Stellar is more than just a blockchain; it's a decentralized, fast, scalable, and sustainable network designed for financial products and services. The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), a non-profit organization founded in 2014, drives the growth and development of the Stellar network. SDF supports a thriving ecosystem of NGOs, corporations, universities, small businesses, governments, and entrepreneurs building on Stellar through tooling, funding, and strategic collaborations. At Stellar, blockchain meets the real world, enabling builders and financial institutions to issue assets and facilitate real-time currency transactions with speed and low costs. SDF is committed to maximizing the health of the Stellar network and ecosystem, focusing on its mission to create equitable access to the global financial system through blockchain technology. SDF is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity in its workforce.

About the Position

Introduction

Are you passionate about cutting-edge blockchain technology and creating equitable access to the global financial system? The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is seeking a Principal Brand Designer to lead creative vision and execution across all brand touchpoints for the Stellar network. This is a unique opportunity to shape how one of the most innovative blockchain foundations presents itself to the world.

P- This role balances strategic ownership with hands-on design, leading the brand's presence across digital, campaigns, brand activations, and events. You will be instrumental in establishing and evolving Stellar’s visual identity as the blockchain for financial services.

Responsibilities

Creative Vision Ownership: Take ownership of creative vision and execution across all channels (digital, social, brand campaigns, activations, and events), ensuring quality, consistency, and visual ambition for the Stellar brand.
Brand Identity & System: Establish and evolve SDF's visual identity and design system, developing comprehensive brand guidelines and toolkits for consistent, on-brand execution across the marketing organization.
Flagship Program Leadership: Lead creative output for flagship programs like Meridian 2026 and the Stellar House series, covering environmental design, event identity, collateral, signage, swag, and digital assets.
Integrated Marketing Creative: Direct the design and production of integrated marketing creative, including paid digital, organic social, email, web, and campaign assets, ensuring cohesive brand storytelling.
Team Leadership & Mentorship: Manage and mentor a high-performing design team, providing clear creative direction, actionable feedback, and ongoing development support.
Agency & Vendor Management: Own external agency and production vendor relationships end-to-end, including briefing, directing, and quality control.
Cross-functional Partnership: Partner with the Sr. Director of Experiential Marketing and cross-functional stakeholders (communications, developer relations, partnerships, product marketing) to deliver integrated creative strategies.
Strategic Presentation: Pitch and present creative concepts to leadership with clarity and conviction, translating business objectives into compelling, executable creative strategies.
Process Improvement: Proactively identify and resolve creative bottlenecks, continuously improving team workflows, briefing processes, and production timelines to enhance output quality and velocity.
Creative Excellence: Bring a broad view of creative excellence, introducing new visual ideas to keep Stellar's brand fresh and ahead of the curve.
Hands-on Design: Produce polished, on-brand design work yourself, from concept through final deliverable, across digital, campaign, and experiential contexts.

Requirements

7+ years of design experience, with at least 2 years in a leadership role (design team lead or multi-disciplinary creative function).
A strong, hands-on design practice with a portfolio that showcases both your craft and leadership in brand identity, digital, campaign, and experiential design.
Deep expertise in building and stewarding brand identity systems, including developing guidelines and maintaining consistency across a large organization.
Demonstrated experience directing creative output simultaneously across multiple channels (digital, social, campaign, environmental, event).
Proven track record of managing external agency and vendor relationships effectively from brief to delivery.
Expert-level proficiency in Figma and Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign), with comfort in directing motion, video, and production partners.
Ability to drive cross-functional creative work with minimal oversight, including developing creative strategy and presenting to senior leadership.
Strong ability to write clear, well-structured creative briefs that align stakeholders and optimize agency output.
Excellent organizational instincts, capable of managing multiple workstreams, anticipating risks, and maintaining high creative standards under pressure.
Genuine curiosity and working knowledge of the blockchain, fintech, or Web3 space, understanding the audience, culture, and opportunity.

Nice to Have

Direct experience in crypto, DeFi, Web3, or financial technology marketing.
Motion graphics, video production, or animation experience (hands-on or directing).
Background in experiential or environmental design (booth builds, branded installations, immersive activations).
Experience scaling a design function: hiring, process building, and raising the creative bar across a growing team.
Familiarity with 3D design or spatial visualization tools.

Benefits

Competitive Salary: $165,000 - $245,000 annually, based on experience, knowledge, skills, and location.
Lumen-denominated Grants: In addition to salary.
Health & Wellness: Competitive health, dental, and vision coverage (100% for employee + dependents on most plans), gym reimbursement ($80/month), Life & ADD (up to $50K), Short & Long-term disability, Health & Dependent Care FSA Accounts, Health Savings Account (HSA) with monthly employer contribution, family-building benefits through Kindbody, wellbeing benefits (One Medical, Rightway, Headspace).
Time Off: Flexible time off + 15 company holidays, including a company-wide holiday break.
Parental Leave: Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave (non-birthing and birthing parents), up to 14 weeks of paid pregnancy leave (birthing parents).
Financial Security: 401K with 4% match.
Commuter Benefits: $250/month employer contribution.
Learning & Development: L&D budget of $1,500/year.
Perks: Daily lunch and snacks in the office, company retreats.