Work at xFoundry

Startup Energy

xFoundry is a collaborative, startup-style environment where resourceful people work across teams, solve problems together, and turn ambitious ideas into reality.

Professional Growth

Team members gain exposure to industry leaders, conferences, and strategic initiatives, creating pathways for professional advancement.

Builder’s Mindset

Curiosity, initiative, and ownership define our culture. We look for people who take action, adapt quickly, and collaborate with teammates to move bold ideas forward.

Team-Driven Innovation

We believe breakthroughs happen when diverse perspectives collaborate, challenge assumptions, and build together. At xFoundry, innovation is a collective effort.

← All openings

Technical Creative Director

About xFoundry

The xFoundry Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization transforming universities into solution engines that generate real ventures, develop entrepreneurial leaders, and advance meaningful societal outcomes. Headquartered at the University of Maryland's E.A. Fernandez IDEA Factory, xFoundry empowers students to tackle humanity's most pressing challenges through multidisciplinary collaboration, AI-powered tools, and rigorous venture-building programs.

Our flagship Xperience program is a 15-18 month venture-building competition where student teams develop investment-grade MVPs addressing grand societal challenges in climate, education, food and water, health, infrastructure, and society. Winning teams compete for investments of up to $2 million and receive guidance from seasoned CXOs through our Xcelerate accelerator program.

The opportunity

We are seeking a Technical Creative Director to own and evolve xFoundry's visual identity, digital presence, and brand experience across all touchpoints. This is a unique hybrid role combining brand stewardship with hands-on front-end development—perfect for someone who thinks strategically about design systems while also enjoying the craft of building beautiful, functional interfaces.

This role is ideal for someone who:

  • Lives at the intersection of design and code, and sees them as inseparable parts of the user experience
  • Gets genuinely excited about creating cohesive brand systems that scale across platforms and teams
  • Believes that mission-driven organizations deserve world-class design and isn't satisfied with "good enough"
  • Can translate abstract concepts like "innovation" and "student empowerment" into compelling visual narratives
  • Wants to shape the visual language of an organization that's redefining how universities create impact

‍

What you'll do

Creative Direction & Brand Stewardship

  • Own and evolve xFoundry's visual identity across all programs (Xperience, Xcelerate, NEXPLORE Summit), ensuring consistency while allowing each to have its own character‍
  • Develop and maintain comprehensive brand guidelines including typography, color systems, iconography, imagery standards, and voice/tone documentation‍
  • Ensure visual consistency across all digital touchpoints—websites, portals, social media, email campaigns, and presentations‍
  • Create a self-service brand package with templates and toolkits that empower non-designers (staff, mentors, students) to produce on-brand materials independently‍
  • Guide the visual narrative for xFoundry's mission, making complex concepts like venture-building and societal challenges accessible and inspiring

Front-End Development & Digital Execution

  • Design and build responsive web pages and micro-interactions for xFoundry's public-facing sites, program portals, and internal tools
  • Develop and maintain component libraries and design systems that enable consistency and speed across projects
  • Implement front-end code (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) with proficiency in no-code/low-code platforms (Webflow, Framer, Plasmic) for rapid prototyping and deployment
  • Work with CMS platforms (headless CMS, static site generators, or similar modern web architectures) to manage content-driven experiences
  • Handle light API integrations to connect design systems with data sources and third-party services
  • ‍Collaborate with the technology team to ensure design specifications are implemented faithfully and to contribute directly to codebases when appropriate

Event Creative Direction

  • Produce and art-direct for major xFoundry events, ensuring professional-quality video, audio, and livestream experiences
  • Lead creative direction for the annual NEXPLORE Summit and other flagship events, including stage design, environmental graphics, and signage
  • Produce motion content for event screens, transitions, and speaker introductions that elevate the attendee experience
  • Collaborate on venue selection and event design, ensuring spaces are transformed to reflect xFoundry's brand and energy
  • Manage relationships with external vendors (videographers, A/V technicians, fabricators, printers) for event production needs

