities in the United States, this range is on the lower end, likely reflecting the performance-based bonus structure and the specific nature of the role.

Benefits:

• Performance Bonuses: Significant monthly bonuses are available, with the potential to double total monthly earnings based on performance metrics. This structure incentivizes high output and direct contribution to business success.

• Remote Work Flexibility: Fully remote position, offering significant autonomy and flexibility in work location within the United States.

• Opportunity for Impact: Direct influence on the visual direction and commercial success of multiple ecommerce brands.

Working Hours:

• Approximately 40 hours per week, typical for a full-time role.

• While a standard work week is expected, the remote nature and performance-driven compensation may offer some flexibility in managing daily schedules, provided deadlines and responsibilities are met.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary is explicitly stated as hourly, with a significant performance bonus component. The $15-$16/hour base is likely augmented considerably by bonuses, making the total compensation highly variable and performance-dependent. This structure is common in DTC ecommerce for roles directly tied to sales performance.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Ecommerce / Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) / Retail. Exchange Life operates within the fast-paced ecommerce sector, likely focusing on physical consumer products given the mention of jewelry, gifts, and pet products.

Company Size: The description implies a growing, agile organization, likely a startup or scale-up, where individuals are expected to wear multiple hats and take significant ownership. The need for a "design lead" who can also "design" suggests a lean, hands-on team structure.

Founded: Information not provided. The company's focus on modern design tools like AI and a DTC ecommerce model suggests a relatively recent founding or a strategic pivot towards digital-first operations.

Team Structure:

• The "Head of Design" role suggests a central design function, possibly a small, dedicated team or a network of freelance/contract designers.

• This role will likely report to a senior leadership position such as a CMO, Head of Marketing, or CEO, depending on the company's organizational structure.

• Cross-functional collaboration is expected with marketing, product development, and ecommerce operations teams to ensure visual assets align with business goals and product strategies. Methodology:

• Data-Driven Visuals: The emphasis on "high-converting" and "commercial taste" indicates a data-informed approach to design, where visual choices are validated by performance metrics.

• Agile Creative Development: The need for speed in ecommerce, coupled with AI tools, suggests an agile workflow for rapid iteration and content creation.

• Quality Control & Improvement: A systematic approach to reviewing and improving design output is central to the role.

Company Website: https://Exchange-life.com

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture appears to be results-oriented, fast-paced, and focused on leveraging modern technology (AI) for commercial advantage in the competitive ecommerce space. The "Head of Design" is expected to be a proactive, self-directed individual contributor who can also guide creative quality.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Senior/Lead Designer with implicit leadership responsibilities. It's a hands-on role that requires both expert execution and the ability to influence creative direction and quality for the brand. This is not an entry-level or purely managerial position.

Reporting Structure: The role likely reports to a senior executive (e.g., CMO, Head of Marketing, CEO) who oversees the commercial and brand strategy. The Head of Design will be responsible for the visual output that supports these strategic goals.

Operations Impact: The Head of Design will have a direct and measurable impact on the company's revenue through the creation of high-converting product imagery, compelling advertising creatives, and strong packaging design. Their work is critical to customer acquisition, conversion rates, and overall brand perception in the competitive ecommerce market.

Growth Opportunities:

• Deepening AI Expertise: Opportunity to become a leading expert in AI-driven creative for ecommerce, a rapidly evolving field.

• Brand Development: Potential to shape the visual identity and long-term brand strategy for multiple growing ecommerce brands.

• Leadership Expansion: As the company grows, this role could evolve into a more formal Head of Creative or Creative Director position, potentially managing a larger design team.

• Performance-Based Advancement: Demonstrating exceptional performance and business impact can lead to increased responsibilities and potentially higher compensation structures or equity.

📝 Enhancement Note: Growth in this role is tied to both mastering new technologies like AI and demonstrating tangible commercial impact. The potential for advancement exists, but it's likely to be organic, driven by the company's growth and the individual's proven ability to contribute to revenue.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully Remote. This role offers complete flexibility in terms of work location within the United States.

