Job Description

The Opportunity:

The Associate Design Director will drive Caraway’s brand design systems and lead design across campaigns, packaging, and day-to-day execution for all major marketing channels. Partnering closely with the Creative Director and Art Director, this role ensures that Caraway’s visual identity is consistently and elegantly translated into high-performing design assets, from product launch & seasonal campaigns to tactile packaging experiences.
 

This hands-on design leader will oversee a team of designers, nurturing their growth while raising the creative bar across the brand design ecosystem. Equal parts hands-on designer and design systems architect, the Associate Design Director will deliver impactful creative work while building scalable frameworks and processes that enable speed, quality, and brand consistency.

Reporting directly to the Creative Director, the Associate Design Director will collaborate cross-functionally with Marketing, Ecomm, Retail, and Product teams, ensuring that creative execution is aligned with strategic goals and elevates Caraway’s premium brand positioning.

Who You Are:

You are a versatile design leader who thrives at the intersection of craft, systems, and mentorship. With experience spanning marketing campaigns, packaging, and digital design, you understand how to create assets that perform tactically while also building frameworks that scale across channels.

You are detail-obsessed, with an eye for typography, layout, color, and user experience, but you can also step back to shape design systems and processes that guide a growing creative team. You’re energized by leading, coaching, and empowering designers while remaining close to the work yourself. You bring structure to a fast-moving environment and know how to balance creative excellence with operational efficiency.

Responsibilities:

Design Systems & Brand Stewardship
 

• Oversee and evolve Caraway’s design systems, templates, and creative frameworks across all marketing channels (email, social, paid media, retail, and beyond).
• Partner closely with the Art Director to ensure seamless alignment between campaign visuals (shoots, art direction) and design systems (packaging, ads, templates).
• Work with Marketing, Product, and GTM Ops teams to anticipate design needs and deliver creative solutions on time and at scale.
• Act as a champion for design within the organization, advocating for clarity, craft, and consistency across all brand touchpoints.
• Establish and refine production workflows and QA standards to improve efficiency and reduce errors.

Brand Design Development

• Establish a cohesive, ownable visual direction for evergreen and seasonal campaigns that can flex across formats and platforms.
• Guide the design and production of tactical marketing assets (paid ads, emails, organic social creative, OOH, offline/direct mail, etc.)
• Collaborate with Brand & Growth marketing leads to translate performance insights into stronger, smarter design outputs.
• Deliver assets that not only meet business objectives but also reflect Caraway’s premium brand identity.

Packaging & Print Design

• Lead Caraway’s packaging design direction in partnership with the Senior Print Designer.
• Manage the design and release of print-ready packaging files, ensuring accuracy and premium quality across all product lines.
• Collaborate with Product and Operations to align packaging execution with brand strategy and business needs.

Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of 5 designers across senior, mid-level, and junior levels.
• Build a culture of design excellence, creativity, and continuous learning.
• Provide clear and actionable direction, feedback and approvals for direct reports and the design systems they oversee.
• Partner with the Creative Director to define team priorities, resourcing, and growth opportunities.

Knowledge, skills, and abilities:
 

• 7+ years of experience in brand/graphic/digital design, with at least 3 years in a leadership role.
• Strong portfolio showcasing excellence across marketing, packaging, and system-driven design work.
• Proven experience managing and developing design teams, with a passion for mentorship.
• Deep expertise in typography, layout, color, and packaging production.
• Skilled in building design systems, templates, and scalable creative frameworks.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and Figma; knowledge of project management and collaboration tools (e.g., Asana, Slack).
• Exceptional organizational skills with sharp attention to detail.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills, with the ability to balance creative vision with business strategy.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, high-growth environment where agility and precision are equally important.

The anticipated base salary range for this role ​is $100,000 – $120,000 – Final compensation will depend on a variety of factors determining the base pay at offer, including but not limited to: skills, qualifications, experience. This range provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role.

Please note that the duties and responsibilities outlined in this job description are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this position. It is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required for the role. Additional tasks and responsibilities may be assigned as needed to meet business needs.

