Lead Product Designer
Location
United States
Posted
48 days ago
Salary
Not specified
No structured requirement data.
Job Description
Role Description
We’re looking for a Lead Product Designer who can own design end-to-end from user insight to shipped interface in a true early-stage environment. This is a hands-on role for someone who has built from scratch and cares deeply about craft, clarity, and outcomes.
- Own product design, end-to-end:
- Own the design vision and execution across the product.
- Design complex, data-heavy interfaces that translate complex workflows and data into intuitive, usable experiences.
- Define interaction patterns, UX principles, and visual direction.
- Be deeply hands-on:
- Design core product flows, dashboards, and interactions.
- Produce high-quality UX, UI, and interaction design — not just concepts.
- Iterate quickly alongside engineering as things get built and shipped.
- Stay close to users:
- Conduct lightweight user research: interviews, usability testing, and observation.
- Validate ideas early with customers and partners.
- Turn real-world feedback into design improvements.
- Build the design foundation:
- Establish design systems, components, and patterns that scale with the product.
- Document decisions and principles to create consistency without bureaucracy.
- Raise the bar for product quality across the company.
- Partner tightly with product and engineering:
- Shape product direction through design thinking, not just execution.
- Help prioritize what matters most for usability and adoption.
- Be pragmatic about tradeoffs while protecting the user experience.
Qualifications
- 5+ years of product design experience, including time at a very early-stage startup.
- Former founding designer, first designer, or early design hire strongly preferred.
- Proven ability to design complex, data-rich, or workflow-heavy products.
- Strong visual, UX, and interaction design skills — with a portfolio to prove it.
- Comfortable shipping imperfect things, learning, and iterating fast.
- Clear communicator who can explain design decisions and tradeoffs.
Bonus points
- Experience with B2B SaaS, analytics, dashboards, or enterprise tools.
- Familiarity with frontend constraints and working closely with engineers.
- Experience shaping brand or product identity early.
Benefits
- Founding-level ownership over product design.
- Direct influence on how the product looks, feels, and works.
- Tight collaboration with founders and early customers.
- Opportunity to build and lead the design function as the company scales.
- Flexible setup (contract or full-time), high trust, high expectations.
- This role is for a designer who wants to define the product experience from day one — not inherit it later.
Compensation
We offer competitive pay based on the market and where you’re located. The salary ranges in our job postings are intentionally wide because they need to cover both U.S. and international candidates. Our final offer will depend on things like your experience, skill set, and location.
Job Requirements
- 5+ years of product design experience, including time at a very early-stage startup.
- Former founding designer, first designer, or early design hire strongly preferred.
- Proven ability to design complex, data-rich, or workflow-heavy products.
- Strong visual, UX, and interaction design skills — with a portfolio to prove it.
- Comfortable shipping imperfect things, learning, and iterating fast.
- Clear communicator who can explain design decisions and tradeoffs.
- Bonus points
- Experience with B2B SaaS, analytics, dashboards, or enterprise tools.
- Familiarity with frontend constraints and working closely with engineers.
- Experience shaping brand or product identity early.
Benefits
- Founding-level ownership over product design.
- Direct influence on how the product looks, feels, and works.
- Tight collaboration with founders and early customers.
- Opportunity to build and lead the design function as the company scales.
- Flexible setup (contract or full-time), high trust, high expectations.
- This role is for a designer who wants to define the product experience from day one — not inherit it later.
- Compensation
- We offer competitive pay based on the market and where you’re located. The salary ranges in our job postings are intentionally wide because they need to cover both U.S. and international candidates. Our final offer will depend on things like your experience, skill set, and location.
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