Sr. Lead Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Sr. Lead Designer

Company: Renuity

Location: Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Creative & Media / Art & Design / Marketing

Date Posted: 2026-09-11

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the definition and execution of Renuity's visual identity, ensuring a distinctive and cohesive brand expression across all customer touchpoints.

• Drive high-priority creative projects from concept to completion, focusing on exceptional design craft and strategic alignment with business objectives.

• Develop and implement scalable design systems and brand guidelines to ensure consistent application of visual language across diverse channels and formats.

• Art direct photography, video, and motion, collaborating with specialists to maintain a unified creative vision and elevate overall creative output.

• Foster a culture of creative excellence by mentoring internal designers and external partners, establishing stronger creative standards, and improving workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a senior, hands-on creative leadership position within a company undergoing a significant brand transformation. The emphasis is on shaping a national brand's visual identity and establishing robust creative systems, requiring a blend of individual contribution and strategic direction.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the development and evolution of Renuity's visual identity, setting high standards for design and art direction to establish a distinctive brand language.

• Translate marketing briefs, audience insights, and business objectives into compelling creative concepts and visual executions across paid media, social, web, lifecycle marketing, print, and experiential channels.

• Take ownership of concepting and executing high-visibility campaigns, foundational brand initiatives, and critical projects where senior design expertise can significantly impact outcomes.

• Design and build robust visual systems, templates, toolkits, and reusable assets that enable a lean organization to produce high-quality, cohesive work efficiently.

• Art direct photography, video, and motion shoots, providing clear direction to specialists to ensure execution aligns with the overall creative vision and brand strategy.

• Collaborate closely with writers, strategists, marketers, and other creative team members to shape integrated campaign ideas from their inception.

• Provide clear, constructive, and actionable creative feedback to internal designers, freelancers, agencies, and production partners to elevate the quality of work.

• Ensure creative output balances brand building with performance marketing objectives, leveraging customer insights and performance data for continuous improvement.

• Develop and maintain comprehensive brand guidelines and asset libraries to support consistent and effective brand representation across all touchpoints.

• Contribute to establishing and refining effective creative processes, including briefing, concepting, review, and approval workflows, to enhance both work quality and organizational efficiency.

• Mentor and develop internal design talent, elevating craft and fostering a collaborative creative environment.

• Effectively present creative rationale, strategic thinking, and project outcomes to marketing partners and senior stakeholders, adeptly managing feedback and driving consensus.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a dual focus on individual creative contribution ("hands-on") and broader strategic leadership ("creative leadership"). The emphasis on "systems, not individual assets" and "building scalable design systems" indicates a need for an individual who can think systematically and architect creative frameworks for a growing organization.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While not explicitly stated, a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communication, Fine Arts, or a related field is typically expected for a Senior Lead Designer role.

Experience: 8+ years of progressive experience in design, art direction, and creative development, preferably within agency environments or sophisticated in-house brand teams.

Required Skills:

• Deep expertise in graphic design, including typography, composition, color theory, and layout principles.

• Proven ability in art direction, with a strong understanding of visual storytelling through photography, video, and motion graphics.

• Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing visual identity systems and comprehensive brand guidelines.

• Strong conceptual thinking and the ability to translate abstract brand strategies into tangible visual expressions.

• Proficiency in leading design projects from concept through execution, managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

• Experience collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams, including marketing, product, and communications.

• Ability to provide clear, constructive, and actionable feedback to designers and creative partners.

• Strong presentation and communication skills, with the ability to articulate creative rationale and influence stakeholders.

• Understanding of brand equity principles and how creative work contributes to long-term brand value.

• Experience working with external creative partners such as agencies, freelancers, photographers, and filmmakers.

• Comfort and adaptability in a lean, fast-moving organizational structure with evolving processes.

• Curiosity and willingness to leverage customer insights, performance data, and testing to inform and optimize creative work. Preferred Skills:

• Experience in a major brand transformation or rebrand initiative.

• Familiarity with performance marketing principles and how creative impacts campaign effectiveness.

• Experience in developing creative for a home services or consumer-facing brand.

• Proficiency in advanced design and motion graphics software beyond standard design tools.

• Experience in mentoring or formally managing design teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The experience requirement of "8+ years" aligns with a senior-level individual contributor or lead role, demanding a significant track record and demonstrated leadership capabilities. The emphasis on "thinking in systems" and "building scalable design systems" suggests a need for an operations-minded designer who can create frameworks for efficiency and consistency.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio showcasing exceptional design craft, art direction, and conceptual thinking across a diverse range of channels and formats (e.g., digital campaigns, brand identity work, print collateral, video storyboards, motion graphics examples).

• Evidence of developing and implementing integrated visual systems that extend cohesively across multiple touchpoints and customer experiences.

