Design Director of Products

soundhound; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative company is seeking a Design Director who will lead product design teams and oversee large-scale design initiatives. This pivotal role involves defining the future of voice technology and AI, ensuring that every feature delivered impacts millions of users. The ideal candidate will possess extensive experience in HCI design and managerial roles, guiding a talented team while fostering collaboration across departments. If you are passionate about creating meaningful user experiences and thrive in a dynamic environment, this opportunity is perfect for you to make a significant impact in the tech industry.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in HCI design and managerial roles.
• Expert knowledge in design tools like Adobe Creative Suite and Sketch.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic design decisions and manage product design teams.
• Collaborate with marketing and product teams to solve large scale issues.

Skills

HCI design principles

Adobe Creative Suite

Sketch

Agile methodologies

Cross-functional team communication

Mentoring and art direction

Problem-solving

Presentation skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Web, Graphic, HCI, Information design

Master’s degree in relevant field

Tools

JIRA

Job description

OVERVIEW:

The Design Director leads the groups of product design teams and oversees large scale design initiatives. With over 300M downloads of SoundHound and Hound, every feature we deliver impacts millions of people everyday. Given our focus on voice and conversational interfaces, this role would span both visual interfaces, as well as voice interactions. Reporting directly to the VP of Products, the Design Director develops, implements, and manages the company's product design strategy; defining the future of voice technology, collective AI, and machine learning into meaningful user experiences.

Representing the department, the Design Director is fluent in modern HCI design principles, user experience methodologies, platform best practices (iOS, Android, Web), and versed in cross-functional team communication. The role requires that they communicate and uphold cross-functional stakeholder expectations, and translate them into actionable items for the design department. They must communicate effectively, engendering trust, respect, and evangelizing design principles throughout the organization. Additionally, they are a stakeholder within the Marketing team’s creative reviews (working closely with the Marketing Creative Director), to ensure that all creative endeavors fit cohesively within the product narrative.

As a people manager, the Design Director understands the skills of each of the product design team individuals, providing guidance and recommendations. They are responsible for making sure the team dynamic is cohesive and positive, and mentoring the team whether they are entry level or senior staff. The Design Director ensures the team’s projects are completed on time and holistically reflect our product’s brands. They monitor the product design team’s process to ensure organizational goals are met.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead strategic design decisions and communicate them consistently throughout the organization
• Conceptualize and brainstorm ideas for new or existing problems
• Lead and grow a world-class, multi-disciplined product design organization
• Present complete proposals to marketing, engineering, product teams and stakeholders for cross-functional reviews
• Work with marketing, developers, and product teams to solve large scale issues
• Allocate resources and manage timelines using JIRA (Agile or Kanban workflows)

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• 7+ years experience required (or portfolio equivalent), HCI design experience
• 3+ years managerial experience
• Experience shipping products at scale
• Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree in Web, Graphic, HCI, Information design, or equivalent work experience
• Experience as an art director, principal designer or similar role, concepting and creating original and viable creative options for stakeholders
• Proven experience in a specialized capacity (Visual and Interaction)
• Expert knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite, Sketch or equivalent
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent ability to art direct and mentor designers
• Open-minded approach to problem-solving, excellent collaborative and brainstorming skills with proven thought leadership
• Experience working in a cross-functional team environment
• Ability to deliver high quality work on tight schedules

PREFERRED:

• 10+ years and/or portfolio equivalent designing and shipping/launching national campaigns, desktop and mobile applications, extensive HCI design experience
• 5+ years managerial experience
• Experience with voice-first products and designing for screenless devices
• Experience shipping products with a large user base (1MM+)
• Experience managing and growing medium scale team
• Comfortable with ambiguity and pioneering new standards
• Strong presentation skills with proven ability to provide thought leadership