Lead Designer at Seattle Sounders

TITLE: Lead Designer DEPARTMENT: Marketing REPORTS TO: Executive Creative Director TYPE: Full-Time Regular FLSA: Exempt ROLE TYPE: Individual Contributor OUR CLUBS When you join Seattle Sounders FC, you join a soccer-loving, socially progressive, ambitious club rooted in the best soccer city in America. We have one of the most passionate sports fan bases in North America who are invested in the Sounders as much for our commitment to making a positive impact in our communities as they are for winning the 2019 MLS Cup, 2022 CONCACAF Champions League and 2025 Leagues Cup on home soil. We exist to create special moments like these, where we enrich lives and unify our fans and city through soccer. POSITION SUMMARY The Lead Designer plays a critical role in shaping and advancing the visual identity of Seattle Sounders FC—operating as both a hands-on designer and a creative leader responsible for driving design direction and elevating team outcomes. This role goes beyond execution, serving as a key driver of creative concepts, visual strategy, and direction across multiple projects and platforms. The Lead Designer is accountable not only for their own work, but for the quality, consistency, and impact of design across the team and product ecosystem. Working closely with the Executive Creative Director, the Lead Designer defines creative approaches, sets visual direction, and ensures alignment across stakeholders. This individual is expected to think beyond the brief, contribute bold and culturally relevant ideas, and guide how ideas scale across campaigns, content, and brand initiatives. The Lead Designer owns key bodies of work end-to-end while also leading other designers—providing direction, feedback, and coaching to ensure cohesive and high-quality outcomes. They play a central role in shaping team standards, strengthening creative processes, and ensuring that design decisions support both brand and business goals. This role is ideal for a designer who is ready to take on broader ownership—someone who combines strong design craft with strategic thinking, can lead work and influence others, and is motivated by shaping the look, feel, and storytelling of a globally recognized club. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES • Brand Creative Development: Lead the development and execution of brand-defining creative across all channels—digital, social, print, environmental, and merchandise. Generate original concepts that elevate the Sounders FC brand and ensure cohesive storytelling across every touchpoint. • Creative Concept Ownership: Set the visual direction for key projects from initial idea through final delivery. Translate briefs into clear, compelling concepts and guide work to ensure it meets a high standard of creativity, craft, and cultural relevance. • Creative Leadership & Influence: Act as a creative leader within the team—providing direction, feedback, and mentorship to designers while influencing the overall quality and direction of work. Champion strong ideas and help raise the bar across all outputs. • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with marketing, digital, partnerships, and matchday teams to shape and deliver integrated campaigns. Align on creative direction, provide clarity on visual approach, and ensure work reflects both brand standards and business goals. • Creative Ownership of Key Workstreams: Lead major projects and campaigns from a creative standpoint—ensuring the integrity of the concept is maintained throughout execution and that final outputs meet a high creative standard. • Process Contribution: Contribute to how work gets done by helping clarify briefs, improving collaboration, and identifying opportunities to streamline creative workflows—ensuring the team can produce high-quality work efficiently. • Trend & Culture Leadership: Stay deeply connected to trends in design, sport, and culture, bringing forward new ideas and approaches that keep the Sounders brand fresh, relevant, and leading-edge. • Matchday & Event Creative: Support and help lead the development of matchday and live-event creative—delivering high-impact, real-time content that reflects the energy of the club and enhances the fan experience. • Quality & Consistency: Uphold and elevate the standard of creative output across all deliverables. Ensure accuracy, consistency, and attention to detail while pushing for best-in-class execution. QUALIFICATIONS • Extensive experience in a creative or design role with a strong portfolio demonstrating versatility and leadership in visual storytelling. • Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign). • Familiarity with motion graphics tools (After Effects, Premiere Pro) preferred. • Experience with design systems, creative operations, and asset management tools. • Strong experience leading design projects, managing feedback, and collaborating across teams. ...