Manager, Product Design

CLEAR; New York (NY); On-site; USD 175,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

CLEAR is building the secure identity company of the future, and we are seeking a Manager of Product Design to lead a talented design team while staying hands-on with core initiatives. You will own end-to-end identity and verification journeys and partner with Product, Engineering, and business leaders.

You will mentor designers, translate user insights into intuitive experiences, and elevate design craft across the organization.

Qualifications

• Experience: 8+ years in product design, including 2+ years managing or leading designers
• Being a player coach: A track record of leading and developing Product Designers while still doing hands-on design work, with a strong point of view on product design and craft
• Hands-on craft: A portfolio that shows high-quality digital experiences you designed yourself, and how you used customer insight to solve complex product problems
• Team leadership: Experience giving clear, actionable design feedback and creating an environment where designers do their best work and grow in ownership
• Cross-functional partnership: Skill in partnering with Product and Engineering to navigate ambiguity, prioritize opportunities, and take products from concept to launch
• Sound judgment: The ability to balance customer needs, business outcomes, technical constraints, privacy, and security while moving quickly in a fast-paced environment
• Flexible focus: Comfort switching between your own design work and guiding your team's projects, and judgment about where your time has the most impact

Responsibilities

• Design hands-on: Own key high-impact initiatives end-to-end—from discovery and conceptual development through prototyping, detailed execution, and launch—setting the benchmark for design craft
• Lead and develop your team: Mentor Product Designers through clear strategic direction, constructive critique, and targeted growth opportunities, empowering them to drive project ownership
• Oversee design execution: Provide actionable guidance across the product development lifecycle to ensure high standards of usability, craft, and visual consistency
• Balance leadership and execution: Strategically allocate your time between direct design contributions and team oversight based on evolving business priorities
• Partner cross-functionally: Collaborate with Product and Engineering leadership to translate user needs and core business objectives into intuitive, high-quality digital experiences
• Champion user advocacy: Leverage user insights, analytics, and continuous experimentation to eliminate friction and strengthen overall product experience
• Elevate operational excellence: Refine design systems and cross-functional workflows to enhance team velocity, alignment, and product coherence across CLEAR

Skills

Product design

Mentorship

Hands-on design

Team leadership

Cross-functional partnership

Sound judgment

Flexible focus

Job description

CLEAR is building THE secure identity company of the future. Our mission is to make experiences safer and easier—physically and digitally. With more than 43 million Members and a growing network of partners across the world, CLEAR's secure identity platform is transforming the way people live, work, and travel. Whether it’s at the airport, stadium, or throughout your everyday life, CLEAR unlocks the magic of frictionless experiences.

As Manager of Product Design, you will serve as a player-coach, leading a talented team while remaining hands-on with design. You will take end-to-end ownership of core initiatives and guide your team on complex identity and verification journeys to deliver intuitive, trusted experiences. Partnering closely with Product, Engineering, internal stakeholders, and business leaders, you will turn user insights into impactful solutions, foster designer growth, and improve design excellence across the organization.

What you'll do:

• Design hands-on: Own key high-impact initiatives end-to-end—from discovery and conceptual development through prototyping, detailed execution, and launch—setting the benchmark for design craft
• Lead and develop your team: Mentor Product Designers through clear strategic direction, constructive critique, and targeted growth opportunities, empowering them to drive project ownership
• Oversee design execution: Provide actionable guidance across the product development lifecycle to ensure high standards of usability, craft, and visual consistency
• Balance leadership and execution: Strategically allocate your time between direct design contributions and team oversight based on evolving business priorities
• Partner cross-functionally: Collaborate with Product and Engineering leadership to translate user needs and core business objectives into intuitive, high-quality digital experiences
• Champion user advocacy: Leverage user insights, analytics, and continuous experimentation to eliminate friction and strengthen overall product experience
• Elevate operational excellence: Refine design systems and cross-functional workflows to enhance team velocity, alignment, and product coherence across CLEAR

How you'll measure success:

• Measurable improvements in the journeys your team supports, such as completion rates, drop-off, and time to verify
• High-impact initiatives you design directly that set the bar for craft
• Quality, usability, and consistency of the experiences your team delivers
• Growth, engagement, and ownership of the designers on your team
• Speed and effectiveness of cross-functional work from discovery through launch

What you're great at:

• Experience: 8+ years in product design, including 2+ years managing or leading designers
• Being a player coach: A track record of leading and developing Product Designers while still doing hands-on design work, with a strong point of view on product design and craft
• Hands-on craft: A portfolio that shows high-quality digital experiences you designed yourself, and how you used customer insight to solve complex product problems
• Team leadership: Experience giving clear, actionable design feedback and creating an environment where designers do their best work and grow in ownership
• Cross-functional partnership: Skill in partnering with Product and Engineering to navigate ambiguity, prioritize opportunities, and take products from concept to launch
• Sound judgment: The ability to balance customer needs, business outcomes, technical constraints, privacy, and security while moving quickly in a fast-paced environment
• Flexible focus: Comfort switching between your own design work and guiding your team's projects, and judgment about where your time has the most impact

How You'll be Rewarded:

At CLEAR, we help YOU move forward - because when you’re at your best, we’re at our best. You’ll work with talented team members motivated by our mission of making experiences safer and easier. Our offices are bright and energetic with an open concept and plenty of conference rooms and casual co-working spaces. We also offer catered lunches every day and have fully stocked kitchens. Outside of the office, we invest in your well-being and learning & development with stipends and reimbursement programs.

We offer holistic total rewards, including comprehensive healthcare plans, family-building benefits (fertility and adoption/surrogacy support), flexible time off, annual wellness stipend, free OneMedical memberships for you and your dependents, a CLEAR Plus membership, and a 401(k) retirement plan with employer match. The base salary range for this role is $175,000.00 - $210,000.00, depending on levels of skills and experience.

The base salary range represents the low and high end of CLEAR’s salary range for this position. Salaries will vary depending on various factors which include, but are not limited to location, education, skills, experience and performance. The range listed is just one component of CLEAR’s total compensation package for employees and other rewards may include annual bonuses, commission, Restricted Stock Units.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.

CLEAR provides reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities or protected needs. Please let us know if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job or perform your job. Examples of reasonable accommodation include, but are not limited to, time off, extra breaks, making a change to the application process or work procedures, policy exceptions, providing documents in an alternative format, live captioning or using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment.

We are committed to a transparent and secure hiring process. All communications related to this role will come directly from a CLEAR employee through valid CLEAR channels (e.g., a valid @clearme.com email address or verified CLEAR LinkedIn profile). We encourage candidates to remain alert to job scams and to report any suspicious activity.