Design Director

We at Selecto are looking for a Design Director who will take ownership of our design practice — developing the team, setting the creative direction, and working hand in hand with the CEO to drive presales and expand the business.

• Strong experience in agency/outsource design (5+ years); product background is a plus

• Leadership track record (2+ years as design lead/art director in an agency or outsource environment)

• Strategic mindset: seeing design as a business growth tool

• Proven experience working with international clients and fluent English at C1 level or above.

Selecto works with startups and enterprises in fintech, healthcare, and other innovation-driven sectors across Dubai and the US. If you want to shape products that matter and build design as a true business partner — let’s talk!

A strong candidate should think not as a “head designer” but as a business partner.

• Experience in creating digital products (web, mobile)

• Proficiency in modern UX research methodologies (user research planning, CJM, JTBD, discovery, usability testing)

• Experience in building design systems and guidelines

• Ability to work with data: analytics, design metrics, A/B testing

• Advanced Figma proficiency

• Fluency in AI design tools and techniques (automation, design generation, context management)

• Leadership & mentorship: ability to grow designers into strong specialists

• Strategic thinking: seeing design as a business growth tool

• Strong communication: explaining design value to clients and team

• Ability to make tough decisions and maintain quality under pressure

• Effective stakeholder management

• Design workshops facilitation

• Fluent English

• 5+ years in agency/outsource design

• 2+ years in a design lead, art director, or similar leadership role

• Proven track record working with international clients

• Hiring and developing designers (mentorship, growth plans, promotion & recognition), resource allocation, and cultivating company values within the team

• Team coaching and knowledge sharing

• Mentorship, leadership development within the team

• Keeping methodologies, approaches, and tools up to date for designers’ work

• Quality control of all Selecto projects, especially key clients

• Collaboration with clients at critical or strategic project stages (discovery, strategy, workshops)

• Leading critical negotiations with clients as the face of the company’s design

• Setting up and documenting design workflows for each new project, including task stages, review checkpoints, and escalation to Design Director

• Launching new projects, conducting design discovery when necessary

• Readiness to step into project delivery and support the team when needed

• Supporting our CEO in shaping the company brand

• Supporting our Sales in demonstrating design value to potential leads and estimating new projects