Lead Designer

Circle is a financial technology company at the epicenter of the emerging internet of money, where value can finally travel like other digital data — globally, nearly instantly and less expensively than legacy settlement systems. This ground-breaking new internet layer opens up previously unimaginable possibilities for payments, commerce and markets that can help raise global economic prosperity and enhance inclusion. Our infrastructure – including USDC, a blockchain-based dollar – helps businesses, institutions and developers harness these breakthroughs and capitalize on this major turning point in the evolution of money and technology.

What You’ll Be Part Of

Circle is committed to visibility and stability in everything we do. As we grow as an organization, we're expanding into some of the world's strongest jurisdictions. Speed and efficiency are motivators for our success and our employees live by our company values: High Integrity, Future Forward, Multistakeholder, Mindful, and Driven by Excellence. We have built a flexible and diverse work environment where new ideas are encouraged and everyone is a stakeholder.

What You’ll Be Responsible For

As Lead Designer, you will drive creative excellence across Circle’s brand and marketing experiences. You’ll lead a multidisciplinary in-house design studio, ensuring visual consistency, brand integrity, and compelling storytelling across web, social, digital content, motion, and events. As part of this role, you’ll get the opportunity to work across diverse brand touch points, both briefed and proactive. This role requires an entrepreneurial spirit, high sense of ownership and the desire to flex across multiple projects at once without missing a beat. In partnership with cross-functional teams — including product marketing, strategy, content, and events — you’ll bring bold ideas to life, scale design operations, and mentor others to deliver high-impact, audience-centered work that elevates Circle’s global brand presence.

What You’ll Work On

• Lead creative execution across marketing touchpoints, including product GTM assets, social content, website, and events.
• Ensure our brand standards are met across all touch points with a strong sense of art direction and taste.
• Evolve and maintain Circle’s brand system, ensuring consistency across icons, illustrations, motion, diagrams, and digital UI components.
• Champion cohesive, scalable design systems and brand guidelines that empower cross-functional teams to deliver with speed and quality.
• Guide and mentor a small design team, managing priorities, workflows, and design reviews to ensure high-caliber output.
• Collaborate across teams to deliver immersive experiences for global events, activations, and multimedia storytelling.
• Partner with contractors and vendors on creative production, including fabrication, merch, and multimedia content development.
• Present design strategies and concepts to senior stakeholders, aligning visual solutions with business goals and user needs.

Core Requirements

What you’ll bring to Circle:

• 7+ years of experience in brand and marketing design within agency or in-house environments and a depth of experience in branding, visual identity design, web design, graphic design and art direction.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating strong aesthetic design skills, creative range, strategic thinking, and executional excellence across digital, web, and print.
• Proficiency in Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, and a solid grasp of design systems and scalable workflows.
• Deep understanding of UX/UI best practices, responsive design, and accessibility standards.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills with the ability to lead reviews and synthesize feedback.
• Proven experience managing concurrent projects and partnering with cross-functional teams.
• Familiarity with generative AI models (ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.) and prompt development.

Preferred Requirements

• Experience in fintech, B2B, or Web3 design environments.
• Familiarity with Webflow and creative production tools.
• Experience/familiarity with Slack, Apple MacOS and GSuite.
• Experience using generative AI tools (e.g., Midjourney, Firefly, DALL·E) to enhance design ideation and workflow efficiency.

Additional Information

This position is eligible for day-one PERM sponsorship for qualified candidates. Circle is on a mission to create an inclusive financial future, with transparency at our core. We consider a wide variety of elements when crafting our compensation ranges and total compensation packages. Starting pay is determined by various factors, including but not limited to: relevant experience, skill set, qualifications, and other business and organizational needs. Please note that compensation ranges may differ for candidates in other locations.

Base Pay Range: $130,000 - $170,000

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at Circle. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Additionally, Circle participates in the E-Verify Program in certain locations, as required by law. Should you require accommodations or assistance in our interview process because of a disability, please reach out to accommodations@circle.com for support. We respect your privacy and will connect with you separately from our interview process to accommodate your needs.