Staff Product Designer, Design Innovation

Pinterest; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Pinterest is seeking a Staff Product Designer to join their Design Innovation team. This role involves evolving product design language and crafting delightful experiences across various surfaces.

You will collaborate with product, engineering, and research partners to create unique, user-centered experiences, utilizing prototyping and design systems. The ideal candidate will have over 8 years of experience in product design, a strong portfolio, and excellent communication skills.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in product design.
• Expert-level skills in visual and motion design.
• Strong communication skills and team collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Evolve product design language and UX across Pinterest.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams for innovative solutions.
• Conduct quality audits and maintain high design standards.

Skills

Product design

Visual design

Interaction design

Prototyping (Figma)

Collaborative communication

Problem-solving

Education

Bachelor’s degree in design or related field

Tools

Figma

AI tools

Job description

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in product design, with strong visual and interaction design skills demonstrated in a portfolio of shipped or in-progress work
• Track record in staff/principal-level roles, influencing horizontally, upholding design craft quality, and partnering cross-functionally—ideally in large-scale consumer or platform environments
• Expert‑level motion and visual design skills, with a deep understanding of principles and their impact on usability, comprehension, and overall experience quality — using animation and transitions to enhance clarity, convey emotion, and drive user engagement
• Ability to design within and extend a design system, balancing consistency with thoughtful innovation across surfaces and platforms
• Design technologist mindset: Comfortable experimenting with Figma prototypes, AI, and (optionally) front‑end code; curious and opinionated about technical feasibility, accessibility, and how we can streamline design workflows and processes through systems and tools
• Strong product thinking and systems mindset: you can connect craft decisions to user outcomes, product strategy, and measurable impact
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills, with the ability to clearly articulate design decisions, tradeoffs, synthesize ambiguity into actionable design problems and unite teams through clarity, documentation, and collaboration
• High attention to detail and a sense of ownership over the quality and cohesion of the product experience, including accessibility and inclusive design considerations
• Collaborative, low-ego working style with a growth mindset; passion for ongoing learning, experimentation, and mentoring others, giving and receiving feedback & contributing to team culture
• Bachelor’s degree in design, a related field or equivalent experience
• (Desirable) Experience leading platform-wide or multi-product design system initiatives
• (Desirable) Familiarity with personalization, large consumer apps, or rapid scale environments
• (Desirable) Contributions to public design systems, open-source libraries, or industry talks/writing
• (Desirable) Join us to shape the platform and patterns that power inspiration for millions—raising the bar for design quality, system integrity, and Pinterest’s positive potential
• In-Office Requirement Statement:
• We recognize that the ideal environment for work is situational and may differ across departments. What this looks like day-to-day can vary based on the needs of each organization or role
• This role will need to be in the office for in-person collaboration 1-2 times every 6-months, and therefore can be situated anywhere in the country

What the job involves

• Pinterest is looking for a methodical and thoughtful Staff Product Designer to join the Design Innovation team
• You’ll help evolve our product design language and craft intuitive, coherent, and delightful experiences across surfaces
• You’ll collaborate closely with product, engineering, research, and data science partners to shape end-to-end experiences that feel uniquely Pinterest, raise the quality bar, and explore new opportunities for innovation, including AI-powered experiences
• You have a knack for visual detail as much as holistic systems thinking. You’re a problem solver whose designs reflect a deep understanding of user needs and business context
• You’re comfortable working in an iterative, experimental environment and using AI tools to accelerate your workflow while maintaining strong critical thinking, judgment, and ownership of outcomes
• Design product experiences—systematically, interactively, and visually—with a high bar for craft and consistency across the Pinterest product ecosystem
• Partner with Design Innovation teammates and cross-functional partners to evolve our product design language and bring it to life in key product surfaces and features
• Uphold and Elevate Craft: Conduct quality audits, review flows and handoffs, and directly contribute hands-on design when needed—always advocating for the highest standards
• Prototype & Technologize: Rapidly visualize, prototype, validate new ideas; translate abstract solutions into practical, scalable patterns using Figma, code, AI, or whatever is needed to inspire clarity/adoption
• Collaborate closely with engineering, product management, and research to develop impactful, user-centric, and data-informed solutions; work with engineers throughout implementation to ensure high-quality execution
• Incorporate insights from qualitative and quantitative research, experiments, and marketplace/AI trends to refine design directions and identify new opportunities for innovation
• Contribute to design reviews and critique, helping to uphold and inspire a high level of design execution and inclusive, accessible experiences across the team
• Mentor & Scale Impact: Inspire and guide other designers in craft, systemic thinking, and best practices through critique, guidance, and sharing your expertise across teams
• Communicate & Influence: Clearly articulate your design thinking, rationale, and vision—presenting work to teams, leaders, and executives, and rallying consensus