Product Designer, Contract (Senior - Design Director)

Remote; San Francisco (CA); Remote; USD 84,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Instrument is a digitally native design and technology company helping brands unlock potential with a focus on Brand, Marketing, and Product. We welcome freelance Product Designers to join upcoming engagements, ranging from new experiences to scalable design systems, collaborating with designers, strategists, technologists, producers, and clients.

Senior Designers may own complex workstreams and contribute to system documentation or provide hands-on leadership across teams.

Qualifications

• Significant experience designing digital products, services, or complex responsive web experiences.
• A portfolio demonstrating strong visual craft with solid UX and systems thinking.
• Deep fluency in Figma including components, variables, libraries, prototyping, and documentation practices.
• Experience building or scaling design systems that are practical for teams to use.

Responsibilities

• Design polished, thoughtful digital product experiences across desktop and mobile.
• Translate user journeys, product requirements, and creative direction into flows, interfaces, and prototypes.
• Create, evolve, and document component-based design systems with patterns, specs, and reusable assets.
• Apply design systems consistently across templates and surfaces; identify gaps and opportunities to improve them.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to balance user needs, brand expression, accessibility, and delivery constraints.
• Present work and articulate design decisions clearly in internal and client reviews.
• Support quality through implementation with engineering partners to ensure the intended experience carries through to build.
• For Design Director level engagements, guide design quality and direction across a workstream; mentor designers and build client confidence.

Skills

Product design

Design systems

Figma

UX research

Prototyping

Tools

Figma

Job description

Defining the future of work & living globally

5,637 jobs · 6 companies

Product Designer, Contract (Senior - Design Director)

Instrument is a digitally native design and technology company built to help brands unlock their full potential. Since 2005, our team of makers, thinkers, and storytellers has partnered with leading brands like Google, Nike, Uber, ŌURA, and Eventbrite to craft digital experiences that create impact and drive results.

Unlike traditional agencies, we don’t just design—we build. Our work lives at the intersection of taste and technology, powered by curiosity, thoughtful curation, and a commitment to delivering the most fitting solution for every brief. We bring this to life across three core offerings: Brand, Marketing, and Product.

As a member of our freelance network, you’ll collaborate with our teams to bring bold ideas to life—whether launching new brands, building digital products, or shaping experiences that move people. We welcome collaborators from all backgrounds and experiences who share our curiosity, creativity, and care for craft.

We believe great work comes from diverse perspectives and shared purpose. If you’re passionate about learning, experimenting, and making work that matters, we’d love to hear from you.

The Need:

Instrument is looking for experienced freelance Product Designers to join upcoming digital product and experience work. These engagements may range from designing new athlete- or customer-facing experiences to translating a new visual direction into scalable templates, components, and documented design systems.

You’ll partner closely with designers, strategists, technologists, producers, and client teams to turn complex journeys into clear, useful, high-quality digital experiences. Depending on the engagement and your level, you may own a substantial workstream, strengthen and document a design system, or provide hands‑on design leadership across a team.

We’re open to Senior Product Designers and Design Directors. Senior Designers should be able to independently own complex design work and contribute meaningfully to systems and team critique. Design Directors should also bring hands‑on creative leadership, the ability to set a high bar across a workstream, and confidence guiding both teams and clients.

Please share a portfolio with examples of product, platform, responsive web, or systems work. We’re especially interested in seeing how you moved from a complex problem or journey to a cohesive experience—and what you personally contributed.

What You'll Do:

Design polished, thoughtful digital product experiences across desktop and mobile

Translate user journeys, product requirements, and creative direction into clear flows, interfaces, and prototypes

Create, evolve, and document component-based design systems, including patterns, specifications, and reusable assets

Apply design systems consistently across templates and surfaces while identifying gaps, inconsistencies, and opportunities to improve them

Partner with cross‑functional teams to balance user needs, brand expression, technical feasibility, accessibility, and delivery constraints

Present work and articulate design decisions clearly in internal and client reviews

Support quality through implementation, collaborating with engineering partners to ensure the intended experience carries through to build

For Design Director‑level engagements, guide design quality and direction across a workstream; mentor designers and build confidence with senior client partners

What You’ll Bring:

Significant experience designing digital products, services, or complex responsive web experiences

A portfolio that demonstrates strong visual craft alongside sound UX and systems thinking

Deep fluency in Figma, including components, variables, libraries, prototyping, and clear documentation practices

Experience building or scaling design systems that are practical for teams to use—not simply beautiful libraries

Comfort working from foundational strategy, information architecture, or an established creative direction and bringing it to life across interconnected experiences

Strong understanding of accessibility and how to design inclusive, usable experiences across devices

Ability to work independently, manage a scoped workstream, and communicate proactively in a fast‑moving engagement

Clear, constructive collaboration with other designers, strategists, technologists, producers, and clients

What We Offer:

The expected contract pay range: $61-120 per hour. Contract compensation is determined by location, experience, and skillset. We have three regional pay ranges that are adjusted for cost of living (US1 +15%, US2 +7.5%, US3 Base), learn more about our pay philosophy and cost of living adjustments.

Benefits may be available in accordance with applicable law and company policy, including eligibility based on hours worked and duration of assignment.