Director, Product Design

FranConnect; Herndon (VA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

FranConnect is seeking a Director of Product Design to shape the future of franchise management. You will lead a multi‑disciplinary design org, mentor designers, and drive AI-enabled design initiatives across product pillars.

The role emphasizes collaboration with leadership, a strong design system, and data-driven roadmapping to align design with business goals.

Qualifications

• 7+ years hands-on experience as a Product Designer or similar role.
• 5+ years in a leadership role (Design Director or Manager a plus).
• Experience at a high-growth SaaS/tech company with a multi‑modular stack.

Responsibilities

• Propel and safeguard the design team's vision, strategy, and roadmap.
• Build an AI-native design practice across discovery, prototyping, and delivery.
• Mentor designers and foster growth across the organization.
• Champion collaboration and integrate workflows across teams.
• Govern and scale a comprehensive design system and principles.
• Stay ahead with cutting-edge design trends, tools, and methods.
• Engage stakeholders using customer and partner insights to refine design.
• Collaborate with engineering to deliver user-centric products.

Skills

Product Design

Leadership

B2B SaaS experience

AI integration

Education

B.S. in Computer Science

Tools

AI tools for design

Job description

About the Role

As the Director of Product Design, you will be responsible for the future of franchise management, driving new initiatives, and setting a high standard for excellence across the design organization. You will collaborate with a multi‑disciplinary set of stakeholders and leadership, help mature the Design Organization, coordinate designers across product pillars, and mentor designers throughout the organization.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

• Strategically propel, craft, and safeguard the company's Product Design team’s vision, steering the product design strategy and roadmap.
• Build an AI‑native design practice, integrating AI across discovery, prototyping, and delivery to accelerate iteration and scale impact across squads.
• Serve as a mentor and catalyst for growth, guiding a team of skilled Product Designers towards excellence.
• Champion collaboration and innovation within our design team, enhancing workflow integration throughout the organization.
• Govern the development of a comprehensive design system, establishing scalable and uniform design principles.
• Stay ahead of the curve by monitoring and adopting cutting‑edge design trends, tools, and methodologies, affirming FranConnect's leadership in design.
• Forge meaningful connections with key stakeholders, leveraging customer and partner insights to refine product design.
• Harness data and insights to shape and align the product roadmap with business objectives, ensuring strategic focus.
• Join forces with engineering leadership to envision, design, and deliver user‑centric products that underscore value.
• Excel in a dynamic and adaptive work setting, tackling the design challenges of a diverse product portfolio.
• Engage with Customer Success and Go‑to‑Market teams, drawing on feedback to meet and exceed product design requirements.
• Attract, nurture, and retain a high‑caliber team, fostering a culture of performance and innovation.
• Possess a keen ability to balance visionary thinking with meticulous attention to detail.
• Evangelize product design throughout the org and with customers.
• Receive constructive feedback for the purposes of iterating and improving the product.
• Other duties as assigned to drive the product and teams forward.

Requirements

• Experience working in B2B SaaS is required.
• Demonstrated experience applying AI tools to the design process and building/scaling a design system that unifies experience across a multi‑product platform to enable squads to effectively execute.
• 7+ years of hands‑on experience as a Product Designer or in a similar design role.
• 5+ years of proven experience in a leadership role, specifically as a Design Director or Manager a plus.
• Experience at a high‑growth SaaS/tech company, working with a product stack that is complex and multi‑modular, is required as part of your prior professional work experience.
• You have a strong portfolio of work you've led, designed, and shipped.
• Strong business insight and judgment with a team‑first, collaborative and inclusive working style.
• Excellent verbal, written and presentation communication skills with the ability to communicate sophisticated technical issues effectively and concisely to executives, team members and other stakeholders.
• Professional stature and gravitas to collaborate with and influence executives, leaders and team members with credibility and confidence.
• High professional standards and expectations for self and others.
• Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science or equally relevant degree or an equivalent combination of education and applicable work experience.