Senior Brand Designer - Growth

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Brand Designer - Growth

Company: Mercury

Location: San Francisco, CA; New York, NY; Portland, OR; Remote within Canada; United States

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Brand Design / Marketing Operations

Date Posted: 2026-06-23

Experience Level: 5-10 years

Remote Status: Remote OK

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the creative vision and execution for Mercury's growth channels, establishing brand standards for performance-driven creative.

• Design compelling paid advertising creative across static, motion, and social formats, integrating brand identity with measurable results.

• Leverage data-driven creative testing and AI tooling as strategic instruments to iterate, optimize, and enhance designs.

• Collaborate closely with growth marketing teams to align creative strategies with campaign objectives and channel performance.

• Develop and maintain scalable creative systems, including templates and asset libraries, to ensure brand consistency and operational efficiency.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a first-of-its-kind focus area within the Brand Studio, emphasizing a unique blend of high-craft brand design and data-informed growth marketing. The emphasis on "performance creative" and "creative testing as a strategic tool" signals a strong connection to marketing operations and demand generation functions, requiring a candidate who can bridge creative excellence with measurable business outcomes.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end creative development for growth channels, including paid social (Meta, LinkedIn), lifecycle marketing (email, landing pages), and other conversion-focused touchpoints.

• Design and iterate on paid ad creative, translating product UI and brand narrative into visually engaging and results-oriented assets.

• Implement a rigorous creative testing framework, developing hypotheses, executing A/B tests, and translating quantitative and qualitative feedback into actionable design improvements.

• Partner with growth marketing to define campaign briefs, analyze performance data, and inform creative iteration cycles.

• Develop and manage scalable creative systems, templates, and asset libraries to ensure brand consistency and accelerate creative velocity across growth initiatives.

• Art-direct video content and collaborate with production partners to bring growth campaigns to life.

• Contribute to the evolution of Mercury's overall brand system, specifically as it intersects with growth and performance marketing contexts.

• Proactively explore and integrate AI design tooling to enhance creative production speed, scale, and asset customization for growth campaigns.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a hands-on approach to creative execution within growth marketing, requiring not just design skills but also a strategic understanding of performance metrics and optimization. The expectation to "own the creative vision for growth channels" and "build the discipline around it from the ground up" indicates a significant leadership and foundational role, demanding strategic thinking and operational planning.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent practical experience and applied knowledge in graphic design, visual communication, or a related field is essential.

Experience: 5+ years of progressive experience in brand design, art direction, or visual communication, with a significant portion focused on growth, performance, or demand generation creative. A blend of in-house and agency experience is preferred.

Required Skills:

• Brand Design & Art Direction: Proven ability to establish and execute a strong visual identity across various platforms.

• Portfolio Excellence: A robust portfolio showcasing both aesthetic craft and strategic thinking, demonstrating purposeful design with clear rationale for its effectiveness.

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

• Growth & Performance Creative: Deep understanding of designing creative assets optimized for conversion, engagement, and measurable results in paid channels.

• Creative Testing & Analysis: Demonstrated experience using quantitative data and qualitative insights to inform creative strategy, iterate on designs, and drive performance improvements.

• AI Design Tooling Fluency: Genuine competence and proactive use of AI tools for scaling creative, generating assets, and improving workflow efficiency.

• Scalable Systems Design: Ability to create and implement design systems, templates, and asset libraries for efficient creative production.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Strong ability to partner effectively with marketing, product, and other stakeholders.

• Communication & Articulation: Clear and persuasive communication skills to present creative concepts, rationale, and feedback.

Preferred Skills:

• Motion Design & Video Editing: Proficiency in tools like After Effects, Premiere Pro, or similar for creating motion graphics and editing video assets.

• Paid Social Platform Experience: Familiarity with ad specifications and best practices for platforms such as Meta (Facebook/Instagram) and LinkedIn.

• Lifecycle Marketing Design: Experience designing for email campaigns, landing pages, and other conversion funnel touchpoints.

• Product UI Translation: Ability to translate complex product interfaces into compelling visual narratives for marketing contexts.

📝 Enhancement Note: The experience requirement "5+ years" combined with the "Senior" title suggests a need for a candidate who can operate independently, drive initiatives, and mentor others. The emphasis on AI tooling and creative testing indicates a forward-thinking approach to design, requiring a candidate who is not only skilled in traditional design principles but also embraces emerging technologies and data-driven methodologies.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrated Growth Impact: Showcase case studies that clearly illustrate how your design contributions directly impacted key growth metrics (e.g., conversion rates, engagement, customer acquisition cost).

• Strategic Rationale: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your strategic approach, the creative solutions implemented, and the measurable results achieved.

