Swag Design Lead (ET hours)

Job Description

About Stadium

Stadium is a global group gifting, swag, rewards and recognition platform. Through Stadium, companies are able to leverage our easy-to-use platform to provide gifts and rewards to groups of 5-10,000. Our unique edge is in being an all-in-one global solution that allows senders to curate specific gifts for their audience or give the power of choice to their recipients. 

We’re a product-first ambitious team that’s obsessed with a united vision for taking our business to new heights. As a company, we learn fast, support each other, and focus on continuous quality and improvement for all of our customers. While our business has continually evolved over the years, our purpose has remained constant: to strengthen the bond between companies, their employees, and their customers.

Job Description

The Swag Design Team Lead will own both the creative quality and operational performance of the Stadium Swag Design team.

The design team is committed to blending creativity with operational excellence for our customers. Our goal is to cultivate a deep understanding of client brands and turn their ideas into tangible swag mockup collections through thoughtful, on-brand design and seamless project management. As Team Lead, you set the standard for how that gets done.

In this role, you'll develop a comprehensive command of our platform, tools, and design processes. You'll lead a team of designers and coordinators, establish the systems that keep the team running smoothly, and serve as the creative and operational anchor for everything the team delivers. You'll be the person who diagnoses areas for improvement, introduces more automation, and coaches your team to a higher standard of output, efficiency, and accountability. You lead by example — you know the work inside and out, and your team knows it. As a member of our dynamic and fast-growing team, you'll collaborate across functions — including Sales, Customer Success, Uploaders, and Vendors — and represent the team's capabilities and performance to leadership.

Stadium is based in New York City, but this is a remote position. Candidates living outside of the US will be hired as independent contractors through Deel.

What You’ll Do With Us

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of swag designers and coordinators — setting clear expectations, running structured 1:1s, and building a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Develop and maintain expert-level knowledge of the Stadium platform, design tools, swag production processes, and the promotional products industry at large.
• Own the end-to-end quality of all design outputs — reviewing and approving work before it reaches clients or vendors, and holding the team to a consistent creative standard.
• Act as a creative and strategic partner to customers and internal teams, helping transform ideas into visual collections that meet brand standards and project goals.
• Oversee the swag design process from intake through delivery, including interpreting client briefs, creating mock-ups, preparing files for production, and managing complex or escalated projects directly.
• Audit team workflows end-to-end and identify where delays, rework, or manual effort are creating bottlenecks — then fix them.
• Continuously improve, automate, and streamline design workflows and processes for efficiency and scalability; champion new tools and systems that increase team capacity without sacrificing quality.
• Build and document repeatable SOPs for the team's most common tasks — artwork submission, vendor briefing, revision handling, file delivery, and more.
• Guide customers through design decisions and communicate directly with clients when needed to clarify creative direction and manage expectations.
• Stay current with industry trends, design best practices, swag production innovations, and emerging automation technologies.
• Own KPIs for team throughput, turnaround time, revision rates, and client satisfaction — and report on them clearly to leadership.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including Sales, Customer Success, Uploaders, and Vendors, representing the design team's capabilities and commitments.

Requirements

What You Bring To Stadium

• 3+ years of experience working in the promotional products industry — with fluency in decoration methods (screen print, embroidery, laser engraving, dye sublimation, pad print, etc.), product categories, supplier networks, production specs, and order timelines.
• Strong design background with 4+ years in graphic, product, or fashion design, with a portfolio that demonstrates production-ready branded merchandise work (portfolio required).
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop) with hands-on experience preparing files for physical production — understanding of bleeds, PMS colors, imprint areas, vector requirements, and similar constraints.
• 2+ years of experience leading or directly managing a creative or operations team — including setting performance expectations, delivering feedback, and developing team members.
• Demonstrated experience stepping into a team that needed structure, direction, or operational improvement — and a clear sense of how you diagnosed and addressed it.
• An automation-first mindset with a track record of implementing tools or systems that reduced repetitive work and improved team output — not just a passion for it.
• Experience with project management and workflow tools (e.g. Clickup, Notion, Airtable) and the ability to configure and optimize them, not just use them.
• Comfort evaluating and adopting emerging tools — AI-assisted design, digital asset management, workflow automation platforms — and training others on them effectively.
• Customer-facing experience with the ability to communicate design concepts clearly and professionally, and to de-escalate complex client situations with confidence.
• Solutions-oriented and able to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment — you identify a problem, propose a solution, and move without waiting for perfect conditions.
• Excellent communication skills, strong attention to detail, and the organizational habits to manage multiple projects and people simultaneously.
• Familiarity with print-on-demand platforms such as Printful, Fulfill Engine, or similar is a major bonus.
• A collaborative spirit and the self-awareness to know when to coach and when to step in and do the work yourself.
• English fluency (additional languages a plus).

Benefits

What We Offer

• Fantastic company culture focused around recognizing and leveraging individual strengths for the benefit of the whole 
• Career mobility and opportunities to work across areas of the company
• Remote-first work environment with frequent Zoom company events and chance to make genuine connections
• Competitive salary, generous PTO

Final compensation is based on factors such as the candidate's skills, qualifications, experience, and location. Compensation for candidates residing outside the U.S. will be adjusted based on the cost of living and comparable wages in that country. 

Stadium is an equal-opportunity employer. We use E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request to [email protected].