Graphic Designer - Lead

Job Title: Graphic Designer - Lead

Job Level: Mid-level

Report to: AVP

Department: Marketing

Organization: airpay money private limited (https://www.airpay.money/) & airpay capital private limited (https://www.airpay.capital/ )

Location: Navi Mumbai

Job Summary:

We're looking for a Graphic Designer with minimum 10+ years of experience who will serve as our Design Lead- someone who doesn't just execute but drives design thought leadership across the brand. This role sits at the intersection of strategic visual thinking, people management, AI-powered design tools, and video storytelling. You'll own how the brand shows up across every digital and offline touchpoint.

You will lead a small in-house design team, collaborate closely with business stakeholders, and play a critical role in shaping the brand's visual identity across platforms for both airpay money and airpay capital. This is a high-ownership role - you'll be expected to drive things independently, not wait for direction.

Prior experience in a Fintech/BFSI environment (good to have).

Key Responsibilities:

1. Design Leadership & Brand Stewardship

• • Own and evolve the visual identity of the brand across campaigns, platforms, and products.
  • Lead logo creation, sub-branding, campaign identities, and brand systems.
  • Act as a design thought partner to marketing, digital, and business teams.
  • Ensure brand consistency while pushing creative boundaries in a regulated category (fintech/financial/BFSI services).

2. Marketing & Communication Design

• • Design social media creatives and performance marketing creatives across Meta, YouTube, and other paid channels - with a strong sense of what drives clicks, conversions, and thumb-stops.
  • Conceptualise and create marketing collateral across the full spectrum: emails, WhatsApp creatives, brochures, brand books, danglers, standees, website, app, CRM and product communication assets, print, OOH, sales and partner collaterals.
  • Translate complex financial concepts into clear, engaging visual stories that resonate with a mass consumer audience.
  • Bridge the gap between marketing design and product design - contributing to UI/UX for the app and website, ensuring the brand experience is seamless from the first ad a user sees to the screens they interact with daily

3. AI-Led Design Innovation

• • Leverage AI design tools (Midjourney, Firefly, Runway, DALL·E, Adobe AI tools, and similar) to speed up ideation, prototyping, visual storytelling, and experimentation.
  • Use AI tools for faster editing, auto-captioning, visual enhancements, and ideation across static and video formats.
  • Experiment with AI-generated visuals, videos, and workflows to improve efficiency and creativity across the team.
  • Create scalable design systems and assets using AI-assisted workflows.
  • Stay ahead of global design and AI trends; introduce best practices to the team.
  • Bring basic to intermediate video editing and motion graphics skills - short-form videos, reels, explainer videos, and campaign edits.

4. Team Leadership

• • Lead and mentor a team of graphic designers, fostering a collaborative and high-output design environment.
  • Provide constructive art direction and feedback to junior designers, ensuring consistent quality across all deliverables.
  • Manage multiple design projects simultaneously, prioritising tasks and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

5. Compliance & Brand Governance

• • Ensure all creative output aligns with brand guidelines, tone, and messaging - no exceptions.
  • Adhere to RBI regulations and fintech compliance requirements in all creative assets, working closely with legal and compliance teams where needed.

Required Qualifications:

Must-Haves

• • 10+ years of progressive experience in graphic design & video editing, with a proven track record of leading design projects and teams.
  • Graphic design mastery - exceptional proficiency in layout, typography, colour theory, and visual hierarchy.
  • Art direction experience - ability to define and guide the visual style of projects and campaigns, not just execute.
  • Adobe Creative Suite expertise - Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects (proficiency, not just familiarity).
  • Working knowledge of video editing tools - Premiere Pro, After Effects, or similar.
  • Hands-on experience with AI-powered creative tools - practical understanding of their capabilities, limitations, and integration into design workflows.
  • Strong portfolio demonstrating brand identity & logo design, integrated marketing campaigns, and digital-first thinking.
  • Communication skills - ability to articulate design concepts, present rationale to stakeholders, and give clear creative feedback.
  • Independent operator - comfortable driving projects end-to-end without handholding.

Good-to-Haves

• • Prior experience in a Fintech/BFSI environment.
  • Proficiency in advanced design software beyond the standard Adobe suite.
  • Understanding of UX/UI principles as they relate to visual design.
  • Experience working with agencies and cross-functional teams.
  • Strong understanding of digital, social, and performance-led design (what works in a feed vs. what looks good in a portfolio).

Education

• • Bachelor's/Master’s degree in Graphic Design, Fine Arts, Visual Communications, or a related field preferred.

Portfolio Essentials

Your portfolio is central to the shortlisting process. Please ensure it demonstrates the following:

Body of Work

• • A comprehensive portfolio showcasing a minimum of 10 years of professional graphic design work, with emphasis on leadership and art direction roles.
  • Successful execution of diverse design projects illustrating a strong command of typography, layout, and visual storytelling.
  • Case studies highlighting the strategic use of AI tools for image and video generation - detailing the process, challenges, and outcomes.
  • Examples of conceptual development from initial brief to final polished creative assets, showcasing the ability to translate ideas into compelling visuals.
  • Evidence of leading design initiatives, team collaboration, and art direction, with clear examples of impact on brand or business outcomes.

Process Documentation

• • Examples of your approach to managing the design workflow - from concept ideation to final delivery - highlighting efficiency and quality control.
  • How you stay current with design trends and AI technologies, and how this knowledge is integrated into your design process.
  • Methods for collaborating with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to ensure design solutions meet business objectives.
  • Examples of how you provide art direction and feedback to junior designers to foster their development and maintain design standards.