Head of Art

Working at Atlassian

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The Atlassian creative team is a "Builder Org" that operates at AI-speed with a main focus on craft. We're looking for a visionary Head of Art to define, elevate, and protect the visual soul of the brand across all touchpoints across the company. This is not a traditional creative management role. In our structure, you are not only a creative leader, you are a DRI a player-coach who sets the strategic and artistic direction for a group of ICs while staying close to the work / on the tools yourself. You'll lead the art craft across brand acts, campaigns, partnerships in AWF1, events, social and all other creative formats, ensuring everything we ship meets the highest bar for Taste and Craft our two non-negotiable standards. You'll bridge the space between ambitious artistic expression, cultural trends and strategic brand execution to ensure that every touchpoint, from global campaigns to the smallest design details, is crafted to the highest standard. You believe that art direction isn't just about how something looks it's about how it works, how it feels, and the story it tells. You're a master of your craft, a mentor, highly collaborative, energised by AI as a creative accelerator and a sharp strategic thinker who can articulate the "why" behind the "what" to partners across the business.

• Own the Art Direction (DRI): Define and evolve Atlassian's global look and feel through artistic direction. You receive the "Intent" for projects; you are a problem solver, not just executing against a brief but making sure strategically we are building the best solution. You help decide what to build, and manage the "infinite options" that AI unlocks to ensure strategic alignment and bespoke brand expression.
• Build, Don't Just Brief: In our org, every leader is a builder. You will be hands-on strategising, proactively finding solutions, directing, prototyping, and crafting alongside your team. No just "people management." If you aren't making the work better, the role isn't required.
• Lead a Modular Team of ICs: While only Art Directors will directly report to you, you will also need to manage and mentor Writers, Designers, Producers, Project Managers and Motion Artists. Our teams are project-based and modular you'll assemble best-fit squads from across the creative org based on project "Intent," not fixed reporting lines. Foster a culture of creative excellence, curiosity, and relentless iteration.
• Champion "Siblings, Not Twins": Drive a visual system that provides shared DNA while enabling bespoke, expressive executions across every touchpoint digital, OOH, film, experiential events, thought leadership, board documents, in-product, and more. We don't do "one-size-fits-all." Every expression of Atlassian should feel personal and essential.
• Ship, Don't Deck: Oversee art executions from concept to launch with uncompromising attention to typography, photography, motion, and detail. Help drive and deliver prototypes for a "reps" based creative model.
• Collaborate Cross-Functionally: Partner with Brand, PMM, Events, Demand, Comms, OCMO, OCEO, Product Design, Sales, and Eng to deliver a unified brand experience. In our structure, you work directly with other DRIs.
• Curate World-Class Internal + External Talent: Source and direct exceptional contractors with world-class experience and production partners and agency partners. Our "Hybrid Internal Expert Bench" model means you're plugging in talent as extensions of the team across USA, Australia, EU and more not managing vendors.
• Embrace AI as a Creative Multiplier: Help enable and embed AI tools and workflows as core to our process for rapid prototyping, exploration, and iteration. Quality comes from "Reps" the ability to build, fail, explore, and iterate at a pace previously impossible.
• Uphold the Craft Standard: You believe that once work is shipped we can learn from it always curious to audit the Craft and Taste. You are accountable for ensuring the work your team ships never crosses into "AI slop" craft is the universal trait that defines this org.
  
  Who You Are

• Portfolio: A high-craft body of work demonstrating mastery in art direction, design, typography, cultural and visual storytelling for globally recognised brands. We care less about logos on a résumé and more about raw taste, technical curiosity, and creative problem-solving.
• Experience: 12+ years in design, creative agencies, or high-calibre in-house studios, with at least 5 years in a senior creative leadership role. You've led teams, not just across the execution but the culture, the team dynamic, and process. You are always looking to innovate in the way you lead and motivate teams, but you've never stopped building.
• Builder Mentality: You are a player-coach. You don't just direct you prototype, you explore tools, you get hands on. You're comfortable being wrong in the open and building in public.
• Systems Thinker: You don't create one-off assets you build holistic visual systems that work seamlessly across a digital-first ecosystem and scale globally through a "Global Platform, Local Expression" approach.
• AI-Fluent: You actively use AI in your creative workflow. You understand how generative tools accelerate ideation, production, and personalisation and you have a sharp point of view on where human judgment must remain.
• Taste & Curation: An impeccable eye for taste and craft. You know trends and culture, but you don't just follow what's happening you develop and build what's right for our brand. You know who the best creators in the world are and how to bring them into the work.
• Communication: You can present complex creative ideas clearly and persuasively to non-creative executives and cross-functional partners. Open-minded and curious about builds from others.
• Responsibility, No-Blame Culture: You take responsibility and you don't point fingers or blame others you are focused on building a safe culture where everyone can bring their best to work.

• Flat by Design: Our creative org follows a reduced-layers model. Every leader builds. No games of telephone. Everyone has a voice and we believe in building together.
• Bookend Weeks: Monday is for planning and setting Intent. Wednesday is an optional unblock sync. Friday is for prototypes build to ship, not presentations.
• Modular Squads: Teams are assembled project-by-project based on the best fit for the "Intent" dismantling silos and enabling fresh perspectives.
• Speed Mandate: We move fast. You see an opportunity, you take it. The more we ship, the more impact we make.
• Global-First: We operate a "Follow-the-Sun" model a decentralised structure that leverages time zones to achieve true high-velocity. Work never stops; it moves to the next geography.
• Hybrid Model: We have an amazing in-house team that partners with external world-class partners.