Who you are

• Proven experience leading and scaling design teams in a product driven organization
• Strong design point of view with the ability to set direction and make hard tradeoffs
• Deep experience shaping end-to-end product experiences across multiple surfaces
• Ability to move fluidly between strategy and hands on execution
• Track record of influencing product direction through design narrative and user insight
• Strong cross functional collaborator who can partner effectively with senior leaders
• Passion for designing for real human needs, delight, and emotional resonance
• Don’t meet all the requirements? Studies show women and people of colour are less likely to apply to jobs if they do not meet all the qualifications. Therefore, in an effort to build a more diverse workplace, we encourage you to apply anyways. You might actually be the right person or you may be a good fit for a number of other openings we currently have

What the job involves

• We are looking for a Director of Design to lead, grow, and elevate our design organization. This role is responsible for setting a clear design vision and strategy across our products while coaching and developing our team of designers and researchers
• You will shape how design influences product direction by blending strategic direction with hands-on involvement in our most critical design initiatives to deliver intuitive and emotionally resonant experiences for readers, writers, and advertisers
• Design plays a critical role in how users experience our platform and how quickly they reach enjoyment and stay in flow. This role will shape not only what we build, but how we think about building it. You will help ensure that design is a driving force behind clarity, cohesion, and joy in our products
• Lead, coach, and mentor a team of product designers and user researchers and provide active coaching, feedback, and skill development
• Foster a culture of strong design thinking, craft excellence, and accountability to outcomes
• Establish clear expectations for quality, clarity, and impact, while giving teams autonomy in how they get there
• Define and evolve a clear design vision aligned to product strategy and user needs
• Shape cohesive, intuitive experiences across the reader, writer, and ads ecosystems
• Translate ambiguous problem spaces into clear experience direction teams can confidently execute against
• Ensure design decisions ladder to user value, platform goals, and long-term strategy
• Actively contribute to high-impact initiatives and critical product moments
• Partner closely with product and engineering leaders during discovery, definition, and delivery
• Provide strong critique and feedback that raises the bar without prescribing solutions
• Govern and evolve the design system to ensure consistency, scalability, and accessibility
• Balance speed and craft by enabling teams to move fast without compromising quality
• Balance speed and craft, knowing when to push for exploration and when to drive toward execution
• Set clear standards for usability, accessibility, and visual cohesion across surfaces
• Champion the user perspective by ensuring user goals are never abstract or assumed
• Partner with product and research to ensure insights meaningfully shape product direction
• Manage and support the user research team, ensuring research is actionable and strategic
• Use evidence, data, and research to influence decisions and challenge assumptions
• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, Content, Trust and Safety, and Ads to align on experience outcomes and tradeoffs
• Influence product direction through clear design narratives, not just artifacts
• Facilitate design critiques, workshops, and working sessions that move teams toward clarity and alignment
• Drive alignment on priorities, tradeoffs, and outcomes through strong design storytelling
• Advocate for the role of design as a strategic partner, not a downstream function
• Help the organization understand how great design drives engagement, trust, and growth

The application process

• Wattpad is conducting all interviews in a distributed manner using applicable third party software where needed and using visual interface tools such as Google Meet and Zoom

Benefits

• Full health benefits
• Career development & Mentorship opportunities
• RRSP matching
• Generous parental Leave top-up
• Flexible hours
• Regular hackathons
• Healthy snacks & drinks
• Your choice of hardware
• Monthly work-from-home allowance
• Beautiful offices in Toronto and Halifax
• Easy access to transit