Lead Designer, Brand & Growth - Los Angeles, CA

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Lead Designer, Brand & Growth

Company: Picnic Delivery

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Brand & Growth Design / Marketing Operations

Date Posted: 2026-03-31T20:10:44

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive measurable growth through high-performing creative across acquisition, activation, and retention campaigns.

• Develop and iterate on web-first growth initiatives, including landing pages, ads, and lifecycle campaigns, maintaining a high standard of design craft.

• Partner closely with Marketing and Product teams to rapidly ship creative experiments and learn from data-driven insights.

• Ensure brand consistency across all touchpoints, from digital platforms to physical office environments, reinforcing Picnic's mission and values.

• Lead design projects end-to-end, fostering collaboration and driving momentum in a fast-paced startup environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role bridges Brand Design and Growth Marketing, requiring a strong understanding of conversion optimization and data analysis within a design context. The emphasis on "web first" and "growth minded" indicates a need for proficiency in digital marketing design and A/B testing.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Translate marketing and product goals into compelling creative strategies, concepts, and shippable design experiments.

• Lead the entire design process for growth initiatives, from initial scoping and ideation through detailed design, production, quality assurance, and final launch.

• Collaborate effectively with developers to ensure high-quality implementation, optimize for performance, guarantee accessibility, and facilitate clean design handoffs.

• Develop and maintain lightweight, scalable design systems, including templates, reusable modules, and practical guidelines, to enhance speed and consistency across all creative outputs.

• Design and support physical and print touchpoints that are critical to the Picnic brand experience in the office, such as signage, quick start guides, and promotional merchandise, ensuring cohesion with digital brand elements.

• Elevate the overall craft and polish of design work through meticulous attention to typography, layout, visual hierarchy, and fine details, while maintaining a high pace of execution.

• Provide mentorship and design direction to peers through constructive feedback and guidance, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

• Establish and maintain a tight feedback loop with end-users through regular, lightweight research activities, including user interviews, usability testing, on-site observation, and message testing.

• Participate in office activations and launch events to observe user behavior in real-world settings, identify friction points, and capture firsthand insights to inform design decisions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a dual focus on digital growth marketing design and the physical brand experience. The need to create "lightweight systems" suggests an approach to design operations that prioritizes speed and adaptability in a startup environment.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communications, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience: 5+ years of progressive experience in Brand Design and Visual Design, with a strong emphasis on Growth Design principles and demonstrable impact on key funnel metrics.

Required Skills:

• Brand & Visual Design: Proven expertise in developing cohesive brand identities and executing high-craft visual designs across various digital and physical mediums.

• Growth Design Fluency: Strong understanding of conversion-oriented design, A/B testing methodologies, funnel optimization, and iterative design processes.

• Web-First Craftsmanship: Exceptional skills in web design, including advanced typography, sophisticated layout systems, and conversion-focused design instincts.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Comfort and proficiency in using data (e.g., Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Looker, Amplitude) to form hypotheses, prioritize design efforts, and evaluate creative outcomes. Ability to interpret funnel metrics and experiment results to inform design iterations.

• Autonomy & Project Management: High degree of self-direction, with the ability to independently organize tasks, manage multiple priorities, and drive projects from conception to completion with minimal oversight.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to effectively collaborate with marketing, product managers, copywriters, and developers.

• Systems Thinking: Ability to conceptualize, build, and maintain scalable design systems, reusable components, and practical guidelines that enhance efficiency and consistency.

• User Research Acumen: Experience conducting lightweight user research, including interviews and usability testing, to gather actionable insights and inform design solutions.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience managing design teams or external resources: Prior experience leading design projects involving freelancers, agencies, or junior designers.

• Physical Branding Experience: Familiarity with designing for physical touchpoints such as signage, event collateral, and merchandise.

• Accessibility Standards: Knowledge of web accessibility best practices and guidelines (WCAG).

