Director Of Design Jobs in Rutherford, NJ (NOW HIRING)

The Creative team at Lume and Mando is small, ambitious, and building something real. We work across both brands - two whole body deodorants that do something the rest of the industry doesn't: stop the bacteria that causes B.O. anywhere on the body. It's a genuinely better product solving a problem people have always been too embarrassed to talk about. Our job is to change that. We make campaigns, content, packaging, and activations that help people understand why these products are different - and why they should care. We're in the middle of a major brand transformation, and the work we're doing right now will define what these brands look and feel like for years to come.

We're looking for a Design Director who can own the visual language of both Lume and Mando. This isn't a role for someone who wants to delegate everything and disappear into meetings - we need someone with a strong point of view, real craft, and the ability to develop a team that's still growing. The work spans packaging, digital, retail, and social across two brands with different audiences and different creative needs. That range is the job.

Neither brand is finished. Both have room to grow, tighten, and get more interesting - and we're looking for someone who sees that as the opportunity, not the problem. If you're drawn to building and evolving rather than maintaining what's already there, this is the right role.

This is a player-coach position. The expectation is that you stay close enough to the work that your instincts stay sharp - directing the team and opening Illustrator yourself when something needs it.

No two days look the same, but here's a taste of what this role actually feels like:

• Starting the morning with a packaging crit - giving structured, specific feedback on three rounds of Mando carton concepts before they go back to the designer for revisions.
• Jumping into a brief kickoff with the Brand and Marketing leads for Lume's next product launch, getting into the strategy early enough to shape the creative direction, not just respond to it.
• Spending an hour heads-down - opening Figma or Illustrator yourself - refining a key visual that isn't quite landing yet, because sometimes the fastest way to unlock the team is to show them, not tell them.
• Walking a cross-functional partner through a new design system template you built, making sure they understand not just what the rules are but why - so they can make good decisions without you in the room.
• Running a 1:1 with a designer on your team, working through a growth goal you set together last month - not just checking in, but actively coaching them toward the next level.
• Reviewing a social asset batch to make sure brand standards are being applied correctly and consistently before anything goes live.
• Ending the day with a clear sense of what the team needs tomorrow - which decisions are yours to make, which ones you need to unblock, and where the work needs to move faster.

• Lead and maintain the brand identity and packaging systems for both Lume and Mando across all channels - including retail, digital, video, and social - ensuring consistency and craft at every touchpoint.
• Build and document scalable design systems - guidelines, templates, and workflows - that the full creative team can use to produce consistent, high-quality work independently.
• Concept and lead major brand moments - campaign work, packaging launches, in-store activations - that set a new standard for what Lume and Mando creative looks like.
• Mentor and develop the design team through structured feedback, regular crits, and documented growth goals that raise the overall level of craft.

• You have a confident, well-developed point of view on visual identity and brand design - you know what good looks like and you're not shy about saying so.
• You've led design across multiple channels (packaging, digital, campaign, retail) and can flex between big-picture direction and hands-on execution - you're a natural player-coach.
• You translate brand strategy and consumer understanding into visual decisions, not just taste. Your calls are grounded, and you can articulate why.
• You're a natural mentor - you give feedback that's direct, specific, and genuinely improves people's work, not just their feelings about it.
• You operate well in ambiguity - you can take a loose brief or an inherited system and move it forward without needing all the answers first.
• You build trust with cross-functional partners by showing up prepared, communicating clearly, and following through.

• Reporting to the Head of Creative, Lume & Mando
• Managing all designers across both the Lume and Mando brands
• Close collaboration with the ACD, Art Director and ACD, Copywriter on campaign concepting and execution
• Regular cross-functional partnership with Brand, Marketing, Retail, and Product teams
  

Benefits and perks

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 401k match
• Equity in Mammoth Brands 
• Flexible time off and working hours
• L&D stipend
• 4 weeks sabbatical after 5 years, 6 weeks after 10 years, and 8 weeks after 15 years 
• 20 fully paid weeks off for parents who give birth, or 16 fully paid weeks off for all other paths to parenthood
• Fun IRL and virtual events including happy hours, team building events, and parties on our rooftop
• Free products from our family of brands

The Mammoth Brands' working model is in-office Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Our beautiful 70,000 square foot SoHo office is decked out with bagels on Wednesdays and lunch on Thursdays, and fully stocked kitchens with snacks, coffee, and drinks everyday.  Can't forget the free products and the opportunity to have some meetings without Zoom!

We can't quantify all of the intangible things we think you'll love about working at Mammoth Brands, like the exciting challenges we tackle, the smart and humble team you'll get to work with, and our supportive and inclusive culture. That said, our salary ranges are based on paying competitively for our size and industry, and are one part of our total rewards package, which also includes a comprehensive set of benefits and our equity program. The base salary hiring range for this position is $180,000-$220,000, but the final compensation offer will ultimately be based on the candidate's location, skill level and experience.