Senior Design Director

Overview

The Senior Design Director is a portfolio-level creative leader responsible for elevating design leadership, creative excellence, and business impact across PepsiCo CSD (Carbonated Soft Drink) and Sparkling brands. This role partners with portfolio Marketing leadership and PBUS Design leadership to orchestrate cross-brand priorities across Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Bubly, Starry, Mug, and future portfolio brands and extensions. The role exists to ensure Design operates at the same altitude as Marketing, shaping strategy upstream and delivering consumer-led, category-defining work that drives growth, share, and brand equity. Without this role, Design remains largely brand-siloed, limiting portfolio-wide innovation, consistency, and the scale of business outcomes expected in the current Marketing structure.

Role Purpose

The main goal of the Senior Design Director is to lead Design at the portfolio level, ensuring breakthrough creative is connected to measurable business outcomes across multiple brands and workstreams. The role exists to align Design with portfolio strategy, raise creative standards, and create a cohesive creative operating system across teams, partners, and geographies. This leader builds depth in senior design leadership, strengthens succession, and ensures Design is a visible driver of portfolio transformation and future-ready innovation.

Responsibilities

Creative Excellence and Innovation

Deliver breakthrough brand design and category-defining creative across consumer and customer touchpoints. Elevate creative quality, improve brand salience and affinity outcomes, and raise standards across the portfolio through clear creative direction and rigorous craft expectations.

Business Impact Through Design

Translate design strategy into measurable outcomes including growth, share, brand equity, and design value. Ensure design priorities and resources align to PBUS AOP, strategic growth plans, and longer-range portfolio priorities. Build narratives and proof points that connect design decisions to commercial impact.

Leadership and Influence

Lead and mentor a multi-brand leadership team including Design Directors and connected brand teams. Influence senior stakeholders and drive alignment across portfolio forums, Marketing leadership, and cross-functional partners. Establish shared vision, decision pathways, and portfolio-wide ways of working that enable speed and coherence.

Global Collaboration and Standards

Partner with PBUS and Global Design leadership to elevate creative standards and deliver cohesive brand experiences across markets. Build alignment on design systems, quality thresholds, and best practices to ensure portfolio work is consistent, premium, and scalable.

Talent Development and Succession

Build and develop the next generation of senior design leaders. Strengthen capability and culture through coaching, clear expectations, and performance management. Grow succession depth across the portfolio and model PepsiCo leadership behaviors and values.

Strategic Scale and Future Vision

Expand the role of Design as a driver of future portfolio transformation, cultural relevance, and innovation. Guide future-focused initiatives and long-range brand and portfolio evolution, including new programs, new formats, and integration of international brands where applicable.

Compensation & Benefits

The expected compensation range for this position is between $157,200 - $312,000. Location, confirmed job-related skills, experience, and education will be considered in setting actual starting salary. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range during the hiring process. Bonus based on performance and eligibility target payout is 35% of annual salary paid out annually and an additional target payout of 15% of annual salary is paid out over 3 years following the end of the performance period. Long-term incentive equity may be awarded based on eligibility and performance. Paid time off subject to eligibility, including paid parental leave, vacation, sick, and bereavement. In addition to salary, PepsiCo offers a comprehensive benefits package to support our employees and their families, subject to elections and eligibility: Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability, Health, and Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Insurance (Accident, Group Legal, Life), Defined Contribution Retirement Plan. Car allowance.

Qualifications

• 14+ years of experience in brand design, creative direction, or design leadership within global brands or top creative agencies, including portfolio or multi-brand leadership scope.
• Demonstrated success setting creative direction and standards across multiple brands, delivering cohesive systems and breakthrough work at scale.
• Proven ability to translate design strategy into measurable business outcomes including growth, share, equity, and design value creation.
• Strong leadership track record leading leaders, managing multi-layer teams, and orchestrating complex stakeholder networks across Marketing, Innovation, Commercial, and Operations.
• Exceptional creative judgment with a clear point of view on brand systems, craft, and quality thresholds, with a track record of raising the bar.
• Strong strategic and commercial acumen with demonstrated ability to influence senior and executive decisions and drive alignment in high visibility forums.
• Ability to lead through ambiguity, establish operating rhythms, and deliver decision clarity and speed across complex programs and portfolios.
• Proven capability in coaching, talent development, and succession building for senior design leaders and teams.
• Experience leading external partner ecosystems including Tier 1 agencies and specialist partners to deliver quality, efficiency, and consistency.
• Operates as an enterprise-first leader who builds shared success across functions and geographies.
• Demonstrates PepsiCo leadership and business values and fosters a culture of creativity, collaboration, and excellence.

EEO Statement

Our Company will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and all other applicable laws, including but not limited to, San Francisco Police Code Sections 4901-4919, commonly referred to as the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance; and Chapter XVII, Article 9 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, commonly referred to as the Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status. PepsiCo is an Equal Opportunity Employer: Female / Minority / Disability / Protected Veteran / Sexual Orientation / Gender Identity / Age If you'd like more information about your EEO rights as an applicant under the law, please download the available EEO is the Law & EEO is the Law Supplement documents. View PepsiCo EEO Policy. Please view our Pay Transparency Statement

Key skills/competency

• Senior Design Director
• Brand Design
• Creative Direction
• Design Leadership
• Portfolio Management
• Strategic Planning
• Stakeholder Management
• Talent Development
• Brand Strategy
• Creative Excellence