• Brand System Integration: Include examples of how you've applied and extended brand guidelines across diverse growth channels, demonstrating adaptability and consistency.

• Process & Workflow Examples: Present examples of scalable systems, templates, or workflows you've developed to improve creative production efficiency and quality.

• AI Tooling Application: Highlight projects where AI tools were integral to the creative process, showcasing your ability to leverage technology for faster iteration and unique asset creation.

Process Documentation:

• Creative Testing Frameworks: Detail your methodology for hypothesis generation, test design, execution, and analysis of creative performance data.

• Workflow Optimization: Illustrate how you've streamlined creative production processes, potentially through automation, template usage, or improved collaboration.

• Brand System Evolution: Show how you've contributed to or adapted brand systems to meet the specific demands of growth and performance marketing channels.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a "Senior" role focused on growth, the portfolio is paramount. It must go beyond aesthetics to demonstrate strategic thinking, data literacy, and operational efficiency. Candidates should be prepared to discuss their process in detail, including how they leverage AI and testing to achieve business objectives.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• US Employees (NYC, SF, LA, Seattle): $121,700 - $152,100 USD per year

• US Employees (Other Locations): $109,500 - $136,900 USD per year

• Canadian Employees (Any Location): 115,000 - 143,700 CAD per year

Benefits:

• Base Salary: Competitive annual salary commensurate with experience and location.

• Equity: Stock options or Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), providing ownership in Mercury's growth.

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Details on medical, dental, and vision insurance plans.

• Paid Time Off: Generous vacation, sick leave, and holidays.

• Professional Development: Opportunities for learning, training, and attending industry events.

• Remote Work Support: Resources and potential stipends for home office setup.

Working Hours: Approximately 40 hours per week, with flexibility expected to meet project deadlines and collaborate across time zones.

📝 Enhancement Note: The detailed salary ranges provided for different US regions and Canada reflect a commitment to competitive and location-aware compensation. The inclusion of equity (stock options/RSUs) is a significant part of the total rewards package, aligning employee success with company growth, which is common in high-growth tech and fintech companies.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Fintech / Financial Technology (serving businesses and individuals)

Company Size: [Based on LinkedIn data, Mercury is likely in the 201-500 employee range, indicating a growing but still agile organization.]

Founded: [Company founded in 2019, suggesting a relatively young, fast-paced, and innovation-driven environment.]

Team Structure:

• Brand Studio: This role sits within the Brand Studio, likely comprising a close-knit team of designers, copywriters, and brand strategists focused on elevating Mercury's brand presence.

• Growth Marketing Collaboration: The Senior Brand Designer will work very closely with the Growth Marketing team, requiring seamless collaboration and understanding of marketing objectives and performance metrics.

• Reporting: The role likely reports to a Creative Director, Head of Brand, or a similar senior leadership position within the Brand Studio.

Methodology:

• Data-Informed Creativity: A core philosophy that blends creative vision with quantitative insights and rigorous testing.

• Iterative Design Process: Embracing feedback, experimentation, and continuous improvement as integral to the design workflow.

• Craftsmanship & Intentionality: A high standard for design quality, ensuring every visual element serves a strategic purpose.

• AI Integration: Proactive adoption of AI tools to enhance efficiency, scale creative output, and explore new design possibilities.

Company Website: [Mercury.com]

📝 Enhancement Note: Mercury's founding story and architectural inspiration highlight a deep appreciation for design and user experience. The "growth" focus for this brand designer role suggests a culture that values not just aesthetics but also measurable impact and continuous learning, aligning with the dynamic nature of the fintech industry.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior individual contributor role, indicating a high level of expertise and autonomy. It's a critical position for establishing and scaling creative operations within growth marketing.

Reporting Structure: The role reports into the Brand Studio leadership but works in tight partnership with Growth Marketing, requiring strong cross-functional communication and influence.

Operations Impact: The Senior Brand Designer will have a direct impact on Mercury's customer acquisition, engagement, and overall brand perception through performance-driven creative. Success in this role will contribute significantly to Mercury's growth trajectory and market positioning.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership in Growth Creative: Potential to build and lead a specialized creative function for growth channels as the team expands.

• Brand System Expansion: Opportunity to shape and evolve the brand system for new and emerging growth surfaces.

• Cross-Functional Expertise: Deepen understanding of growth marketing strategies, analytics, and business operations.

• Skill Development: Continuous learning in AI design tools, performance creative best practices, and advanced design techniques.

• Mentorship: Opportunity to mentor junior designers or contribute to the development of design processes for the wider team.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a unique opportunity to define a new area of creative responsibility within Mercury. The "Senior" title and focus on "establishing a creative vision... from the ground up" suggest significant potential for career growth, leadership, and shaping the future of brand expression in growth channels.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Mercury operates with a remote-first or hybrid approach, prioritizing flexibility and global talent acquisition. This role is explicitly remote-friendly within the US and Canada.