• Mentoring & Influence: Demonstrated ability to provide constructive design feedback and direction to peers.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "Growth Design fluency" and comfort with data analytics tools is critical. Candidates should be prepared to showcase how their design work has directly contributed to measurable business outcomes like increased conversion rates or user acquisition.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Growth Design Case Studies: Showcase at least two detailed case studies illustrating your impact on funnel metrics (acquisition, activation, retention). Clearly articulate the problem, your design process, the data/hypotheses used, the solutions implemented, and the measurable results.

• Web Design Examples: Include examples of high-converting landing pages, digital advertisements, or web-based campaign flows that demonstrate strong typography, layout, and conversion-oriented design.

• Brand System Examples: Provide examples of design systems, style guides, or reusable component libraries you've developed, highlighting their scalability and impact on brand consistency and design velocity.

• Physical Touchpoint Designs: If applicable, include examples of signage, print collateral, or merchandise design that demonstrate cohesive branding across digital and physical realms.

Process Documentation:

• Experimentation Workflow: Detail your process for translating goals into design experiments, including hypothesis generation, design execution, A/B testing setup, and analysis of results.

• Design System Development: Outline your approach to building and maintaining design systems, including user research, component creation, documentation, and implementation with development teams.

• Cross-Functional Handoff: Describe your documentation and communication processes for efficient and effective handoffs to development teams, ensuring implementation quality and accessibility.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio should strongly emphasize quantifiable results and the candidate's ability to link design decisions directly to business objectives and user behavior data. A focus on process and systems is crucial for demonstrating scalability and collaboration readiness.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $130,000 - $153,000 per year.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Medical, dental, and vision insurance with multiple plan options, including Health Savings Account (HSA) integration.

• Income Protection: Company-paid life insurance and both short-term and long-term disability insurance.

• Voluntary Insurance Options: Access to accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity insurance, as well as supplemental life insurance for self, spouse, and children.

• Retirement Savings: 401(k) plan to support long-term financial goals.

• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs): Options for Healthcare, Dependent Care, and Commuter FSAs to manage pre-tax expenses.

• Generous Time Off:

  • Discretionary vacation days for work-life balance.
  • 8 paid holidays per year.
  • Paid sick time.
  • Paid Bereavement leave.
  • Paid Parental Leave.

• Additional Perks: Pet insurance discount.

Working Hours: Standard 40-hour work week. The role requires on-site presence five days a week, emphasizing close collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is competitive for a senior design role in Los Angeles. The comprehensive benefits package, particularly the generous time off and robust health offerings, reflects a commitment to employee well-being. The explicit mention of a 40-hour work week with mandatory on-site presence clarifies expectations.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Food & Beverage / Hospitality Tech. Picnic Delivery operates within the innovative space of employee meal programs, leveraging technology to enhance the workplace experience. They partner with local restaurants to provide convenient, high-quality meals to companies, acting as a crucial operational partner for businesses looking to improve employee satisfaction and productivity.

Company Size: The provided data does not specify company size, but the nature of scaling a tech-enabled service suggests a growing organization, likely in the startup to scale-up phase. This implies a dynamic environment with opportunities for significant impact and rapid learning.

Founded: Picnic Delivery's founding date is not provided, but their mission to reinvent employee lunch experiences indicates a forward-thinking approach to corporate benefits and operational efficiency.

Team Structure:

• Operations-Focused: The core of Picnic Delivery's business is operational excellence in logistics, restaurant partnerships, and customer service for businesses.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: This role emphasizes deep partnership with Marketing and Product teams, indicating a highly collaborative structure where design is integrated into strategic business functions.

• Growth-Oriented: The company culture is performance-driven, with a clear focus on growth metrics, experimentation, and continuous improvement across all departments.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Experimentation: A core methodology involves using data to inform hypotheses, design experiments, and iterate on creative solutions to drive business outcomes.

• Agile & Iterative Design: The emphasis on shipping quickly and learning from experiments suggests an agile approach to design and development.

• User-Centricity: Regular user research and on-site observation are integral to understanding user behavior and identifying opportunities for improvement in both digital and physical experiences.

