Creative Director

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Welcome to the dynamic world of NinjaTrader! As an industry-leading trading platform and futures broker were empowering traders to take control of their financial destiny. How do we do it We provide cutting-edge products and services that enhance the trading journey. Whether a seasoned pro or just starting out NinjaTrader equips traders with award-winning software and brokerage services to navigate the worlds leading financial markets with confidence.

Our growth story is nothing short of exhilarating. Since 2003 NinjaTrader has been dedicated to understanding and supporting traders on their journey toward trading triumph. Through those efforts our user base has grown to over 2 million users and we have become the number one rated futures brokerage worldwide.

But were not stopping there. Were constantly evolving pushing boundaries and modernizing the futures industry. Our commitment to innovation means users will always have access to dynamic tools real-time support and a community of like-minded traders.

So why work at NinjaTrader Here youre not just part of a team; youre part of a movement. We empower employees to reach new heights in their careers by providing a dynamic culture focused on social connection professional development and employee recognition initiatives. Sounds too good to be trueTake it from our employees.

Join us as we redefine whats possible in trading advocate for our customers and continue our journey toward becoming the worlds top retail-focused trading platform in the world.

What youll do:

NinjaTrader is hiring a Creative Director to own how the company looks sounds and feels across every marketing surface a consumer encounters. This is the senior-most creative role in the marketing organization reporting directly to the CMO.

Our brand strategy and positioning are sharp but the visual expression lags behind.. This is an opportunity to level up our visual identity to reflect the dynamic and growing nature of the brands we have in market. Then your job is to make it real operationalize it extend it into the places it doesnt yet reach and defend it as volume scales. After that you own the creative standard for the group.

This is a hands-on leadership role. You will set direction and you will still be in the file. We are not hiring someone to run a review calendar.

Trading is a category of noise: identical charts identical claims identical stock photography of men in headsets. The mandate is to make NinjaTrader unmistakable.

In this role you will:

The marketing identity system

• Operationalize the incoming brand identity system typography color photography and illustration direction motion language iconography layout systems and extend it into the surfaces it does not yet cover
• Own the marketing design system: build it to scale across campaign web lifecycle and partner surfaces and to hold up when other hands use it
• Establish the governance that keeps the system intact standards documentation review and the authority to say no
• Act as the final quality gate on brand expression across marketing

Creative output and storytelling

• Concept and direct integrated campaigns from brief to launch video social paid OOH sponsorship events
• Develop the narrative not just the look. You will shape the story a piece of video tells then art-direct the production that delivers it
• Own marketing web and landing page design including the pages that carry acquisition and conversion volume
• Direct lifecycle and product marketing creative so the experience stays coherent from first impression to funded account
• Stay personally in the work on hero projects concepting designing writing direction cutting with the editor

Team and partners

• Hire manage and develop a small in-house design team; set the critique culture and the standard
• Brief direct and evaluate agencies production partners and freelancers; own creative quality of outsourced work
• Build the operating rhythm briefs reviews handoffs that lets a small team ship at volume
• Grow into broader creative ownership over time including copy and video production

Cross-functional leadership

• Partner with Product Design on shared brand guidelines so marketing and platform surfaces stay recognizably the same brand. Product Design owns the product design system; you own the marketing one. The two are deliberately scoped differently and should stay that way
• Work with performance marketing to build creative that is testable iterable and measured against funnel outcomes
• Operate fluently inside a regulated marketing environment partnering with compliance early rather than treating review as a downstream tax

What youll need:

• 8 years of brand and creative experience with 2 years leading a team as an ACD CD or design lead
• A portfolio built on systems not one-offs
• Storytelling range able to develop narrative not only art-direct someone elses script
• Range across brand campaign work and performance creative
• A desire to remain hands-on actively driven to stay in the work not just direct it
• Fluency with AI tooling in the creative process
• A track record of managing designers and directing external agencies
• Comfort with performance data

Bonus Points for:

• Fintech brokerage trading crypto or exchange experience or genuine curiosity about markets and retail traders
• Experience operationalizing an inherited identity system rather than only building from scratch
• Experience running a marketing design system alongside a separately owned product design system
• Experience in a constrained or regulated environment finance healthcare insurance pharma or gaming
• Practicing a craft outside the day job photography film writing or illustration
• Agency background plus in-house leadership experience

Compensation:

The salary range for this role will be $166000.00 - $216000.00 addition this position will also receive an annual target bonus of 15%. Bonus pay at NinjaTrader is based on individual performance (50%) as well as company/team performance (50%).

Salary and bonus earnings are only two components of the total compensation package offered by NinjaTrader. NinjaTrader offers a 401K plan through ADP under which the company will match up to 3.5% of employee contributions. Annual paid time off allowance accrues at a rate of 23 days per year plus seven paid holidays.

Location:

This role is based in Chicago IL. *There may be remote flexibility for exceptional candidates in the following states: California Colorado Florida Georgia Illinois Indiana Minnesota Missouri Montana New Jersey New York North Carolina Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania South Carolina Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington DC Wisconsin.

Hybrid:

For Chicago-based employees we follow a hybrid work schedule: In-office Tuesday through Thursday with remote work on Mondays and addition to these weekly remote days we offer:

• 20 additional flex remote days annually
• 5 Company Wide Office-Optional weeks tied to major holidays

Our Core Benefits Include:

• Generous PTO
• 7 Paid Holidays Annually 5 Conditional Holidays Annually
• 1 Service Day Annually
• 401k with 3.5% Company Match
• Paid Parental Bonding Leave
• Health Vision Dental Coverage
• Life and Disability Insurance Covered 100% by NinjaTrader

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race color ancestry religion sex national origin sexual orientation age citizenship marital status disability gender gender identity or expression or veteran status. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.