Creative Director

Summary

At Apple, extraordinary ideas become products, services, and experiences that improve lives. Bring passion and precision to your craft, and this company offers the promise of doing your best work. But getting there will require understanding Apple’s culture and an investment in your own capabilities. Apple University creates learning — by Apple and for Apple — to help everyone at Apple fulfill their potential and to strengthen our culture and values.

Description

Apple University’s Creative Director will both directly — and through their leadership — strategize, shape, re-shape, and ship everything the team builds. This includes great learning experiences delivered in a classroom or directly to employees; the marketing and websites that hook people and help them find what they need; and the experiments that will drive innovation in our reach and impact across every team and employee who make Apple, Apple.
This role partners closely with Apple University faculty, producers, writers, engineers, and others — as well as partners throughout the company — to conceive and deliver world-class creative and to advance the purpose, culture, and impact of the whole organization.

Responsibilities

Brand and Design System: Maintain and evolve the visual and narrative identity for Apple University’s diverse range of formats, including live courses, interactive experiences, videos, podcasts, web content, print collateral, and digital tools
Establish creative standards, a design system, engineering specs, and/or templates that ensure visual and typographic consistency, conceptual clarity, and an unmistakably Apple look and feel across an expanding catalog of AU offerings

Concept Development and Storytelling: Partner closely with faculty, writers, producers, and other subject-matter experts to conceive and create story-driven learning experiences that are highly engaging at any scale — from a single document to a multi-day leadership summit
Distill complex business, cultural, and technical concepts into elegantly simple conceptual models, diagrams, and narrative arcs that make abstract ideas intuitive, applicable, and memorable

Creative Direction and Hands-on Design: Provide motivating creative direction and constructive critique, guiding projects from the initial framing through final polish to ensure the work meets a high aesthetic and educational bar
Lead actively as a player-coach — seamlessly shifting between high-level direction and hands-on execution, rolling up your sleeves to design work alongside the team
Establish thoughtful design workflows and rhythms that balance creative exploration with timely delivery, helping the team prioritize effectively and protect time for deep focus

Team and People Leadership: Lead and invest in a small, multidisciplinary design team, helping hone their individual expertise and supporting their long-term growth and development
Source, brief, and direct external creative partners (such as UX designers or audio engineers) to complement the internal team and bring specialized skills to key initiatives

Strategic Collaboration and Influence: Serve as a strategic partner to AU’s senior leadership and faculty, helping shape the long-term curriculum roadmap by identifying emerging topics, audience needs, and creative opportunities across Apple
Champion creative work within Apple University and with key stakeholders throughout Apple, articulating a clear strategic rationale behind creative choices and building strong cross-functional alignment

Creative Innovation and Emerging Formats: Stay attuned to evolving needs and trends within Apple as a whole, and for the broader population of people seeking to learn and grow within organizations
Experiment with novel learning formats and interactive experiences, exploring emerging media and new platforms to continually expand AU’s reach, engagement, and impact
Lead the thoughtful integration of generative AI into creative workflows, leveraging AI tools to augment concept exploration and prototyping, while maintaining craft and the human touch

Minimum Qualifications

15+ years of experience in brand identity, communication design, or editorial art direction, with a multidisciplinary background spanning print, digital, motion, and/or experiential environments
An exceptional portfolio demonstrating advanced expertise in creative presentation design, web design, UI/UX design, or other visual communication materials that showcases an aesthetic aligned with Apple’s design philosophy
A solid understanding of web development and UI/UX principles, with a focus on creating user-friendly and visually appealing interfaces that can apply to learning platforms
Proven track record of directing, mentoring, and inspiring creative talent, with deep experience guiding cross-disciplinary teams
Deep familiarity and proficiency with Apple native tools (especially Keynote), alongside industry-standard tools such as Figma, Sketch, or Adobe Creative Suite
Excellent time management and project management skills: Ability to triage competing and changing priorities in a fast-paced environment, and manage high volumes of work without sacrificing quality

Preferred Qualifications

5+ years of experience in a design or creative leadership role
Exceptional communication, storytelling, and presentation skills
Natural collaborator and mentor who thrives in a group environment and knows how to bring out the best in their own team and close partners
Comfortable navigating ambiguity and aligning diverse experts toward a shared goal
Experience with and passion for designing content that helps people learn, think differently, or change their behavior
Appreciation for Apple’s values, products, and design legacy, and a strong desire to steward and communicate what makes Apple, Apple
Commitment to designing inclusive and accessible work
Active curiosity about and practical experience with integrating generative AI tools into the creative process
BA or BFA in Graphic Design or other related design discipline, or equivalent professional experience

Pay & Benefits — Cupertino, California, United States

At Apple, base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. This provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base pay range for this role is between $216,500 and $325,400, and your base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.

Apple employees also have the opportunity to become an Apple shareholder through participation in Apple’s discretionary employee stock programs. Apple employees are eligible for discretionary restricted stock unit awards, and can purchase Apple stock at a discount if voluntarily participating in Apple’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You’ll also receive benefits including: Comprehensive medical and dental coverage, retirement benefits, a range of discounted products and free services, and for formal education related to advancing your career at Apple, reimbursement for certain educational expenses — including tuition. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation. Learn more about Apple Benefits

Note: Apple benefit, compensation and employee stock programs are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms of the applicable plan or program.

Application Deadline

Apple accepts applications to this posting on an ongoing basis.