AI-Augmented Creative Workflows

  • Leverage AI tools to accelerate creative production—including ChatGPT and Claude for copywriting, Midjourney and DALL-E for visual concepts, Canva AI for rapid asset creation, and Gemini/Notebook LM for research synthesis
  • Evaluate and pilot emerging AI tools to determine their fit within xFoundry's creative workflows
  • Build AI-integrated workflows that maintain brand consistency while dramatically increasing creative output velocity
  • Train and support team members in effectively using AI tools while maintaining quality standards and brand voice‍
  • Stay current with rapidly evolving AI capabilities and translate relevant advances into practical creative applications

What we're looking for

Portfolio Required

  • A strong portfolio is mandatory for this role. We want to see live websites you've designed and built, brand systems you've developed, and visual assets that demonstrate your range. Include URLs to live work alongside case studies that explain your process and decisions.

Design Excellence & Brand Thinking

  • You have a sharp eye for visual design and understand how brand systems work at scale
  • Your portfolio demonstrates range: from detailed UI work to high-level brand strategy
  • You obsess over the details—typography, spacing, color relationships—because you know they compound into overall quality

Front-End Technical Fluency

  • You write clean, maintainable HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
  • You're proficient with no-code/low-code platforms (Webflow, Framer, Plasmic) and understand when to use them vs. custom code
  • You're comfortable working in modern frameworks (React, Vue, or similar) and can collaborate effectively with engineering teams
  • You understand responsive design, web accessibility standards, and performance optimization

AI-Augmented Creative Mindset

  • You actively use AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Midjourney, DALL-E, Canva AI, Gemini, Notebook LM, or similar) to accelerate your creative work
  • You're curious about emerging tools and eager to integrate them into professional workflows

Bias Toward Ownership & Execution

  • You don't wait for perfect briefs—you proactively identify opportunities to elevate the brand
  • You can manage multiple projects simultaneously without sacrificing quality
  • You're comfortable being a team of one for creative work while collaborating across departments

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Web Design, Web Development, Visual Communication, Interactive Media, Computer Science, or related field (or equivalent professional experience)
  • 3-5 years of professional experience in brand design, digital design, or front-end development
  • Portfolio required demonstrating live websites, brand systems, and visual design excellence—include URLs to published work
  • Proficiency in design tools (Figma, Adobe Creative Suite) and front-end technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript)
  • Proficiency with no-code/low-code platforms, specifically Webflow, Framer, or Plasmic
  • Experience building and maintaining design systems or component libraries
  • Demonstrated use of AI tools in creative workflows

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience with motion design and video production (After Effects, Premiere, or similar)
  • Familiarity with headless CMS platforms, static site generators, or modern web architectures
  • Background in higher education, nonprofit, or mission-driven organizations
  • Experience working in early-stage or startup environments where wearing multiple hats is the norm
  • Understanding of UX principles and user research methodologies
  • Contributions to open-source design systems or public-facing design work

‍

Why join xFoundry?

Creative Ownership: This isn't a "make it pretty" role—you'll shape the visual identity of an organization that's redefining university innovation

Design + Code: Rare opportunity to exercise both sides of your brain, with real autonomy over the technical implementation of your designs

Mission That Matters: Help inspire the next generation of founders working on climate, health, education, and society's biggest challenges

Competitive Compensation:  $115,000 - $138,000 salary with benefits

To apply

Submit your resume along with a brief statement (1 page max) addressing the following:

  • A technical domain or emerging technology you believe represents a compelling opportunity for student venture teams—and why
  • Your experience helping ventures move from idea to investment
  • What excites you about working with university students on audacious challenges

Link to apply: Technical Creative Director

The University of Maryland is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.

The University of Maryland will not sponsor the successful candidate for work authorization in the United States now or in the future. UMD will not support F-1 STEM OPT for this position.

Hybrid
Full-time
College Park, MD (Hybrid)