Lead Product Designer

Stellar Development Foundation; New York (NY); On-site; USD 170,000 - 235,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive health, dental & vision coverage

Flexible time off + 15 company holidays

Generous paid parental leave

Gym reimbursement ($80 per month)

401K with 4% match

Daily lunch and snacks in office

Job summary

The Stellar Development Foundation is seeking a Design Lead with extensive experience in product design to define the design direction for its projects. This role involves leading a design team while also being hands-on with high-impact work.

The ideal candidate has 7+ years of experience, exceptional visual and interaction design skills, and a strong portfolio. Flexibility and a passion for AI tools are crucial as the company aims to innovate and improve user-centered experiences in fintech and blockchain technology.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of product design experience with a strong portfolio of shipped, end-to-end work.
• Demonstrated use of AI tools to accelerate and elevate design work.
• Strong understanding of user-centered design, with experience in research and usability testing.

Responsibilities

• Lead design across SDF’s products and raise the bar on craft for the whole team.
• Own the design vision for key product areas, including AI-assisted workflows.
• Manage, mentor, and grow another product designer.

Skills

Product design experience

Visual and interaction design skills

Experience managing or mentoring other designers

Expert knowledge of modern design tools

Strong communication

Understanding of user-centered design

Experience with AI tools

Education

Bachelor's degree in design or related field

Tools

Figma

Framer

Job description

Overview

On-chain / crypto / fintech design experience. Interested in working on cutting-edge blockchain technology and creating equitable access to the global financial system? Since 2014, the mission-driven team at the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has helped fuel the tremendous growth of the Stellar blockchain network, an open-source platform that operates at high-scale today. Developers and companies around the world build on it, and the SDF team is expanding to support the rapidly growing and changing Stellar ecosystem.

Responsibilities

• Lead design across SDF’s products and raise the bar on craft for the whole team. This is a player-coach role: you will manage and mentor another designer while remaining a world-class individual contributor on our most important and visible work. You will set the design vision, uphold an exceptional standard of craft, and you are excited to leverage AI tools to multiply what a small design team can deliver — moving faster from concept to high-fidelity, shippable design.
• In your first 30 days: ramp on our products, design system, and roadmap; partner with PMs and engineers; and start contributing directly to active design work.
• Within 90 days: own the design vision for key product areas, establish how the team works (including AI-assisted workflows), and support the growth of the designer you manage.
• Set and champion a clear product design vision aligned with company goals and brand values.
• Lead by example as our most senior designer — contributing directly to our most important projects with exceptional visual and interaction craft.
• Manage, mentor, and grow another product designer; provide thoughtful feedback and career development.
• Maintain and scale our design system to ensure consistency and speed across products.
• Leverage AI design and prototyping tools to increase the team’s leverage and the quality and velocity of what you ship.
• Partner closely with Product and Engineering to ship pixel-perfect, user-centered experiences.
• Conduct user research and usability testing to validate decisions, and champion user-centered design across the organization.

You Have

• 7+ years of product design experience with a strong portfolio of shipped, end-to-end work.
• Exceptional visual and interaction design skills and a critical eye for detail.
• Experience managing or mentoring other designers (formal management a plus).
• Demonstrated use of AI tools to accelerate and elevate design work.
• Expert knowledge of modern design tools (Figma, Framer, etc.) and experience building and scaling design systems.
• Strong communication; you can present, influence, and align stakeholders at all levels.
• A strong understanding of user-centered design, with experience in research and usability testing.

Bonus Points If

• On-chain / crypto / fintech design experience.
• You have built or scaled a design team.
• You prototype with code or AI tools (Framer, v0, and similar).
• Founder or 0→1 experience.

Compensation and Benefits

We offer competitive pay with a base salary range for this position of $170,000 - $235,000 depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, we offer lumen-denominated grants along with the following perks and benefits:

• USA Benefits/Perks
• Competitive health, dental & vision coverage with most plans covered at 100% for the employee + any dependents
• Flexible time off + 15 company holidays including a company-wide holiday break
• Generous paid parental leave for all parents, plus paid pregnancy disability leave for birthing parents
• Gym reimbursement ($80 per month)
• Life & ADD (up to $50K)
• Short & Long term disability
• 401K with 4% match
• Health & Dependent Care FSA Accounts
• Commuter benefits with $250/month employer contribution
• Health Savings Account (HSA) with monthly employer contribution
• Family building benefits through Kindbody
• Wellbeing benefits (One Medical, Rightway, Headspace)
• L&D budget of $1,500/year
• Daily lunch and snacks in office
• Company retreats

About Stellar

Stellar is more than a blockchain. Powered by a decentralized, fast, scalable, and uniquely sustainable network made for financial products and services and a thriving and passionate ecosystem that includes a non-profit organization driven by a mission, Stellar is paving the path to unlock the world’s economic potential through blockchain technology. Built with speed and low costs in mind, the Stellar network provides builders and financial institutions worldwide a platform to issue assets, and to send and convert currencies in real time creating real world utility. Founded in 2014, the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) supports the continued development and growth of the Stellar network and also serves the ecosystem of NGOs, corporations, universities, small businesses, governments, and solo entrepreneurs building on the Stellar network through tooling, funding and strategic collaborations. Together, Stellar is where blockchain meets the real world.

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SDF is committed to diversity in its workforce and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. SDF does not make hiring or employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other basis protected by applicable local, state or federal law.