Full-time · Hybrid
Founding Product Designer
This is a rare 'founding' role for a mid-career designer to move into a high-impact leadership position within a venture-backed environment. The role focuses on turning complex, research-heavy AI workflows into intuitive tools for other creative professionals. It is a perfect match for a systems-thinker who wants to own the entire product lifecycle rather than just a single feature.
Next Ventures · New York, New York, United States · Posted 17 April 2026
The role
Overview
This is a rare 'founding' role for a mid-career designer to move into a high-impact leadership position within a venture-backed environment. The role focuses on turning complex, research-heavy AI workflows into intuitive tools for other creative professionals. It is a perfect match for a systems-thinker who wants to own the entire product lifecycle rather than just a single feature.
What they need
Requirements & Skills
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the end-to-end design of core product experiences
- Develop and maintain a robust, scalable design system
- Collaborate with founders to define the long-term product roadmap
- Translate complex AI and research data into simple user interfaces
- Iterate rapidly based on real-world customer feedback and usage data
Essential
- 3 to 6 years of professional product design experience
- Proven track record of shipping production-ready digital products
- Expertise in end-to-end design processes from discovery to UI
- Experience working at a product-led organization
- Ability to work closely with engineering teams on technical implementation
Preferred
- Experience in B2B SaaS, AI-driven platforms, or marketplaces
- Background in designing complex dashboards and multi-step onboarding flows
- Experience in a startup or 'founding' team environment
Key Skills
Advanced Figma proficiencyDesign Systems architectureRapid PrototypingSystems ThinkingUser Flow MappingInteraction DesignVisual CraftStakeholder Communication
Networking
People to Know
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Perks
Benefits & perks
- Founding team impact and influence
- High-autonomy work environment
- Opportunity to build a design system from scratch
- Direct collaboration with company founders
- Professional growth in a design-centric culture
Next step
Apply now
Found via next-ventures.us