Who are we:

Caraway is a home goods brand on a mission to craft well-designed, non-toxic home goods that thoughtfully raises the standards of what you cook with. We’re passionate about creating elevated products, free of toxic chemicals, that are better for you, your family, and the planet. We prioritize a holistic approach to the creation of Caraway products. We partner with ethical manufacturers where their employees are safe, paid fairly, given benefits, and work regulated hours. Our eco-friendly manufacturing process releases less CO2 into the environment than traditional non-stick coatings and we engage in sustainable packaging practices, free of single-use plastics and ship in packaging made from recycled materials. We pride ourselves on continuously striving to do and be better – for you and the planet – in every step of the process.

Since launching in November 2019, we’ve become one of the fastest growing digitally-native brands of the last decade and are now sold in retailers including Target, Bloomingdale’s, Crate & Barrel, The Container Store, Costco, Zola, and many more.

We’ve amassed over 85,000+ five-star reviews from happy customers and hundreds of press hits from the likes of Vogue, Domino, Good Housekeeping, Food & Wine, Architectural Digest, PureWow, Fortune, and CNN.

Caraway is a fully-remote company filled with motivated and hardworking innovators and doers. We’re continually developing programs to support our distributed team to ensure a successful remote experience. If you’re looking to join a brand that folks love, read on and apply!

Caraway Life:

Caraway is an exciting, fully remote digitally native company that is bringing kitchenware and home goods into the modern era, leading from a non-toxic and sustainable foundation.

Team: You will be joining a passionate and collaborative fully-remote team that prides itself on high-quality work, supporting one another, sharing our successes, and building a brand we truly love, together.

Culture: At Caraway, we value continuous learning and career growth. We strive to continually optimize our processes, ensuring that we’re thoughtful in everything we do, both internally and externally. We listen to our employees, celebrate our wins, and constantly look for ways to be better for our team, and the world. 

Workplace: Being a fully-remote company, we have no headquarters and are truly distributed across the country. Our leadership team sits on both the East and West Coast and we have folks in a variety of states. We offer a monthly stipend towards co-working space should folks need to switch up their working environment every now and then.

Benefits: We value you and your family. With this in mind, full-time eligible employees are provided: 

• Equity: We believe in our product and that the sky’s the limit for where our business is going. You are an asset to Caraway’s success and we think you should be rewarded for it.
• 401k: A 3% company match to help you plan for for your future
• Benefits: Comprehensive medical, dental + vision coverage options with generous employer contributions + access to FSA/HSA/Dependent Care FSA’s
• Parental Leave: Up to 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave, depending on tenure, and access to additional fertility care services via KindBody
• A Setup that works for you:: From MacBook to PC, we’ve got you covered. Let us know what you prefer and we’ll get your at-home set up stocked! 
• Elevate your Workspace: Annual reimbursements for you to elevate your workspace, from standing desks to desktop succulents, you got it!
• Fully Remote: Need to pick up the kids? No problem. Have a doctor’s appointment? Enjoy! Flexibility when you need it most. 
• Coworking Reimbursement: Need a break from the home setting? Monthly reimbursements for you to get out of the house and work from anywhere. From day passes, to monthly memberships, the world is your oyster, we mean office. 
• Events + Swag: Connection is top of mind (Yes, even in our completely remote environment). We have monthly virtual events, company wide offsites, and many opportunities for new Caraway swag!
• Leveling Up with Caraway: In addition to exciting opportunities and exposure in your day-to-day work, we offer annual reimbursements to all full-time employees to support their professional development aspirations!
• #AwayFromCaraway: We believe healthy, happy humans do better work. We offer unlimited PTO in addition to our 11+ paid annual holidays and quarterly wellness days.
• Wellness Reimbursement: Monthly reimbursements for you to stay well. From meal services to gym memberships to monthly massages, we want our team to have the flexibility to choose what wellness means for them.
• Employee Discount: We provide an employee discount on all Caraway Home products so you can continue to level up your kitchen and home life, too! 
• Home Upgrade(s): Complimentary product as a new hire + continuous  to expand your Caraway Home collection.

Caraway is an Equal Opportunity & Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status