Creative Director
HAUS · United States
- Hybrid
- Full-time
- $195,000 / year
- United States
Tailored resume — keyword-matched to this role.
Hiring manager — we find who's hiring.
Intro email — drafted to reach them directly.
Job highlights
- Lead creative vision for deep tech startups.
- Develop scalable branding and digital systems.
- Manage and mentor a creative team.
- Drive client relationships and present work.
- Passion for deep tech commercialization required.
About the role
Creative Director - Deep Tech Startups
HAUS is seeking a senior leadership Creative Director to specialize in scalable creative systems, operational rigor, and executional consistency across branding and digital experiences for deep tech startups. This role requires a systems-oriented individual who understands modern brands as operating systems, capable of turning ambiguity into frameworks and protecting quality as work scales. You will manage a team, contribute directly to production, and lead client management, including selling creative work to technical founders.
Role & Responsibilities
- Set and drive the creative vision for systems and design operations, ensuring all work reflects strategic excellence while remaining usable, repeatable, and durable at scale.
- Build scalable design systems across brand and web with modular frameworks that work across teams, platforms, and outputs.
- Lead and mentor a multidisciplinary creative team of designers and contractors, fostering professional growth and maintaining high standards across all deliverables.
- Serve as a senior creative voice in client relationships, presenting strategic concepts and building trusted partnerships with founders and executive stakeholders.
- Oversee brand strategy development for deep tech clients and translate that strategy into applications, particularly visual identity and web design.
- Oversee website production workflows, bridging creative vision and technical execution while collaborating closely with engineering, design, motion, strategy, and account teams.
- Lead refinement and implementation phases across multiple active accounts.
- Support highly technical, hands-on clients through organized, process-driven creative systems.
- Translate creative direction into repeatable workflows and durable brand infrastructure.
- Establish creative processes, workflows, and quality standards that scale with agency growth, protecting quality and consistency as HAUS scales its creative output.
- Collaborate with agency leadership on business development, contributing to pitches, proposals, and new client acquisition.
- Stay ahead of industry trends, emerging technologies (including AI-enabled creative workflows), and cultural shifts to keep HAUS at the forefront of creative innovation.
Qualifications
- 8+ years of professional creative experience with at least 3 years in a leadership or director-level role.
- Extensive management experience: ability to manage junior designers and contractors and build teams for client projects.
- Demonstrated experience creating and operationalizing creative systems and processes.
- Strategist first: proven ability to build brand strategy and translate it into applications, particularly visual identity and web design.
- Strong background in brand systems, identity systems, and digital design systems for companies where credibility and technical accuracy matter.
- Deep understanding of responsive web design, component logic, and implementation-ready documentation.
- Exceptional typography, layout, interaction, and systems sensibility.
- Ability to manage complex creative workflows across multiple stakeholders.
- Outstanding presentation and communication skills with executive presence; ability to sell through creative work.
- Exceptional portfolio demonstrating strategic thinking, brand and systems development, and creative range across brand and web.
- Strong business acumen with experience contributing to agency growth, client retention, and new business efforts.
- Passion for deep tech and demonstrated ability to distill complex, technical subject matter into accessible and inspiring creative work.
- Based in the US.
Preferences
- Deep experience working in or directly adjacent to deep tech, hard tech, advanced infrastructure, aerospace, defense, energy, AI, robotics, biotech, climate, materials, or manufacturing.
- Proven ability to immerse yourself in what a company actually does.
- Comfort working directly with founders, engineers, scientists, researchers, and subject-matter experts.
- Experience building brands for companies with long sales cycles, complex buyers, regulatory pressure, or highly specialized markets.
- Agency experience, particularly with technology, B2B, or startup clients.
- Background spanning multiple creative disciplines (design, web, motion, copywriting).
- Experience building and scaling creative teams and processes.
- Familiarity with AI tools and emerging creative technologies.
- Experience with venture-backed startups or founder-led companies.
About HAUS
HAUS is a public relations and creative agency specializing in deep tech startups. Our mission is to support founders commercializing high-risk, high-reward technologies. We believe the future is a story we tell ourselves and measure success by how our work contributes to building a future we want to live in.
Key skills/competency
- Creative Direction
- Brand Strategy
- Design Systems
- Digital Design
- Client Management
- Team Leadership
- Creative Operations
- Deep Tech
- Startup Branding
- Portfolio Development
Skills & topics
- Creative Director
- Brand Strategy
- Design Systems
- Digital Design
- Creative Leadership
- Deep Tech
- Startup Branding
- Agency Operations
- Web Design
- Visual Identity
- AI
- Aerospace
- Biotech
- Robotics
- Semiconductors
- Management
- Scalable Systems
- Remote
- US-based
How to get hired
- Tailor your resume: Highlight experience with creative systems, operational rigor, and leadership in brand and digital design. Emphasize your strategic thinking and ability to manage complex workflows.
- Showcase your portfolio: Present a strong portfolio demonstrating strategic thinking, brand and systems development, and creative range across brand and web, particularly for technical clients.
- Craft a compelling cover letter: Express your genuine interest in deep tech and articulate how your systems-oriented approach aligns with HAUS's mission.
- Prepare for client-facing scenarios: Be ready to discuss how you sell creative work, build trust with technical founders, and manage client relationships confidently.
- Understand deep tech: Demonstrate a passion for and understanding of deep technologies and how to translate complex subjects into creative solutions.
Technical preparation
Master scalable design systems principles.,Practice building brand and web systems.,Develop expertise in responsive web design.,Familiarize with AI creative workflows.
Behavioral questions
How do you turn ambiguity into structure?,Describe managing creative quality at scale.,How do you build trust with founders?,How do you distill complex tech into creative?
Frequently asked questions
- What is the key differentiator for the Creative Director role at HAUS compared to traditional Creative Director positions?
- The Creative Director role at HAUS is distinct due to its exclusive focus on deep tech startups. Success hinges on specializing in scalable creative systems, operational rigor, and executional consistency across branding and digital experiences, rather than general creative direction.
- How does HAUS define a 'modern brand' for its deep tech clients?
- HAUS views a modern brand not as a static entity but as an 'operating system' that functions across various platforms like websites, motion graphics, sales materials, and internal/external communications. This emphasizes structure, rigor, and repeatability.
- What specific deep tech sectors does HAUS work with, and why is this important for the Creative Director?
- HAUS partners with startups in AI, aerospace, biotech, defense, energy, robotics, advanced manufacturing, quantum computing, and semiconductors. Genuine interest and the ability to distill complex technical subject matter into accessible creative work are crucial for this role.
- How will the Creative Director manage client relationships, particularly with technical founders at HAUS?
- The Creative Director will act as a senior creative voice, presenting strategic concepts with confidence and building trust with highly technical founders who have high standards and little patience for fluff. Selling creative work is a critical skill.
- What is expected regarding hands-on contribution versus team management for the Creative Director at HAUS?
- As HAUS is a small agency, the Creative Director is expected to both manage a team of junior and senior designers and contractors, and also roll up their sleeves to contribute directly to production and execution.
- How important is a candidate's background in creative systems and operational rigor for this Creative Director role?
- A deep understanding and demonstrated experience in creating and operationalizing creative systems and processes are paramount. The role requires someone who is deeply systems-oriented and can build repeatable workflows and durable brand infrastructure.
- What kind of portfolio should a Creative Director candidate at HAUS prepare?
- The portfolio should demonstrate strategic thinking, brand and systems development, and creative range across both brand and web. It needs to showcase how the candidate translates strategy into tangible applications, especially for credible and technically accurate companies.