Art Director

About RSR:

We’re Ready Set Rocket, a fully integrated agency driving business transformation.

Forget what you’ve heard about agency culture—we do things a little differently. When life comes first, stellar work follows. We’re a “people-first” culture. Working here, you’re not just joining a crew of people passionate about creating incredible work; you’re also joining a team that understands prioritizing flexibility, and holistic health goes way beyond just words.

We’re huge on collaboratively overcoming challenges by supporting each other every step. We’re all about pushing boundaries, learning from mistakes, and using every project as a chance to evolve and find fulfillment in the work.

At Ready Set Rocket, we take our numerous “Best Places to Work” awards super seriously. Big ideas, big talent, big impact.

If after reading these 145 words (with no AI involved) you’re down to join Ready Set Rocket, here are some things we look for:

An RSR Employee:

• Thrives in a fast-paced, highly-iterative, and collaborative workplace where you own your work and create an impact.
• Is well-versed at absorbing a brief, asking thoughtful questions, and initiating and executing an effective plan to achieve success in your work.
• Is comfortable with not only executing the functions of your role, but also helping out colleagues and the wider team.
• Values feedback as a key component of your growth.
• Uses effective methods to develop work against tight timelines while acting thoughtfully towards both the team and clients.
• Always seeks out ways to optimize processes and work smarter.
• Is full of initiative and ambition.

What RSR Offers:

Everyone deserves an environment where they can thrive. Ready Set Rocket offers a competitive package of benefits & perks including:

• Hybrid workplace and fully remote option if living outside of NYC
• Dog-friendly office
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Pet insurance
• 20 Days PTO
• Generous paid family leave
• Holiday break PTO
• Volunteer PTO
• Wellness reimbursement
• Remote work reimbursement
• 401k matching
• Medical travel subsidies
• Mental health support resources
• Professional development subsidy and growth opportunities

At Ready Set Rocket, we don’t really like to brag, but we’ve earned a bunch of company culture awards including…

• Built In NYC, NYC Best Small Companies “Best Places to Work” 2022
• Ad Age Small Agency Awards, “Best Agency Culture” 2018
• Crain’s “Best Places to Work” in NYC 2016 & 2017
• Ad Age, “Best Places to Work” 2016

Your Impact:

As a full-service agency that blends data, design, and media with conceptual and emotional storytelling, Ready Set Rocket is looking for an Art Director who can bring strategic vision and forward-thinking creative excellence to every project they tackle. The Art Director will be responsible for driving the creative work and will have a hands-on role in every phase of a project, from defining a creative vision, to executing and presenting work, to consulting with clients, and working with designers and other team members to see a vision through to launch.

This position offers a ton of growth opportunities and high-level work for a variety of notable clients across finance, sports, media, cultural institutions, and more while working with a brilliant, cross-functional team in a highly-collaborative environment.

As an Art Director at Ready Set Rocket, you’ll be working on:

• Content art direction, web & product design, branding, 360 campaigns, social, and motion art direction.
• Leveraging AI to enhance creative work and ensure it is impactful and data-driven.
• Overseeing designers to guide projects from vision to launch, executing graphic concepts & design comps, storyboards, and final deliverables.
• Contributing to pitch opportunities with big ideas, progressive creative, and a storytelling approach to presentations.
• Leading creative-focused client meetings as needed by the Creative Directors, and collaborating with copywriters, strategists, and other creatives to contribute to brainstorming sessions, providing big ideas for campaigns and creative insights as part of brand strategy.

What Success Looks Like:

To succeed in this role, the Art Director will

• Be a curious, flexible, and hybrid creative who can translate strategy into compelling big ideas and award-worthy executions.
• Have a strong body of work in both interactive and conceptual design, with an emphasis on building and working within design systems.
• Be able to inspire themselves and other team members to constantly create exceptional work and stay on top of creative and industry trends, always bringing fresh, disruptive ideas to the table that are tuned into culture and on the frontier of what’s next.
• Stay abreast of emerging AI trends and technologies and bring smart and innovative ideas to the table that push the boundaries of what is possible in creative marketing & design.

Your success will be measured by your ability to start from a strategic brief and create stunning conceptual designs that define a creative vision for the project.

What You Bring to the Table:

• 5+ years industry experience (2+ years at an agency), overseeing junior designers and creatives, with a strong portfolio in interactive and conceptual design, and a breadth of experience demonstrated in digital (social, campaign, video, UI/UX, brand systems).
• Driven to create award-worthy design work, with insatiable curiosity, open-mindedness, and a sense of humor.
• Impeccable taste, eye for typography, and detail-oriented design approach.
• Knowledge and interest in AI-powered tools to generate mockups, prototypes, and designs.
• Positive attitude, love of collaboration, and ability to articulate concepts effectively with teammates and clients.
• Desire to mentor younger designers, with mastery of Figma and Adobe Creative Suite, and general awareness of internet technologies.
• Experience in planning and directing photo or video shoots is a plus.

At the discretion of RSR leadership, this job description is subject to change based on the evolving needs expected of the role and the changing demands of the business over time.

Compensation

Compensation is determined by years of experience and proven previous success in this role, level of expertise in the skills needed to perform this role at the highest level and cost of living in your area of residency.

EEO Statement

At RSR we are conspiring to design a better world and we believe this goal can only be advanced by a team that is committed to diversity, represents different cultures, perspectives and backgrounds and prioritizes inclusivity as a pilar of our company culture. RSR is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, marital status or any legally protected status.

Ready Set Rocket