Job Summary: We are looking for a design leader who combines strategic vision and execution to shape digital products, services, and systems in complex contexts—driving the evolution of the design function and team growth. Key Highlights: 1. Lead end-to-end design projects with real impact 2. Orchestrate design disciplines with an integrated vision 3. Mentor and grow design teams The Cocktail is a multinational technology consultancy whose mission is to accelerate the sustainable growth of our clients. We mobilize large organizations to improve brand-to-people relationships through design, data, and technology. We understand what our clients need and orchestrate capabilities to achieve those goals at breakneck speed. Our culture is built on diversity, creativity, and the blending of specialists (strategy, design, technology, data, research, etc.). Our careers are defined by exponential professional growth and participation in high-impact projects with major clients. Joining The Cocktail means being surrounded by an inspiring team from whom you can learn—and who will help you grow. We operate under the principle that it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission; therefore, we expect you to bring a disruptive, challenger mindset, a refusal to settle, and passion for excellence and challenges. If you want to thrive in a challenging environment, create innovative projects, and make things happen, The Cocktail is for you. Who Are We? We are an international consultancy focused on transformation through design—understanding that today, design means helping organizations navigate a rapidly changing world where technology, artificial intelligence, and new forms of interaction are redefining how we live, decide, and connect with brands. We design for complex contexts where people, platforms, and agents coexist—and accompany our clients from challenge definition through to the real activation of impactful solutions. We don’t just think about products or experiences—we think about new forms of relationship between brands, people, and systems. For us, design is not an aesthetic layer nor an isolated phase. It is a way of understanding change—a system connecting business, strategy, technology, and human behavior. Our work is about shaping the new, transforming uncertainty into decisions, and helping organizations find their place in an increasingly automated, conversational, and living environment. If you’re interested in working where AI, platforms, and technology are discussed alongside people, culture, ethics, and purpose—if you’re expected to hold strong opinions and eager to question how we do things, VML The Cocktail may be your place. The Design Team: In the Design Team, we shape how brands exist and relate in a world changing at speed—a world where people, platforms, and intelligent agents coexist, where technology is no longer just a tool but an active part of how we make decisions, build trust, and form relationships. We collaborate closely with business, technology, marketing, and creativity to transform ideas into reality. Design is the meeting point among all these areas: where strategy, product vision, technical capability, and brand narrative align—where the abstract becomes concrete, usable, and impactful. Designing today is far more than creating interfaces or products. It’s rethinking models of relationship, behaviors, and expectations. It’s helping organizations move with purpose amid uncertainty, make better decisions, and turn complexity into clear, human, and relevant experiences. We believe in design that orchestrates—connecting disciplines, understanding business, engaging with technology, and leveraging creativity to generate solutions with personality and ambition. We seek people with broad perspectives, comfortable working in cross-functional teams, with deep human sensitivity and technological ambition. Curious individuals eager to learn, challenge the status quo, and actively participate in building new forms of relationship between brands, products, and people. Do you want to be part of this growth? Here’s what we’re looking for: We seek someone with experience leading creative projects and teams—but above all, with a view of design aligned with ours: someone with judgment, strategic vision, and the ability to shape evolving contexts. This role isn’t only about leadership or only about design—it’s about integrating both dimensions. We expect someone with a solid perspective on the present and future of design, critical capacity to question how we work today, and sensitivity to identify where real value lies in what we deliver as designers. **Responsibilities** * Lead end-to-end design projects—from strategic definition through construction and activation—ensuring real impact on business and experience. * Shape digital products, services, and systems in complex contexts—sometimes starting from scratch, other times evolving existing ecosystems. * Orchestrate design disciplines (product, systems, experience, narrative, AI, technology) with an integrated vision aligned with other areas such as data, technology, or marketing. * Mentor and grow teams—fostering judgment, autonomy, and design culture. * Serve as a reference point in client conversations—contributing vision, clarity, and perspective on design’s role. * Identify opportunities, anticipate risks, and adapt nimbly to paradigm shifts—especially in AI-mediated contexts. * Drive the evolution of design systems, new interfaces, and new interaction models. * Actively contribute to the evolution of the design function: methodology, thinking, culture, and positioning. Requirements: * Experience leading digital design projects and teams—blending strategic vision with execution capability. * We don’t measure seniority by years of experience, but by judgment, impact, and ability to operate confidently in complex contexts. * A “geek” mindset toward design: genuine interest in staying current, researching, learning, and questioning the status quo. * A personal perspective on design’s role today and in the future. * Experience working with design systems and understanding their organizational and product-level impact. * Ability to operate confidently amid uncertainty and constant change. * Sensitivity to craft, detail, and quality—without losing focus on impact. * Ability to speak the language of business, technology, and design—acting as a bridge across disciplines. * Advanced proficiency with design tools (Figma or others) and openness to new ways of designing. * High-level English for working in international environments and projects. Benefits of Working at VML The Cocktail * Flexible working hours * ✈️ 25 vacation days per year + Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve if they fall on weekdays * Hybrid work model, based in Madrid or Barcelona * Personalized career plan and continuous training ‍ * Improve your English with dedicated training classes * No dress code. Come to work however you like. * ️ Exclusive discounts and time for your personal growth. * Access to Cobee—the best flexible compensation platform * Initiatives supporting parenthood and policies promoting equality and diversity. At The Cocktail, we aim to be a benchmark for talent and human quality—and we’ll only achieve this by being an open and diverse company. That’s why we have a code of conduct reflecting our expectations of everyone who joins us. We offer an inclusive environment for all, regardless of gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, ability, origin, religion, socioeconomic status, etc. **Next Steps.** If you’ve read this far, we’ve successfully captured your attention ;) Apply to the position and our People team will review your CV. If it matches what we’re looking for, you’ll receive a call to get to know each other better—and we’ll tell you more about The Cocktail and this role. Our selection processes typically involve around two or three interviews, and at some stage we may invite you to demonstrate your skills through a technical challenge. Are you in?