Head of Brand Design | JetBrains

About JetBrains

JetBrains is an iconic company. As they say it themselves: "it's a Way of Life."

JetBrains builds intelligent tools for software developers and teams. It all started when engineers created IDEs for their own use, acting as engineers, product managers, and testers simultaneously. This short feedback loop has proven highly effective.

They are now famous for a range of products like TeamCity, YouTrack, and others. They also invented the Kotlin programming language, which Google chose as the preferred language for Android app developers.

In some numbers:

• 15M developers consistently use and trust JetBrains' tools

• 287K business customers

• 2,800+ employees worldwide

And with all of that, the company is 100% private and hugely profitable!

The Role

As the Head of Brand Design, you will lead JetBrains' Brand Design organization across Graphic, Web, Video Production, and Computational Art teams (~35 people). You will report to the VP of Marketing and be responsible for making the design function run as efficiently as it is creative.

This is a hands-on leadership role where operational excellence comes first. You'll shape how JetBrains looks, feels, and communicates across all touchpoints — from websites and advertising to event experiences and social media. You'll also work closely with a DesignOps Manager to build scalable processes and workflows.

What You'll Be Responsible For

• Operational Leadership (primary focus):

  • Owning the performance and efficiency of the design organization — balancing speed, quality, and creativity.

  • Quickly auditing the team's capabilities, identifying strengths, gaps, and bottlenecks — and building a clear, actionable plan to address them.

  • Leading prioritization and resource allocation across all design sub-teams, in collaboration with the DesignOps Manager.

  • Establishing workflows, SLAs, and processes that enable the team to deliver high-quality work at speed.

  • Improving the intake process — working with internal partners to raise the quality of design briefs and set clear expectations on deliverables and timelines.

  • Monitoring workload, capacity, and team health to ensure sustainable delivery.

• People Leadership:

  • Leading and developing a team of ~35 designers and team leads across four disciplines.

  • Setting clear expectations, growth paths, and accountability structures.

  • Assessing talent honestly and building specific development plans for team members at all levels.

  • Fostering a culture of trust, professionalism, and creative excellence.

• Creative & Strategic Direction:

  • Collaborating with Central and Product Marketing teams to define and implement JetBrains' visual and creative direction across all channels.

  • Ensuring all design outputs strengthen brand equity and express JetBrains' mission and values.

  • Overseeing the creation of multi-format assets: websites, videos, advertising materials, event experiences, social media, and more.

  • Championing design thinking and creative excellence across the organization.

• Stakeholder Partnership:

  • Acting as the primary creative partner to marketing leads, product marketing, and other internal teams.

  • Building strong, trust-based relationships with internal stakeholders who depend on the design team.

  • Representing the design function in strategic planning and cross-team initiatives.

  • Communicating priorities, progress, and results clearly and transparently.

What You'll Need to Succeed

• Proven operational leadership in design — you've audited, restructured, or significantly improved how a design team works. You think in systems, processes, and measurable outcomes.

• Strong people management track record — you've led teams of 20+ people, including managing managers. You can quickly assess talent, develop people, and make considered decisions when needed.

• Design expertise — you have deep knowledge of communication and brand design. You can distinguish great work from mediocre, give meaningful creative feedback, and earn the respect of senior designers.

• Practical, business-plan approach — you don't just identify problems, you build specific, actionable plans to solve them. You can articulate what you'll do in the first 30, 60, and 90 days.

• Experience with multi-format production — websites, video, advertising, events, social media. You understand the full spectrum of brand communication assets.

• Cross-functional collaboration skills — you're skilled at building relationships across marketing, product, and leadership teams. You communicate clearly, manage expectations, and deliver results.

• Resilience and transparency — you're comfortable navigating ambiguity, managing through change, and having honest conversations about what's working and what isn't.

What Would Be a Plus

• Experience in a multi-product technology company.

• Background in creative or production agencies — understanding of production workflows, client management, and creative operations at scale.

• Experience building or transforming design organizations.

• Familiarity with the developer tools space or B2B technology products.

• Experience working with internationally distributed teams across different cultural contexts.

What You'll Get

• Build Something Meaningful: Shape a 35-person design organization at a company that serves 15M+ developers worldwide. This is a rare opportunity to build design operations with executive support and genuine organizational attention.

• Unique Company Culture: JetBrains is 100% private, profitable, and driven by engineering excellence. No VC pressure, no artificial growth targets — just the freedom to do great work.

• Collaboration with Top Technical Minds: Work alongside some of the brightest software creators in the industry in a company where the product is the mission.

• Competitive Compensation: Generous salary and bonus structure in a financially strong, profitable company.

“ This is truly one-of-a-kind opportunity to join JetBrains on their journey transforming the company and the brand. ”

Kostya Gorsky co-founder of hirehire