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// POSTED: Apr 12, 2026

Executive Director, Design

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Job Description: • Role models USAA’s mission, core values, culture and desired behaviors – including a culture of risk and regulatory awareness and accountability balanced with innovation and member-service orientation. • Oversees research, creation and development of concepts that aligns employee and members’ needs with business or USAA objectives, while advancing USAA transformation into a design-led organization. • Leads the design review and approval process and ensures consistent alignment with USAA and industry design standards and guidelines. • Supports a culture of transparency and healthy challenge via design critique, continuous learning and accountability for high standards of quality. • Partners with and influences USAA, Technology, and Business Leaders to define, plan, design, and monitor touchpoints within assigned spaces across all digital channels. • Works in very close collaboration with other Executive Directors of Design to create breadth as well as depth of knowledge across domains. • Collaborates with other design team to drive transformation by establishing and delivering design concepts and final solutions that enable elegant solutions to business problems through employee and member empathy. • Identifies new and improved ways to manage the digital creative process, as new platforms and technologies evolve. • Develops and ensures a consistent application of design and delivery processes. • Develops talent in the design community to deliver performance and results – including the identification, development and retention of talent with requisite design capabilities. • Holds self and teams accountable for meeting commitments by setting and clearly communicating expectations and roles and responsibilities relative to design operations and services. • Owns the relationship management responsibilities for business executives and external design agencies for their area of focus. • Builds and leads high-performing design teams by attracting and hiring the best talent and providing a nurturing yet challenging environment. • Ensures risks associated with business activities are effectively identified, measured, monitored, and controlled in accordance with risk and compliance policies and procedures. Requirements: • Bachelor’s Degree OR 4 years of related experience (in addition to the minimum years of experience required) may be substituted in lieu of degree. • 10 years of progressive related design experience developing digital product and experience strategies, managing major initiatives and delivering compelling design solutions within a complex matrix environment. • 4 years of direct design team leadership or leading matrixed or cross-functional creative teams and experience in building, managing and/or developing high performing design teams. • Demonstrated experience in digital product and/or service design, experience design, design research and human center design approaches. • Experience collaborating with key resources and stakeholders, influencing decisions and managing work to achieve strategic goals. • Fluency in current design and interaction standards across multiple channels. • Excellent communication, presentation and organizational skills. Benefits: • comprehensive medical, dental and vision plans • 401(k) • pension • life insurance • parental benefits • adoption assistance • paid time off program with paid holidays plus 16 paid volunteer hours • various wellness programs • career path planning and continuing education
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