Product Design Director

Whatnot; San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles (CA, NY, CA); Remote; USD 280,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player in the e-commerce space is seeking a Product Design Director to lead a talented design team. This role involves mentoring designers while also contributing to hands-on projects that enhance the seller experience. The ideal candidate will possess a strong portfolio and a strategic mindset, capable of navigating complex challenges. Join a forward-thinking company that values innovation and collaboration, and help shape the future of commerce on a platform that blends community and shopping seamlessly. This is an exciting opportunity to make a significant impact in a rapidly growing marketplace.

Benefits

Health Insurance options

Home office setup allowance

Monthly allowance for cellphone and internet

401k retirement plan with employer match

16 weeks of paid parental leave

Qualifications

• 7+ years of product design experience with 3+ years leading teams.
• Strong portfolio showcasing interaction and visual design skills.

Responsibilities

• Guide and grow a team of designers, fostering creativity and collaboration.
• Contribute hands-on to critical projects, setting high standards for design.

Skills

Product Design

Team Leadership

Cross-functional Collaboration

Strategic Thinking

Interaction Design

Visual Design

Agile Methodologies

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Design or related field

Job description

Join the Future of Commerce with Whatnot!

Whatnot is the largest livestream shopping platform in North America and Europe to buy, sell, and discover the things you love. We’re re-defining e-commerce by blending community, shopping, and entertainment into a community just for you. As a remote co-located team, we’re inspired by innovation and anchored in our values. With hubs in the US, UK, Ireland, Poland, and Germany, we’re building the future of online marketplaces—together.

From fashion, beauty, and electronics to rare collectibles like trading cards, comic books, and even live plants, our live auctions have something for everyone.

And we’re just getting started! As one of the fastest growing marketplaces, we’re looking for bold, forward-thinking problem solvers across all functional areas. Check out the latest Whatnot updates on our news and engineering blogs and join us as we enable anyone to turn their passion into a business, and bring people together through commerce.

We’re looking for a Product Design Director to shape the future of commerce on our platform. This leader will guide a team of talented designers focused on empowering sellers—from creating and managing their inventory to presenting their products to buyers. This team also plays a key role in defining unique sales formats, payments, shipping, logistics, and more.

As a player-coach, you’ll balance leading, mentoring, and rolling up your sleeves to design impactful experiences. You’ll help elevate the team’s craft, drive design strategy, and collaborate cross-functionally with product, engineering, research, and business teams to deliver innovative solutions that make commerce seamless, intuitive, and delightful.

• Lead & Inspire: Guide and grow a team of designers, fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration, and excellence.
• Design & Execute: Contribute hands-on to critical projects, setting the bar for craft and execution while mentoring others.
• Strategic Thinking: Define and articulate a vision for how commerce should work on our platform, ensuring alignment with business and user needs.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Work closely with product managers, engineers, and researchers to bring ideas to life, balancing usability, feasibility, and business impact.
• Evolve the Seller Experience: Help build and refine seller tools that support inventory management, product presentation, pricing, payments, and logistics.
• Innovate on Sales Formats: Partner with teams to explore and design unique ways for buyers to shop and sellers to sell.

Team members in this role are required to be within commuting distance of our New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, or Los Angeles, CA hubs.

Curious about who thrives at Whatnot? We’ve found that embodying a growth mindset and high-impact drive goes a long way here.

As our next Product Design Director, you should have 7+ years of product design experience, with at least 3 years leading teams, plus:

• A player-coach mindset—excited to mentor, but equally passionate about designing and solving problems hands-on.
• Strong portfolio showcasing interaction and visual design skills, with a track record of shipping successful products.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and complexity, breaking down challenges into clear, actionable steps.
• A collaborative approach, with experience working closely with cross-functional teams in an agile environment.
• A strategic mindset with the ability to connect user needs with business goals.
• Passion for designing products that are both functional and delightful.

$280,000/year to $320,000 year + benefits + equity.

The salary range may be inclusive of several levels that would be applicable to the position. Final salary will be based on a number of factors including level, relevant prior experience, skills, and expertise. This range is only inclusive of base salary, not benefits or equity.

Benefits

• Health Insurance options including Medical, Dental, Vision
• Work From Home Support
  • Home office setup allowance
  • Monthly allowance for cellphone and internet
• Retirement; 401k offering for Traditional and Roth accounts in the US (employer match up to 4% of base salary) and Pension plans internationally
• Parental Leave
  • 16 weeks of paid parental leave + one month gradual return to work* company leave allowances run concurrently with country leave requirements which take precedence.

Whatnot is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value diversity, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, parental status, disability status, or any other status protected by local law. We believe that our work is better and our company culture is improved when we encourage, support, and respect the different skills and experiences represented within our workforce.

Apply for this job

* indicates a required field

First Name *

Last Name *

Email *

Phone

Resume/CV *

LinkedIn Profile

Website

At the time of hire, will you be located within 150 miles of one of our hubs? If so, please select which location. If not, please select “N/A” and input your city and state/province in the field below. *

Please list the city and state/province you are located in today. *

Are you legally authorized to work in the United States? *

Will you now or in the future require visa sponsorship to work in the United States?