Creative Lead

Kodiak Robotics, Inc. was founded in 2018 and has become a leader in autonomous ground transportation committed to a safer and more efficient future for all. The company has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) powered technology stack purpose-built for commercial trucking and the public sector. The company delivers freight daily for its customers across the southern United States using its autonomous technology. In 2024, Kodiak became the first known company to publicly announce delivering a driverless semi-truck to a customer. Kodiak is also leveraging its commercial self-driving software to develop, test and deploy autonomous capabilities for the U.S. Department of Defense.

Role Summary

Kodiak is hiring a Creative Lead to help elevate the quality, consistency, and speed of our marketing output across every major touchpoint. This is a senior, hands-on creative role for someone who can lead campaign thinking, shape both visual and verbal storytelling, guide the work of others, and step in to execute when needed.

In the near term, this role will help distribute ownership away from a single centralized bottleneck by taking on creative direction across campaigns and channels, setting messaging and storytelling standards, and overseeing the output of existing team members. This person will play a critical role in improving creative quality, increasing throughput, and helping build a stronger, more independent marketing function over time.

What You’ll Do

Creative Direction and Campaign Development

Lead creative direction across major marketing initiatives, campaigns, launches, and company moments

Develop strong campaign concepts and translate them into effective execution across channels

Shape how the Kodiak brand shows up visually and verbally across marketing work

Establish and maintain a high bar for creative quality, consistency, and clarity

Build ideas that can scale from larger brand and campaign efforts into smaller day-to-day executions

Cross-Channel Creative Leadership

Guide creative development across web, social, presentations, paid media, events, partner storytelling, and other marketing materials

Ensure work is on-brand, channel-appropriate, and aligned to business priorities

Partner closely with marketing leadership to translate strategy into clear, compelling creative output

Help define and refine messaging and copy standards across content

Team Guidance and Output Oversight

Oversee and elevate the output of the current designer and content producer

Provide clear creative direction, actionable feedback, and strong quality control

Help keep projects moving by making decisions, unblocking work, and maintaining momentum

Support a more distributed and effective creative operating model by increasing ownership and reducing dependency on a single approver

Hands-On Execution

Step in directly to concept, write, design, edit, or refine work when needed, especially early on

Contribute to both polished campaign work and faster, scrappier executions

Support production planning, creative reviews, and photo/video direction as needed

Work with urgency and sound judgment, knowing when to push and when to move

What You’ll Bring

8+ years of experience in creative, brand, design, or campaign-focused roles

Experience at an agency and/or in-house brand team known for high output and a high creative bar

Strong portfolio demonstrating brand identity work, campaign development, and cross-channel creative execution

Demonstrated strength in both visual and voice storytelling

Experience guiding creative direction while also contributing hands-on to the work

Strong instincts for typography, composition, layout, storytelling, and brand expression

Ability to move fluidly between big-picture thinking and execution detail

Comfort operating in a fast-moving environment with shifting priorities and multiple active projects

Demonstrated ability to manage ambiguity, make decisions, and keep work moving

Experience providing creative feedback and guiding the work of others

Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, Google Workspace, and common creative/collaboration tools

Preferred Qualifications

Experience helping create, evolve, or sharpen a brand identity

Experience building campaigns from concept through rollout

Experience across B2B and/or B2C brands

Tech experience is a strong plus

Experience with photo and video direction or production support

Motion, video, or editorial sensibility

Comfort working on a lean team where speed, adaptability, and ownership matter

Work Environment

Hybrid role

Expected to spend regular time in the office to build presence, collaborate closely with the team, experience the culture, generate ideas, and help capture content as needed

Why This Role Matters

Today, too much creative ownership is centralized. This role is intended to change that by bringing stronger creative leadership, sharper storytelling, and more day-to-day momentum to the marketing fu…