Head of Brand Design
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Overview
Job Description
About Special
Special is a new kind of holding company. Our mission is to maximize the efficiency of American taxpayer dollars by transforming its critical industries with AI. We acquire and operate businesses that form the backbone of the American economy and deploy SpecialOS, our proprietary operating system, to make them run more efficiently.
Special is backed by leading investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Human Capital and former members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team. Our team is small, technical, and systems-oriented. Everyone is an individual contributor. We expect strong work ethic and clear communication.
About The Role
You'll be the lead designer across the entire holding company, from Special's own brand surfaces (special.co, marketing materials, announcements), SpecialOS (our operating system that runs our companies), and Figure Health (our first vertical). You'll work directly with founders, engineers, and operators in the field to turn messy operational processes into beautiful experiences.
Design is a top priority at Special. This role is for a designer who wants range: one week you're refining a clinician workflow, the next you're designing a brand system for a new vertical launch.
Responsibilities
Design end-to-end experiences across Special's brand, SpecialOS and Figure Health brand surfaces
Deeply understand the operators who use our OS every day — including time in the field at our vertical companies
Rapidly explore and prototype using both traditional and AI-assisted design tools
Partner closely with engineering to ship polished, production-quality experiences
Build and maintain the design system that scales across the holding company and every vertical we enter
Shape Special's external brand and visual identity as the company grows
Basic Qualifications
Have shipped meaningful brand design work and/or product features on web/mobile
Care deeply about craft, clarity, and user experience
Are comfortable working in fast-moving, ambiguous environments where the org and the product are both being built in real time
Are interested in real-world industries — healthcare, services, the physical economy — not just consumer software
Embrace new design and engineering workflows, including AI-assisted tooling
Communicate clearly and collaborate well across disciplines, including with non-technical operators
Preferred Skills and Experience
Front-end development skills; ability to turn your designs into production
Strong portfolio demonstrating product thinking, execution, and range across product and brand
Experience translating design requirements from non-technical users
Familiarity with modern design and prototyping tools, including AI-native ones
Brand and visual identity work alongside product design
Experience working closely with engineers and founders in early-stage environments
Video editing experience
Location
In-person in NYC.
Compensation and Benefits
$180,000–$300,000 USD
Base salary is one part of our total rewards package at Special, which also includes meaningful equity, comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k), short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, and additional benefits.
Special is an equal opportunity employer.
Automate your job search with Sonara.
Submit 10x as many applications with less effort than one manual application.
