Staff Product Designer

Valon; New York (NY); On-site; USD 167,000 - 227,000; Full time

Job summary

Valon is seeking a Senior or Staff Product Designer to drive design strategies that influence user experience within the mortgage servicing industry. This role involves leading design initiatives for intricate systems and fostering collaboration across teams. The successful candidate will have substantial experience in user-centered design, actively contributing to Valon’s mission of enhancing homeownership experiences through innovative product solutions.

Benefits

Comprehensive medical, dental, & vision benefits

401k plan with company match

Flexible paid time off and sick days

12 weeks paid baby bonding time

Quarterly budgets for team outings

Pre-tax commuter benefits

Company-wide orientation and learning opportunities

Qualifications

• 6+ years (Senior) or 10+ years (Staff) experience in user-centered product design.
• Experience with large-scale platform products and collaboration tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design of highly configurable system-level functionalities.
• Create flexible, user-friendly interfaces for customizable workflows.
• Develop user flows, wireframes, and prototypes focused on user experience.

Skills

User Empathy

Communication

Critical Thinking

Collaboration

Job description

About the Company

Valon’s mission is to empower every homeowner. We believe the journey of home ownership starts when you get your keys, but lasts far beyond. We’re creating a world where home ownership comes with ease, security, and financial know-how. Our growing team of engineers, operators, product enthusiasts, and experienced servicing professionals are leveraging technology to fundamentally improve the homeownership experience. Through mortgage servicing—the process of paying off one’s mortgage—Valon is taking the first step in transforming the industry one homeowner, and lender, at a time.

Design at Valon

Design at Valon goes beyond creating products. We’re rebuilding trust in the mortgage industry by simplifying the complex, empowering users to make confident decisions, and delivering peace of mind. We create transparency for homeowners and provide scalable, efficient tools for servicers, setting new standards that improve user experiences and business efficiency.

Your application requires a portfolio for consideration.

About this role:

We are seeking a Senior or Staff Product Designer to lead key design efforts across the Product Infrastructure team. In this role, you will define the design vision and execute strategies that influence user experience at a systems level, guiding the evolution of Valon’s platform. You will have a significant impact on Valon’s long-term business goals by shaping customizable software that supports both internal teams and external clients in the mortgage servicing industry.

You’ll collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop design solutions that support multi-tenant systems and highly configurable tools that scale to meet diverse client needs. As a Staff Designer, you will also elevate the design team’s capabilities, ensuring attention to detail and driving design excellence across the organization.

Responsibilities:

• Design in Ambiguity: Embrace the challenge of designing from the ground up, leading the creation of 0-to-1 user experiences for our upcoming infrastructure projects, while navigating evolving business requirements and ambiguity.
• Think in Modularity: Lead the design of highly configurable system-level functionalities. Create small, interchangeable components that adapt to different use cases efficiently.
• Consider Diverse User Roles: Advocate for the needs of user roles from IT professionals to Client Experience agents and back-office teams, through user-centered design. Ensure designs can scale and support varied user experiences.
• Evolve Design System: Contribute to and refine Valon’s design system, ensuring consistency and scalability across all products.
• Create Customizable Systems: Build flexible, user-friendly interfaces that empower subservicers to customize workflows, process management, and automation for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Simplify Complex Information: Design information architecture that simplifies complex loan data sets, making them easily accessible and contextually relevant for users—ensuring data is organized effectively.
• Drive User Journeys & Prototyping: Develop and iterate on user flows, wireframes, and prototypes, ensuring design decisions are aligned with business and user needs—particularly for complex mortgage servicing use cases.
• Champion Cross-Functional and Cross-Team Collaboration: Work with product, engineering, and business teams to ensure design solutions are feasible, aligned with objectives, and informed by insights from other teams.
• Provide Design Mentorship: Collaborate with other Product Designers, providing constructive and motivating feedback that helps improve their skills and the outcomes of their work. Actively participate in design critiques to ensure quality and consistency across Valon products.

Qualities we value on the design team:

• User Empathy and Advocacy: Deep understanding of user needs and ability to represent those needs in every design decision.
• Strong Communication and Collaboration: Ability to articulate design decisions and collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Critical Thinking and Thought Partnership: Provide thoughtful input on product and design strategy, focusing on long-term impact.
• Humble and Growth-Oriented Mindset: Continuously seeking ways to improve and contribute to team success.
• Balanced Approach: Care about the big picture but execute with precision in design details.
• Startup Mindset: Excitement for working in a fast-paced, evolving startup environment.

Required Background

• 6+ years (Senior) or 10+ years (Staff) experience in user-centered product design
• Experience with large-scale platform products and collaboration tools.
• Ability to balance methodological rigor with scrappiness and creativity in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Bonus Points For:

• Experience working in a startup environment.
• Familiarity with the mortgage industry, prop tech, or financial systems.
• Experience designing for both consumer tech and enterprise software.
• Base salary band : $167,450 to $ 226,550
• Compensation: competitive salary with a meaningful stake in the company via equity, and 401k plan
• Health & well-being: we’ll invest in your physical and mental well-being with comprehensive medical, dental, & vision benefits
• Commuter benefits: We offer pre-tax deductions for public transportation, rideshare services, and parking expenses to make your commute more affordable and convenient.
• Grow together: Company wide orientation for you to successfully onboard and other learning & development opportunities including regular review cycles that feature 360 degree feedback
• Play together: quarterly budgets for team and company outings. Use it for team swag, cooking classes, or team dinners!
• Generous time off: flexible paid time off, sick days, and 11 company holidays
• Baby bonding time!: 12 weeks off for both birthing and non-birthing parents - fully paid so you can focus your energy on your newest addition

This Base Compensation pay range applies to our New York City located staff and may differ according to location.

New York Base Compensation Pay Range

$167,450 - $226,550 USD

Throughout the interview process, please remember that emails will only be from valon.com emails. We won't ever be asking for any personally identifiable information during the interview process itself. Please reach out to [e-mail] if you have any requests to verify the authenticity of an outreach.

Valon is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. Valon makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.

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