Associate Creative Director
Dentsu (Merkle) · Posted Oct 13
Data-driven customer experience management, digital marketing, analytics, and CRM services
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About the role
The Experience Design (XD) team at Merkle (Dentsu) delivers digital experiences for clients across global markets, working alongside Strategy, Product, Technology, and Client stakeholders. The role is titled Associate Director / Associate Creative Director (DCF 40) and requires a blend of UX, UI, and Visual Design capability. This role independently leads end-to-end experience design engagements from discovery through delivery, drives design quality, mentors designers, and reports into the Director of Design.
What you will do
- Lead end-to-end experience design engagements independently across UX, UI, and Visual Design
- Translate business and user needs into compelling digital experiences
- Drive delivery quality, consistency, and execution excellence across projects
- Manage project workflows, timelines, dependencies, and stakeholder alignment
- Collaborate closely with Product, Engineering, Strategy, and Client teams
- Create strong user-centered experiences across web, mobile, and platform ecosystems
- Drive interaction design, information architecture, user journeys, and flows
- Contribute to high-quality visual systems, UI patterns, and scalable design components
- Ensure craft quality across usability, accessibility, responsiveness, and visual consistency
- Guide designers in applying design systems and structured methodologies
- Present design concepts, rationale, and recommendations clearly to stakeholders and clients
- Facilitate discussions, workshops, and collaborative working sessions
- Translate complex ideas into structured narratives and actionable outcomes
- Build confidence with clients through strong communication and delivery ownership
- Mentor and support junior and mid-level designers
- Contribute to building design capability, culture, and best practices within the XD team
- Participate in hiring, reviews, and capability development initiatives
- Help strengthen collaboration across UX, Visual Design, Motion, Content, and Strategy teams
- Stay updated with evolving trends in UX, UI, AI-enabled workflows, and digital experiences
- Explore opportunities to integrate AI tools and emerging technologies into design workflows
- Advocate for accessibility, inclusive design, and responsible design practices
Skills used in this role
What the employer is looking for
- Strong expertise across UX, UI, and Visual Design
- Excellent interaction design and problem-solving capability
- Strong understanding of design systems and scalable experience frameworks
- Ability to independently lead projects and manage stakeholders
- Strong storytelling, presentation, and communication skills
- Comfortable working within agile and cross-functional environments
- 8–12 years of relevant experience in Experience Design / Product Design / Digital Design
- Experience working in agencies, consulting firms, product companies, or global delivery environments
- Proven experience leading digital product or platform design initiatives
- Experience working with distributed or cross-market teams is preferred
Preferred qualifications
- Balanced design thinker with both strategic and execution capabilities
- Strong collaboration and interpersonal skills
- High ownership and accountability
- Structured and detail-oriented approach to delivery
- Growth mindset and willingness to learn
- Ability to operate independently while collaborating effectively within larger teams
Benefits and support
- Compensation and benefits are detailed in the job posting
About Dentsu (Merkle)
Merkle is a leading data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company and a dentsu company that specializes in delivering unique, personalized customer experiences across platforms and devices. Combining a deep heritage in data, technology, and analytics with performance media and CRM, Merkle helps Fortune 1000 organizations maximize customer value and drive digital transformation.
- Industry
- Customer Experience Management
- Company size
- 10001+ employees
- Founded
- 1988
- Location
- Columbia, Maryland, USA
- Funding stage
- Public Company
Funding
Public Company · $1.5B raised
- 2016-08-08Acquisition$1.5B
Leadership
Global CEO, Merkle
Global President of Merkle & Global Practice President, CXM at dentsu
Holden Bale
Global Chief Strategy Officer
Recent coverage
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Dentsu Group Confirms 100% Ownership of Merkle2020-04-15