Company Website: https://www.trypicnic.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: Picnic Delivery positions itself as a solution provider for employee experience, focusing on operational efficiency and delightful customer interactions. The company culture likely values proactivity, data-informed decisions, and a hands-on approach to problem-solving, especially given the on-site requirement and fieldwork involved in this role.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior Individual Contributor role, positioned as a "Lead Designer." It requires a high degree of autonomy, expertise, and the ability to influence peers and cross-functional partners through design craft and strategic thinking. While there is no direct people management, the "lead" title implies taking ownership of key initiatives and guiding design direction.

Reporting Structure: The role reports into a design or marketing leadership position, working in close partnership with Marketing and Product teams. Direct people management is not part of this role, allowing the focus to remain on individual craft, strategic contribution, and project leadership.

Operations Impact: The Lead Designer plays a pivotal role in driving measurable business growth by optimizing the user journey across acquisition, activation, and retention. Their work directly impacts conversion rates, user engagement, and brand perception, contributing significantly to Picnic Delivery's scaling efforts. The role also shapes the tangible, physical brand experience, reinforcing trust and delight for employees.

Growth Opportunities:

• Deepening Growth Design Expertise: Continuous exposure to experimentation, data analysis, and conversion optimization will hone skills in a highly in-demand area of design.

• Expanding Brand Influence: Opportunity to shape both digital and physical brand touchpoints, influencing how Picnic Delivery is perceived by a wide audience.

• Strategic Design Leadership: While not managing directly, the "lead" designation offers opportunities to influence team direction, mentor peers, and take ownership of critical company-wide design initiatives.

• Career Progression: Potential pathways could include transitioning into a Design Manager role, specializing further in growth product design, or moving into broader leadership positions within marketing or product.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a unique blend of creative brand building and performance-driven growth design. Candidates looking for a role where their design work directly translates into tangible business results and shapes a dual digital/physical brand experience will find significant growth potential.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is based in a physical office location in Los Angeles, CA, with a requirement for on-site presence five days a week. This indicates a preference for in-person collaboration, spontaneous ideation, and a strong team dynamic.

Office Location(s): Los Angeles, California, United States. The specific office address is not provided, but candidates should expect a professional, collaborative workspace designed to foster teamwork and innovation.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hub: The on-site requirement suggests an environment where close collaboration with marketing, product, and potentially operations teams is frequent and encouraged. This allows for real-time feedback and faster iteration cycles.

• Integrated Tools & Technology: Candidates should expect access to standard design software and potentially specific analytics and project management tools used by the company to support their work.

• Team Interaction: Regular opportunities for informal and formal interactions with colleagues across different departments, facilitating a holistic understanding of the business and its challenges.

Work Schedule: The role operates on a standard 40-hour work week, conducted on-site. While the core hours are defined, the emphasis on autonomy suggests flexibility in managing tasks within that framework, provided goals are met and collaboration needs are satisfied.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit "on-site, five days a week" policy is a key differentiator. It signals a company culture that values in-person synergy and may appeal to candidates who thrive in a highly collaborative, team-oriented physical environment.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess qualifications against the role requirements, focusing on growth design impact and brand craft.

• Hiring Manager Interview: Discussion about your experience, design philosophy, approach to growth marketing, and how you handle collaboration and autonomy. Expect questions about your portfolio highlights.

• Design Challenge / Portfolio Review: A more in-depth session where you will present specific case studies from your portfolio, explaining your process, rationale, and quantifiable results. You may be asked to walk through a hypothetical problem or scenario relevant to Picnic Delivery's growth challenges.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with key stakeholders from Marketing and Product teams to assess collaboration skills, communication style, and alignment with company objectives.

• Final Interview: Potentially with a senior leader to discuss overall fit, strategic thinking, and long-term potential within the company.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Quantify Everything: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your specific role, the design solutions implemented, and most importantly, the measurable impact on key business metrics (e.g., conversion rates, user acquisition, engagement). Use data visualization where appropriate.

• Show Your Process: Detail your thinking process, including research, ideation, iteration, and collaboration. Explain why you made certain design decisions, backing them up with data, user insights, or strategic rationale.

