Senior Director, Product Design

The Washington Post; Washington; On-site; USD 212,000 - 353,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

401(k) plan with match

Paid vacation and holidays

Paid parental leave (20 weeks)

Job summary

The Washington Post is seeking a senior design leader to define the design vision across its product portfolio and collaborate with Product, Technology, Newsroom, and business units to deliver user-centered experiences that drive subscriber growth and engagement. You will set strategic direction for premium subscriber experiences, oversee scalable design systems, and build a high-performing design team.

This on-site role emphasizes collaboration with Editorial and Content teams to shape future

Qualifications

• 5+ years leading and improving user-facing digital products in direct-to-consumer, media, or subscription businesses.
• Proven ability to define and advance a long-term product design vision across multiple products or journeys.
• Experience building and leading high-performing product design teams and leaders.
• Track record of using design to drive customer and business outcomes like acquisition, conversion, engagement, and retention.
• Ability to partner with senior leaders to set priorities, navigate trade-offs, and influence strategy.
• Deep expertise in digital product, interaction, and visual design and scalable design systems.

Responsibilities

• Set the design vision and long-term strategy for The Washington Post’s product portfolio to deliver cohesive customer experiences.
• Shape product and business strategy with senior leaders to grow audience engagement and subscription metrics.
• Lead the design strategy for premium subscriber experiences and conversions.
• Oversee the evolution of The Post’s design system, interaction patterns, and standards across teams.
• Advance new approaches to journalism experiences, including personalization and adaptive interfaces.
• Build and lead a high-performing product design organization with strong leadership and cross-functional partnerships.

Skills

Product design leadership

Vision setting

Cross-functional collaboration

Design systems

User-centered design

AI and emerging tech awareness

Inclusive design

Job description

Join the future of news

We’re on a mission to deliver riveting storytelling for all of America. At The Washington Post, you’ll help reinvent news. Our work is driven by a deep investigative spirit and enhanced by innovation to bring audiences closer to the stories that matter most.

About Our Team

The Washington Post is powered by the passion and talent of our people. It takes all of us to reinvent news. Beyond our award-winning Newsroom and Opinions teams, we work across many departments, including Brand & Events, Communications, Customer Care, Engineering & Product, Finance, Human Resources, Legal, Marketing & Advertising, Print Operations, and Sales.

Why This Role Matters

The Washington Post is looking for a senior design leader with exceptional product judgment, a strong point of view about the future of digital experiences, and the ability to translate ambitious ideas into products that create meaningful value for customers and the business.

As a senior member of the Product organization, you will set the design vision for The Washington Post’s product portfolio and help define how millions of people discover, experience, and engage with our journalism. You will work with leaders across Product, Technology, Newsroom, Opinion, and business units to ensure design is a strategic driver of product direction, subscriber value, and growth.

This is a pivotal moment for The Post and the broader media industry. Artificial intelligence, changing consumer behaviors, platform disruption, and evolving expectations for digital products are reshaping how people find and interact with information. You will help The Post respond to these changes by creating experiences that are more useful, distinctive, intuitive, and essential to people’s daily lives.

Design is central to how we differentiate our products, build lasting relationships with audiences, and translate the quality and credibility of our journalism into experiences people value and trust.

What Motivates You

• You are energized by the opportunity to define the future of a globally recognized digital product and shape how people experience high-quality journalism.
• You enjoy setting an ambitious long-term vision and building the organizational alignment and momentum needed to turn that vision into meaningful customer experiences.
• You see design as a strategic business capability and are motivated by using it to improve customer value, engagement, conversion, retention, and growth.
• You thrive at the intersection of product, technology, journalism, and business strategy and enjoy bringing different perspectives together around a shared customer experience.
• You care deeply about craft and believe enduring product quality comes from strong leaders, teams, systems, and standards.
• You are curious about how AI, personalization, and emerging interaction models will reshape digital experiences and want to help define what those changes mean for journalism.
• You want to build experiences that are distinctive, useful, and worthy of audiences’ time and trust.

