Creative Director / Lead Brand Designer

Laurel is on a mission to return time. As the leading AI Time platform for professional services firms, we’re transforming how organizations capture, analyze, and optimize their most valuable resource: time. Our proprietary machine learning technology automates work time capture and connects time data to business outcomes, enabling firms to increase profitability, improve client delivery, and make data-driven strategic decisions. We serve many of the world's largest accounting and law firms, including EY, Aprio, Crowell & Moring, and Frost Brown Todd, and process over 1 billion work activities annually that have never been collected and aggregated before Laurel’s AI Time platform.

Our team comprises top talent in AI, product development, and engineering—innovative, humble, and forward-thinking professionals committed to redefining productivity in the knowledge economy. We're building solutions that empower workers to deliver twice the value in half the time, giving people more time to be creative and impactful. If you're passionate about transforming how people work and building a lasting company that explores the essence of time itself, we'd love to meet you.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We’re hiring a Creative Director / Lead Brand Designer to define and evolve Laurel’s brand at a pivotal moment of scale.

You will shape and evolve Laurel’s brand system across marketing, product touchpoints, sales materials, web, content, and emerging AI surfaces. You will operate strategically and tactically: defining positioning, evolving visual language, and then turning around a launch asset yourself when needed.

You are AI-first. You use generative tools fluently. You think in systems. If part of the job feels repetitive, your instinct is to automate it - not delegate it. AI is reshaping design in good and bad ways - this role is at the forefront of making sure these powerful new tools enhance and uplift our craft - not undermine it.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

OWN AND EVOLVE THE BRAND SYSTEM

• Own the brand strategy, positioning, and narrative framing together with marketing and design partners

• Define and refine Laurel’s visual identity, typography, layout systems, imagery direction, and brand voice in partnership with leadership.

• Build durable AI-first systems that scale across web, product marketing, sales enablement, and content.

• Empower creative and non-creatives to create and extend brand assets

OPERATE AT BOTH STRATEGY AND EXECUTION LEVELS

• Art direct major campaigns and launches, including web, video, social and press.

• Personally design assets for web, blog, sales decks, launch materials, and social media when needed.

• Be the guardian of the craft and maintain a high quality bar across all outputs.

DEFINE AI-FIRST BRAND DESIGN

• Operate at an expert level in image prompting and generative visual workflows.

• Develop repeatable, scalable AI pipelines for brand asset production that can be used by creative and non-creative partners

• Systematize production where possible (template systems, prompt libraries, automation workflows).

• Pioneer how AI reshapes brand storytelling and visual expression.

BUILD AND MANAGE A FLEXIBLE CREATIVE BENCH

• Maintain a strong “book” of trusted freelancers and creative partners (illustrators, motion designers, photographers, videographers, etc.).

• Know when to DIY and when to outsource.

• Scope, brief, and manage external collaborators efficiently.

COLLABORATE DEEPLY WITH PRODUCT AND MARKETING

• Partner closely with the product design team to ensure brand expression aligns with product experience.

• Support sales and marketing with high-quality materials that elevate perception.

• Operate effectively in a fast-paced, high-ownership startup environment.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

• A portfolio showcasing world-class brand and visual design work that you personally executed.

• Clear evidence of individual contribution and art direction of other creatives

• Experience working inside a fast moving product startup - bonus points for B2B, SaaS or professional services

• AI-first design fluency. Extensive experience with one or more image or video generation tools and/or AI based workflows

• Track record of creating, evolving and evangelizing visual identity and/or brand systems.

• Comfortable working in small, high-performance teams.

NICE TO HAVE

We’re not expecting you to be able to do all these things, but a couple will put you ahead of the pack

• Motion design (After Effects, generative motion workflows, etc.)

• Video editing and basic shooting capability

• Webflow development

• Product design

FLEXIBILITY & LOGISTICS

• Location: This role will be hybrid and based in downtown San Francisco, with at least 3 days per week in the office for in-person collaboration.

• Visa Sponsorship: Unfortunately, we are unable to sponsor visas at this time.

• Compensation: Competitive salary, generous equity, comprehensive medical/dental/vision coverage with covered premiums, 401(k), and additional benefits including wellness/commuter/FSA stipends.

WHY JOIN LAUREL:

• To date, we've secured significant funding from renowned venture capitalists (Google Ventures, IVP, Anthos, Upfront Ventures), as well as notable individuals like Marc Benioff, Gokul Rajaram, Kevin Weil, and Alexis Ohanian

• A smart, fun, collaborative, and inclusive team

• Great employee benefits, including equity and 401K

• Bi-annual, in-person company off-sites, in unique locations, to grow and share time with the team

• An opportunity to perform at your best while growing, making a meaningful impact on the company's trajectory, and embodying our core values: understanding your "why," dancing in the rain, being your whole self, and sanctifying time

We encourage diverse perspectives and rigorous thinkers who aren't afraid to challenge the status quo. Laurel is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. We are not able to support visa sponsorship or relocation assistance. 

If you think you'd be a good fit for this role, we encourage you to apply, even if you don’t perfectly match all the bullet points in the job description. At Laurel, we strive to create an inclusive culture that encourages people from all walks of life to bring their unique, diverse perspectives to work. Every day, we aim to build an environment that empowers us all to do the best work of our careers, and we can't wait to show you what we have to offer!