• Highlight Growth Fluency: Demonstrate your understanding of growth loops, A/B testing, and funnel optimization. Showcase examples where your design directly contributed to improving these areas.

• Web-First Focus: Ensure your portfolio prominently features strong examples of web design, landing pages, and digital campaigns that are conversion-oriented.

• Brand Cohesion: If showcasing physical design elements, clearly explain how they align with the digital brand strategy and contribute to a unified user experience.

• Concise Storytelling: Present your work clearly and concisely, focusing on the most impactful projects and achievements. Be prepared to discuss any project in detail.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Picnic's Business: Research Picnic Delivery's mission, target audience, business model, and current marketing efforts. Understand their unique value proposition (e.g., "reinventing employee lunch").

• Growth Strategy Brainstorm: Be prepared to discuss potential growth opportunities for Picnic Delivery and how design could support them. Think about acquisition channels, onboarding flows, and retention strategies.

• Data Interpretation: Practice thinking through how you would use data (e.g., user behavior, A/B test results) to inform design decisions for a hypothetical Picnic Delivery challenge.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process heavily emphasizes practical application of design skills to business growth. Candidates must be ready to rigorously defend their design choices with data and clearly articulate their impact on key performance indicators. The portfolio is the primary tool for demonstrating this capability.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (highly probable given industry standards for collaborative design), Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator).

• Project Management: Tools like Asana, Jira, Trello, or Monday.com are likely used for task management and workflow tracking.

• Collaboration: Slack for real-time communication.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Web Analytics: Google Analytics (GA4) is a standard.

• Product Analytics: Mixpanel, Amplitude, or Looker for in-depth user behavior tracking and funnel analysis.

• Data Visualization: Tableau or Looker for creating dashboards and reporting on key metrics.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM: While not directly a design tool, understanding CRM principles (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) is beneficial for context on customer lifecycle campaigns.

• Marketing Automation: Platforms like HubSpot or Marketo might be used for lifecycle campaign execution, requiring designers to understand their capabilities and limitations.

• Integration Tools: Awareness of how design assets integrate into broader marketing technology stacks.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma is almost a given for modern web and growth design roles. Strong analytical tool literacy (GA4, Mixpanel/Amplitude, Looker) is crucial, as the role is heavily data-driven. Candidates should be prepared to discuss how they integrate design work with these tools.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Impact-Driven: A strong emphasis on achieving measurable business results and driving growth through design. Decisions are often guided by potential impact on key metrics.

• Data-Informed: A culture that values data literacy and uses analytics to guide hypotheses, prioritize work, and evaluate success.

• Collaborative Spirit: High value placed on teamwork, open communication, and cross-functional partnerships to achieve shared goals.

• Velocity & Iteration: A fast-paced environment that encourages quick execution, experimentation, and continuous improvement. Learning from failures is seen as part of the process.

• Craftsmanship & Polish: While speed is important, there's also an expectation of high design quality, attention to detail, and a polished final product.

Collaboration Style:

• Partnership with Marketing & Product: Designers are expected to be integrated partners, actively contributing to strategy and understanding business objectives.

• Feedback Loops: A culture of constructive feedback, both giving and receiving, is essential for rapid iteration and improvement. This applies to design reviews, user testing, and cross-functional discussions.

• Knowledge Sharing: Encouraging the sharing of insights, best practices, and learnings across the team and with other departments.

• Proactive Communication: Open and frequent communication is key to managing expectations, aligning on priorities, and ensuring smooth project execution, especially in a hybrid digital/physical environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company values likely revolve around a blend of analytical rigor, creative execution, and a strong sense of ownership. Candidates who are proactive, data-curious, and enjoy working collaboratively in a fast-paced setting will likely thrive.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Speed and Quality: The need to ship quickly for experiments while maintaining a high bar for brand craft and user experience can be a constant challenge.

• Data Interpretation Complexity: Translating complex user data and experiment results into actionable design insights requires strong analytical and critical thinking skills.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Ensuring all stakeholders (Marketing, Product, Engineering) are aligned on design strategy and execution, especially when balancing different priorities.