How You’ll Support the Mission

• Sets the design vision and long-term strategy for The Washington Post’s product portfolio, establishing a distinctive and cohesive customer experience and driving sustained progress and iteration against that vision.
• Shapes product and business strategy with senior leaders across Product, Technology, Newsroom, Opinion, and business units, using design to advance audience growth, engagement, retention, and other strategic priorities.
• Drives the design strategy for premium subscriber experiences and products that convert new audiences into paying customers, ensuring customer needs, business objectives, and The Post’s journalistic mission inform product decisions.
• Leads the product expression of The Post’s visual identity in partnership with Product and Editorial leadership, creating consistent, recognizable, and differentiated experiences across customer touchpoints.
• Oversees the strategy and evolution of The Post’s design system, interaction patterns, and emerging experience frameworks, establishing scalable standards that improve product quality, consistency, accessibility, and speed across teams.
• Advances new approaches to experiencing journalism, including personalization, adaptive experiences, and emerging interaction models, positioning The Post to respond to changing customer expectations and technology.
• Builds and leads a high-performing product design organization, developing leaders and talent while establishing the priorities, practices, and cross-functional partnerships required to deliver exceptional customer experiences at scale.

The Skills and Experience You Bring

• A clear track record of 5+ years leading and improving user-facing digital products and experiences, with experience in direct-to-consumer, media, subscription, or similarly complex digital businesses.
• Demonstrated success defining and advancing a long‑term product design vision and strategy across multiple products, platforms, or customer journeys.
• Experience leading and developing high‑performing product design teams and design leaders while strengthening organizational capability and performance.
• Demonstrated ability to use design to influence meaningful customer and business outcomes, including acquisition, conversion, engagement, retention, and subscription growth.
• Experience partnering with senior leaders across Product, Technology, Editorial or Content, and business functions to establish priorities, influence strategy, navigate trade‑offs, and make consequential product decisions.
• Deep expertise in digital product, interaction, and visual design, with strong judgment across customer journeys, design systems, and emerging experience models.
• Experience establishing and evolving scalable design systems, interaction standards, and practices across multiple products and customer touchpoints.
• Strong understanding of direct-to-consumer customer journeys and how product experience creates differentiated value for prospective and existing subscribers.
• Experience operating effectively in complex and ambiguous environments, creating clarity and alignment across teams with different priorities and perspectives.
• A thoughtful perspective on how AI and emerging technologies are changing digital interfaces, customer expectations, and the practice of product design.
• A portfolio or body of work demonstrating significant impact on customer experience, product strategy, design quality, and business outcomes.
• Demonstrated commitment to building inclusive teams and creating accessible experiences that serve audiences with a wide range of backgrounds, needs, and abilities.

Collaboration makes us stronger. That’s why our offices are designed with open layouts, modern technology, and easy access to transportation. With certain exceptions for newsgathering and business travel, we work on-site five days a week.

Compensation and Benefits

Wherever you are in your life or career, The Washington Post offers comprehensive and inclusive benefits for every step of your journey:

• Competitive medical, dental and vision coverage

• Company‑paid pension and 401(k) match

• Three weeks of vacation and up to three weeks of paid sick leave

• Nine paid holidays and two personal days

• 20 weeks paid parental leave for any new parent

• Robust mental health resources

• Backup care and caregiver concierge services

• Gender affirming services

• Pet insurance

• Free Post digital subscription

• Leadership and career development programs

Benefits may vary based on the job, full-time or part-time schedule, location, and collectively bargained status.

The salary range for this position is:

$211,700 - $352,900 Annual

The actual salary within this range will depend on individual skills, experience, and qualifications as they relate to specific job requirements. This position may be eligible for a bonus or incentive program, and a member of the Talent Acquisition team will discuss bonus payment terms and conditions during the interview process.