• Case studies demonstrating the ability to translate strategic briefs and audience insights into impactful creative concepts and executions.

• Examples of art direction for photography and/or video, illustrating command over visual style, mood, and storytelling.

• Demonstrations of how you've provided creative leadership, directed designers, or collaborated effectively with writers to shape multidisciplinary campaign ideas.

• Projects that highlight your understanding of brand systems and the strategic judgment applied to maintain consistency while allowing for creative evolution. Process Documentation:

• Showcase examples of how you've developed and documented creative processes, such as briefing templates, concepting frameworks, or review and approval workflows.

• Portfolios may include examples of design systems, style guides, or toolkits that illustrate your approach to creating scalable and efficient creative resources.

• Evidence of how you've used customer insights, performance data, or testing results to inform and improve creative outcomes.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the role's emphasis on "building scalable design systems" and "improving creative ways of working," a portfolio that clearly articulates the designer's process, system-thinking, and ability to create repeatable frameworks will be highly valued. Demonstrating how process and systems directly led to improved efficiency or brand consistency is crucial.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: For a Sr. Lead Designer role in Charlotte, NC, with 8+ years of experience, the estimated annual salary range is typically between $110,000 and $150,000. This range is based on industry benchmarks for senior creative leadership positions in a growing company and considers the cost of living in a major metropolitan area like Charlotte.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plans.

• Retirement savings plan, potentially with a company match (e.g., 401(k)).

• Paid time off (PTO), including vacation days, sick leave, and holidays.

• Opportunities for professional development, including workshops, conferences, and training.

• Potential for performance-based bonuses or incentives.

• Employee assistance programs and wellness initiatives.

• Potential for stock options or equity in a growing company.

Working Hours: Typically a standard 40-hour work week. While the role is on-site, there may be occasional flexibility required for project deadlines or critical meetings, but the core expectation is consistent office presence.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimation is based on data from reputable compensation aggregators and industry reports for similar roles in the Charlotte, NC area, factoring in the experience level and the "lead" aspect of the title. Benefits are standard offerings for full-time roles in companies of this size and industry, with a focus on professional growth relevant to a creative leader.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Home Improvement Services. Renuity is a significant player in the US home remodeling market, focusing on providing trust, innovation, and customer-first service. This industry context implies a need for creative work that resonates with homeowners, balances aspiration with practicality, and builds trust.

Company Size: Nearly 4,000 employees operating in 40 states. This indicates a large, established organization that is actively consolidating and rebranding, suggesting a dynamic environment with potential for both scale and agility. For operations professionals, this size means established processes but also a need for adaptable and scalable solutions.

Founded: While the exact founding date of Renuity as a consolidated entity isn't specified, its operational history spans across multiple acquired businesses. The current brand transformation implies a recent or ongoing strategic pivot.

Team Structure:

• The Creative team is evolving, indicating a period of growth and development in its capabilities. This role is key to shaping that evolution.

• Collaboration is expected across Marketing, Internal Communications, and other departments, suggesting a cross-functional operational model.

• The team will work alongside agencies, freelancers, and production partners, requiring strong vendor management and clear communication protocols. Methodology:

• The company is building a more integrated, full-funnel approach to marketing, requiring creative that supports all stages of the customer journey.

• Emphasis on translating brand strategy into creative execution and balancing brand equity with performance marketing signals.

• A focus on establishing stronger creative standards, systems, and ways of working to enhance efficiency and impact.

Company Website: https://renuityhome.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's current brand transformation is a critical piece of context. This Senior Lead Designer role is not just about maintaining an existing brand but actively shaping a new, national identity. This implies a need for strategic thinking, adaptability, and a proactive approach to building creative infrastructure.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Senior Individual Contributor / Team Lead. This role is positioned as a senior creative leader, responsible for setting visual direction and quality standards. While not explicitly a management role with direct reports in the traditional sense, it involves significant leadership in directing creative output and mentoring others.

Reporting Structure: The role likely reports into a Marketing Director, Head of Creative, or VP of Marketing, overseeing the visual aspect of the brand's communication strategy. The reporting structure will be crucial for understanding how creative decisions are integrated into broader Go-To-Market (GTM) strategies.

Operations Impact: The Senior Lead Designer has a direct impact on Renuity's brand perception, customer acquisition, and retention by defining how the brand shows up visually. High-quality, cohesive creative execution is essential for building brand equity, driving engagement, and supporting performance marketing efforts across the full funnel.

Growth Opportunities:

• Strategic Influence: Opportunity to significantly shape the visual direction of a national brand during a critical transformation phase.

• System Building: Develop and implement scalable design systems and processes that will have a lasting impact on the organization's creative output.

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Gain experience collaborating with and influencing diverse teams (Marketing, Sales, Product) to drive integrated creative strategies.

