Principal, Creative Designer

Principal, Creative Designer

About the Role & Team

Reporting to the Director, Creative, the Principal Designer serves as a senior creative driver, leading high-impact design work across graphic design, brand systems, and marketing creative. This role plays a critical part in shaping how creative vision comes to life, influencing design direction through expertise, consistency, and collaboration, while supporting broader business and product initiatives tied to Disney Consumer Products’ global strategy.

Deeply immersed in culture and the creative marketplace, the Principal Designer brings a sharp, current point of view and operates with speed and agility in a fast‑paced environment with significant inbound work and tight turnaround times.

What You Will Do:

Creative & Design Leadership

• Translate high‑level creative vision into concrete, inspiring design systems, visual identities, and product expressions that scale across categories, markets, and platforms.
• Operate as a hands‑on designer, producing work that exemplifies craft excellence, clarity of thinking, and cultural relevance.
• Merge conceptual thinking with executional rigor, ensuring ideas are both creatively bold and practically deliverable.

Cultural Fluency & Trend Leadership

• Remain deeply immersed in culture, trends, and the creative marketplace actively engaged in the “scene” across entertainment, fashion, lifestyle, gaming, street culture, and emerging creative movements.
• Bring a strong, current point of view informed by cultural signals, consumer behavior, and design innovation.
• Apply trend insight strategically, ensuring creative work feels relevant, aspirational, and culturally credible rather than reactive.

Strategic Partnership, Commercial Awareness & Business Savvy

• Serve as a creative partner to Marketing, Franchise, Product, Retail, and Commercial teams.
• Demonstrate strong commercial awareness and business acumen, understanding how creative decisions impact timelines, partners, costs, and market performance.
• Build effective working relationships rooted in trust, clarity, and collaboration.
• Bring pragmatic judgment that balances creative ambition with business realities.

Presentation, Pitching & Representation

• Pitch, present, and sell creative ideas clearly and persuasively to senior stakeholders, cross‑functional partners, and external collaborators.
• Create compelling decks and presentation materials that articulate creative vision, strategy, and rationale.
• Represent VP‑level creative vision confidently and accurately in meetings and forums when senior leadership is unable to attend.

Required Qualifications & Skills:

• 8+ years of progressive experience across graphic design and product‑adjacent design, with a portfolio of high‑visibility, multi‑channel work.
• Demonstrated excellence in hands‑on design craft, including visual systems, typography, composition, product aesthetics, and storytelling.
• Proven ability to originate concepts, work independently, and influence creative direction at a senior level.
• Deep cultural fluency and active engagement with trends, creative communities, and the broader marketplace.
• Strong presentation and storytelling skills, with confidence pitching and representing creative vision to senior audiences.
• Comfort operating in fast‑paced, high‑volume environments with tight turnaround times.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in consumer products, entertainment, fashion/lifestyle, or retail ecosystems.
• Familiarity with partner and licensee workflows.
• Strong understanding of commercial models and business constraints within creative development.

Additional Information:

Application must include a portfolio showcasing designs of design and fashion projects. Please share or disable any passwords for efficient review of portfolios.

Our Benefits: Disney offers a rewards package to help you live your best life. This includes health and savings benefits, educational opportunities and special extras that only Disney can provide. Learn more about our benefits and perks at https://jobs.disneycareers.com/benefits

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The hiring range for this position in Glendale, CA is $139,200.00-$186,600.00 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.