Product Design Director

The Role

ConvertKit needs a product design leader to bring our vision to life through great design. This role will be in charge of all product design and design quality. They are expected to transform ConvertKit into the leading product design company in the industry.

As Johnny Ive is to Apple, Julie Zhuo is to Facebook, Franz von Holzhausen is to Tesla, this role is to ConvertKit. That means driving excellence in the areas of design research, user experience, and most importantly, bringing it all together into a cohesive product experience that drives business results.

The right person for this role uses design to solve problems across product and engineering as well as collaborating with the leaders across the company—particularly with their design counterparts on the growth team. They deeply understand our user and market and relentlessly pursue design solutions. They understand time is of the essence in bringing our vision to life and they work to transform our product as quickly as possible.

People management is so important. They are a hands-on leader, but they also focus on shaping our small three person design and one person QA team into a center of excellence across the company. That also means working closely with product and engineering managers to keep them unblocked, implement design improvements quickly, and be a great partner.

Responsibilities

• Build and manage a high performing team that consistently delivers high quality designs.
• Coach and develop the design team to be a high-performing, high-velocity team, supporting their growth and development.
• Create systems, motivation, and accountability for your team that drive them to excellence and continuous growth.
• Drive Collaboration and vision across the company and build alignment on priorities.
• Lead the development and execution of ConvertKit’s Product Design strategy: As the Product Design Director you will take charge of defining and implementing our product design strategy, guiding the team towards creating exceptional user-centered products and experiences.
• Review design deliverables, and relentlessly drive for exceptional quality throughout the entire design process from collaborative ideation through design QA in the product itself. Help the team grow and maintain the design system, and ensure consistency and quality in the product itself.
• Conduct research: Talk to users on a regular basis, and utilize your understanding of design research methodologies to gain deep insights into user needs and pain points. Cultivate this knowledge within the team, and leverage outside expertise as needed. Your research findings will inform the design process, driving evidence-based decision-making and serve as a touchstone throughout the company.
• Lead by example with hands-on design work as needed. We are a small team and it is expected that in order to maintain velocity and quality you will need to assist your team by doing design, review, or QA work yourself.
• Partner with your cross-functional teams to ensure seamless collaboration and alignment in creating a user-centered product. Your ability to foster strong relationships between the designers, product managers and engineers will be critical to delivering cohesive and impactful user experiences.
• Collaborate closely with the Creative Director of our Brand Studio team to ensure design cohesion between our brand platforms and our product, and to develop the culture of the cross-functional design team of brand designers and product designers.
• Manage our content strategy: Your role will include evolving our approach to content within the app to ensure that all content is clear, concise, and accessible.
• Stay up-to-date on the latest trends: Remain informed about the evolving landscape of design, including emerging trends, tools, and techniques. Continuously integrate new insights into our processes to keep our products at the forefront of user-centric design.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in Product Design or related field
• 4+ years of experience in Product Design management, with a proven track record of delivering successful user-centered products.
• Experience in hiring and managing design and UX professionals, both in-house and contract, and demonstrating strong leadership and mentoring skills.
• Expertise in design, design research, and content strategy; with a strong focus on delivering exceptional user experiences. You think holistically and consider the entire user journey and experience.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, enabling you to navigate complex design challenges and find innovative solutions using both quantitative and qualitative information
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills to effectively articulate design concepts and insights to diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a team environment, fostering strong relationships and driving cross-functional collaboration.

Benefits Section

ConvertKit has standardized salaries based on position, no matter where you live. For this role, we’re hiring at our Manager level 5 ($215,000). Level is determined based on experience and our interview process. Other benefits include:

• Benefits:
  • Profit Sharing
  • Twenty (20) days of paid time off during each year of employment
  • Paid paid vacation: An after-tax bonus of $1,000 for taking five consecutive days of vacation where you’re fully unplugged from work
  • Ten paid holidays a year
  • Annual, team-wide winter break from Christmas to New Year's
  • Monthly medical benefits up to $1,850 a month toward premiums. Dental and vision premiums covered 100%
  • Two weeks of paid sick time each year, including mental health + well being days
  • Twelve (12) weeks paid parental leave and flexible scheduling in your child’s first year
  • Childcare benefit up to $3,000 annually
  • Up to six weeks of paid bereavement leave, medical leave, and disaster after six months of employment, two weeks of each paid leave in your first six months
  • Gender affirming benefits
  • $4,000 equipment allowance for your first two years, $3,000 budget every following two years
  • Individual learning + development budget ($3,500/year)
  • Four-week, paid sabbatical after five years with the team

How to Apply

We usually receive a large number of applications, and our goal is to follow up with you within two weeks. You’ll hear from us either way. Here’s what you can expect from the rest of our hiring process:

1. Recruiter Screen
2. Hiring Manager screen
3. A technical interview to discuss you relevant knowledge and experience
4. A culture contribution interview
5. Wrap up with the hiring manager

We’ll keep you informed through every step. To get started, complete this application, including a cover letter and answers to the questions on the next page. We read every single application, and your cover letter and responses help put your experience into context.