Sr. Design Lead

Elastic, the Search AI Company, enables everyone to find the answers they need in real time, using all their data, at scale — unleashing the potential of businesses and people. The Elastic Search AI Platform, used by more than 50% of the Fortune 500, brings together the precision of search and the intelligence of AI to enable everyone to accelerate the results that matter. By taking advantage of all structured and unstructured data — securing and protecting private information more effectively — Elastic’s complete, cloud-based solutions for search, security, and observability help organizations deliver on the promise of AI.

What is The Role

The Sr. Design Lead will coordinate and direct a design team on specific projects, ensuring all designs align with established aesthetics and business objectives. On occasion, this role will handle external partners/agencies on the development of design-related work. Success in this role requires both independent problem-solving and close collaboration with designers and stakeholders to maintain a cohesive visual expression across the Elastic ecosystem.

What You Will Be Doing

• Manages the design process, team output, and adherence to brand guidelines across all marketing assets, focusing on design execution, consistency, and efficiency.
• Take a hands-on role in design concepting and development, guiding the design team to deliver branded assets across social, film, interactive, OOH, print, experiential, and events — ensuring execution from idea through final production.
• Hands-on create and direct high-level keynotes for major company events and pitch-deck
• Partner closely with the Creative Director to translate creative priorities into actionable design plans, ensuring design project execution supports the brand strategy.
• Work independently while also collaborating with cross-functional partners to define problems, frame solutions, and drive consensus.
• Manage relationships with external vendors and agencies to ensure creative vision is completed in time.
• Facilitate brainstorming and design work sessions to push creative thinking and uncover fresh approaches.
• Manage a team of designers (Visual Designers, Illustrators), coordinating workflow, project prioritization, and professional growth.
• Provide day-to-day, hands-on feedback on design outputs, ensuring high-quality delivery while fostering a positive, high-performing creative environment.

What You Bring

• Proven experience in design — with at least 3+ years leading or mentoring other designers at an in-house creative team or agency. You’ve guided teams through concepting, execution, and delivery across multiple channels.
• Illustration leadership and craft. You bring strong illustrative skills and can guide others in translating conceptual sketches into scalable, on-brand assets.
• A strong portfolio showcasing illustration, design systems, campaigns, and digital pieces that balance creativity with clarity and purpose. You can explain the “why” behind every design decision.
• Expert teamwork and interpersonal skills. You know how to articulate design rationale clearly, inspire confidence in partners, and defend your team’s design choices with insight and clarity — whether in small reviews or large cross-functional meetings.
• Proven experience in the technology or SaaS industry. You can absorb complex product concepts and translate them into compelling visuals that resonate with technical audiences.
• Operational excellence — balancing hands-on design work with thoughtful workflow and process improvements.
• Fluency in design and creative AI tools. You’re deeply familiar with Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign) and all of the new AI features. You also know how to make ideas shine in presentation tools like Keynote and Google Slides.
• Remote collaboration superpowers. You’re organized, proactive, and intentional about communication — fostering collaboration and creative energy across distributed teams and time zones.

Compensation for this role is in the form of base salary.  This role does not have a variable compensation component.  

The typical starting salary range for new hires in this role is listed below.  In select locations (including Seattle WA, Los Angeles CA, the San Francisco Bay Area CA, and the New York City Metro Area), an alternate range may apply as specified below. 

These ranges represent <