Design Director

About SRS Acquiom    

SRS Acquiom has built its reputation on shaking up the financial services technology world by redefining how complex M&A and loan agency transactions get done. Since 2007, we’ve been the partner dealmakers rely on for speed, precision, and less friction -supporting over 10,000 deals worth more than $1.7 trillion along the way. 

Our solutions start with human expertise and are powered by technology: virtual data rooms, document solicitation, escrow and payment administration, shareholder representation, and independent loan‑agency services like administrative and collateral agent support. Each service works seamlessly on its own, but when brought together by our expert team, they form an end‑to‑end system that helps even the most complex deals cross the finish line. 

We’re equally committed to building careers as we are to building solutions. At SRS Acquiom, internal mobility isn’t just a buzzword, it’s part of how we grow. We invest in our people, creating opportunities to learn, stretch, and step into new roles as the business evolves. 

If you’re looking for a company with entrepreneurial energy, a proven record of growth and innovation, and a culture that supports your next career move, we’d love to talk. 

A few benefits our employees enjoy

• Day‑one coverage: medical, dental, and vision plans so you’re protected from the start 
• A 401(k) with a 4% company match to keep your future on track 
  Discretionary time off - take the time you need, when you need it
• Employer‑paid life insurance, with the option to add extra coverage for peace of mind
• Employee Assistance Programs for confidential support when life gets complicated
• Discounted pet insurance (because furry family members count, too)
• A fitness credit to back your health and wellness goals
• Pre‑tax plans for dependent care, transportation, and flexible spending 

 

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Position Summary    

The Design Director is a strategic leader responsible for shaping and elevating the design function across our organization. This role combines visionary thinking with hands-on craft and leadership, driving innovation and ensuring a cohesive, high-quality user experience throughout our product suite. The Design Director leads a team of talented designers, providing mentorship and fostering career growth, while also setting the standard for design excellence and consistency.  This role will also be an individual contributor, designing experience for our Platform and Innovation.

As the owner of our design system and user research processes, the Design Director collaborates closely with product, engineering, and stakeholder teams to align priorities, optimize workflows, and maintain brand integrity. This role is pivotal in developing cross-app personas, advancing our platform vision, and ensuring that design decisions are informed by user insights and industry trends. The Design Director is empowered to make final decisions on design direction, streamline processes, and enable rapid and effective execution.

 With a focus on client experience, continuous improvement, and strategic planning, the Design Director ensures that our design practice not only meets but exceeds business objectives, delivering intuitive and impactful experiences for our users.  This is our first hire for design leadership at SRS Acquiom, so we are looking for an experienced Design Director to join our Product team. The ideal candidate has broad experience in design, leadership, and management.

This is a hybrid position based in Denver, CO. 

The salary range for this position is between $195k and $210k, depending on experience level.

Primary Responsibilities    

Leadership & Team Development

• Manage, lead, coach, and mentor the design team, fostering career growth and providing design-specific guidance.
• Lead by example and through empathetic coaching, setting the pace on deadlines, deliverables, and group participation.
• Own the standard of user experience and satisfaction across all applications, ensuring consistency and usability while enabling product managers to focus on value creation.
• Monitor Design industry developments and emerging technologies, shaping our design strategy to implement best practices and evolve with innovations like AI. 
• Champions design as a strategic driver of software team growth, effectively articulating its value and influencing organizational priorities.

Design Strategy & Vision

• Set the overall design direction for the company, ensuring alignment with leadership and company mission.
• Own design process and vision: Maintain and improve the overall design process and vision for the design team to ensure that high-quality designs are delivered in a timely manner while adhering to internal design systems. 
• Maintain deep product and business knowledge, understanding, and unlocking how products should fit together within our Platform to drive business goals.
• Serve as a resource for designers on personas, segments, and product context, connecting them to the right resources and enabling strategic thinking.

User Experience & Research

• Own the standard of user experience and satisfaction across all applications, ensuring consistency, quality, and usability while enabling product managers to focus on value creation.
• Oversee persona maintenance and ensure designers have access to user feedback and industry insights.
• Define and align research strategies with product and business goals, leading user research initiatives and synthesizing insights to drive product decisions.
• Improve workflow navigation and user success using Pendo product usage data to get insights and leverage Pendo guides to enhance UX.
• Advocate for the pursuit of new data and metrics to inform design decisions and measure impact on product outcomes.
• Mentor other members of the Product team in crafting unbiased interview scripts, leading interviews, and compiling findings into concise presentations for key stakeholders and the executive team. 

Design System & Process Optimization

• Continuously evolve processes to optimize design function and outcomes, creating scalable workflows that reduce redundancy and improve collaboration.
• Own the design system, ensuring consistency of approach across products.
• Review and approve design system improvements or additions, ensuring scalability and alignment with department goals.
• Establish and enforce standards for file organization, documentation, and version control across the design org.
• Lead design reviews and ensure alignment with brand and project objectives. Serve as the tiebreaker on design decisions, ensuring clarity and speed in execution.  

Client and Stakeholder Engagement & Communication

• Collaborate with product directors to align designer bandwidth and priorities.
• Coordinate with engineering on UI standards, design QA processes, and the quality of mock-ups for implementation.
• Partner with marketing to maintain brand consistency and push the brand’s visual design forward.
• Develop deep relationships with stakeholders, ensuring their needs are heard and met through clear, concise updates and effective collaboration.
• Develop relationships with clients and users, creating trust, understanding pain points, and build useful and usable experiences that meet their needs and drive towards our strategic platform vision

 Required Qualifications & Skills  

• 8+ years of design experience, including 3+ of those years in management and leadership 
• Experience leading and managing a team of product designers
• Demonstrates executive presence, confidently representing design at the leadership level
• Portfolio demonstrating excellent visual design
• Professional and adept presence with clients and leading user research
• SaaS product experience
• Mastery of UX/UI tools such as Figma, Sketch, and Adobe Creative Suite
• Proficiency in HTML/CSS for prototyping
• Strong understanding of design patterns, systems, and accessibility/UX best practices
• Familiarity with Git or version control systems and CSS/SCSS frameworks
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively
• Strong feedback and communication skills
• Leadership in user research and usability testing, with hands-on design system contribution and mentorship

Desired Characteristics    

• Self-motivated and proactive
• Naturally curious and always striving to create a positive impact and experience
• Strategic thinker and problem-solver
• Collaborative and team-oriented
• Clear and concise communicator
• Empathetic and user-focused
• Friendly and approachable
• High integrity and attention to detail
• Process-minded and efficient
• Ownership mindset and urgency

Physical Requirements/Special Demands   

• Must be available to work standard business hours, and occasional nights/weekends.  
• Up to 10% travel may be required to meet with clients and prospects in person.

 

** We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment visas. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for current or future visa sponsorship to move forward in the hiring process. **

 

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without advanced notice.   

With respect to its programs, services, activities, and employment practices, SRS Acquiom Inc. assesses qualified individuals without regard to their race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), age, national origin, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or other protected status.  Requests for reasonable accommodation or the provision of auxiliary aids should be directed to Human Resources.