Staff Product Designer

Ridgeline; San Ramon (CA); On-site; USD 168,000 - 231,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company stock plan

Unlimited vacation

Education reimbursements

Wellness reimbursements

Health insurance

Job summary

Ridgeline seeks a Product Designer to shape trading workflows in a fast-moving investment management platform. You’ll partner with product managers and engineers to craft intuitive, AI-enabled experiences that simplify complex trading tasks and drive faster decisions.

We value strong interaction design, systems thinking, and visual craft, with a portfolio demonstrating impact. Join a collaborative culture that emphasizes learning, transparency, and ownership across the Ridgeline platform.

Qualifications

• 6+ years designing and shipping digital product experiences.
• Strong interaction design, systems thinking, visual design, and prototyping.
• Experience designing complex workflows, data-intensive apps, or enterprise software.
• Active AI-native workflow experience using Claude, Cursor, or Claude Code.
• Ability to simplify technically complex systems into intuitive user experiences.
• Experience collaborating with engineers to deliver scalable solutions.
• Strong storytelling, communication, and presentation skills.
• Shareable portfolio demonstrating work and impact.

Responsibilities

• Reimagine trading workflows across order management and electronic trading.
• Design intuitive workflows to surface actionable information and manage exceptions.
• Extend Ridgeline patterns into trading with flexible, customizable workspaces.
• Build AI-enabled experiences with automated and deterministic workflows.
• Prototype quickly using Claude, Cursor, and Claude Code for exploration.
• Translate concepts into polished, production-ready Figma designs.
• Collaborate with engineering to ensure feasible, scalable implementations.
• Contribute to Ridgeline design systems and AI design practices.
• Conduct user conversations, lightweight research, and usability testing.
• Mentor designers through feedback, collaboration, and critique.

Skills

Interaction design

Systems thinking

Visual design

Prototyping

Complex workflows

Storytelling

Mentoring

Communication

Tools

React

JavaScript/TypeScript

CSS

Claude

Cursor

Claude Code

Job description

Are you energized by designing complex, data-rich workflows that help investment firms make faster, smarter decisions? Do you enjoy simplifying deeply technical systems into intuitive, elegant experiences that customers trust every day? Are you excited to shape how AI, automation, and intelligent workflows transform modern investment management? If so, we invite you to be a part of our innovative team.

As a Product Designer at Ridgeline, you’ll help modernize one of the most complex and fast-moving areas of investment management software: trading. You’ll partner closely with product managers, engineers, and customers to design experiences that help traders manage complex activity with greater clarity, speed, and accuracy. You’ll work across order management and electronic trading, from configurable trading workspaces and exception management to automated and AI-assisted workflows, while helping define how Ridgeline’s broader platform patterns come to life for traders. You’ll leverage modern AI tools like Claude, Cursor, and Claude Code to accelerate exploration, prototype experiences, evaluate edge cases, and improve product quality and design velocity across the entire design process.

At Ridgeline, how we work matters as much as what we build. Ridgeliners act like owners, choose growth over comfort, and communicate with transparency. We assume positive intent, bias toward action, and bring solutions, not just problems. We celebrate wins, learn from setbacks, and thrive in a resilient, collaborative, high-performing culture. If this excites you, we’d love to meet you!

You must be work authorized in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship.

The Impact You Will Have

• Reimagine workflows across order management and electronic trading, helping investment teams manage increasingly complex trading activity with clarity and efficiency
• Design intuitive workflows that help traders navigate complex decisions, surface actionable information, and manage exceptions and alerts with speed and accuracy
• Extend existing patterns and frameworks like Ridgeline’s configurable dashboards into trading, creating flexible workspaces that users can tailor to their workflows and priorities
• Build intelligent trading experiences that incorporate automated and deterministic workflows, AI-assisted guidance, and emerging AI capabilities
• Prototype and iterate quickly using tools like Claude, Cursor, and Claude Code to explore workflows, edge cases, and interaction patterns
• Translate concepts into polished, production-ready experiences in Figma with strong systems thinking and visual craft
• Collaborate closely with engineering to ensure designs are feasible, scalable, and thoughtfully implemented
• Contribute to Ridgeline’s design systems, interaction patterns, prompt libraries, and AI design practices
• Conduct customer conversations, lightweight research, and usability testing to rapidly validate ideas and improve workflows
• Mentor designers through feedback, collaboration, and thoughtful design critique
• Think creatively, own problems, seek solutions, and communicate clearly along the way
• Contribute to a collaborative environment deeply rooted in learning, teaching, and transparency

