Principal Brand Designer (Spain or Portugal - based role)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Principal Brand Designer

Company: OLX

Location: Remote Spain or Portugal (based role)

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Brand Design / Creative Operations

Date Posted: 2026-09-24

Experience Level: 10+ years

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the visual identity and creative systems for OLX Group's diverse brand portfolio, ensuring consistency and distinctiveness across all customer touchpoints.

• Develop and implement AI-powered design systems, prompt libraries, and automation workflows to enhance creative execution at scale.

• Establish and maintain brand design governance, quality assurance, and overarching creative standards across global and regional teams.

• Partner closely with Marketing, Brand Strategy, and Product Design to translate business objectives and customer insights into impactful brand experiences.

• Act as a senior design leader, mentoring other designers and influencing stakeholders to elevate the collective craft and strategic impact of design.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a Principal Designer, indicating a senior individual contributor role with significant influence and strategic responsibility. The emphasis on AI, design systems, and multi-brand ecosystems suggests a focus on operationalizing creativity and ensuring brand consistency across a large, complex organization. The target locations (Spain or Portugal) imply a need for candidates familiar with European markets and potentially multilingual capabilities, though English is specified as the job language.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Evolve and govern the visual identity and creative direction for OLX Group and its portfolio of brands, ensuring cohesive group-wide systems and distinct brand expressions.

• Establish robust brand visual identity governance, quality assurance processes, and design principles to maintain brand integrity and equity.

• Develop and manage multi-brand design systems, including comprehensive asset libraries and reusable templates, optimized for AI integration.

• Define creative direction for brand design across digital, physical, and experiential touchpoints, excluding advertising execution.

• Lead the long-term strategic evolution of OLX Group's visual identity and assets, anticipating future market needs and technological advancements.

• Define and implement AI-enhanced design workflows, including AI-ready design systems, prompt libraries, and automation protocols to boost efficiency and quality.

• Stay abreast of emerging AI technologies and their potential applications in creative workflows, collaboration, and design quality improvement.

• Set the benchmark for brand design application across product launches, executive communications, presentations, employer branding, and web experiences.

• Provide hands-on design leadership, creative direction, and constructive critique to ensure all brand expressions exhibit exceptional craft, clarity, and purpose.

• Collaborate with Marketing and Brand Strategy from initiative inception, transforming insights and business priorities into compelling visual systems.

• Contribute strategic thinking to solve complex business challenges through design, enhancing customer trust and long-term brand value.

• Develop and implement documentation, enablement programs, design resources, and governance models to facilitate global and regional brand standard adoption.

• Influence senior stakeholders across Product, Marketing, and Executive Leadership to align teams around a shared creative vision.

• Mentor and coach designers through critique, collaboration, and knowledge sharing, fostering a culture of craftsmanship and continuous improvement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic brand vision setting, operationalizing creative systems (especially with AI), and driving adoption across a global organization. The emphasis on "influencing without authority" and mentoring suggests a leadership role focused on expertise and collaboration rather than direct people management.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong educational foundation in Graphic Design, Visual Communication, Brand Strategy, or a related field is implicitly expected.

Experience: 10+ years of progressive experience in brand design, visual design, or a closely related creative leadership role, with a demonstrated history of building and evolving brands at scale.

Required Skills:

• Exceptional craft in visual identity, typography, layout, storytelling, motion, and digital experiences.

• Proven ability to create, evolve, and steward brands over time.

• Deep expertise in building frameworks, governance models, templates, and enterprise-level design systems.

• Strategic partnership capabilities with Marketing, Brand Strategy, and executive stakeholders.

• Ability to translate positioning, customer insights, and business objectives into impactful creative systems.

• Fluency in AI-enabled design, understanding where emerging technologies create value and where human judgment is critical.

• Experience translating AI insights into scalable workflows that improve quality, speed, experimentation, and consistency.

• Strong influence and communication skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships and align teams around a shared creative vision.

• Experience presenting to executives, collaborating with marketing teams, and mentoring fellow designers.

• Expertise in Figma and/or Adobe Creative Suite.

