Design Director (Freelance)
Instrument is a digitally native design and technology company built to help brands unlock their full potential. Since 2005, our team of makers, thinkers, and storytellers has partnered with leading brands like Google, Nike, Uber, ŌURA, and Eventbrite to craft digital experiences that create impact and drive results.
Unlike traditional agencies, we don’t just design—we build. Our work lives at the intersection of taste and technology, powered by curiosity, thoughtful curation, and a commitment to delivering the most fitting solution for every brief. We bring this to life across three core offerings: Brand, Marketing, and Product.
As a member of our freelance network, you’ll collaborate with our teams to bring bold ideas to life—whether launching new brands, building digital products, or shaping experiences that move people. We welcome collaborators from all backgrounds and experiences who share our curiosity, creativity, and care for craft.
We believe great work comes from diverse perspectives and shared purpose. If you’re passionate about learning, experimenting, and making work that matters, we’d love to hear from you.
We’re looking for a freelance Design Director to lead the design of two large-scale website redesigns for a major furniture brand. These experiences will share a common design system and component library, requiring a leader who can think holistically across platforms while ensuring craft and consistency at every level.
You’ll be hands-on in the work while guiding a team of designers across both sites—driving design direction, aligning systems thinking, and ensuring a cohesive, high-quality output. This role requires someone who can zoom out to define scalable frameworks and zoom in to refine interaction details.
Contract: 3/19 – 6/26
Hours: 40 hrs/week
Location: Remote (U.S. preferred)
What You'll Do
Lead design direction across two concurrent website redesigns, ensuring a cohesive system-driven approach across both experiences
Define and evolve a shared design system, including components, patterns, and templates that scale across multiple sites
Guide and mentor a team of designers, providing clear feedback and direction to elevate the work
Partner closely with product, engineering, and production to ensure feasibility and quality in execution
Stay close to the work—reviewing flows, wireframes, and high-fidelity designs to maintain a high bar for craft and usability
Establish and reinforce best practices for responsive design, accessibility, and component-based thinking
Drive alignment with stakeholders, clearly articulating design rationale and decisions
Identify risks, gaps, or inconsistencies across both builds and proactively solve for them
Balance speed and quality in a fast-moving, iterative environment
What You'll Bring
8+ years of experience in digital product or web design, with time spent in a Design Director or Lead role
Proven experience leading large-scale website redesigns, ideally for enterprise or eCommerce brands
Strong expertise in design systems and component-based design, with experience scaling across multiple properties
A portfolio demonstrating both high-level design direction and hands-on execution
Experience managing and mentoring designers while staying close to the work
Strong cross-functional collaboration skills, especially with engineering and product partners
Ability to articulate design decisions clearly to stakeholders and clients
High attention to detail with a passion for craft, interaction, and usability