Creative Director

Creative Director – Brand & Design

Want to work and play in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains? Cascade Designs, home to MSR, Therm-a-Rest, Platypus, SealLine, PackTowl and Varilite, is now headquartered in Reno, NV. Just over an hour from Lake Tahoe with 300 days of sunshine each year, this is the perfect work and play destination for outdoor adventurers at every level. We are seeking passionate, driven, curious people who not only love the outdoors but strive to bring the same passion and curiosity into their work with them every day.

Our Brands: Therm-a-Rest, MSR, Platypus, SealLine, PackTowl, VariLite

Cascade Designs is seeking a Creative Director – Brand & Design to lead and evolve the visual expression of our portfolio of category-leading outdoor brands, including Therm-a-Rest, MSR, Platypus, SealLine, PackTowl and Varilite.

This role is responsible for elevating and protecting brand integrity across all touchpoints - from digital campaigns and ecommerce to packaging, retail, and global marketing initiatives.

You will lead a small, high-performing creative team and external partners, bringing clarity, consistency, and creative excellence to a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

Brand Leadership & Stewardship

• Serve as the ultimate guardian of brand standards across all channels and regions
• Define, evolve, and enforce brand frames, guidelines, systems, and visual frameworks
• Ensure consistency across digital, packaging, retail, and marketing materials
• Partner with Product and Sales teams to guide creative decisions while maintaining brand integrity
• Balance commercial needs with long-term brand equity

Creative Direction & Execution

• Lead creative direction for:
• Digital campaigns and ecommerce
• Packaging and print
• Retail, merchandising and events
• Product storytelling and launches
• Provide hands-on feedback and direction to internal designers and external partners
• Ensure all work meets a high standard of craft, clarity, and effectiveness

Content Strategy & Production

• Lead the development and execution of a cohesive photo and video content strategy across brands and channels
• Define seasonal and campaign-level content needs in partnership with Marketing and Ecommerce
• Oversee end-to-end content production —from concepting and planning through shoot execution and final delivery
• Direct and/or provide creative oversight on photo and video shoots (including on-location outdoor productions)
• Manage and collaborate with photographers, videographers, production partners, and talent
• Ensure content outputs are on-brand, high-quality, and optimized for multiple channels and use cases
• Build scalable systems for content planning, asset creation, and library management

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead and mentor a small internal team of designers across branding, digital, packaging and print
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, and high-performance culture
• Provide clear direction, feedback, and prioritization across projects

Operations & Workflow

• Establish and improve creative processes, workflows, and prioritization systems
• Manage and direct external partners including photographers, videographers, production partners, and design contractors
• Collaborate with internal partners (Marketing, Product, Sales, Ecommerce) to ensure alignment and efficiency
• Establish efficient workflows for content production planning, shoot execution, and asset delivery

What You Bring

Experience

• 8+ years in design and creative leadership roles
• Degree in Graphic Design or related field
• Experience leading creative across multiple channels (digital, packaging, retail, print)
• Background in consumer brands, ideally outdoor, apparel, footwear, or adjacent categories

Skills & Capabilities

• Strong brand systems thinker with a passion for consistency and clarity
• Proven ability to lead and influence cross-functional teams
• Comfortable operating as a player-coach in a lean environment
• Strong understanding of production processes (print, packaging, digital assets)
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple priorities

Mindset

• Collaborative and solutions-oriented
• Curious, detail-oriented, and quality-driven
• Confident and diplomatic—able to push back constructively and advocate for the brand
• Interest in the outdoors and technical products is strongly desired

Bonus Points

• Experience building or scaling in-house creative teams
• Familiarity with AI tools to enhance creative workflows
• Experience working with global teams and markets

Why This Role Matters

This is an opportunity to shape and scale the creative function for a portfolio of leading outdoor brands. You'll bring structure, clarity, and creative excellence to a growing in-house team - ensuring our brands show up consistently and powerfully in every channel. You'll also play a critical role in building and scaling a more integrated content engine, ensuring our brands are supported by high-quality, strategically planned photo and video storytelling.

Some of our amazing benefits include...

• 3 weeks paid time off per year
• 10 paid holidays
• 3 Floating holidays
• Great health benefits (medical, dental, vision)
• 401(K) with company matching
• Life insurance paid by Cascade Designs
• Activity Gear Loaner Program and discounts on products purchased through Pro Deals
• $100 to spend on Cascades Designs products and an employee discount on all Cascade Designs gear!

The position responsibilities outlined above are in no way to be construed as all-encompassing. Other duties, responsibilities, and qualifications may be required and/or assigned as necessary.

Cascade Designs Inc.

Cascade Designs began in 1972 with the simple desire to provide a more comfortable night outdoors. Since then, we have grown to become the parent company of some of the most respected brands in the outdoor industry. Though much has changed over the years, our methods for achieving excellence have not. We believe that manufacturing many of our products in our own U.S. and European facilities is an essential element in maintaining the quality users deserve, and that by striving to exceed our customers' expectations of service, we will be successful for many years to come.

Our core purpose is to provide innovative, useful and long-lasting products that improve the adventures and wellbeing of our customers.

Cascade Designs Inc. is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, gender, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, genetic information, veteran's status, marital status, pregnancy, disability, or any other basis protected by law.