About us We turn customer challenges into growth opportunities. Material is a global strategy partner to the world’s most recognizable brands and innovative companies. Our people around the globe thrive by helping organizations design and deliver rewarding customer experiences. We use deep human insights, design innovation and data to create experiences powered by modern technology. Our approaches speed engagement and growth for the companies we work with and transform relationships between businesses and the people they serve. About the VP, Design Role As VP, Design at Material, you will play a pivotal role in a team that envisions and creates customer and product experiences for clients. This influential role uncovers opportunities for design at the intersection of insights and emerging technologies, leading teams across strategy, industrial, brand and digital design on projects to support the development of highly desirable user experiences that set new benchmarks for excellence. We are looking for someone who wants to work with the world’s greatest brands, companies and leaders. Someone who is passionate about bringing design excellence to market and has over 15 years of experience doing so. The VP of Design will report into the SVP of Design, and directly manage the Industrial Design team as well as Design Strategists. Along with fellow leaders, this individual will be a key contributor for continuing to evolve the vision for our design practice at large. They will oversee multiple projects from conception to execution, inspire and lead creative excellence across a variety of projects and be a role model within the design practice, and keep their finger on the pulse of key shifts and trends in the industry at large. Management skills are essential for the role, in addition to strong concept, creation, craft and presentation skills. As VP, Design you will Lead and Mentor the team: Team leadership and motivation skills are essential for the role; in fact they are the magic that will make this person successful. You will coach, lead and inspire the team continuously so we are best in class. Directly lead a team of world-class designers and design strategists. Embed an understanding of customer experience design, its goals and methods. Coach and develop the managers that report into you, helping them to connect their work and growth plans to Material’s overall goals. Support the team’s resourcing and work planning to align team talent and opportunities. Stay up-to-date with design trends, tools and technology. Together with other VPs, contribute to Material’s vision for Customer Experience design. Lead and oversee the work: Lead work in a highly collaborative and fast-paced environment, partnering with strategy, brand, insights, and digital design teams to develop, articulate and visualize ideas, brands and experiences. This can range from developing a new brand and packaging concept from scratch to concepting experiential retail activations for established brands to innovative product design for Fortune 500 tech companies. Maintain high quality standards for experience and industrial design, ensuring the work is strategic, aesthetically appealing, improves the experience of users, and supports business goals. Oversee the creation of experience design deliverables, including design systems, journeys, prototypes and proof of concepts. Roll up your sleeves and demonstrate how it’s done when needed. Advocate for user research to bring in the right level of insight and/or validation at the right time, from quick qualitative checkpoints to rigorous quantitative evaluations, and anything in between. Facilitate design workshops and client meetings to unpack challenges, frame solutions, build trust and gain stakeholder buy in. Drive growth: Lead the development of pitches, project approaches and proposals that take advantage of Material’s unique design, data and technology capabilities. Provide advice and guidance to your clients, counselling them on how to achieve their objectives and what comes next. Shape new design offerings and solutions to meet emerging market needs. Collaborate with other leaders within and outside of design on original thought leadership and POVs to improve client partnerships. About You You have a bachelor’s degree and 15 years of professional experience in a related field Experience leading and managing interdisciplinary design teams in service of customer and business outcomes. An appreciation for and ability to create the unique collaborative client, project, and team contexts in which great design work happens. Strong in-market case studies of physical, digital and omnichannel experience design work. Deep understanding of industrial design and enabling thoughtful user experiences through multiple modalities that extend beyond hardware: you might be an Industrial Design or Interaction Design leader who has worked in the intersection of physical/digital products and experiences, or a design strategist who has been at the helm of product design development teams. Understands how to realize products from concept through to actualization Fluency in service design, customer journey and ecosystem mapping, along with the ability to apply these approaches to identify product opportunities, drive alignment and set a shared north star vision for a customer experience. A strong grasp of the roles that user insights, data and measurement play in the design process. Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, experienced engaging with and influencing C-level clients. A passion for and commitment to design excellence in all its forms. An ability to navigate ambiguity and guide lead teams through change. Prior agency experience is a must. Must be located in NYC or surrounding areas Why work for Material? In addition to fulfilling, high-impact work, company culture and benefits are integral to determining if a job is a right fit for you. Here’s a bit about who we are and highlights around what we offer. Who We Are & What We Care About Material is a global company and we work with best-of-class brands worldwide. We also create and launch new brands and products, putting innovation and value creation at the center of our practice. Our clients are in the top of their class, across industry sectors from technology to retail, transportation, finance and healthcare. Material employees join a peer group of exceptionally talented colleagues across the company, the country, and even the world. We develop capabilities, craft and leading-edge market offerings across seven global practices including strategy and insights, design, data & analytics, technology and tracking. Our engagement management team makes it all hum for clients. We prize inclusion and interconnectedness. We amplify our impact through the people, perspectives, and expertise we engage in our work. Our commitment to deep human understanding combined with a science & systems approach uniquely equips us to bring a rich frame of reference to our work. A community focused on learning and making an impact. Material is an outcomes focused company. We create experiences that matter, create new value and make a difference in people's lives. What We Offer In addition to Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Disability and FSA, Material offers: A work environment that works best for you. Whether that’s fully remote, in one of our offices, or hybrid. (This particular position requires proximity to NYC and willingness to go in-office.) Flexible & synchronous time off. We trust our colleagues to take responsibility for and manage their workloads. That’s why we offer Flexible Time Off along with synchronous companywide closures and 11 company holidays. 12 weeks of paid parental leave. Every parent deserves to spend the first few months of their new child’s life with them. Help planning for your future. We offer 401K match, as well as periodic financial wellness and planning sessions throughout the year. Pay Range: $150,700.00 - 225,720.00 The range shown represents a grouping of relevant ranges currently in use at Material. Actual range for this position may differ, depending on location and specific skillset required for the work itself. Privacy Statement Material is committed to protecting privacy in our recruiting processes for all candidates. For more information, please refer to our Privacy Policy. California-resident applicants should also refer to our California-resident Candidate Privacy Statement. If you need support with a privacy-related matter, please send an email to: privacyrequests@materialplus.io We respect the privacy of candidates for employment. This Privacy Policy sets forth how we will use the information we obtain when you apply for a position through this career site. If you do not consent to the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not submit information to us. Material is a global strategy, insights, design, and technology partner to companies striving for true customer centricity and ongoing relevance in a digital first, customer-led world. By leveraging proprietary, science-based tools that enable human understanding, we inform and create customer-centric business models and experiences deploy measurement systems – to build transformational relationships between businesses and the people they serve.