Lead Product Designer, AffiniPay

• A bachelor's degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Graphic Design, or a related field, and/or the equivalent of 9+ years of experience in UX/Product Design, with 2+ years in a lead-level capacity
• An exemplary portfolio demonstrating a track record of defining and executing design strategies for entire product areas or platforms, significant organizational impact, and contributions to design culture and excellence
• Mastery of industry-standard design tools, capable of setting best practices and evaluating new tools/technologies for team adoption
• Expert knowledge of research methodologies and tools, with the ability to define research strategy for a product line or team
• Proven ability to define and drive strategic user research initiatives that inform product vision and strategy across multiple product lines or the entire product
• Experience collaborating at a strategic level with Research leaders
• Exceptional communication, presentation, and negotiation skills, capable of influencing executive leadership and building strong cross-functional partnerships at the highest levels (e.g., with VP-level stakeholders)
• Ability to inspire and empower design teams and cross-functional partners
• Visionary understanding and application of user-centered design principles, usability, accessibility, and ethical design to establish new standards and drive innovation across an organization
• Ability to articulate and champion complex design strategies, their rationale, and their transformative impact on the business to executive stakeholders, while addressing organizational challenges
• Ownership of the vision, strategy, and governance for enterprise-level design systems, ensuring their scalability, adoption, and ongoing evolution to support the entire product ecosystem. Experience leading and mentoring designers in design system contribution

Desirable

• As a Lead Product Designer, you will define, champion, and elevate the overarching UX vision and strategy across multiple product areas or an entire product line
• You will lead and inspire a team of designers, providing strategic direction and hands-on mentorship
• You'll collaborate cross-functionally at the highest levels to proactively identify strategic opportunities, solve highly ambiguous and complex systemic problems, and deliver groundbreaking user-centered design solutions that drive transformative business growth and user engagement
• You will play a mission-critical role in shaping the strategic direction and holistic user experience of our products, directly influencing product roadmaps and organizational priorities
• You'll establish and evolve design principles, patterns, and best practices, ensuring a cohesive, intuitive, and highly refined user experience across all touchpoints
• You will demonstrate an exemplary ability to conceive, shape, and deploy innovative and highly impactful design solutions that set new standards for product features, end-to-end journeys, and strategic new initiatives
• You will build and nurture strong collaborative partnerships with Product, Engineering, Research, Content, and Business Leadership
• You'll translate complex, often undefined business objectives into clear, actionable design strategies and initiatives
• You will champion design excellence, advocate for user needs at the executive level, and significantly contribute to building a world-class design organization by attracting, developing, and retaining top design talent
• Define & Champion Strategic Product-Led Growth
• Define, articulate, and champion the overarching UX vision and strategy that directly drives transformative product-led growth across an entire product portfolio or strategic business unit
• Set the strategic direction for leveraging AI and automation across our products, identifying opportunities for competitive differentiation, new market creation, and exponential user value, ultimately ensuring sustainable business growth
• Own the holistic user journey and ensure design contributes meaningfully to core business objectives
• Build & Lead Cross-Functional Partnerships
• Build and nurture executive-level partnerships with Product, Engineering, Research, Content, and Business Leadership to influence product roadmaps, organizational priorities, and overall company strategy
• Guide and empower design teams to collaborate effectively with engineering leadership, defining technical architecture implications of design decisions, especially for complex AI/ML systems and highly automated workflows
• Cultivate User Empathy & Design Excellence
• Instill a deep culture of user empathy across the organization, advocating for the user at the highest strategic levels and ensuring design decisions are rooted in profound customer understanding
• Establish and evolve design principles, standards, and best practices across the design organization, ensuring a cohesive, intuitive, and highly refined user experience that considers the unique challenges and opportunities of AI/automation in user interfaces
• Elevate Design Craft & Systemic Impact
• Set the bar for design excellence and innovation, leveraging a masterful command of user-centered design methodologies and tools, including cutting-edge applications of AI, generative design, and design automation, to solve the most ambiguous and impactful problems
• Own the vision, strategy, and evolution of the design system, ensuring it is a scalable, robust, and indispensable asset for design efficiency, consistency, and innovation across the entire product ecosystem, guiding its adaptation for future AI/ML applications
• Provide critical feedback and guidance to maintain the highest quality deliverables across the team
• Inspire & Influence Design Organization
• Serve as a key strategic partner and influencer for Product, Engineering, User Research, and Data/Product Science leadership, shaping company-wide initiatives and ensuring design has a voice at every table
• Articulate complex, often undefined strategic problems and design solutions with unparalleled clarity and persuasive influence to executive stakeholders, fostering a truly innovative and AI-first design culture
• Mentor, coach, and inspire a team of designers, fostering their professional growth, advocating for their needs, and shaping the next generation of design leaders
• Drive Organizational Scalability & Efficiency
• Define and implement design processes, tools, and strategies that optimize the entire product development lifecycle for scalability, maintainability, and maximum organizational impact, actively leading initiatives for design automation and AI-driven efficiencies
• Champion product-led strategies that enable exponential self-service adoption and minimize reliance on human intervention
• Pioneer Innovation & Future Vision
• Anticipate future trends and technological shifts, particularly in AI, human-computer interaction, and product-led growth strategies, to define and champion innovative design solutions that position the company as a market leader
• Orchestrate advanced user research initiatives and collaborate strategically with research leadership to uncover foundational insights, address complex challenges like AI explainability, bias mitigation, and user trust, and drive breakthrough innovation
• Direct the development of visionary prototypes and strategic proofs-of-concept that push the boundaries of user experience, validate new market opportunities, and demonstrate the transformative power of AI/automation in creating novel user interactions and product capabilities