Staff Product Designer

Uplight, Inc; United States; Remote; USD 136,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company dedicated to the clean energy revolution is seeking a Staff Product Designer. This influential role involves driving user experiences and collaborating across teams to enhance customer enrollment in climate-positive programs. Candidates should have 8-10 years in product design, proficiency in modern design tools, and a user-first mindset, while being part of a diverse and inclusive workplace.

Benefits

Flexible time off

Generous parental leave

Wellness stipend

Comprehensive benefits

Qualifications

• 8–10 years of experience in software/digital Product Design.
• Proficiency in the full stack of Product Design including UI/Visual Design.
• Deep fluency with modern Design and Research tools.

Responsibilities

• Own and lead the full customer enrollment journey from research to post-launch.
• Drive best-in-class Design practices and facilitate user research studies.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams and stakeholders.

Skills

Design thinking process

Research

UI/Visual Design

Prototyping

User research

Communication skills

Tools

Figma

Adobe Creative Suite

JIRA

Google Workspace

Job description

The Position

Uplight is creating a new category of energy. We make software that manages energy resources in homes and businesses—including things like smart thermostats, electric vehicles, solar panels, storage batteries, heat pumps, and even people’s behavior—to generate, shift, or save energy to balance the grid, making it more efficient and reliable. This creates clean energy capacity that can be used by the power grid instead of burning more fossil fuels. Our solutions accelerate the transition to clean energy and save money for energy customers.

We are looking for a Staff Product Designer to drive our company forward, and help us lead the clean energy revolution!

As a Staff Product Designer, you’ll take ownership of the end-to-end experience for Residential & Business customer end users enrolling in climate-positive energy programs like demand response (DR), time-varying rates (TVR), and energy efficiency initiatives (EE). This influential role within the Product Team sits at the intersection of Strategy, User Experience and Research—and requires close collaboration with cross-functional internal teams and utility clients.

How you will make an impact:

• Own and lead the full customer enrollment journey—from research and discovery, through concepting, prototyping, polished visual design, design QA, and post-launch iteration, influencing strategic direction and product team roadmaps.
• Drive best-in-class Design practices, knowing when to flex established processes to fit real-world constraints while staying rooted in strong design principles.
• Leverage & contribute to Uplight’s UI Design System to deliver elegant, accessibility-inclusive, and scalable experiences that are intuitive for end users.
• Facilitate unmoderated and moderated Qualitative User Research studies, synthesizing and presenting findings + business recommendations to diverse stakeholder audiences.
• Lead iterative product & design thinking to continuously measure, learn, and enhance user experience in our enrollment products
• Build a deep and data-driven understanding of customer needs, pain points, and real-life behaviors across programs.
• Partner closely with Product Managers, Engineers, fellow Designers & User Researchers, Marketers, Account Managers and more across the business to align on core user problems (or JTBD) and uncover shared opportunities together.
• Champion a culture of continuous learning, feedback, and iteration.

What You Bring to Uplight:

• 8–10 years of experience in software/digital Product Design, with a strong portfolio demonstrating end-to-end design thinking process, complex systems problem-solving, and measurable business impact of your Design decisions.
• Proficiency in the “full stack” of Product Design: Research, UX & Interaction Design, UI/Visual Design & QA, prototyping, and working with component libraries or Design Systems.
• Familiarity with Material Design and frontend capabilities (React, Angular), to effectively communicate designs with Engineers and stakeholders
• Deep fluency with modern Design and Research tools. We use Figma (our primary design tool) as well as Adobe Creative Suite for asset creation, Lucid for white board collaboration, JIRA for coordination with Product & Engineering teams, and Google Workspace for documentation. Hands-on experience with user research platforms for recruiting & running studies.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills, with an ability to clearly articulate your narrative to both technical and non-technical, internal and external client audiences alike.
• Experience leading horizontal, multi-team efforts around shared business goals or questions, embedding discovery throughout your process.
• A user-first mindset that advocates for the pursuit of simple, elegant solutions, while balancing ambiguity and technical constraints.
• Growth-minded and well-versed in giving and receiving constructive feedback, with a commitment to collaborative problem-solving.
• Experience designing enterprise software (B2B and/or B2C).
• Experience mentoring other Designers, acting as a player/coach. (Note: This is not a team lead or manager role)
• Thrives in a collaborative Design culture, valuing shared ownership and cross-functional trust over individual control.
• Actively participates in structured peer critiques and team reviews, embracing a culture where Designers regularly seek and offer feedback to elevate each other’s work.

Bonus points:

• A deep curiosity for exploring responsible efficiency opportunities with AI.
• Comfortable jumping into complex technical domains with curiosity and humility.
• Experience working in multiple industries and/or in startup environments
• Fluency in Agile environments, meeting cadences, etc.
• Any experience with the following adjacent Design disciplines: Data visualization, live-workshopping, Photo editing, Custom Illustration, Icon creation, WCAG Accessibility, Animation, Brand Identity, Quantitative Research methodologies.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women, marginalized genders and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Uplight we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles

Why Join Uplight in Leading the Fight Against Climate Change?

At Uplight, we're not just offering a job – we're offering a chance to be part of the solution to one of the world's biggest challenges. As a certified B Corporation, we're deeply committed to both social and environmental responsibility. Here's why you should join our team of passionate Uplighters:

• Make a Meaningful Impact: Your work directly impacts our mission of decarbonization and building a more sustainable future.
• Grow Your Career: We offer ample advancement opportunities, robust learning and development programs, and a supportive team environment that fosters collaboration and innovation.
• Thrive: We offer comprehensive benefits, including flexible time off, generous parental leave, a wellness stipend, and work flexibility to help you thrive both personally and professionally.
• Belong to an Inclusive Community: We celebrate diversity and foster an inclusive workplace where everyone feels respected, empowered, and heard. Our Employee Resource Groups offer opportunities to connect with colleagues who share your interests and backgrounds.
• Be Part of a Growing Movement: Join a team of dedicated individuals who are passionate about creating a more sustainable future. We offer a collaborative environment where your ideas are valued and your contributions

Salary Range: $136,000 to $160,000 USD + bonus

Application Deadline: August 1, 2025

In accordance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, the approximate annual base compensation range is listed above. The actual offer, reflecting the total compensation package and benefits, will be determined by a number of factors including the applicant's experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity among our team.

Uplight provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race (including hair texture and hairstyles), color, religion (including head coverings), age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.