Office Location(s): While specific physical offices may exist (e.g., San Francisco, New York), the company culture supports remote work, allowing employees to work from their preferred locations within designated regions.

Workspace Context:

• Remote Collaboration: Expect a highly collaborative digital environment, relying on tools like Slack, Figma, and video conferencing for communication and teamwork.

• Autonomy & Trust: A culture that empowers employees to manage their time and work effectively from remote locations, with an emphasis on results.

• Access to Tools: Provision of necessary software and tools, including advanced AI design platforms, to support high-quality creative output.

• Cross-functional Interaction: Frequent engagement with marketing, product, and engineering teams, fostering a dynamic and integrated work experience.

Work Schedule: While the standard is around 40 hours per week, the remote nature offers flexibility. However, strong communication and responsiveness are crucial, especially when collaborating across different time zones. The "growth" aspect may require adaptability to campaign timelines and testing windows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote-first nature of Mercury, combined with the role's focus on growth and iteration, suggests a dynamic and fast-paced work environment. Candidates should be comfortable with asynchronous communication and possess strong self-management skills.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess qualifications, experience, and alignment with the role's requirements.

• Portfolio Deep Dive: An interview with a member of the Brand Studio to discuss your portfolio in detail, focusing on your design process, strategic thinking, and experience with growth creative and AI tools. Be prepared to walk through specific case studies.

• Growth Marketing Collaboration: An interview with a Growth Marketing lead to assess your understanding of performance marketing, creative testing, and ability to collaborate effectively with data-driven teams.

• Cross-functional Interview: Potentially an interview with a hiring manager or senior leader to evaluate cultural fit, leadership potential, and strategic vision for growth creative.

• Final Interview/Offer: A concluding discussion, potentially with executive leadership, followed by an offer.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight Growth Impact: Ensure your portfolio clearly demonstrates your ability to drive measurable results through design. Quantify your achievements whenever possible.

• Showcase AI & Testing: Include specific examples of how you've used AI tools and creative testing methodologies to improve designs and outcomes.

• Structure for Clarity: Organize your portfolio logically, perhaps by project type or by showcasing your expertise in growth creative. Use clear headings and concise descriptions.

• Articulate Your Process: Be ready to discuss your problem-solving approach, decision-making rationale, and how you adapt to feedback and data.

• Brand Consistency: Demonstrate how you maintain brand integrity while innovating for performance channels.

Challenge Preparation:

• Creative Brief Interpretation: Be prepared to discuss how you interpret and execute on growth marketing briefs.

• Hypothetical Testing Scenario: You might be asked to outline a testing strategy for a new creative concept or campaign.

• AI Tool Application: Discuss specific AI tools you use and how they enhance your workflow for growth creative.

• Brand Vision for Growth: Articulate your vision for how brand design can elevate Mercury's growth channels.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a portfolio that demonstrates "craft and strategic thinking" and "evidence that you think about why it works, not just how it looks" is critical. Candidates should prepare to unpack their process, particularly how they integrate data, AI, and testing into their creative decision-making for growth initiatives.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential for UI/UX design, prototyping, collaborative workflows, and building scalable design systems.

• Adobe Creative Suite: Likely includes Photoshop, Illustrator for asset creation and manipulation.

• AI Design & Generative Tools: Proficiency with tools like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, DALL-E, or similar generative AI platforms for asset creation, ideation, and rapid prototyping.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Familiarity with Analytics Platforms: Understanding of how to interpret data from platforms like Google Analytics, Meta Ads Manager, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, etc., to inform design decisions.

• Data Visualization Tools (Basic): Ability to understand and potentially contribute to dashboards that track creative performance.

CRM & Automation:

• Lifecycle Marketing Tools: Experience with platforms for email marketing (e.g., Mailchimp, Customer.io) and landing page builders, understanding their design implications.

Collaboration & Project Management:

• Slack: For real-time communication and team collaboration.

• Asana, Jira, or similar: For project management and task tracking.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma and AI design tooling is explicitly called out as critical. The role requires a candidate who is not only a skilled designer but also comfortable with the operational aspects of creative production and performance analysis, leveraging technology to drive efficiency and effectiveness.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Data-Driven Experimentation: A commitment to using data and testing to inform creative decisions and prove the value of design.

• High Craftsmanship: Maintaining a high standard for visual quality and attention to detail across all brand touchpoints.

• Intentionality: Ensuring every design choice has a clear strategic purpose and contributes to business objectives.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Open communication and a willingness to share insights, feedback, and learnings across teams.

