Design Leadership Jobs in Chicago, United States of America
Find your next Design Leadership role at companies that value creative talent
Showing 7 jobs
Interior Designer / Design Manager
🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Espo Corporation 🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Lead the development and implementation of interior design standards and space planning for a global transportation organization's facility portfolio. Coordinate conceptual designs and strategic plans for internal and external spaces while managing external vendors and internal stakeholders.
Senior Deputy Design Manager - Municipal Projects
🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Turner & Townsend 🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Direct and support Project Managers in managing CMARs and architects through all phases of design and construction for municipal projects. Coordinate civil scopes, manage external consultants, and ensure high-level client service delivery.
Design Manager - Workplace Interiors
🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Gensler 🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Lead all phases of corporate interior projects, managing client relationships, budgets, and project schedules. Mentor junior staff and collaborate with consultants to ensure high-quality design delivery and business development.
Strategic Org Design Manager
🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Proampac 🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Lead enterprise-wide organization design, operating model development, and transformation initiatives. Assess organizational structures and workflows to improve effectiveness and address structural gaps.
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Design Manager - Construction Services
🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Aecom Hunt 🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
The Design Manager coordinates and aligns all design disciplines with construction execution to ensure design intent, budget, and schedule constraints are met. They serve as a key liaison between design teams, construction teams, owners, and trade partners to drive efficient project delivery.
Design Manager - Construction Services
🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Aecom 🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
The Design Manager coordinates all design disciplines with construction execution to ensure technical requirements, budget, and schedule constraints are met. They serve as a key liaison between design teams, construction teams, owners, and trade partners to drive efficient project delivery.
Design Manager
🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Jll 🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
The Design Manager oversees the development and implementation of design concepts, guidelines, and block plans for retail banking and hospitality projects. They collaborate with stakeholders and consultants to integrate sustainable practices and provide guidance to project managers.
About Design Leadership careers
Design leaders in 2026 set the strategic vision for design organizations navigating an AI-saturated market. This role requires a balance of craft expertise and high-level business acumen to advocate for design's value at the executive level.
Effective leaders foster a culture of technical agency, establishing systems that allow human creativity and machine efficiency to coexist.
Companies like Stripe and Airbnb seek VPs and Directors of Design who can scale teams and align design strategy with long-term business objectives.
We feature senior leadership positions including Design Directors, Heads of Design, VP of Design, Chief Design Officers, and design team leads at companies like Meta, Google, Airbnb, Stripe, and fast-growing AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. These roles span product design, brand, and cross-functional design organizations.
Many companies offer remote design leadership roles, including distributed-first companies like Notion, Linear, GitLab, and Vercel. AI companies like Midjourney and Anthropic also hire remote design leaders. Some companies prefer hybrid arrangements for VP+ positions.
Most positions require 8–15+ years of design experience with 3–5+ years managing teams. Strong candidates demonstrate strategic thinking, team building, stakeholder management, and a track record of shipping successful products at companies like Figma, Spotify, Netflix, or emerging AI startups. Browse leadership portfolios to see how experienced designers showcase their impact.
Design leadership salaries are highly competitive: Design Directors earn $160k–$240k, VPs of Design $220k–$350k+, and CDOs at major companies can exceed $400k with significant equity packages. AI companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Databricks often offer premium total compensation. Consult our salary guide for detailed breakdowns.