• Experience with motion design, storytelling, and digital brand experiences.

• Deep familiarity with AI-powered creative tools and workflows.

• Outstanding communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills. Preferred Skills:

• Experience building or contributing to enterprise-wide design systems.

• Experience with brand design across multiple products or markets simultaneously.

• Familiarity with employer branding initiatives and their visual representation.

• Understanding of how brand design contributes to customer trust and acquisition within online marketplaces.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirements emphasize a senior-level candidate with a strategic mindset, strong system-thinking capabilities, and practical experience with modern design tools and emerging AI technologies. The "10+ years" benchmark is a clear indicator of the seniority and expected depth of experience.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrates outstanding work across visual identity, typography, layout, storytelling, motion, and digital experiences, showcasing brand evolution and stewardship.

• Includes case studies detailing the creation or evolution of scalable creative systems, frameworks, governance models, or design systems that enabled consistent, high-quality output.

• Features examples of translating strategic business objectives, customer insights, or brand positioning into tangible creative systems and brand experiences.

• Showcases practical application and understanding of AI in creative workflows, demonstrating how AI was leveraged to improve quality, speed, experimentation, or consistency.

• Highlights instances of influencing stakeholders (including executives) and driving adoption of design systems or brand standards across an organization.

• Includes examples of hands-on design leadership, creative direction, and mentoring fellow designers. Process Documentation:

• Evidence of establishing brand visual identity governance, quality assurance processes, and design principles.

• Examples of developing and managing multi-brand design systems and comprehensive asset libraries.

• Documentation or case studies illustrating the creation of AI-ready design systems, prompt libraries, or automation workflows for creative execution.

• Examples of translating business strategy and customer insights into cohesive creative systems and brand experiences.

• Documentation of enablement programs, design resources, or governance models designed to facilitate brand standard adoption.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio is critical for this role. It needs to go beyond individual design deliverables to showcase strategic thinking, systems design, AI integration, and leadership in driving adoption and elevating creative standards across a complex organization. Candidates should be prepared to articulate the "why" and "how" behind their system designs and their impact.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for Principal Brand Designer roles in Western Europe (specifically Spain and Portugal) with 10+ years of experience, a highly competitive salary range is estimated between €80,000 - €110,000 annually. This range reflects the senior nature of the role, the strategic impact, and the specialized skills in AI and design systems.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive health insurance coverage (medical, dental, vision).

• Generous paid time off (vacation, sick leave, public holidays).

• Pension or retirement savings plan contributions.

• Professional development budget for conferences, training, and certifications.

• Opportunities for stock options or performance-based bonuses.

• Remote work stipend for home office setup and ongoing expenses.

• Access to leading AI creative tools and software licenses.

• Employee assistance program for well-being support.

• Parental leave policies.

Working Hours: Standard full-time hours are typically around 40 hours per week, with flexibility offered to accommodate remote work and cross-timezone collaboration. The emphasis on results and strategic impact over strict time adherence is common for senior roles.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary estimation is based on current market data for senior design roles in comparable European economies, factoring in the specific requirements of AI integration and system design. Benefits are standard for large, international tech companies and are tailored to support remote employees.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Online Marketplaces / E-commerce / Classifieds. OLX is a global leader in online marketplaces, facilitating millions of transactions and connections for buying, selling, jobs, and housing.

Company Size: Large (likely 1,000-5,000+ employees globally, given OLX Group's scale). This size implies a structured environment with established processes but also opportunities for significant impact.

Founded: OLX was founded in 2006, with OLX Group evolving into a major player in the global classifieds market. This history suggests a company that has successfully navigated rapid growth and technological shifts, now focusing on integrating advanced technologies like AI.

Team Structure:

• The Principal Brand Designer reports to the Director of Product Design, indicating a strong connection to the product development lifecycle.

• Close partnerships are expected with Marketing, Brand Strategy, Communications, Employer Brand, and regional teams, highlighting a highly collaborative, cross-functional GTM and brand development approach.

• The role operates within a larger design and creative function, with opportunities to mentor and influence other designers across the organization. Methodology:

• Data-driven decision-making, leveraging customer insights and market research to inform brand strategy and design.

