Design Lead, Ad Design

Kargo creates breakthrough cross-screen ad experiences for the world’s leading brands and publishers. Every day, our 600+ employees bring the power of their creativity and diversity to radically raise the bar on what mobile, CTV, AI, social, and eCommerce can do to build businesses. Now 20 years strong, Kargo has offices in NYC, Chicago, LA, Dallas, Sydney, Auckland, London and Waterford, Ireland. Humble brag: In 2025, Kargo was recognized as a Best Place to Work by Built In.

Who We Hire

Success takes all kinds. Diversity describes our workforce. Inclusion defines our culture. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or other legally protected status. Individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application process, perform essential job functions, and receive other benefits and privileges of employment. 

Title: Design Lead

Job Type: Full-time; 3 Days In Office
Job Location: New York, NY
Salary Range: $90,000 - $100,000 (On Target Earning)

The Opportunity

We’re looking for an experienced Design Lead to join our Ad Design team. You’ll work closely with our Sr. Director, Ad Design to ensure our team of designers deliver quality work within our guidelines. You’ll lead the region’s team of designers and support with its future growth.

The Daily To-Do

• Be a regional design lead to a team of junior and mid level designers
• Design visually stunning and cutting-edge mobile advertising experiences for Kargo’s advertising campaigns
• Work with Rich Media authoring tools to produce standards-compliant interactive ads
• Employ a user-centered design approach to create intuitive design solutions
• Work closely with Sellers and Client Service managers by bringing big ideas to life through ideation and creation of visually stunning designs to meet the needs of Kargo's advertisers
• Proactively develop ongoing knowledge base of new technologies and products while identifying needs and opportunities for additional advertising products
• Lead specific functions based on the current needs of the organization
• Support regional Sales teams by leading external calls
• Support team leads with workflow improvements and cross-team collaboration efforts
• Mentor and inspire Junior Designers to drive engagement and innovation.
• Review designers’  first round work, checking for attention to detail and quality prior to sending to external clients.
• Develop and maintain relationships with direct reports via regular 1-on-1 meetings.
• Help direct reports set goals and track progress throughout the year.
• Help plan, organize, and lead Innovation Lab workshops, where prototyping of new products is done.
• Take ownership of initiatives that are assigned to you and drive all creative discussion, ideation and execution.
• Support art direction of innovation projects produced by other members of the team
• Be the designated designer for at least 2 enterprise accounts, in addition to other product related tasks

Qualifications

• 6-7 years of relevant design and leadership experience 
• Portfolio featuring past work experience and relevant, interactive, and user-centered design solutions
• Examples of projects you have led from a workflow or art direction perspective
• Detail-oriented: You live to organize, obsess over details, troubleshoot, problem solve as a habit, rally a team with your love of hitting deadlines and exceeding expectations.
• Flexibility: You can roll with the pivots, reprioritize as new projects enter the pipeline, and set expectations clearly and proactively. 
• Leadership: Proven history of spearheading complex projects with multiple stages and tight deadlines.
• People skills: You’ll be liaising with stakeholders and creatives across the organization 
• Software:
  • Required: G-suite, Adobe Suite 
  • Familiarity is welcome in: Brandfolder, Slack, Asana 

Follow Our Lead

• Big Picture:  kargo.com
• The Latest:  Instagram (@kargomobile) and LinkedIn (Kargo)