• Physical vs. Digital Integration: Seamlessly integrating digital growth strategies with the tangible physical brand experience, ensuring consistency and impact across both.

• Autonomous Workload Management: Effectively prioritizing and managing a diverse workload as a senior individual contributor without direct oversight.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Growth Design Skills: Deepen expertise in conversion rate optimization (CRO), A/B testing frameworks, user journey mapping, and performance marketing creative.

• Data Analytics Proficiency: Enhance skills in interpreting and utilizing data from various analytics platforms (GA4, Mixpanel, Amplitude, Looker) to drive design decisions.

• Systems Thinking & Scalability: Develop expertise in building and scaling design systems that support rapid growth and maintain brand integrity.

• Cross-Disciplinary Exposure: Gain a deeper understanding of marketing strategy, product development, and operational logistics through close collaboration.

• Mentorship & Influence: Opportunities to hone leadership skills by mentoring peers and influencing design direction within the company.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents a significant opportunity for professional growth in the rapidly evolving field of growth design. The challenges are inherent to a scaling startup, offering a steep learning curve and the chance to make a substantial impact.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you used data to significantly improve a conversion funnel. What was the problem, your approach, and the outcome?" (Focus: Data-driven design, impact measurement)

• "How do you approach balancing rapid iteration for A/B testing with maintaining brand consistency and high design quality?" (Focus: Growth vs. Brand, process)

• "Walk us through a complex design project you led from ideation to launch. What were the key challenges, how did you collaborate with stakeholders, and what did you learn?" (Focus: Project management, collaboration, learning)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Picnic Delivery's mission and how do you see design contributing to it?" (Focus: Mission alignment, strategic thinking)

• "How do you stay updated on the latest trends in brand design and growth marketing?" (Focus: Continuous learning)

• "Describe your ideal collaboration with marketing and product teams. How do you ensure alignment and shared ownership?" (Focus: Collaboration, cross-functional dynamics)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly define the business problem, your role, the constraints, your process, the solutions, and the quantifiable results. Use a storytelling approach.

• Highlight Metrics Upfront: Start with the key outcomes and metrics achieved. This immediately signals your focus on impact.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals effectively to demonstrate your design work. Explain why you made specific design choices, linking them to data, user insights, or strategic goals.

• Discuss Trade-offs: Be prepared to discuss the decisions you made, including any trade-offs you had to consider regarding scope, time, or resources.

• Tailor to Picnic: If possible, draw parallels between your past work and Picnic Delivery's business challenges or growth opportunities.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Growth Funnel: Familiarize yourself with typical user acquisition, activation, and retention funnels, particularly for subscription or service-based businesses.

• Brainstorm Picnic-Specific Growth Ideas: Think about how Picnic Delivery could acquire new companies, onboard new employees, and encourage repeat usage. Consider digital channels (ads, SEO, email) and physical touchpoints.

• Practice Data Interpretation: Review common A/B testing scenarios and how you would analyze results to make design recommendations.

📝 Enhancement Note: Be ready to articulate your design process with a strong emphasis on data and measurable outcomes. The interviewers will be looking for a candidate who can not only create beautiful designs but also drive tangible business growth through strategic, data-informed creative solutions.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Lead Designer, Brand & Growth position:

• Submit your application through the Greenhouse application portal.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your most impactful growth design case studies that demonstrate measurable results and a strong understanding of conversion optimization. Ensure your portfolio clearly highlights your web-first design skills and any experience with physical brand touchpoints.

• Optimize Your Resume: Tailor your resume to emphasize keywords related to "growth design," "brand design," "conversion optimization," "A/B testing," "data analysis," "web design," and "cross-functional collaboration." Quantify achievements wherever possible.

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice walking through your portfolio case studies, focusing on clear storytelling, data-driven rationale, and the measurable impact of your work. Be ready to discuss your design process and how you approach experimentation.

• Research Picnic Delivery: Gain a deep understanding of Picnic Delivery's mission, target market, and business model. Think about their current brand presence and potential growth opportunities where design can play a key role.

⚠️ 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.