Design Director

The Brand Creative Lab is Microsoft’s in-house creative team supporting consumer-facing businesses including Copilot Consumer, Microsoft Surface, Microsoft 365, Windows, Edge, and Bing. We are a nimble, hybrid team of internal and external talent that creates work impossible to ignore—rooted in truth, brand promise, and cultural relevance.

We are seeking a passionate visual Design Director to help shape and elevate the visual storytelling of Microsoft’s consumer brands. As a senior individual contributor, you will lead the design vision across integrated campaigns, product launches, and brand initiatives. You will collaborate closely with the creative director, brand strategists, designers, art directors, producers, and external agency partners to deliver high-impact creative that resonates with global audiences. You’ll collaborate directly with product design, brand, and engineering teams to bring new customer experiences to life while ensuring a unified design language and brand expression in our products and services across software and hardware. Curiosity, craftsmanship and culture are at the heart of our team. An ideal candidate finds delights in diversity and designs for human needs. You will be expected to lead by influence, mentor other creatives, and champion design excellence across the lab.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.

Required Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 6+ years experience working in product or service design.
  • OR Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 8+ years experience working in product or service design.
  • OR equivalent experience (e.g., demonstrated experience working in product or service design or using design thinking to solve problems).
• 4+ years of graphic design in an agency or in-house.
• 4+ years experience as a designer or creative director.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 5+ years of graphic design in an agency or in-house.
• 8+ years experience as a designer or creative director.
• Proficiency in Figma.
• Familiarity with AI-enhanced design tools and workflows.
• Portfolio demonstrating your expertise in designing products and experiences with a sophisticated approach to visual design and brand expression as well as deep systems thinking.
• Understanding and proven execution of design fundamentals including typographic systems, iconography, color theory, brand identity, design principles, layout and motion/behavior design.
• Ability to translate insights into authentic narratives and visual storytelling.
• Proven ability to lead large-scale design initiatives and collaborate across disciplines.
• Expertise in digital-first creative, including social, web, and motion.
• Experience working with or within in-house creative teams and external agencies.
• Proficiency with the Adobe Creative Suite design programs (Illustrator, Photoshop).
• Proficiency with Adobe After Effects
• Experience in the technology industry and stays connected to cultural and graphic design trends.
• Experience with visual style guidelines/playbooks, competitor analysis, and heuristic analysis.

Product Design IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $139,900 - $274,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here: https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

Microsoft will accept applications for the role until September 28, 2025.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the visual identity systems for Microsoft’s consumer brands, including Copilot, Windows, Copilot+ PC, Surface, M365, Edge & Bing.
• Translate strategic briefs into compelling visual narratives that align with brand standards and business goals.
• Partner with Creative Director, Brand Strategists, Integrated Marketing and in-house creative teams to define creative direction and ensure consistency across touchpoints.
• Partner with art directors and motion designers to create beautiful and inclusive expressive content that delights and engages our customers.
• Facilitate conversation and present your design vision and solutions to stakeholders.
• Generate excitement around new ideas and opportunities.
• Observe industry trends and internalize the changing needs of customers to inspire your design solutions and stories.
• Obsessive eye for details and sets high standards for art and design.
• Analyze our existing visual systems and experiences, understand customer needs, and identify ways to improve our design systems.
• Collaborate with external agencies and production partners to scale creative output while maintaining quality.
• Guide the use of AI tools and emerging technologies to enhance creative workflows and accelerate delivery.