• Innovation & Adaptability: Embracing new technologies (like AI) and methodologies to stay at the forefront of design and marketing.

Collaboration Style:

• Integrated Partnership: Working as a seamless extension of the Growth Marketing team, understanding their goals and contributing proactively to campaign strategy.

• Feedback-Driven: A culture that encourages constructive feedback loops to continuously improve creative work and processes.

• Knowledge Sharing: Generosity in sharing learnings, best practices, and new tool discoveries, especially related to AI and creative testing.

• Agile & Responsive: Ability to move quickly from brief to execution, adapting to the fast-paced nature of growth marketing campaigns.

📝 Enhancement Note: Mercury's emphasis on design inspired by architecture suggests a culture that values thoughtful execution and intentionality. For this role, this translates to a need for designers who can balance creative vision with the practical demands of performance marketing, fostering a collaborative and iterative environment.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Bridging Brand and Performance: The primary challenge will be to maintain a strong, cohesive brand identity while optimizing creative for direct response and performance metrics.

• Establishing New Processes: As this is a new focus area, there will be a need to define and build the creative processes, workflows, and best practices for growth creative from the ground up.

• Rapid Iteration & Testing: Managing a high volume of creative testing and iteration while maintaining quality and brand consistency requires strong organizational and strategic skills.

• Staying Ahead of AI: Continuously evaluating and integrating new AI tools and techniques to maintain a competitive edge in creative production and testing.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Ensuring alignment and clear communication between the Brand Studio and Growth Marketing teams, which may have different priorities and KPIs.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Pioneering Growth Creative: Opportunity to define best practices and establish a leading creative function for growth in the fintech space.

• AI Tool Mastery: Deepen expertise in cutting-edge AI design and generative tools, becoming a go-to resource.

• Data-Driven Design Skills: Enhance analytical skills by working closely with performance data and A/B testing frameworks.

• Strategic Brand Development: Contribute to the broader strategic direction of the Mercury brand, especially in how it's expressed in performance contexts.

• Industry Exposure: Potential to attend industry conferences or workshops focused on growth marketing, brand strategy, and creative technology.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is ideal for a candidate who thrives on building new things, embraces ambiguity, and is excited by the challenge of merging high-level brand strategy with tactical, data-driven execution. The opportunity to shape a function from its inception is a significant growth driver.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach defining the creative vision for Mercury's growth channels, considering both brand integrity and performance objectives?"

• "Describe your process for using creative testing and data analysis to iterate on ad creative. Can you provide an example of a time your insights led to significant performance improvement?"

• "Walk me through how you would build a scalable system for paid social creative assets that ensures brand consistency while allowing for rapid iteration."

• "What are your favorite AI tools for design and creative production, and how do you see them evolving the role of a brand designer in growth marketing?" Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Mercury's mission and its approach to design in finance?"

• "How do you see the relationship between brand design and performance marketing evolving, and how would you foster collaboration between these teams at Mercury?"

• "Describe a time you had to balance conflicting feedback from different stakeholders (e.g., brand vs. performance). How did you resolve it?"

• "How do you stay current with design trends, AI advancements, and the evolving landscape of digital advertising?" Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Quantify Everything: For each case study, lead with the measurable impact. Use clear metrics (e.g., "Increased conversion rate by X%", "Reduced CPA by Y%").

• Show the "Why": Clearly articulate the problem you were solving, your strategic approach, and the rationale behind your design decisions.

• Demonstrate Process: Walk through your iterative process, including how you incorporated feedback, data, and AI tools.

• Highlight Growth Focus: Emphasize projects specifically related to performance marketing, paid social, or lifecycle marketing.

• AI Integration Narrative: Explicitly detail how AI tools were used and the benefits they provided in your projects.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should heavily focus on demonstrating a dual capability: the aesthetic and strategic prowess of a senior brand designer, combined with the analytical mindset and results-orientation of a growth-focused marketer. Be ready to speak fluently about metrics, testing methodologies, and the application of AI.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Greenhouse.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight your most relevant work in brand design for growth, performance creative, and your experience with AI tooling and creative testing. Prioritize case studies with quantifiable results.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your 5+ years of experience, specifically mentioning skills in Figma, AI design tools, art direction, and growth marketing collaboration. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice discussing your portfolio projects, focusing on your process, strategic thinking, and the impact of your work. Be ready to articulate your vision for growth creative at Mercury.

• Research Mercury: Understand Mercury's brand, mission, and its position in the fintech market. Consider how your design philosophy aligns with their values and architectural inspiration.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description incorporates industry insights and assumed operational requirements for a Senior Brand Designer role focused on Growth. Candidates should verify specific responsibilities, team structure, and expectations directly with Mercury during the interview process. The salary ranges provided are estimates based on the information available and regional market data.