• Creative Mentorship: Develop leadership skills by mentoring junior designers and guiding external creative partners.

• Career Progression: Potential to advance into a Creative Director role or lead a larger internal creative team as the company's capabilities expand.

📝 Enhancement Note: The growth opportunities are framed around the "building" aspect of the role, emphasizing the chance to establish new standards and systems. This is a key differentiator for ambitious creative professionals looking to make a tangible impact beyond individual project execution.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is designated as "On-site," indicating a physical presence is required at the Charlotte, NC office. This suggests a traditional office environment focused on in-person collaboration.

Office Location(s): Charlotte, North Carolina. This major city offers a robust business ecosystem and a competitive talent market.

Workspace Context:

• The environment is likely collaborative, with opportunities for direct interaction with marketing teams, strategists, and potentially other creative professionals.

• As a growing creative capability, the office may be equipped with standard design software and hardware, but the emphasis on "building" suggests potential for input into tool and resource acquisition.

• The "lean, fast-moving environment" implies a dynamic workspace where adaptability and quick iteration are valued.

Work Schedule: A standard 40-hour work week is expected for this Full-Time position. While on-site, the company's focus on brand transformation and integrated marketing may require flexibility to meet critical project deadlines or stakeholder needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "on-site" requirement in Charlotte is important. It signals a preference for in-person collaboration essential for a role focused on brand transformation and team building, contrasting with fully remote or hybrid arrangements.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

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

• Portfolio Presentation: A dedicated session where you'll present your portfolio, discussing key projects, your design process, strategic thinking, and how you've built visual systems. Expect to articulate your rationale behind specific design choices and demonstrate your art direction capabilities.

• Creative Challenge/Case Study: You may be given a hypothetical design brief or a problem to solve, requiring you to demonstrate your conceptual thinking, problem-solving skills, and ability to apply brand strategy under timed conditions.

• Stakeholder Interviews: Meetings with marketing leaders, potential peers, and cross-functional partners to assess collaboration style, communication skills, and cultural fit. Expect questions about how you've managed feedback and influenced stakeholders.

• Final Interview: Discussion with senior leadership to confirm overall fit and strategic alignment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-5 of your strongest, most relevant projects that best showcase your visual identity development, system-building, and art direction skills. Prioritize work demonstrating conceptual depth and strategic impact.

• Tell the Story: For each project, clearly articulate the brief, your role, the strategic objectives, your creative process, the challenges faced, and the measurable impact or outcome. Focus on the "why" behind your design decisions.

• Highlight Systems Thinking: Explicitly showcase projects where you developed visual systems, brand guidelines, or scalable templates, explaining how these elements ensured consistency and efficiency.

• Demonstrate Art Direction: If possible, include examples of your art direction for photography or video, detailing your vision and how you guided specialists to achieve it.

• Be Prepared for Questions: Anticipate questions about your design philosophy, how you handle creative feedback, your experience in brand transformations, and how you balance brand building with performance.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Brand: Thoroughly research Renuity's current brand, its market position, and its stated goals for transformation.

• Think Systematically: If given a challenge, focus on how your solution can be scaled and applied consistently across different channels.

• Articulate Rationale: Be prepared to clearly explain your creative decisions and connect them back to the brief and business objectives.

• Consider Performance: Think about how your creative would perform and how you would measure its success.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "building systems" and "art direction beyond graphic design" means your portfolio should explicitly highlight these capabilities. Expect to defend your creative choices and demonstrate strategic thinking, not just aesthetic execution.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design Software: Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) is essential. Proficiency in After Effects for motion graphics and potentially Figma or Sketch for UI/UX design and design system collaboration is highly probable.

• Prototyping/Design Systems: Tools like Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD are likely used for developing and managing design systems, templates, and collaborative workflows.

• Project Management: Familiarity with project management tools such as Asana, Trello, or Jira for tracking creative project progress and collaborating with marketing operations.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not a direct responsibility, an understanding of how creative impacts performance metrics is key. Familiarity with web analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics) and marketing performance dashboards will be beneficial for understanding creative effectiveness. CRM & Automation:

• Awareness of CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) and marketing automation platforms is helpful for understanding how creative assets are deployed across customer journeys and campaigns.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the job description doesn't explicitly list software, the nature of a Senior Lead Designer role in a modern marketing organization heavily implies proficiency in the Adobe Creative Suite. Given the focus on "design systems" and "scalability," familiarity with collaborative design tools like Figma is also a strong possibility.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Excellence & Craft: A commitment to high-quality creative execution and a dedication to pushing the boundaries of visual design and art direction.

• Collaboration & Partnership: Valuing strong working relationships with marketing, internal communications, and external partners to achieve unified creative vision.