• Systems thinking approach to designing scalable, consistent, and maintainable creative frameworks.

• Embracing AI as a catalyst for creativity, efficiency, and consistency in design execution and workflow optimization.

• Emphasis on cross-functional collaboration to ensure brand alignment and strategic impact across all departments.

• Continuous improvement and learning, particularly in the rapidly evolving fields of AI and design technologies.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: OLX operates in a dynamic, global digital marketplace. The culture likely values innovation, efficiency, and a data-informed approach, with a growing emphasis on leveraging AI to scale operations and enhance user experiences. The Principal Brand Designer will be central to ensuring brand coherence across this diverse and expanding portfolio.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Principal Designer signifies a senior, expert-level individual contributor. This role is beyond mid-level or senior designer, focusing on setting strategic direction, building scalable systems, and influencing organizational practices. It's a role where deep expertise is applied to solve complex, high-impact problems.

Reporting Structure: Reporting to the Director of Product Design, the Principal Brand Designer will work closely with other senior leaders in Product, Marketing, and Brand Strategy. While not a people management role, it involves significant influence and mentorship responsibilities.

Operations Impact: The impact of this role is substantial, directly influencing brand equity, customer trust, and the perceived quality of OLX's portfolio of brands globally. By establishing robust creative systems and leveraging AI, the role aims to accelerate high-quality execution across the organization, leading to improved customer engagement, acquisition, and retention.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in AI-driven creative workflows, advanced design systems, and multi-brand ecosystem management.

• Leadership: Evolve into a recognized thought leader within the design community, potentially leading larger strategic initiatives or influencing product and marketing strategy at a higher level.

• Cross-functional Influence: Expand influence across different business units and leadership teams, shaping broader organizational strategies related to branding and customer experience.

• Mentorship: Develop a strong reputation as a mentor and coach, shaping the next generation of designers within OLX and the broader industry.

• Innovation: Pioneer new approaches to brand design and creative execution, particularly in the integration of emerging technologies like AI.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Principal" title indicates a career path focused on deep expertise and strategic influence rather than people management. Growth is defined by expanding the scope of influence, tackling more complex challenges, and becoming a recognized authority in specialized areas like AI and design systems.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This is a fully remote role, offering significant flexibility. While there are mentioned office locations (Berlin, Germany), the role is specified as being based in Spain or Portugal with remote work being fully supported. This suggests a distributed workforce model.

Office Location(s): While the role is remote, OLX has offices in Berlin, Germany, and likely other global hubs. The specific requirement for Spain or Portugal suggests candidates in these regions will be prioritized for ease of collaboration within European time zones.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: Despite being remote, strong emphasis is placed on collaboration through digital tools, video conferencing, and structured virtual meetings.

• Tools & Technology: Access to industry-standard design software (Figma, Adobe Creative Suite) and cutting-edge AI creative tools will be provided or expected.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for interaction with a global team of designers, marketers, product managers, and brand strategists through virtual channels, workshops, and dedicated project teams.

Work Schedule: The role is full-time, approximately 40 hours per week. Flexibility is a key benefit of the remote setup, allowing for better work-life integration, but candidates must be available for core collaboration hours within European time zones to effectively partner with global teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote nature of this role emphasizes the need for self-discipline, strong digital communication skills, and the ability to thrive in a distributed team environment. Candidates should be comfortable with asynchronous work and proactive in seeking collaboration opportunities.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• First Stage: Portfolio & Design Leadership (90 mins): A deep dive with the Hiring Manager into your portfolio. Be prepared to discuss your design craft, strategic thinking, systems mindset, and collaborative approach. Showcase how you lead design initiatives and tackle complex challenges.

• Second Stage: Multi-Brand Systems & Creative Leadership (60 mins): Session with a senior Creative team leader. Focus on your experience building, evolving, and governing brand systems across a multi-brand organization. Demonstrate your creative leadership and ability to ensure consistency and innovation.

