Principal Product Designer

At Apartment List, we’re on a mission to find every renter a home they love at the value they deserve. Finding the right place to live is one of the most important, time-consuming and expensive decisions that all of us make. Getting it right matters. We’ve helped millions of families find a home they love, and we’re just getting started.

About the roleWe are looking for a visionary Principal Product Designer to lead the design of the Renter Pillar at Apartment List, the next-generation ILS and premier rental matchmaker for city dwellers on the move. As the Principal Designer, you will be instrumental in shaping the craft and strategy of our consumer products. This role is a unique opportunity to co-lead our Renter marketplace, driving growth and innovation on the renter side of our business. In this position, you will design consumer-facing products that enhance our renter capabilities across mobile web, native (iOS and Android), email, and AI-driven solutions. You’ll also play a key role in expanding and evolving our Global Design System. You’ll be involved in every stage of the design process, from research to asset creation, ensuring our products exceed renter needs.

Reporting directly to the VP of Design, you’ll have a critical influence in shaping the Renter product experience, helping to drive our ambitious goal of expanding our demand footprint. You will collaborate closely with the Design team to foster a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement, helping us build a world-class design organization.

In this role, you will:

• Design renter-facing products that bring renters closer to finding their perfect home by eliminating friction and adding moments of delight throughout their journey.
• Create end-to-end designs across desktop web, mobile web, and native applications.
• Engage in all stages of the design process, from research to final visual designs and asset creation.
• Collaborate with the Director of Product Design to evolve our design system, ensuring consistency and innovation.
• Collaborate with Product, Engineering, and Analytics leaders to co-create a winning product strategy and drive its successful execution.
• Develop a comprehensive end-to-end email strategy that seamlessly integrates both Marketing initiatives and AI-driven solutions
• Further craft and develop our AI forward product on Sunny.com
• Coach and mentor Designers within the renter pillar
• Conduct usability research, communicate findings, and propose actionable changes.

Skills and experience you'll need to be successful:

• Bachelor’s degree is preferred (bonus points for those who have a degrees in HCI, but not a requirement)
• 10+ years of experience shipping products - You know what it means to release high quality products at each stage of development. You can share several shining examples of real work you've shipped, from web or native applications, and what you learned along the way.
• Strong interaction design chops - You can take broad, conceptual ideas and turn them into something useful and valuable. You also know how to take advantage of platform specific design patterns.
• Passionate about your end user - you advocate for the best user experience that will achieve both user and business goals.
• Systematic Thinker - Ability to think about designs holistically and how they impact the entirety of a product
• Business minded - understand how to manage business needs while meeting user needs.
• Pixel perfect - You demonstrate high quality visual designs.
• Prototyping - Prototyping is a key part of your toolset and you are comfortable doing so for multiple platforms.

The ideal candidate embodies the following core principles:

• User-centricity: You deeply understand user pain points and balance user needs with business goals.
• Team unity: You align and motivate teams, fostering ownership and drive.
• Commitment to excellence: You thrive in an environment of continuous improvement and high standards.
• Fearless Innovation: You push boundaries with modern, innovative designs, leading by example.

What’s in it for you:

• Massive impact: As the evangelist of our supply experience, you’ll have the power to significantly shape your product team and our business.
• Meaningful work: Your work directly impacts both renters and property managers, helping people find homes—a place of safety, shelter, and aspiration.
• Career growth: As our company grows, so will your scope and responsibilities, expanding with your impact.

Exceptional team: Join a team of talented, motivated self-starters with a high standard for excellence.

Here's the Pay Range:

At Apartment List, we carefully consider a variety of factors to determine compensation for each position, including the role, level, and work. The Canadian base salary range (in CAD) for this position is:

• Zone 1: $182,000 - $220,000 TTC (including $160,000 - $194,000 base salary) + equity
• Zone 2: $163,000 - $198,000 TTC (including $144,000 - $174,000 base salary) + equity
• • ** TTC = Total Target Compensation

This reflects the compensation target for new hire salaries for the position across all Canadian locations. Please note, the compensation details provided do not include benefits and perks that we offer.

We also rely on market indicators along with considering your work location, job related skills, experience and relevant education and training, to determine compensation that is fair and competitive for you. Apartment List will consider paying compensation near the higher of the range in exceptional circumstances, where candidates have the experience, credentials or expertise that would warrant such consideration. It is always our goal to hire exceptional talent and we would be happy to share more about compensation during the hiring process.

Applicants must be legally entitled to work in Canada at the time of application. Sponsorship for employment visa status is not available for this position. Canadian benefits details can be outlined upon request.

Here's what's in it for you (full-time US based employees only; does not apply to contract roles):

• Competitive Compensation: Including annual salary, pre-IPO stock options, and other financial compensation (if applicable)
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage: 100% of premiums covered for you AND all of your dependents
• Unlimited Flexible Time Off: Unlimited FTO in addition to 12 company holidays per year, quarterly “recharge” days, and a week-long holiday break
• Home Office Reimbursement: To cover home office furniture and supplies, monthly home internet, and monthly cell phone (if applicable)
• Health & Wellness Reimbursement: To cover monthly gym membership or other qualifying expenses
• Parental Support: Generous parental and family leave, fertility benefits, and employer-sponsored stipends towards family forming services
• 401k Plan: To support you in your individual retirement goals
• Team Events: Frequent team-building events, fun team off-sites, and bi-annual company meetups
• Commitment to DEI: To prioritize Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within our workplace and to stay true to our values and mission
• Mentorship and Training: To get you onboard quickly, learn new professional skills, and invest in your career development
• Impact and Visibility: To expose you to and provide the opportunity to work on highly strategic initiatives that will transform the business
• Encouragement and Empowerment: To explore and adopt new technologies and drive meaningful decisions and outcomes

At Apartment List we believe that everyone deserves a home they love AND a career they love. We strive to build a diverse team that is a reflection of the people we serve; this is made possible through our commitment to fostering a culture of diversity, inclusion, equity, and connectedness.

As a proud equal opportunity employer, we celebrate the collection of individual differences, life experiences, ideas, perspectives, knowledge, and talent. We hire candidates of any race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital or family status, disability, Veteran status, and any other status.

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