Sr. Director, Product Design

ZipRecruiter; Santa Monica (CA); Hybrid; USD 240,000 - 310,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Exceptional benefits

Flexible PTO

401(k) matching

Work-life balance

Job summary

ZipRecruiter, Inc. seeks a Senior Director of Product Design to lead the UX practice during a pivotal growth phase. You will drive on-platform engagement, shape AI strategy, and partner with Product, Engineering, and Decision Science to elevate the design function.

As a hands-on leader, you will own priority areas, set team expectations, andChampion a customer-centric design approach while advancing an AI-enabled design workflow across the organization.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in Product Design with 5+ years of people management
• Strong customer orientation and ability to translate user insights into product decisions
• Proven track record of initiative, influence and impact on outcomes
• Strong analytical abilities to structure and solve complex problems

Responsibilities

• Understand our users and champion the UX they need to guide solution design and decision-making
• Own outcomes in priority areas and help shape the product experience, without pushing pixels
• Lead the Product Design team by defining expectations and building a thriving culture
• Pioneer AI in Product Design and define how AI tools are used to accelerate design processes

Skills

Player-coach leadership

User-centric design

AI tools integration

Team building

Stakeholder collaboration

Strong communication

Tools

AI design tools

Design systems

Job description

We offer a hybrid work environment. Most US-based positions can also be performed remotely (any exceptions will be noted in the Minimum Qualifications below.)

Our Mission:

To actively connect people to their next great opportunity.

Who We Are:

ZipRecruiter is a leading online employment marketplace. Powered by AI-driven smart matching technology, the company actively connects millions of all-sized businesses and job seekers through innovative mobile, web, and email services, as well as through partnerships with the best job boards on the web. ZipRecruiter has the #1 rated job search app on iOS & Android.

Summary:

We are seeking a Senior Director, Product Design to lead our UX practice during a pivotal era of growth.

At ZipRecruiter, our focus is on increasing conversations between employers and job seekers. This product strategy relies heavily on driving on-platform user engagement and designing intuitive experiences that align well with our users’ workflows. Furthermore, as AI reshapes the tech landscape, we are looking for a leader who can actively define the future of the Product Design function itself.

In this role, you will be a "player-coach." You will get hands-on with top priority areas while simultaneously shaping the standards, AI strategy, and resource allocation of our design organization. We are looking for an independent, influential leader who will be an equal partner to our Product, Engineering, and Decision Science leaders.

Key Focuses:

• Understand Our Users and Champion the UX They Need: Develop a deep, empathetic understanding of our users and their workflows to guide solution design and decision-making. Leveraging this understanding, you will have the autonomy and authority to advocate for the UX you believe will set the product up for success – from iterative experiments to holistic redesigns.
• Personal Ownership of Outcomes in Priority Areas: Dive into top priorities for increasing conversations between job seekers and employers. While you won't be expected to push pixels, you will get hands-on in forming and executing a strong POV on how to uplevel the user experience in key areas and informing where to focus next.
• Lead the Team: Define expectations and success measures for the Product Design team. Develop talent and build a thriving culture where the Product Design team has a consistent positive impact on the product roadmap and product outcomes.
• Pioneer AI in Product Design: Contemplate and build the future of the Product Design function in the age of AI. Produce, enable, and enforce expectations around the use of AI tools and methodologies to accelerate and elevate how our product development organization broadly designs and ships products.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in Product Design with 5+ years of people management experience, with a proven ability to function as a “player-coach”.
• Strong customer orientation: you stay close to real users personally, you’ve built teams and practices that do the same, and you can point to product decisions and outcomes that customer insight changed.
• Proven track record of initiative, influence and positive impact on outcomes. You have the credibility and communication skills to effect organizational change.
• Strong analytical abilities that enable you to structure and solve complex problems and work backwards from a goal.
• Personal fluency with modern AI and design tools, and experience integrating AI tools or methodologies into a design team’s workflow.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience designing for two-sided marketplaces or SMB employers.
• Familiarity with design engineering and a strong POV on technical questions like how to make a design system usable by AI coding tools so PMs and engineers can ship on-brand UI with less need for designer review.
• Experience working at scaled, fast-paced technology companies.

As part of our team you’ll enjoy:

• Exceptional benefits package
• Flexible Vacation & Paid Time Off
• Employer-matched 401(k) plan
• A fun environment where work-life balance is valued

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $240,000-$310,000 USD. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location, and the range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location, role-related knowledge and skills, depth of experience, relevant education or training, and additional role-related considerations.

Depending on the position offered, equity, bonuses, commission, or other forms of compensation may also be provided as part of a total compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and other benefits.

ZipRecruiter is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or genetics.