Assistant Art Director, Studio Photography

About PHOENIX 

PHOENIX Retail, LLC is a retail platform operating the Express and Bonobos brands worldwide. Express is a multichannel apparel brand dedicated to a design philosophy rooted in modern, confident and effortless style whether dressing for work, everyday or special occasions. Bonobos is a menswear brand known for being pioneers of exceptional fit and a personalized, innovative retail model. Customers can experience our brands in over 400 Express retail and Express Factory Outlet stores, 50 Bonobos Guideshops, and online at www.express.com and www.bonobos.com.

About Express

Express is a multichannel apparel brand dedicated to creating confidence and inspiring self-expression. Since its launch in 1980, the brand has embraced a design philosophy rooted in modern, confident and effortless style. Whether dressing for work, everyday or special occasions, Express ensures you look and feel your best, wherever life takes you.

The Company operates over 400 retail and outlet stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, the express.com online store and the Express mobile app.

The Assistant Art Director, Studio Photography is a hands-on creative role responsible for helping shape and maintain the look and feel of ecommerce product photography across Express and Bonobos. Reporting to the Senior Art Director, Photo Studio & Photography, this role partners closely with brand creative leads, photography, styling, retouching, merchandising, and ecommerce teams to ensure studio imagery is visually compelling, brand-right, and optimized to support commercial performance.

This role helps set and uphold the visual direction for product-level photography across both brands, ensuring assets align with each brand’s creative standards, channel needs, and business goals. The Assistant Art Director plays a critical role on set and in post-production, guiding visual consistency, reviewing imagery, editing selects, and helping ensure final assets balance creative integrity with clarity, accuracy, and conversion-minded execution.

This is a highly cross-functional role requiring strong creative judgment, a sharp eye for photography and styling, and the ability to partner effectively across teams in a fast-paced, high-volume studio environment.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

● Support the creative direction of ecommerce product photography for Express and Bonobos, ensuring imagery aligns with each brand’s standards, aesthetic, and commercial goals
● Partner with the Senior Art Director, Photo Studio & Photography and brand creative leads to help define and execute the visual direction for studio photography across both brands
● Provide hands-on art direction on set for product photography, ensuring composition, styling, product presentation, and overall image quality meet brand and business expectations
● Review daily studio output and edit best selects for product-level assets, ensuring final imagery is strong, consistent, and effective across ecommerce and related marketing channels
● Partner closely with photographers, stylists, retouches, and studio production teams to ensure assets are executed with creative consistency and operational efficiency
● Help guide shot flow and on-set decision-making to support productivity, quality, and adherence to seasonal priorities and shot lists
● Collaborate with ecommerce, merchandising, and creative partners to understand product storytelling needs, channel requirements, and key business priorities
● Ensure product imagery reflects accurate styling, fit, silhouette, color, and product details while maintaining a polished and elevated visual point of view
● Support image review and post-production workflows, including select rounds, feedback, retouching direction, and final asset approval
● Help maintain and evolve photography guidelines, studio standards, and visual references to ensure consistency across categories, brands, and customer touchpoints
● Participate in pre-production planning and partner with cross-functional teams on shot priorities, product focus, seasonal storytelling, and studio readiness
● Contribute to ongoing improvements in studio process, image consistency, and creative workflow
● Stay current on fashion, photography, ecommerce, and visual trends, bringing fresh perspective and ideas that help keep both brands relevant and visually compelling

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

Essential Qualifications

● Bachelor’s degree in Photography, Art Direction, Design, Visual Communications, or a related field, or equivalent experience
● 2–3 years of experience in art direction, studio photography, ecommerce creative, or a related field
● Experience working in a fashion, retail, ecommerce, or consumer brand environment
● Strong visual eye and creative judgment, with an understanding of composition, lighting, styling, and brand-right product presentation
● Experience supporting or directing on-set photography in a studio environment
● Strong understanding of ecommerce photography workflows and how imagery functions across digital commerce and marketing channels
● Experience reviewing and editing image selects, with a strong sense of what makes imagery both visually strong and commercially effective
● Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, Capture One, Keynote, and related creative tools preferred, reflecting similar requirements commonly listed in peer studio and art direction roles.
● Strong organizational and communication skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and collaborate effectively across teams
● High attention to detail and ability to maintain consistency in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment

Preferred Qualifications

● Experience supporting product photography for multiple categories or brands

● Familiarity with post-production workflows, retouching feedback, and final asset approvals

● Experience partnering with photographers, stylists, and merchandisers in a studio setting

● Strong understanding of customer-facing digital imagery and its role in supporting conversion and brand perception

● Passion for fashion, visual culture, and evolving digital content trends

CRITICAL SKILLS & ATTRIBUTES

● Strong creative eye and high taste level
● Commercially minded with an understanding of conversion-driving imagery
● Collaborative and clear communicator
● Detail-oriented and highly organized
● Hands-on, proactive, and solutions-oriented
● Comfortable working in a fast-paced studio environment
● Able to balance creative integrity with business needs
● Curious, adaptable, and eager to contribute to continuous improvement

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An equal opportunity employer, PHOENIX does not discriminate in recruiting, hiring or any other terms and conditions of employment hiring on the basis of any federal, state, or locally protected characteristic. PHOENIX only hires individuals authorized for employment in the United States. PHOENIX is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you need an accommodation to search and apply for a job position due to a disability, please call 1-800-964-9793 and say 'Associate Relations' or send an e-mail to AssociateRelations@Express.com and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.

Notification to Agencies: Please note that PHOENIX does not accept unsolicited resumes or calls from third-party recruiters or employment agencies. In the absence of a signed Master Service Agreement and approval from HR to submit resumes for a specific requisition, PHOENIX will not consider or approve payment to any third-parties for hires made.