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Creative Director

MERGE • Full-time • Chicago, Illinois, United States • $114k - $137k / year • 5d ago

Position Details

Title: Creative Director

Type: Job

Class: Full-time

Date: 8/6/2025

Region: Chicago Illinois

City, State: Chicago, IL

Summary:

Emerge to the Top of Your Career

At MERGE, we strive to create a superior work experience where talented and ambitious people grow. An experience that encourages people to think higher and feel deeper. An experience where people engage their minds and hearts to do the best work of their careers.

Welcome to Merge, where we weave storytelling through technology. We are a creative and technology agency, uniting people and brands in the tech, health and wellness spaces. You’ll help lead and grow our culture of agility, ability, and humility: where everyone is expected to bring world class talent, embrace lifelong learning, and show up every day with positive energy and respect for all.

As a Creative Director at Merge, you’ll lead a multidisciplinary team of creatives, spanning conceptual thinking, art direction and writing, graphic design, experience design, digital campaigns and studio. You will develop, sharpen, and present concepts that win over clients, win awards, and generate social buzz and press. You’ll guide and push your team to experiment, grow, and deliver on-strategy creative work that breaks through the noisy media landscape and connects on a human level.

Responsibilities:

Bring your conceptual thinking, geared towards new ideas and new tools, embracing all kinds of brand problem-solving.
Work with existing client brand toolkits as well as with fostering net new ideas and business solutions.
Confidently and effectively present big ideas and connect with clients on why the creative is on strategy.
Have B2C + B2B oversight, pushing for the new and the next, as well as managing more prescriptive workflows.
Oversee a large variety of work (BTL: social, OOH, audio, digital, email, collateral/sales enablement, video, in-store experience).
Be well versed in all aspects of video and photo production, as well as studio execution.
Be comfortable using data to help drive creative vision, execution and decision making
Develop a thorough knowledge of brand goals, positioning, market and competitors.
Continually develop practices and processes to inspire, innovate, and harness new ways of thinking.
Collaborate with the editorial team to complete and present work on time.
Remain current on industry trends and technology
Be capable of leading new business pitches from concept creation to team preparation to final presentation to clients

Requirements:

10-15 years of Art Direction experience within an advertising agency or creative department
Bachelor’s degree in Advertising, Graphic Design, Visual Arts and/or equivalent experience
Proficient in InDesign, Adobe Creative Suite & Google Workspace
Your toolkit is your magic wand
An online portfolio showcasing your expertise in responsive web design, mobile apps, banner ads, and complex digital advertising campaigns. Your portfolio isn't just a showcase; it's a testament to your creative prowess
Excellent presentation skills
Strong attention to detail
Knowledge of Experience Design is a plus.
Experience in creative experimentation and testing is a plus
Art background preferred but not mandatory.

Compensation & Benefits:

At MERGE, we’re committed to fostering an environment where our team members can thrive in both their careers and personal lives, ensuring they feel supported and empowered to succeed.

MERGE believes in transparency and equity. In accordance with state regulations, we’re proud to include salary ranges in our job postings to ensure fair compensation practices.

The salary range for this role is $114,000 - $137,000, based on the individual’s skills, experience, qualifications, location, and other relevant factors. The salary pay range is subject to change and may be modified at any time.

MERGE is proud to invest in benefits that include meaningful Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, 401K, Lifestyle Spending Account, Employer Paid Life & Disability Insurance, Flexible Time off & Holidays plus many other benefits and rewards.

Applicants for employment in the US must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United States.

And here’s how we live our values at MERGE: