Founding Product Designer — Shape Defense Data UX

Socket.dev; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Flexible schedule

Health Insurance

Flexible vacation

Office in Arlington, VA

Job summary

Obviant is seeking a Founding Product Designer to establish our design foundation across web and mobile apps. You will define the user experience strategy, lead design thinking, and drive end-to-end product initiatives in a fast-paced, mission-driven startup.

As the first design hire, you’ll shape our UI, contribute to a scalable design system, and mentor others as we grow. You’ll work closely with product, engineering, and leadership to deliver intuitive, beautiful user experiences that matter

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.

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

UX design

Product design

UI design

Figma

Prototype

Communication

Autonomy

Tools

Figma

Adobe

Job description

Obviant is seeking a Founding Product Designer to establish our design foundation across web and mobile apps. You will define the user experience strategy, lead design thinking, and drive end-to-end product initiatives in a fast-paced, mission-driven startup.

As the first design hire, you’ll shape our UI, contribute to a scalable design system, and mentor others as we grow. You’ll work closely with product, engineering, and leadership to deliver intuitive, beautiful user experiences that matter