Office Location(s): Not applicable, as the position is fully remote.

Workspace Context:

• Autonomy & Flexibility: The remote nature provides a high degree of autonomy over the work environment and daily schedule, as long as deliverables are met.

• Digital Collaboration: Reliance on digital tools for communication, file sharing, and project management (e.g., Slack, project management software, cloud storage).

• Focus on Output: The emphasis on performance bonuses suggests a work environment that values tangible results and efficient execution over traditional office-based collaboration.

Work Schedule:

• Expected to align with standard business hours for collaboration with US-based teams, approximately 40 hours per week.

• Flexibility may exist in managing specific tasks and project timelines, but responsiveness during core business hours is likely expected.

📝 Enhancement Note: The fully remote aspect is a significant feature, appealing to candidates who thrive in autonomous environments and can manage their own productivity effectively. Success will depend on strong self-discipline and communication skills.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Application Review: Focus on the portfolio and introduction, assessing for commercial relevance, AI proficiency, and product-focused design.

• Skills Assessment: Likely includes a practical design challenge or a deep dive into portfolio pieces to evaluate problem-solving skills, technical proficiency (AI, retouching), and visual judgment.

• Leadership/Mentorship Discussion: Evaluation of experience in reviewing other designers' work and providing actionable feedback.

• Cultural Fit & Proactivity Assessment: Interviews will assess the candidate's proactive approach, ability to take ownership, and alignment with a results-driven, fast-paced ecommerce environment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate for Commercial Impact: Select projects that clearly demonstrate how your design work has driven sales, engagement, or brand value in an ecommerce context. Use metrics where possible.

• Showcase AI Proficiency: Dedicate a section or specific examples to your AI image generation and editing capabilities. Explain your process, tools used, and the outcomes achieved.

• Highlight Text-in-Image Skills: Include examples of creatives where typography and imagery work together effectively to deliver a message.

• Evidence of Leadership: If you have experience reviewing others' work, present specific examples or describe your feedback process and its impact on improving design quality.

• Concise Introduction: Clearly articulate your relevant ecommerce/product design experience and your leadership approach in a brief introductory statement.

Challenge Preparation:

• AI Prompting Practice: Be ready to discuss your approach to AI prompting for specific product/lifestyle scenarios and demonstrate how you iterate to achieve desired results.

• Design Problem-Solving: Prepare to analyze a hypothetical design problem (e.g., improving a product page visual, creating an ad concept) and outline your strategic approach and execution steps.

• Feedback Delivery: Practice articulating constructive criticism clearly and professionally, as if providing feedback to a peer designer.

📝 Enhancement Note: The application process heavily relies on the portfolio. Candidates should tailor their submission to directly address the "What You'll Own" and "Who We're Looking For" sections, emphasizing commercial impact, AI skills, and leadership potential.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• AI Image Generation Platforms: Proficiency with tools like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, DALL-E, or similar platforms for generating product and lifestyle imagery.

• Image Editing Software: Advanced skills in Adobe Photoshop for retouching, compositing, and final asset refinement.

• Graphic Design Software: Likely Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator for vector elements if needed, InDesign for packaging specs if applicable).

• Figma (Preferred): Experience with Figma for collaborative design, prototyping, or asset organization.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Understanding of ecommerce analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, platform-specific analytics) to interpret performance data for design decisions. CRM & Automation:

• While not a direct CRM role, an understanding of how design assets are utilized within marketing automation platforms (e.g., for email campaigns, social media ads) is beneficial.

📝 Enhancement Note: AI image generation tools and advanced Photoshop skills are critical. Figma is a strong preference, indicating a move towards more collaborative and efficient design workflows.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Results-Oriented: A strong emphasis on achieving measurable commercial outcomes through design.

• Proactive & Ownership-Driven: Expectation that individuals will take initiative, identify problems, and drive solutions independently.

• Quality & Excellence: A commitment to maintaining and elevating the visual standards of the brand.

