Visual Art Director (AI-led)

Position in Mental Health Startup | Join a mission-driven team | Passion needed | 100% only | Based in Zurich, onsite first, only hybrid possible

Why we do what we do

The mind is our window to the world. It paints the outside in grey or bright colors. We therefore believe that a person finding access to that window has the opportunity to change their perspective of the world every single day and psychological hurdles can turn into opportunities to grow. Happiness can spread from individual to individual across society – into a revolution, one mind at a time.

Who we are

The mission we have inspires and challenges us in equal measure. It is work in which skills, thoughts, and ideas are poured into a product influencing thousands of souls and hearts. That comes with great responsibility — and with a team full of people crazy enough to think they can change the world they live in.

We believe in what we do, and we work hard — not for personal fame or money, but for the people at the center of our efforts: our team, clients, psychologists on our platform, and supporters across the country.

Why this role exists

Aepsy is taking its next visual step. Our current presence is a starting point, not the reference — what comes next will be substantially more sophisticated, more cinematic, and unmistakably ours. We're building a brand that doesn't look like the rest of the mental health category.

This role is the aesthetic conscience and the production hands of that step. You live inside visuals — fluent in shooting, editing, AI image and video generation, motion design and template systems — and you produce a continuous stream of channel-bespoke content that fits the brand without needing a brief for every output.

The bar we’re setting – Closer to a serious fashion house or a high-end editorial publication than to anything currently in our category. Restrained, sensual, beautifully produced. The brand that wellness brands want to look like in three years.

What you'll actually do

• Cut the engine. Turn our bi-weekly long-form footage into 8–10 platform-specific assets — Reels, Shorts, TikTok, LinkedIn video, carousels, story sets. Four different cuts, not the same one posted four times.
• Lead our AI production craft. Expert use of current image and video generation. Build brand-correct prompt libraries and reference systems. Know when AI is the right answer, and when photography is.
• Edit fast. Premiere, Final Cut, DaVinci or CapCut at speed. Working knowledge of motion design (After Effects).
• Run the visual library. A continuously updated bank of imagery, b-roll, motion elements and templates that the rest of the team can self-serve from.
• Make presentations land. Understand how compelling presentations actually work — narrative structure, visual rhythm, the difference between a slide that informs and a slide that persuades. Apply that understanding to investor decks, B2B pitches and internal strategy.
• Think in business terms. Understand the business perspective — what the sales team needs, how a deck moves a deal, what a B2B buyer wants to see. Translate it into visual work that closes.
• Hold the line. Day-to-day visual quality control. Spot brand drift early — in your own work and others'.

Who we're looking for

This is a hire-for-taste role. Skills can be added. Eye cannot.

Required

• An outstanding eye — your personal taste is already brand-aligned, and your ambition for our visual language is beyond where we are now.
• Zeitgeist literacy — you follow visual culture closely across fashion, design, photography, fine art and platform-native content.
• Expert-level AI image and video generation (multiple models, prompt engineering, image-to-video, reference-based generation).
• Professional editing and motion design skills.
• Photography or videography fluency — you can direct a shoot and shoot competently.
• Channel literacy — you build for Reels, Shorts, TikTok and LinkedIn natively.
• Strong opinions, expressed gently. A vibe. Living in visuals.

Strongly preferred

• Videography/Photography, Print or editorial design background.
• Experience with brand systems in healthcare, beauty, fashion or hospitality.
• Working (Swiss) German and English. French an advantage.
• Existing Swiss creative network — photographers, illustrators, set designers.
• 3D / CGI fluency (Blender, Cinema 4D, Spline) — useful but not required.

What we're NOT looking for

• Generalist designers — this is a specialist role with a specific aesthetic register.
• People who treat AI as a shortcut — we use it to extend craft, not replace it.
• "Wellness aesthetics." Soft pastels and lotus flowers are the category default. We do not.

What we offer

• A brand worth making beautiful — not a category default.
• A team that respects visual craft as core, not decoration.
• Direct line to senior strategy and brand decisions.
• Generous holidays (5 weeks), mental health benefit (obviously)

Together with us

We are a young, ambitious team with diverse backgrounds and beliefs. We love conversations about the big picture and the small individual parts. We believe in what we do and work hard for a slightly better world. None of us could count hours in a big company or watch injustice happen. We are also friends, parents, husbands and wives, standup comedians, yoga novices and Zen monks who appreciate and enjoy life.

Sleep on it. Read it through again.
Then take a deep breath and send us

• Your CV and a personal cover letter (yes, it will not only be read, but thoughtfully analyzed – We want to read what motivates you, why this mission matters to you personally and why this role now)
• Your portfolio — link, PDF, or however you show your work.
• Three pieces you've made (yours, not your team's) that you're proud of, with a short note on why.
• One AI-generated image or short video you're proud of, with the prompt and process notes.
• One paragraph on what visual register Aepsy should never go near, and why.

PS: Please don’t send us an impersonal, standardized, or AI-generated cover letter. It is a waste of your time and ours. There are better things to do instead — like enjoying the sun, taking a walk in the forest, or talking to a friend. Life is too beautiful to write impersonal cover letters :)