18-Month Public Interest Design Fellow

Office of Technology and Innovation; New York (NY); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

The Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) in New York City is hiring a Senior Product Design Fellow to design and ship resident-facing products end-to-end. This hands-on role spans user research, interaction design, visual design, and content design, pairing closely with product managers, engineers, policy teams, and city staff to move from problem statements to working solutions.

The 18-month grant-funded fellowship emphasizes accessible, scalable design, shared design systems, and fast,

Qualifications

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college in computer science, engineering, human computer interaction, interactive media, digital and graphics design, data visualization, communication or a related field, and four years of satisfactory full-time experience related to the area(s) required by the particular position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology and/or domain; or
• An associate degree from an accredited college in computer science, engineering, human computer interaction, interactive media, digital and graphics design, data visualization, communication or a related field, and six years of satisfactory full-time experience related to the area(s) required by the particular position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology and/or domain; or
• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college, and eight years of satisfactory full-time experience related to the area(s) required by the particular position and a specialization in a relevant technology, process, methodology and/or domain; or
• Education and/or experience which is equivalent to “1”, “2”, or “3” above.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end design on resident-facing products, from concept to launch, owning user research, interaction design, content design, and visual design.
• Move quickly through rapid prototyping, usability testing, MVP iteration, pilot, and public launch, making pragmatic tradeoffs between scope, quality, and timing.
• Plan and conduct user research with New Yorkers, including interviews, usability sessions, and field visits, and synthesize findings into actionable choices for the team.
• Design clear user flows, information architecture, wireframes, and high-fidelity interfaces, and help build prototypes to test interactions.
• Practice plain-language content design, turning complex eligibility rules, legal language, and agency processes into product copy that is clear, accurate, and easy to act on.
• Partner with product managers, engineers, user researchers, and other OTI employees on day-to-day product decisions, and contribute to scoping and prioritization.
• Work directly with agency staff, policy advisors, and legal counsel to translate complex rules and regulations into experiences that are easy to use.
• Build accessibility into the design process from the start and partner with engineers to ship products that meet the city’s quality and accessibility standards.
• Contribute to a shared design system and reusable patterns that make the next product faster to design than the last one.
• Shape the design culture of a small, mission-driven team, including mentorship, and onboarding for future hires.
• Perform special projects and initiatives related to this grant as assigned.

Skills

Product design

End-to-end design

User research

Prototyping

UI design

Figma

Design systems

Accessibility (WCAG)

Localization/I18n

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering/HCI/Interactive media/Design

Associate degree + 6+ years experience

8 years related experience or equivalent

Equivalent education/experience

Tools

Figma

Prototype tools

UX research software

Job description

The Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) in New York City is hiring a Senior Product Design Fellow to design and ship resident-facing products end-to-end. This hands-on role spans user research, interaction design, visual design, and content design, pairing closely with product managers, engineers, policy teams, and city staff to move from problem statements to working solutions.

The 18-month grant-funded fellowship emphasizes accessible, scalable design, shared design systems, and fast,