Senior Brand Designer

MUNICIPAL APPAREL CO.

JOB DESCRIPTION — SENIOR BRAND DESIGNER

Job Title

Senior Brand Designer

Department

Marketing — Brand Creative

Reports To

Director of Brand Marketing

Location

On-site — Oceanside, CA (5 days/week)

Employment Type

Full-Time | Exempt

Level

Mid-Level / Player-Coach

Direct Reports

None initially; directs and mentors freelance designers on assigned projects

Career Path

Sr. Brand Designer→ Art Director → Senior Art Director

Salary Range

$95,000 – $115,000 (Oceanside / North San Diego County benchmark)

ABOUT MUNICIPAL

Municipal Apparel Co. is an active lifestyle apparel and footwear brand based in Oceanside, California. Founded in 2019, we build gear that moves between the gym, the street, and everything in between. We are a lean, builder-minded team where every person has real ownership and a direct line to the work that shapes the brand.

ROLE OVERVIEW

The Senior Brand Designer sets the visual direction for Municipal's campaigns, product launches, and brand moments, and makes sure that direction is executed with excellent craft. This is a player-coach role. You will concept and design hands-on, while directing designers and freelancers to bring each project to life.

Working closely with the Director of Brand Marketing, the Senior Brand Designer translates brand strategy into campaign-level creative and presents work to leadership. This role is the bridge between execution and brand vision, with a clear growth path toward Art Director as the creative function scales.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Campaign & Launch Creative Direction

• Lead concept development for seasonal campaigns, product launches, and collaborations- from creative brief to final delivery.

• Develop mood boards, creative treatments, and campaign visual systems that express the Municipal brand in fresh ways.

• Ensure every campaign is consistent across e-commerce, email, paid and organic social, retail, wholesale, and partner channels.

• Make day-to-day creative decisions within brand guidelines and escalate brand-level decisions to the Director of Brand Marketing.

Hands-On Design

• Design key hero assets for campaigns and launches, setting the visual standard for the rest of the work.

• Create and refine layouts, typography, and graphic systems for digital, print, packaging, and retail environments.

• Review and elevate work from the Creative Designer and freelancers before it goes live.

• Experience with cross collaboration- Product design and merchandising. Including prints, logos, packaging and other brand applications as needed.

Team Direction & Mentorship

• Brief, manage, and review freelance designers and production partners on assigned projects.

• Model a culture of strong craft, constructive critique, and on-time delivery.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Present concepts and creative recommendations to marketing leadership and executives and incorporate feedback clearly.

• Partner with the content, performance marketing, e-commerce, product, retail, and partnerships teams to align creative with business goals.

• Track shoot and project costs within the budgets set by marketing leadership.

FUNCTION BUILDING & PROCESS SETUP

Municipal is building its in-house creative function, and this role helps shape how it runs. You will:

• Build a standard creative brief and review process for campaign work.

• Own the campaign-level asset system: master files, templates, and version control for each launch.

• Help maintain and update brand guidelines as the visual identity evolves.

• Develop a trusted roster of freelancers, photographers, and production partners.

• Identify workflow bottlenecks and propose improvements that help the team move faster without losing quality.

GROWTH PATH TOWARD ART DIRECTOR

This role is a key step on Municipal's creative leadership track. Advancement to Senior Art Director is based on demonstrated capability, including:

• Owning brand-level visual identity decisions, not just campaign-level direction.

• Formally leading and developing direct reports.

• Managing creative production budgets and agency relationships.

• Partnering with executive leadership on brand strategy.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• 5–7 years of design experience, including 2+ years in senior designer role leading campaigns.

• A strong portfolio showing campaign concepting, showcasing a full range of design. Ex; graphics, logos, and layouts.

• Experience directing designers or freelancers and projects.

• Elevated understanding of typography, layout, and brand systems across digital and print.

• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and Figma.

• Confident presenter who can explain and defend creative decisions.

• Strong project management skills and the ability to deliver multiple campaigns on deadline.

Preferred

• Experience in apparel, footwear, lifestyle, action sports, or consumer brands.

• Experience with brand collaborations and co-branded campaigns.

• Experience designing for e-commerce, email, paid social, and retail environments.

• Interest in growing into a people leadership role.

*If this role sounds like a fit, please email me at with your resume, portfolio, expected salary and start date.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Salary range: $95,000 – $115,000, based on experience and portfolio.

• Performance bonus eligibility.

• Health, dental, and vision insurance (employee cost-share).

• 401(k) with company match after 3 months.

• Generous product stipend and ongoing product discount.

• CA paid sick leave and RTO eligible.

Municipal Apparel Co. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered in accordance with the California Fair Chance Act.