• Third Stage: Executive Partnership & Business Impact (45 mins): Meeting with a senior Marketing leader. Assess your leadership presence, strategic partnership skills with Marketing, and commercial acumen. Discuss how you drive organizational influence and deliver business impact through design.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Strategic Narrative: Structure your portfolio around case studies that tell a story of problem, process, solution, and impact. For this role, emphasize systems thinking, AI integration, and cross-functional collaboration.

• Showcase Systems: Dedicate sections to design systems you've built or contributed to, highlighting their structure, governance, and how they enabled scalability and consistency.

• AI Integration: Clearly articulate how you've used AI in your creative process, providing specific examples of tools, workflows, and the resulting benefits (e.g., increased efficiency, improved quality, enhanced experimentation).

• Impact Metrics: Quantify the impact of your work whenever possible. For brand design, this could include metrics related to brand recognition, consistency, efficiency gains, stakeholder satisfaction, or contribution to business goals.

• Leadership & Mentorship: Include examples or discussions about how you've mentored others, provided creative direction, or influenced stakeholders.

Challenge Preparation:

• Strategic Brand Thinking: Be ready to discuss how you would approach evolving the OLX Group's brand ecosystem, considering its diverse portfolio and the role of AI.

• Systems Design: Prepare to articulate your philosophy on design systems and how you would approach building or refining one for a large, multi-brand organization.

• AI in Design: Think critically about the opportunities and challenges of integrating AI into brand design workflows at scale.

• Stakeholder Management: Prepare examples of how you've successfully partnered with marketing, product, and executive teams to achieve design objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is structured to assess strategic thinking, system design capabilities, AI proficiency, and leadership influence. A well-curated portfolio that directly addresses these areas will be crucial for success.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential for collaborative design, prototyping, and design system development. Expected to be proficient in advanced features for complex system creation.

• Adobe Creative Suite: Proficiency in Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects (for motion design), and InDesign is expected for various brand design tasks.

• AI-Powered Creative Tools: Familiarity with generative AI platforms (e.g., Midjourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion for image generation; AI writing assistants for copy; AI tools for asset creation and optimization) is a key requirement.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not a direct analytics role, understanding how to interpret brand performance metrics and how design impacts them is beneficial. Familiarity with analytics platforms used for web and product performance (e.g., Google Analytics, Amplitude) could be an advantage. CRM & Automation:

• Familiarity with how brand assets are managed and distributed within marketing automation platforms or digital asset management (DAM) systems is useful for understanding workflow integration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on Figma and Adobe Creative Suite is standard for design roles. The critical differentiator here is the requirement for expertise in AI-powered creative tools and workflows, indicating a forward-thinking approach to design operations.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Craftsmanship & Excellence: A commitment to high-quality design, attention to detail, and delivering exceptional visual outcomes.

• Systems Thinking: A belief in building scalable, robust, and maintainable design systems that empower teams and ensure consistency.

• Innovation & Adaptability: An eagerness to explore and integrate new technologies, particularly AI, to enhance creative processes and outcomes.

• Collaboration & Influence: A proactive approach to working with diverse teams, building consensus, and influencing strategic decisions through expertise and clear communication.

• Data-Informed Creativity: Using customer insights and business objectives to guide creative direction and measure design impact.

• Brand Stewardship: A deep sense of responsibility for protecting and enhancing the integrity and equity of OLX's brands.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: A proactive and integrated approach to working with Marketing, Brand Strategy, Product Design, and other departments, ensuring brand design is a strategic partner from the outset.

• Process Review & Feedback: A culture that encourages open feedback loops, constructive critique, and continuous refinement of design processes and systems.

• Knowledge Sharing: A willingness to share expertise, mentor colleagues, and contribute to a collective learning environment, particularly around AI and design systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture at OLX likely values innovation, efficiency, and a global perspective. For this role, the emphasis on systems, AI, and cross-functional influence suggests a need for a candidate who is both a strong individual contributor and an effective collaborator in a distributed, fast-paced environment.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Consistency and Distinctiveness: Managing a portfolio of brands requires ensuring a cohesive group identity while allowing each brand to maintain its unique voice and appeal.

