Director, Product Design

Paradigm; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A forward-thinking software company in Seattle is seeking a Director of Product Design to lead the design experience across its product suite. This role involves hiring and developing a high-performing team, championing user-centered design, and leveraging AI tools to enhance usability. With a strong focus on communication and collaboration, the ideal candidate will have over 8 years of product design experience, including at least 3 years in leadership. This position offers an opportunity to shape innovative design solutions for complex workflows.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in product design with 3+ years of people leadership experience.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating end-to-end ownership of complex product experiences.
• Deep fluency in modern design tooling across the full design process.

Responsibilities

• Own the product design experience from discovery to delivery.
• Hire and develop a high-performing design team.
• Champion a user-centered design process with a focus on usability.
• Evaluate emerging AI tools for integration into the product experience.

Skills

Product design expertise

Team leadership

User-centered design

Figma proficiency

Design for complex tools

Communication skills

Tools

Figma

Design technologies

Job description

Paradigm is a software company transforming the way that the residential, construction & building product industries operate across the globe. We are looking for a Director, Product Design to be part of revolutionizing these industries.

In this role, you will own and evolve the end-to-end user experience across Paradigm's product suite. This role is focused on leading teams to craft intuitive, high-quality experiences that serve our users today and that can evolve to support AI-enabled workflows in the future.

This role is ideal for someone with strong product design expertise, deep fluency in the full design process from discovery through delivery, and the ability to guide teams in creating thoughtful, scalable design solutions. You'll partner closely with product management and engineering to ensure design decisions are grounded in user needs and aligned with business goals, while working with designers across teams to raise the bar on quality, consistency, and craft.

A key part of this role is anticipating what comes next. You will be expected to stay current on emerging AI capabilities and design tooling, and to make thoughtful decisions that position the organization to leverage AI to speed up workflows, reduce manual effort, and improve the overall user experience over time.

What You Will Do

• Own the product design experience end to end, from early-stage discovery and problem framing through final delivery and iteration.
• Hire, lead, and develop a high-performing team and direct the resolution of highly complex design and experience challenges.
• Set the vision and direction for how users interact with Paradigm's products, ensuring experiences are intuitive, consistent, and purpose-built for our industries.
• Champion a user-centered design process that balances qualitative insight, quantitative signal, and strong design judgment.
• Partner closely with product and engineering leadership to shape roadmaps, influence prioritization, and ensure design has a seat at the table early in the process.
• Lead your team through the full design cycle: research, ideation, wireframing, prototyping, and high-fidelity execution.
• Identify fragmentation and inconsistency across products and partner with leaders to move toward a more unified, coherent user experience.
• Use a pragmatic approach to make strategic decisions about UX patterns and standards across the organization, balancing efficiency, flexibility, and product team needs.
• Work closely with product designers to provide guidance, reinforce best practices, and identify gaps in the experience.
• Evaluate emerging AI tools and design technologies to inform how the team works and how AI can be meaningfully integrated into the product experience.
• Ensure that design documentation, guidelines, and best practices are developed and maintained to support consistent, high-quality design across teams.

What You Need To Succeed

• 8+ years of experience in product design with 3+ years of people leadership experience.
• A strong portfolio demonstrating end-to-end ownership of complex product experiences, from research and strategy through high-fidelity design and delivery.
• Deep fluency in Figma and modern design tooling across the full design process.
• Experience designing for complex tools, workflows, or enterprise environments where usability and learnability are critical.
• Strong understanding of how design decisions translate into production, with the ability to partner credibly with engineers on implementation trade-offs.
• Track record of building and leading high-performing design teams in multi-team or enterprise environments.
• Comfort working in ambiguity, moving quickly to establish direction without over-engineering solutions.
• Track record of staying current as tools and capabilities evolve, with the ability to identify where AI can enhance team efficiency and product experience quality.
• A pragmatic leadership approach that prioritizes usability, adoption, and real-world impact over theoretical perfection.
• Strong communication skills and a collaborative approach to working with designers, product managers, and engineers across teams.

Ready to Join? Apply now at myparadigm.com/careers/