Design Director

About Us

Rare Days partners with category-defining companies to design, build, and launch new products, breathe new life into existing ones, or embed with internal teams to help them scale. We excel at brand and product strategy, and we have a high bar for execution. We take the time to deeply understand our partner’s goals and end-user needs, which allows us to build incredibly intentional experiences.

We've been doing it since 2020. Today we work with companies like Airbnb, Notion, and beehiiv, alongside creators and content-led businesses like Dr. Becky, Esther Perel, and Colin & Samir. Design and engineering sit in the same team, so the thinking and the making happen together.

We're a distributed team based in Canada, and we're open to candidates located within four hours of PST. Preference will be given to Canadian applicants.

About the Role

We're hiring a Design Director to lead the work across a few engagements at once.

You'd come in early, get to know the client's world and their audience deeply, and figure out what the product should actually be. Then lead the team in setting a direction, get them rallied around it, and guide them to an outcome. Hands-on where it counts, stepping back once the team has it.

The work varies a lot. One engagement might be zero-to-one with a founder who's never built a product before and needs guiding through the process. Another might be an established company trying to level up something already in market. Both need someone who can hold the quality bar and keep clients confident along the way. Typically you'd be across three projects at a time, with a small group of designers reporting to you.

Core Responsibilities

Discovery & Product Definition

• Run discovery and turn what you learn into a clear point of view on what to build
• Bring lightweight generative research into engagements where it will change the outcome
• Know which validation method fits which stage, from early concept tests through prototypes to signals from real usage
• Articulate a clear and compelling vision to clients, being as clear about what not to build as what to build

Direction & Project Team Leadership

• Set the design direction and get the team behind it
• Push the team toward better work. Bring references, spark ideas, challenge assumptions and status quos
• Guide the work at every stage, from early concepts through to final polish
• Stay hands-on where your involvement raises the bar, and step back once it doesn't

Design Team Co-Leadership

• Manage a small group of designers and help them grow, with feedback that's specific and timely
• Partner with our VP of Design on the process, standards, and culture of the wider team