Founding Product Designer — Equity & Flexible Schedule

Obviant; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Flexible schedule

Flexible vacation time

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Job summary

Obviant is seeking a Founding Product Designer to lay the foundation of our design efforts and own the end-to-end user experience across our products. As the first design hire, you will define the UX strategy, lead design thinking, and execute design initiatives as we bring defense-focused AI tools to market.

You will shape both the user interface and our core identity, collaborating with product, engineering, and leadership in a fast-paced startup environment in Arlington, VA.

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

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.

Skills

UI/UX design

Prototyping

Design systems

Stakeholder mgmt

User research

Tools

Figma

Adobe Creative Suite

Prototype tools

Job description

Obviant is seeking a Founding Product Designer to lay the foundation of our design efforts and own the end-to-end user experience across our products. As the first design hire, you will define the UX strategy, lead design thinking, and execute design initiatives as we bring defense-focused AI tools to market.

You will shape both the user interface and our core identity, collaborating with product, engineering, and leadership in a fast-paced startup environment in Arlington, VA.