Head of Product Design

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Head of Product Design based in the United States. This is a senior player-coach leadership role guiding a 15-person product design organization through a period of rapid growth and AI-driven product evolution. You’ll shape design strategy across a broad product suite while remaining deeply involved in the craft and execution of the work. The role combines team building, product strategy, hands-on design critique, and close partnership with product and engineering leaders. You’ll establish a high bar for quality and coherence without creating unnecessary process or slowing autonomous teams down. A key focus will be designing thoughtful experiences where AI agents and people work together naturally. You’ll advocate for customer needs, influence senior stakeholders, and help create scalable systems that support fast, high-quality product development. This opportunity is ideal for a design leader who thrives in ambiguity, values exceptional craft, and enjoys solving complex product problems hands-on.

Lead, hire, develop, and retain a high-performing team of approximately 15 product designers, providing direct feedback, coaching, career development, and mentorship. Define and drive product design strategy across multiple product areas, ensuring a coherent and high-quality experience across the broader product ecosystem. Partner closely with product, engineering, and other senior leaders to establish priorities, solve complex UX challenges, and translate customer needs into effective product experiences. Remain actively involved in product development by pairing with designers, reviewing work, challenging assumptions, and helping teams resolve difficult design problems. Establish and maintain a high standard for visual and interaction design quality while enabling autonomous product teams to move quickly without unnecessary approval bottlenecks. Champion customer-centric design in leadership discussions, advocating for simpler, more intuitive experiences that address genuine customer needs. Help define effective human-AI workflows and shape product experiences that thoughtfully integrate AI agents into everyday user journeys. Identify opportunities to improve design systems, team effectiveness, product coherence, and the overall quality of shipped experiences. Use strong product and craft judgment to address details, edge cases, usability issues, and other sources of friction that affect the customer experience. Requirements 7+ years of experience in product or UX design, including experience in senior individual contributor and/or design leadership roles. 2+ years of experience managing recruiters in a high-growth environment. Proven experience managing senior, independent product designers and earning their trust through strong product, UX, and design judgment. Demonstrated ability to lead teams that have shipped products delivering measurable customer and business outcomes. Experience building structure and clarity within complex, fast-growing, or ambiguous organizations. Hands-on experience designing AI-native products and familiarity with AI-powered tools in your own design practice. A portfolio demonstrating both systems-level product thinking and exceptional attention to visual and interaction design details. Strong ability to balance speed, autonomy, consistency, and quality across distributed or pod-based product teams. Excellent communication, storytelling, stakeholder management, and executive presence skills. Ability to act as a strategic business partner while remaining deeply engaged in product and design execution. Strong customer empathy and the ability to represent user needs in senior-level product decisions. A builder mindset, strong ownership, intellectual curiosity, and comfort navigating ambiguity. Experience designing for both technical and non-technical audiences is a plus. Background in analytics, experimentation, developer tools, or similarly complex products is a plus. Benefits Competitive total target cash compensation, with ranges varying by location: Colorado: $285,000–$427,000. New York City: $317,000–$476,000. San Francisco Bay Area: $317,000–$476,000. California outside the San Francisco Bay Area: $285,000–$427,000. Washington State: $285,000–$427,000. Equity eligibility and an Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP). Medical, dental, and vision insurance, with 100% employer-paid premiums for employees on select plans. 401(k) retirement plan with employer matching of up to 1% of eligible pay per pay period, capped at $2,000 annually. Flexible time off and paid holidays. Wellness, commuter/parking, learning and development, and new-hire home office equipment stipends. 12 weeks of paid parental leave. Fertility, adoption, surrogacy, and backup childcare support. Mental health support, including no-cost access to coaching and therapy sessions. Mentorship, management training, professional development, and wellness programs. Charitable giving grants and paid volunteer time off. Remote work environment within the eligible NAMER region.

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