Fractional Head of Design
What you'll pay to hire a fractional Head of Design - median day rates across the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, verified bench depth, and demand, updated weekly.
Hire a Head of DesignLIVE
Average Day Rate
$
1500
or $187.50 p/hour
AU
UK
US
Demand · US
Hiring demand + outlook
Indexed Hiring Lab · solid history, dashed TimesFM forecast
9 Nov '254 Oct '26
How Much Does a Fractional Head of Design Cost?
The average fractional Head of Design costs $1,303/day in the US, or $163/hour. That works out to about $339,040 a year at 40 hours a week, based on 17 verified rates.
Median sits at $1,500/day. Fractionus tracks 18 verified Head of Design operators on the US bench, with 1 open role on the board right now.
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Fractional Rate Calculator
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View rate calculatorWhat moves this rate for a Fractional Head of Design
Hands-on balance.
Leaders who design alongside directing command different rates than pure design management.
Scope of craft.
Owning brand, product, and design systems together sits above a single discipline.
Team mentoring.
Building and levelling a design team adds leadership load beyond individual output.
Research depth.
User research and validation capability carries a premium over execution-only work.
