Founding Product Designer
Clera · San Francisco Bay Area · onsite
ABOUT THE ROLE
As the founding product designer at an early-stage AI company, you will work closely with executive and product partners to shape product strategy and build end-to-end experiences. You will help establish the design practice and systems as the product grows across desktop applications, web dashboards, and AI-driven interfaces.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
- Partner with product and executive stakeholders to define strategy and translate it into clear product direction.
- Turn ambiguous concepts into requirements, user flows, interaction models, and interface designs.
- Design experiences across desktop applications, web dashboards, notifications, and AI outputs.
- Prototype rapidly in Figma and interactive tools, then validate concepts with users.
- Collaborate with engineers to ensure designs are feasible, performant, and scalable.
- Build reusable components, design patterns, and documentation as the product evolves.
- Define metrics and collect data to evaluate design effectiveness.
- Conduct lightweight user research, usability testing, and feedback sessions with operators.
- Communicate product opportunities and contribute to design critiques, mentorship, and knowledge sharing.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR
- At least 3 years of experience designing UX and UI for software products of similar scale and complexity.
- Strong visual and interaction design skills, with fluency in Figma and prototyping tools.
- Experience independently leading design from discovery through launch while balancing user needs, technical constraints, and business goals.
- Structured communication skills and experience grounding decisions in user research and rationale.
- Experience using metrics and data to assess design effectiveness, and creating reusable design systems and documentation.
- Background designing information tools, operational workflows, or systems, with familiarity in AI products, agentic experiences, or emerging technology patterns.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
Annual base salary: $150,000 to $170,000.
LOCATION
Hybrid, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.