Creative Lead

What You'll Do

• Define and evolve Spotify's global visual merchandising vision, setting the creative direction for artwork, visual systems, and brand expression across the Spotify experience.
• Lead the continued evolution of our creative workflows, identifying how AI can elevate creativity, quality, speed, and scalability while maintaining exceptional craft.
• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, Design Platform, and R&D leaders to ensure merchandising and product innovation evolve together.
• Champion a visual strategy that keeps Spotify culturally relevant across more than 180 markets while balancing global consistency with local expression.
• Establish creative principles, standards, and scalable systems that empower teams to deliver world-class visual experiences at scale.
• Build strong partnerships with internal creative teams, external agencies, illustrators, photographers, and freelance talent to expand Spotify's creative capabilities.
• Lead and develop a high-performing team of Senior Visual Designers by creating an environment built on trust, inclusion, curiosity, feedback, and creative excellence.
• Own the team's operating budget and prioritize investments that deliver meaningful creative and business impact.
• Use audience insights, experimentation, and performance data to continuously improve the effectiveness of Spotify's visual merchandising strategy.
• Represent Visual Merchandising as a trusted creative partner across Spotify, influencing senior stakeholders through thoughtful creative leadership.

Who You Are

• You have 10+ years of experience leading creative work across design, art direction, branding, editorial, advertising, or visual storytelling for a consumer-facing brand.
• You have experience building, leading, and developing exceptional creative teams while creating an inclusive environment where people can do their best work.
• You understand how emerging technologies—including generative AI—are transforming creative strategy, production, and design systems, and you're excited by the opportunities they create.
• You bring exceptional visual craft together with strategic thinking, balancing creativity, business goals, and customer needs.
• You have experience collaborating across product, design, engineering, marketing, and executive leadership teams to deliver ambitious creative outcomes.
• You are comfortable using data, experimentation, and audience insights to inform creative decisions without compromising creative quality.
• You have experience working across global markets and understand how to build creative work that respects cultural nuance while maintaining a strong global brand.
• You care deeply about mentoring others, raising the creative bar, and fostering a culture of continuous learning and collaboration.
• You're naturally curious about design, music, culture, technology, and storytelling, and you're motivated by creating work that reaches millions of people every day.