Art Director

Job Title: Art Director
Reports To: Staffing Program Manager
FLSA Status: Full Time, Exempt, Salary
Term: 12 months, with expectation of continuation
Top 3 Must Haves:
1. Broad directional vision for visual design.
2. Thorough knowledge of the social and digital trends.
3. Strong communication skills.
Job Summary:
The Art Director will be responsible for overall visual design and direction of content across multiple channels and platforms. They will oversee a team of creatives through entire project cycle to create visual content that supports major company announcements, relatable social moments, and boundary-pushing executions. They will address global design issues across product groups within social and digital spaces.
The Art Director will be tapped to help ensure the team delivers innovative, fully accessible, global-ready, brand-approved content and design systems. They will be asked to maintain consistent, high-quality output. Knowledge of and adherence to Microsoft Brand Identity guidelines is critical. While traditional graphic design is the core of the position, this team also works across video, animation, and HTML, so all experience could be relevant, and all skills may be utilized.
Essential Functions:
Ideate and execute new, fresh, and exciting social media content and design systems.
Maintain clear, consistent communication with team producer, Creative Director, and stakeholders to keep projects on-time, on-brand, and meeting or exceeding expectations.
Understand and embrace company-wide and product-specific brand guidelines, while ideating within them to create modern, digital-friendly content.
Keep up with social media platforms and digital trends, bringing this knowledge to help the team know when to (and when not to) engage.
Maintain a careful eye for the details, including copy (grammar, spelling, etc.).
Apply the highest accessibility standards to all content across all channels.
Approach all content with a global mindset, including knowing when to ask for additional diverse perspectives.
Bring yourself, your skills, and your interests to this team and its content.
Required Skills & Abilities:
Creative & Design Skills
Art direction and visual leadership.
Concept development and creative ideation.
Social media content design.
Digital content design across multiple platforms.
Design system development.
Brand-focused visual storytelling.
Strong visual design fundamentals (layout, typography, composition, color).
Ability to create innovative executions within established brand guidelines.
High attention to detail.
Copy review/proofing (grammar, spelling, accuracy).
Accessibility-first design approach.
Global-ready content development.
Social Media & Digital Expertise
Deep understanding of social media platforms.
Knowledge of current social and digital trends.
Understanding of platform-specific content strategies.
Experience creating engaging social-first content.
Ability to identify emerging trends and opportunities.
Strong awareness of digital culture and audience behavior.
Software & Technical Skills
Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator.
Leadership & Collaboration
Creative team leadership.
Mentorship and coaching.
Project ownership from concept to execution.
Stakeholder management.
Cross-functional collaboration.
Ability to manage and incorporate feedback from multiple stakeholders.
Strong presentation and communication skills.
Organizational and prioritization skills.
Ability to maintain alignment with producers, creative directors, and business partners.
Microsoft/Brand Related
Brand governance and compliance.
Experience working within brand identity systems.
Understanding of Microsoft Brand Identity guidelines (or similar enterprise-scale brand systems).
Inclusive design mindset.
Global audience awareness.
Passion for emerging technology and innovation.
Education & Experience:
7+ years of professional design experience.
Experience leading visual direction across multiple channels/platforms.
Experience designing and managing projects from concept through completion.
Experience delivering professional-quality creative work.
Experience creating social and digital content.
Experience working within established brand guidelines.
Experience managing feedback and approvals from multiple stakeholders.
Experience maintaining design consistency across campaigns and initiatives.
Portfolio demonstrates strong social and digital executions.
Preferred Qualifications:
Familiarity and working knowledge of video editing and motion tools (Premiere, After Effects).
Familiarity and working knowledge of UI design.
Professional photography / cinematography experience.
Animation experience.
Passion around core Microsoft values, including emerging technology, inclusive design, and sustainability.
Physical Requirements:
Must be able to regularly stand, walk, and move throughout filming locations for extended periods of time.
Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times.
Work Environment:
This role routinely requires using standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets, and printers.
This position may require the ability to stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
Must be able to operate various electronic devices.
Position Type & Expected Hours of Work:
This role is designated as Remote. Remote is doing 100% of your work in a remote location. You are not required to be in the office / on-site, and no on-site space is or will be reserved or available permanently at Mighty Media’s offices. Applications for remote work are limited to candidates residing in Washington (WA), California (CA), Arizona (AZ), and Maryland (MD). The office generally operates from 9 am-5 pm Pacific time, but the days and hours of this position may vary week-to-week. A willingness to work varying schedules, including weekends, nights, holidays, long shifts (10+ hours), or travel as needed.
Additional Information:
We receive a high volume of applicants and are unable to respond to all of them. Please know that we will be in touch with candidates moving forward in the interview process. All communications will come from careers@mightymediastudios.com.
In addition to your resume and cover letter, please include a link to your digital portfolio.
Pursuant to state and local pay disclosure requirements, the pay range for this role is $110,000-$118,000 annually. Compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time.
If you are offered a position, please note that employment with the company is contingent on passing a criminal background check.
While employed with Mighty Media Studios, you are not authorized to provide professional services to a competitor, other company or client that may be a conflict of interest with your work.
Mighty Media Studios is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse environment with the Mightiest employees. If you require an accommodation in interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please note that in your application. We are committed to ensuring that everyone has an excellent interview experience!

Work arrangement
Yes