• Adaptability & Learning: Willingness to embrace new technologies like AI and adapt to the fast-paced ecommerce environment.

• Efficiency: Focus on creating high-impact visuals quickly and effectively.

Collaboration Style:

• Independent Contributors: While collaboration is necessary, the role emphasizes individual contribution and problem-solving.

• Constructive Feedback: A culture where design work is openly reviewed and improved through direct, actionable feedback.

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Working closely with marketing, product, and other teams to ensure design aligns with business objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture values autonomy, results, and a proactive approach. The ideal candidate is a self-starter who can contribute significantly on their own while also providing valuable creative guidance.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Hands-on Design with Leadership: Effectively managing time to execute design tasks while also providing oversight and feedback to others.

• Leveraging AI Effectively: Staying ahead of the curve in AI image generation, understanding its nuances, and ensuring ethical and high-quality output.

• Driving Commercial Impact: Consistently creating visuals that demonstrably improve conversion rates and sales in a competitive market.

• Remote Collaboration: Maintaining strong communication and creative alignment within a fully remote team structure.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI Specialization: Becoming a leading expert in AI creative applications for ecommerce.

• Strategic Brand Design: Developing a deeper understanding of brand strategy and its impact on commercial success.

• Performance-Based Growth: Opportunities to increase earnings significantly through demonstrated performance and contribution to revenue.

• Potential for Team Leadership: As the company scales, there may be opportunities to build and manage a larger design team.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are centered around mastering new technologies and proving commercial value. Growth is tied to becoming an expert in AI-driven design and demonstrating its direct impact on the business's bottom line.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your process for creating high-converting product imagery for an ecommerce website. What specific elements do you focus on?" (Focus on visual hierarchy, lighting, context, and call-to-action elements).

• "How would you approach creating a compelling advertising creative for Meta to drive sales for a new product, given limited brand assets?" (Discuss target audience, key message, visual appeal, and CTA).

• "Walk me through a time you had to significantly improve a piece of design work from another designer. What was your approach, and what was the outcome?" (Highlight your feedback methodology, focus on constructive criticism, and impact on the final product). Company & Culture Questions:

• "What is your understanding of DTC ecommerce and its unique design challenges?" (Emphasize speed, conversion focus, brand storytelling, and customer journey).

• "How do you stay proactive and take ownership of design problems when working remotely?" (Discuss self-management, communication strategies, and initiative-taking).

• "How do you measure the success of your design work in a commercial context?" (Focus on metrics like conversion rates, click-through rates, engagement, and ROI). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Storytelling with Data: For each portfolio piece, explain the objective, your process (including AI prompts if applicable), the challenges you faced, and the quantifiable results or impact.

• Highlighting AI Integration: Clearly mark and discuss your AI-assisted work, explaining the tools used and the specific benefits gained from AI.

• Commercial Focus: Continuously tie your design decisions back to commercial goals and customer behavior.

• Conciseness and Clarity: Present your work efficiently, focusing on the most impactful examples. Be prepared to answer detailed questions about your process and rationale.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interviewers will be looking for a strong understanding of commercial design principles, proven AI capabilities, and a proactive, results-oriented mindset. Be ready to demonstrate how your design directly contributes to revenue.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Head of Design position:

• Submit your application through the provided careers page link.

• Portfolio Customization: Curate your portfolio to prominently feature product imagery, packaging design, and commercial creatives that demonstrate strong visual judgment and AI proficiency. Include specific examples of text-in-image designs and any AI-assisted product/lifestyle imagery.

• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to highlight experience in ecommerce, DTC, commercial product design, and any leadership or mentorship roles. Use keywords from the job description such as "product imagery," "packaging design," "AI image generation," and "commercial taste."

• Introduction Crafting: Write a concise introduction explaining your relevant ecommerce/product design experience and your approach to leading and reviewing design work.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Exchange Life's website and any available information about their brands to understand their current visual aesthetic and target markets. Prepare to discuss how your skills can elevate their brand presence.

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