What We Look For

• 6+ years of experience designing and shipping successful digital product experiences
• Strong interaction design, systems thinking, visual design, and prototyping skills
• Experience designing complex workflows, data-intensive applications, or enterprise software platforms
• Active AI-native workflow experience using tools like Claude, Cursor, or Claude Code as part of daily product and design practice
• Ability to simplify technically complex systems into intuitive user experiences
• Experience collaborating closely with engineering teams to deliver thoughtful, scalable solutions
• Strong storytelling, communication, and presentation skills
• Ability to mentor and coach other designers while raising quality across a broader organization
• Experience gathering customer insights and translating findings into actionable product improvements
• Ability to manage ambiguity, prioritize effectively, and drive clarity across cross-functional teams
• Strong problem-solving skills and a high level of product ownership
• Willingness to learn about cutting-edge technologies while cultivating expertise in investment management workflows and order management systems
• Ability to communicate effectively with colleagues at all levels
• A shareable portfolio (attachment or online)

Bonus

• Experience in financial services, investment management, trading platforms, or other complex financial products
• Experience conducting user research and usability testing
• Proficiency with modern front-end technologies including React, JavaScript/TypeScript, and CSS
• Experience contributing to design systems and design-to-code workflows
• Experience designing AI-native product experiences including agentic behavior, transparency patterns, confidence cues, and user controls

About Ridgeline

Ridgeline is the first front-to-back system of record for investment managers. Founded by visionary entrepreneur Dave Duffield (co‑founder of both PeopleSoft and Workday), the company was created to modernize an industry held back by outdated, disconnected technology. Powered by a single, real‑time data set and embedded AI, Ridgeline helps firms automate complexity, accelerate collaboration, and deliver tailored client experiences at scale, without added headcount or risk. Ridgeline is headquartered in Lake Tahoe, with offices in New York, Reno, the Bay Area, and Dublin, Ireland. Ridgeline is recognized by Fast Company as a “Best Workplace for Innovators,” by Frost & Sullivan as a “Technology Innovation Leader,” and by The Software Report as a “Top 100 Software Company.”

Ridgeline is proud to be a community-minded, discrimination‑free equal opportunity workplace.

Ridgeline processes the information you submit in connection with your application in accordance with the Ridgeline Candidate Privacy Policy. Please review the Ridgeline Applicant Privacy Statement in full to understand our privacy practices and contact us with any questions.

This posting is for an existing vacancy.

Compensation And Benefits

[For New York and California Based Only]

The typical starting salary range for new hires in this role is listed below. In select locations (including, the San Francisco Bay Area, CA, and the New York City Metro Area), an alternate range may apply as specified below.

The typical starting salary range for this role is: $168,000-$210,000.

The typical starting salary range for this role in the select locations listed above is: $184,500-$231,000.

Final compensation amounts are determined by multiple factors, including candidate experience and expertise, and may vary from the amount listed above.

As an employee at Ridgeline, you’ll have many opportunities for advancement in your career and can make a true impact on the product.

In addition to the base salary, Ridgeline employees can participate in our Company Stock Plan subject to the applicable Stock Option Agreement. We also offer rich benefits that reflect the kind of organization we want to be: one in which our employees feel valued and are inspired to bring their best selves to work. These include unlimited vacation, educational and wellness reimbursements, and $0 cost employee insurance plans. Please check out our Careers page for a more comprehensive overview of our perks and benefits.