Design Director, Publishing & Media Platform
London, 4 days per week
We’re hiring a Design Director to lead a global publishing and media platform that powers multiple high-profile consumer brands and reaches millions of users daily.
This role sits at the centre of how content is created, managed, and experienced. It underpins the full content lifecycle, from editorial planning and tooling through to the end user experience, effectively acting as the engine that enables content to move from idea to live across multiple brands.
You’ll be responsible for shaping a platform used by thousands of editors, while also defining how content is consumed across a portfolio of distinct brand experiences.
This is a critical leadership role, balancing system thinking with craft, and platform consistency with brand expression.
What you’ll be doing
• Leading the design of a large-scale publishing and media platform, including CMS, content planning tools, front end templates, and design systems
• Driving a major front end redesign and rebuild, improving performance, accessibility, and overall user experience
• Defining how a centralised platform supports multiple brands, setting principles for what is standardised vs what can be customised
• Working closely with Product and Engineering on architecture, performance, and technical trade-offs
• Managing and developing a team of 6 – 10 designers, with a role split across leadership, hands-on direction, and strategic input (roughly 2/3 team leadership, 1/3 strategy)
• Bringing structure and clarity in an environment that is evolving toward more AI-enabled, flexible ways of working
What they’re looking for
• Experience leading design on complex platform or system-level products
• Strong front end product thinking, not just internal tools or back office systems
• Ability to connect design decisions to user outcomes and business impact
• Comfortable working closely with engineering, with a good understanding of technical constraints and trade-offs
• Experience in multi-brand or multi-tenant environments is highly relevant
• Background in content, media, or storytelling products is ideal, but not essential
• A system thinker who remains grounded in the end user experience
Context
The organisation is undergoing a shift toward more AI-native product development, with smaller, more flexible teams and a move back toward brand-led ownership.
There’s a real opportunity here to shape how platform and brand experiences coexist, and to define the next phase of how content is created and consumed at scale.
Fancy learning more, apply below!
Ben