Head of Design & Experience
Semafor
| Company | Semafor |
| Category | Design |
| Location | New York |
| Remote | On-site (inferred) |
| Employment | Not stated |
| Level | Director |
| Salary | Not stated by the employer |
| Posted | 15 May 2026 |
| Last verified | 12 Aug 2026 |
| Source | Employer ATS (greenhouse) |
Description
Who we are
Semafor is a global news platform for an increasingly complex world in which consumers are overwhelmed by too many news sources and unsure what to trust. We are building Semafor to enable world-class journalists to deliver reporting and insights with rigor in journalistic forms that ensure a new level of transparency. Our editors and reporters distill the most important stories from all over in formats that uncover the forces shaping the stories, explain the interests behind polarizing narratives, and replenish the stock of shared facts. As a global platform, Semafor recognizes that smart people can disagree and that informed readers need to understand alternative points of view from competing centers of power and culture in a multi-polar world. Want to join us? Read on. About this Role
Semafor is seeking a Head of Design & Experience to build Semafor’s first design function and lead the next evolution of Semafor’s visual identity and experience system across brand, editorial, product, and live journalism platforms. This role will own how Semafor shows up across every major touchpoint: newsletters, digital products, app, editorial franchises, marketing, campaigns, partnerships, corporate materials, and physical convenings and events, including Semafor World Economy, Silicon Valley & the World, and 50+ other forums and roundtables.
This is a creative leadership role. The ideal candidate will set Semafor’s design vision and elevate our ambition, while orchestrating execution across a variety of design disciplines. They bring strong creative judgment, systems thinking, and proven ability to lead and develop a design function within a complex organization. They'll partner closely with peer leaders across Brand, Events, Product, Editorial, and Marketing while leading design strategically.
This person must be able to translate Semafor’s brand strategy into a cohesive design system that works across screens, stages, spaces, products, and live environments. They should bring the creative judgment to elevate the brand, the technical knowledge to guide execution, and the operational discipline to move ambitious work from concept through production at a high standard and high velocity.
The role requires someone who can think systemically and strategically: building design languages that are distinctive, scalable, and ownable, while ensuring every expression of Semafor feels sophisticated, consistent, modern, and unmistakably connected to the brand.
Key Responsibilities:
Brand Systems & Integration
Own and evolve Semafor's visual identity as the primary expression of brand and business strategy
Build and govern a unified design system that scales across digital products, editorial surfaces, brand and marketing, and live experiences
Ensure Semafor's core brand and sub-brands integrate coherently across every touchpoint — digital, editorial, events, marketing, and partnerships
Design & Creative Direction
Set the creative bar across all Semafor design work and serve as senior arbiter of creative quality and brand coherence
Provide art direction, feedback, and approval at decision points across digital products, editorial design, brand campaigns, and events
Lead the creative system for Semafor events across staging and physical environmental builds, stage and motion graphics, signage and wayfinding, digital and printed promotional materials, partner assets, and onsite digital surfaces
Ensure live experiences feel cohesive, premium, navigable, technically polished, and unmistakably connected to Semafor’s brand and journalism
Own the visual design system for Semafor’s core reader products, including newsletters, app, website surfaces, editorial franchises, special reports, recurring formats, and new digital products
Establish Semafor's design as a clear source of competitive differentiation in a crowded media landscape
Design Leadersh