• Strategic Thinking: Approaching creative challenges with a deep understanding of business objectives, audience insights, and brand strategy.

• Innovation & Adaptability: Embracing new ideas, technologies, and approaches to visual communication, especially during a period of significant brand transformation.

• Efficiency & Scalability: Developing creative solutions and systems that are not only impactful but also repeatable, scalable, and efficient for a growing organization.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Actively partnering with marketing, sales enablement, and other departments to ensure creative aligns with broader business goals and customer experiences.

• Constructive Feedback Culture: Fostering an environment where feedback is shared openly, respectfully, and constructively to elevate the quality of all creative work.

• Knowledge Sharing: Encouraging the sharing of best practices, learnings, and insights within the creative team and with broader organizational partners.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's emphasis on "building creative capability" suggests a culture that is open to evolving processes and embracing new ways of working. The role's success will heavily depend on fostering strong collaborative relationships and a shared commitment to creative excellence.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Brand Transformation Complexity: Navigating the complexities of evolving a national brand's visual identity while maintaining consistency and impact across diverse markets and customer touchpoints.

• Balancing Brand & Performance: Creating work that builds long-term brand equity while simultaneously driving short-term performance marketing results.

• Resource Optimization: Maximizing the impact of creative output within a "lean" organization, potentially requiring innovative solutions and efficient workflows alongside external partners.

• Establishing New Standards: Defining and implementing stronger creative standards, systems, and processes in a dynamic, growing environment.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Strategic Brand Development: Gaining hands-on experience in shaping a national brand's visual identity from the ground up.

• System Design Expertise: Deepening expertise in creating and implementing scalable design systems for large organizations.

• Art Direction Mastery: Expanding art direction skills across photography, video, and motion, working with a variety of specialists.

• Creative Leadership Growth: Developing mentorship and leadership skills by guiding internal and external creative talent.

• Full-Funnel Marketing Acumen: Understanding how creative contributes to every stage of the customer journey and performance marketing campaigns.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary challenge and opportunity lie in the "building" aspect of the role. Candidates who thrive on establishing new frameworks, driving change, and making a tangible impact on a brand's trajectory will find this role particularly rewarding.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you led the development of a visual identity or a significant brand system. What was your process, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on system thinking, strategic rationale, and impact.)

• "How do you approach art directing a photography or video shoot to ensure it aligns with a specific brand vision and campaign objectives?" (Highlight your directorial process, communication with specialists, and quality control.)

• "Imagine Renuity needs to launch a new service in a competitive market. How would you translate the marketing brief into a compelling visual campaign concept that also drives performance?" (Demonstrate your ability to connect strategy, creativity, and measurable results.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "Renuity is undergoing a brand transformation. How would you approach establishing new creative standards and ensuring consistency across a large, distributed organization?" (Showcase your understanding of brand management, process development, and stakeholder buy-in.)

• "How do you balance the need for brand consistency with the desire for creative innovation and stretching brand guidelines?" (Illustrate your strategic judgment and understanding of brand architecture.)

• "Describe your experience working with agencies and freelancers. How do you ensure they deliver work that meets your standards and aligns with the brand strategy?" (Focus on your vendor management, briefing, and feedback skills.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: Begin with a high-level overview of your career and philosophy. Then, dive into 2-3 key projects that best exemplify your strengths in visual identity development, system building, and art direction.

• Quantify Success: Whenever possible, use metrics and data to demonstrate the impact of your work, whether it's brand engagement, campaign performance, or efficiency gains from design systems.

• Highlight Process: Clearly articulate your creative process for each project, emphasizing how you translated strategy into visual solutions and built scalable systems.

• Articulate Rationale: Be prepared to defend your design choices, explain the strategic thinking behind them, and discuss how you handled feedback and iterations.

• Showcase Leadership: Emphasize instances where you led creative efforts, mentored others, or collaborated effectively with diverse teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: Expect interview questions that probe your ability to not just design, but to lead, build, and strategize. Your portfolio presentation should serve as a narrative of your process, strategic thinking, and impact, especially concerning system development and art direction.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Sr. Lead Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight experience in brand identity development, visual systems, art direction, and leading creative projects. Quantify achievements where possible (e.g., "Increased brand engagement by X%," "Developed design system used across Y channels").

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select your strongest, most relevant projects that showcase your expertise in visual systems, art direction, and conceptual thinking. Ensure it's easily navigable and clearly articulates your process and impact.

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice presenting your portfolio, focusing on storytelling, strategic rationale, and how your work aligns with Renuity's brand transformation goals. Be ready to discuss your approach to building systems and art directing.

• Research Renuity: Thoroughly understand Renuity's business, its current brand, and its ambitions for national expansion. Familiarize yourself with their website and any recent brand communications.

⚠️ 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.