Founding Product Designer

Obviant; Arlington (VA); Hybrid; USD 160,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Flexible schedule

Flexible vacation

Health insurance

Dental and Vision insurance

Office in Arlington

Job summary

Obviant is seeking a Founding Product Designer to establish the design foundation across our products. You’ll define the user experience strategy, lead design thinking, and drive initiatives with product, engineering, and leadership in a fast-paced defense-tech startup.

You will set vision, move quickly, and iterate—balancing usability with aesthetics, and potentially grow into a leadership role with broader influence.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in UI/UX, product, or interaction design.
• Strong design portfolio showing shipped digital products.
• Experience taking products from 0→1 in fast-paced settings.
• Proficiency with Figma and Adobe tools.

Responsibilities

• Define the UX and UI strategy for the organization from the ground up, setting design vision and best practices.
• Own end-to-end product design: from discovery and user research, to rapid prototyping, wireframes, visual design, and hand-off to developers.
• Collaborate with engineering, product, and business stakeholders to translate user needs into intuitive experiences.
• Generate and iterate on multiple design concepts to solve complex problems and inform product direction.
• Create high-fidelity, production-ready UI and design assets for web and mobile apps.
• Establish and contribute to a scalable design system and patterns library.

Skills

UI/UX design

Portfolio presentation

Communication skills

Autonomy

Tools

Figma

Adobe suite

Job description

About Obviant

The defense market is surging, but the data that drives it hasn’t kept up. Companies, government, and investors are forced to perform heavily manual processes and piece together hundreds of disparate sources to make decisions. Obviant is building a data source of truth and AI tools for defense acquisition to solve this. We fuse information from thousands of sources – structured + unstructured – to provide a cohesive picture of budget, programs, the organizations running them, and much more. Whether it’s a company navigating GTM or a program manager developing capabilities, we’re providing all sides with the intelligence they need to execute effectively.

We’re growing fast and backed by top funds and DoD/national security veterans.

We believe that public sector mission sets matter above anything else. If you feel the same way, we’d love for you to join us.

The Role

We’re looking for a Founding Product Designer to be the foundation of our design efforts and own the end-to-end user experience across our products. As our first design hire, you’ll define our user experience strategy, lead design thinking, and execute all design and product initiatives as we bring cutting-edge technology to the defense sector. Working closely with product, engineering, and leadership, you’ll have the opportunity to shape both our user interface and our core identity in a fast-paced, mission-driven startup environment.

You’ll set the vision, move quickly, and iterate rapidly—ensuring our products are not only functional, but intuitive, engaging, and beautifully crafted. Depending on experience and performance, there is significant opportunity for you to grow into a leadership role with broader influence.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the UX and UI strategy for our organization from the ground up, setting design vision and best practices.
• Own end-to-end product design: from discovery and user research, to rapid prototyping, wireframes, visual design, and developer hand-off.
• Collaborate closely with engineering, product, and business stakeholders to translate user needs and business goals into seamless, intuitive experiences.
• Move quickly—generate and iterate on multiple design concepts to solve complex problems and inform product direction.
• Create high-fidelity, production-ready UI and design assets for web-based and/or mobile applications.
• Establish and contribute to a scalable design system and patterns library, ensuring consistency across our products.
• Develop user journeys, interaction models, info architecture, and usability testing processes—which you’ll own and execute.
• Champion a user-centered, data-informed design philosophy, leveraging user research and feedback to continually improve the product experience.
• Set an example of design leadership and proactively identify areas for innovation in usability and aesthetics.
• Stay current with the latest design trends, tools, and best practices, pushing boundaries to create delightful, meaningful user experiences.
• Communicate your design decisions effectively, and inspire confidence and excitement about design at all levels of the organization.

Qualifications

• 5+ years’ experience in UI/UX design, interaction design, or product design roles (startup or high-growth environment highly preferred).
• Strong, diverse design portfolio demonstrating your process and impact across shipped digital products.
• Proven experience taking products from 0→1, including concepting, prototyping, designing, and iterating in fast-paced environments.
• Expertise with modern design and prototyping tools (e.g., Figma, Adobe products).
• Demonstrated ability to generate and communicate multiple compelling design solutions to complex problems.
• Excellent visual and written communication skills—you can clearly articulate and present your work to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Comfortable working autonomously, managing your own priorities, and proactively identifying areas where design can make the biggest impact.
• Experience designing for enterprise, B2B SaaS, or defense/government markets a strong plus.
• Familiarity with accessibility standards, responsive design, and usability best practices.
• Passion for our mission: building better technology for defense, and willingness to immerse yourself in our users’ needs and challenges.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI security clearance

Our Principles

• Impact. Our work matters. We take a lot of pride in building to advance mission outcomes.
• Overdeliver. We go above and beyond in everything we do - creating products and serving our users
• Hustle. We get stuff done, no matter what it takes.
• Empathy. Our users’ problems are our own. We don't push products, we solve problems.
• Humility. We’re not afraid to admit what we don’t know. Our job is to listen and grow.
• Integrity. Transparency & respect above all else. It’s non-negotiable, even when it isn't easy

Benefits & Structure

• We’re a tight-knit team headquartered in Arlington, VA. We work in the office together most days, and believe being in the same place is a competitive advantage.
• Flexible schedule - We all have other things going on in our lives. Doctor visits, kids’ activities, dog walks - take care of it whenever you have to. And work from home when you need to.
• Sizeable equity - We’re building something with massive upside potential, and you’ll have ownership in that. This is ours.
• Flexible vacation time - Use what you want, as long as you’re taking care of what needs to get done.
• Full health, dental, and vision insurance.

Obviant is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

Compensation Range: $160K - $225K