• Scaling Creative Systems: Developing and implementing design systems and AI workflows that can be effectively adopted and utilized by diverse global and regional teams.

• Influencing Without Direct Authority: Effectively leading and guiding stakeholders and fellow designers who do not report directly to this role.

• Rapidly Evolving AI Landscape: Staying current with the fast-paced advancements in AI tools and identifying their practical applications for brand design at scale.

• Measuring Brand Design Impact: Quantifying the ROI and business impact of brand design initiatives, especially in a digital marketplace context.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI Specialization: Become an expert in AI applications for creative industries, potentially leading to speaking engagements or defining best practices for OLX.

• Design Systems Leadership: Gain experience in architecting and governing complex, multi-brand design systems for a global organization.

• Strategic Brand Development: Deepen expertise in translating broad business strategy into actionable brand design frameworks.

• Cross-functional Strategy: Enhance strategic influence by working closely with senior leaders in Marketing, Product, and Executive teams.

• Mentorship Development: Hone coaching and leadership skills by mentoring a diverse group of designers globally.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to a senior role in a large, global organization operating in a rapidly evolving technological landscape. The growth opportunities are designed to leverage these challenges into significant professional development.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach defining and evolving the visual identity for a diverse portfolio of brands like OLX Group's, ensuring both cohesion and distinctiveness?" (Focus on your systematic approach, governance, and understanding of brand architecture.)

• "Describe your philosophy on design systems. How would you build or improve one for a global organization with multiple brands, and what role would AI play in its development and maintenance?" (Highlight your experience with system design, scalability, and AI integration.)

• "How do you influence stakeholders across different departments (e.g., Marketing, Product) to adopt new design standards or strategies, especially when you don't have direct authority?" (Prepare examples demonstrating your communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "Based on your understanding of OLX and the online marketplace industry, what do you see as the biggest brand challenges and opportunities for OLX Group?" (Showcase your research and strategic thinking about the company and its market.)

• "How do you see AI transforming the future of brand design, and what are the key considerations for integrating it responsibly and effectively into a large organization?" (Demonstrate your forward-thinking perspective and practical understanding of AI.)

• "How would you contribute to fostering a culture of design excellence and continuous learning within a distributed team?" (Align your approach with OLX's stated values and collaborative style.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Narrative Arc: For each case study, clearly articulate the business problem, your strategic approach, the specific design solutions (especially systems and AI contributions), and the measurable impact.

• Highlight Systems: Dedicate specific slides or sections to showcasing your design systems work, explaining the underlying principles, components, and governance.

• AI in Action: Clearly present how you've used AI tools. Show examples of prompts, workflows, and the outcomes. Be ready to discuss the pros and cons you've encountered.

• Quantify Impact: Use data and metrics wherever possible to demonstrate the success of your projects – e.g., efficiency gains, consistency improvements, stakeholder satisfaction scores, or contributions to business KPIs.

• Conciseness: Be mindful of time during presentations. Focus on the most impactful aspects of your work and be prepared to elaborate on details if asked.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic thinking, system design expertise, AI fluency, and strong stakeholder management capabilities. A portfolio that clearly articulates these aspects will be key to navigating the interview stages successfully.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Principal Brand Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on jobs.eu.lever.co.

• Tailor your Resume/CV: Highlight your 10+ years of experience, focusing on brand design leadership, design systems, AI integration, and cross-functional collaboration. Use keywords from the job description (e.g., "systems thinking," "AI-enabled design," "multi-brand," "governance," "stakeholder management").

• Curate Your Portfolio: Ensure your portfolio prominently features case studies demonstrating your ability to build scalable creative systems, your experience with AI in design, and your strategic approach to brand evolution. Be ready to present specific examples during interviews.

• Research OLX Group: Familiarize yourself with OLX's mission, its portfolio of brands, and its presence in the online marketplace industry. Understand their commitment to AI and design.

• Prepare for Case Studies: Anticipate discussing specific scenarios related to brand strategy, design systems, AI implementation, and stakeholder influence during your interviews. Practice articulating your thought process and potential solutions.

⚠️ 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.