Lead Product Designer

Xops; Pleasanton (CA); Hybrid; USD 153,000 - 187,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative startup is on the lookout for a Lead Product Designer to shape the future of IT operations. This pivotal role involves both strategic leadership and hands-on design execution, focusing on creating sophisticated experiences for B2B workflows. You'll work closely with cross-functional teams to establish design processes that scale with the organization. Join a dynamic team dedicated to transforming the employee experience through advanced automation and design excellence. If you are passionate about user-centered design and eager to make a significant impact, this opportunity is for you!

Benefits

Competitive Compensation: Salary, Equity, and 401K

Comprehensive Vision, Dental, and Healthcare plans

Discretionary Time off Policy

11 Company-paid Holidays

Hybrid Work Policy - 3 days in office/2 days remote

Opportunity to make a real impact

Qualifications

• 6+ years of product design experience with a focus on B2B SaaS.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating end-to-end product design process.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end design process from problem definition to implementation.
• Mentor junior designers and establish scalable design processes.

Skills

Product Design

User-Centered Design

Systems Thinking

Visual Design

Communication Skills

Data-Driven Design

Prototyping

Mentoring

Tools

Figma

Job description

XOPS is a fast-growing startup building the future of observability and automation for IT operations. Our platform unifies complex system data to deliver visibility, control, and intelligent workflows across the enterprise, empowering IT teams to manage the entire employee technology lifecycle with precision. As industries embrace AI to automate cars, rockets, and even farming, IT operations remain stuck in the past, reliant on spreadsheets and manual processes. We believe it is time for a change.

At XOPS, we are pioneering autonomous IT operations, freeing teams from tedious tasks and elevating them into strategic leadership roles. Our mission is to drive operational excellence, financial stewardship, and security across the enterprise, while transforming the employee experience. We are just getting started, and we are looking for exceptional teammates to help shape the future.

XOPS is seeking a Lead Product Designer to join our team and work in our office in San Jose. In this role, the Lead Product Designer will straddle strategic leadership and hands-on design execution, creating sophisticated experiences for complex B2B workflows while mentoring junior designers and collaborating with cross-functional teams. You'll be instrumental in establishing design processes that can scale with our growing organization.

What you will do:

1. Leadership & Strategy
2. Serve as a design thought leader, advocating for user-centered design principles across the organization
3. Partner with product management to translate business requirements and user needs into compelling product experiences
4. Establish and refine design processes that balance speed, quality, and scalability
5. Mentor junior designers and provide constructive feedback to elevate the overall design quality
6. Collaborate with engineering leadership to ensure design feasibility and quality implementation
7. Design Execution
8. Lead end-to-end design process from problem definition through research, ideation, prototyping, and implementation
9. Create sophisticated solutions for complex B2B workflows, particularly in infrastructure/system management contexts
10. Design intuitive interfaces for technical users with varying levels of expertise
11. Create high-fidelity prototypes to validate concepts with users and stakeholders
12. Cross-Functional Collaboration
13. Partner closely with product management to define requirements and success metrics
14. Work with engineering teams to ensure faithful implementation of design solutions
15. Collaborate with customer success and sales to gather insights about user pain points and needs
16. Present design concepts to executive leadership and key stakeholders, articulating design rationales clearly

Requirements

1. 6+ years of product design experience, with at least 3 years focused on B2B SaaS products
2. Proven experience leading design for complex technical products or platforms
3. Experience working in both startup and enterprise environments
4. Strong portfolio demonstrating end-to-end product design process and systems thinking
5. Experience creating and managing design systems
6. Track record of shipping products used by technical professionals
7. Expertise in modern design tools (Figma) and rapid prototyping techniques
8. Experience mentoring junior designers or leading design teams

Bonus

1. Background in designing for infrastructure, DevOps, IT management, or problem management platforms
2. Experience designing for technical users with complex workflows
3. Knowledge of design operations (DesignOps) principles
4. Experience with data visualization and complex dashboards
5. Familiarity with agile development methodologies
6. Background working with remote or distributed teams

Skills & Competencies

1. Exceptional systems thinking and ability to design for scalable platforms
2. Strong visual design skills with attention to detail
3. Excellent written and verbal communication skills
4. Ability to simplify complex technical concepts into intuitive interfaces
5. Comfort with ambiguity and ability to make design decisions with incomplete information
6. Data-driven approach to design with experience in quantitative and qualitative user research methods
7. Ability to balance business requirements, technical constraints, and user needs

For this role, the estimated base salary range is between $153,000 - $187,000 USD. The actual base salary will vary based on various factors, including market and individual qualifications objectively assessed during the interview process. The listed range above is a guideline, and the base salary range for this role may be modified.

• Competitive Compensation: Salary, Equity, and 401K
• Comprehensive Vision, Dental, and Healthcare plans
• Discretionary Time off Policy (If you need time off, take time off!)
• 11 Company-paid Holidays
• Hybrid Work Policy - 3 days in office/2 days remote
• A chance to be part of a rapidly growing startup and make a real impact!