Staff Product Designer

WorkWave is a company that builds innovative software solutions with AI capabilities for various service industries. They are seeking a Staff Product Designer to lead design strategy, mentor designers, and drive design excellence across their product organization, focusing on user-centered design principles and AI-driven innovation.

Responsibilities:

• Lead design strategy for complex, cross-product initiatives that impact multiple teams and customer segments
• Partner with Product Management, Engineering, and Executive Leadership to define product vision and roadmap priorities
• Champion user-centered design principles and Jobs-to-be-Done methodology across the organization, helping teams understand not just how but why
• Identify and drive opportunities for design innovation, particularly around AI-driven features and data-driven insights
• Serve as a design advocate in strategic planning discussions, ensuring user needs are central to business decisions
• Own end-to-end design for the most complex and ambiguous product initiatives, from discovery through delivery and iteration
• Design at a systems level, considering how solutions scale across products, platforms, and use cases
• Create frameworks, patterns, and principles that enable other designers to work more effectively
• Drive excellence in our design system by contributing high-leverage components, patterns, and documentation
• Set the quality bar for design craft across the organization through exemplary work and thoughtful feedback
• Ensure designs prioritize non-technical users, focusing on simplicity, speed, and trust in everything we build
• Lead discovery research initiatives for high-stakes projects, deeply understanding customer needs, pain points, and workflows
• Partner with Research teams to define research strategies that uncover actionable insights
• Translate complex user research findings into clear design opportunities and recommendations
• Validate design decisions using both qualitative and quantitative methods
• Apply service design methodologies including customer journey mapping and service blueprinting to optimize end-to-end experiences
• Build strong relationships with Product, Engineering, Marketing, Customer Success, and other cross-functional partners
• Present design work and strategic recommendations to executive leadership with clarity and conviction
• Navigate organizational complexity to drive alignment and secure buy-in for design initiatives
• Influence product strategy and roadmap decisions through design thinking and user insights
• Work across team boundaries to solve problems that require coordination across multiple product areas
• Mentor and coach Senior and mid-level designers, helping them grow their skills and advance their careers
• Lead design critiques that elevate team output and foster a culture of continuous improvement
• Model design excellence in both craft execution and collaborative practices
• Share knowledge through documentation, workshops, and presentations that build design capability across the organization
• Help shape hiring and team-building strategies by participating in candidate interviews and assessments
• Contribute to the evolution of design processes, tools, and best practices
• Establish and refine design processes that enable teams to deliver high-quality work efficiently
• Identify opportunities to improve design team productivity and effectiveness
• Contribute to design operations initiatives including workflows, tooling, and collaboration models
• Help define success metrics and measurement frameworks for design initiatives
• Partner with leadership to diagnose and solve process or organizational challenges

Requirements:

• 8+ years of product design experience with a strong portfolio demonstrating complex B2B/SaaS product design and measurable business impact
• 3+ years of experience leading large-scale, multi-team design initiatives in fast-paced environments
• Proven track record of designing products for non-technical users and complex enterprise software
• Experience designing for AI-powered features or data-driven product experiences
• Demonstrated success working in high-growth companies with evolving product portfolios
• Expert-level proficiency in user-centered design processes and human-computer interaction principles
• Strong foundation in Jobs-to-be-Done methodology and user research practices
• Deep experience with service design methodologies, including customer journey mapping and service blueprinting
• Mastery of modern design tools (Figma preferred) and design thinking methodologies
• Experience building and contributing to design systems at scale
• Strong understanding of accessibility standards and inclusive design practices
• Exceptional ability to influence and build consensus across senior stakeholders and cross-functional teams
• Outstanding communication and presentation skills with ability to articulate complex design rationale to technical and non-technical audiences
• Proven ability to mentor designers and elevate team capabilities through coaching and feedback
• Strong strategic thinking combined with hands-on execution skills
• Demonstrated ability to manage ambiguity and drive clarity in undefined problem spaces
• Experience translating business objectives and technical constraints into elegant design solutions
• Bachelor's degree in Design, HCI, or related field, or equivalent professional experience
• Portfolio that showcases design process, problem-solving approach, and measurable outcomes
• Demonstrated commitment to continuous learning and staying current with emerging design trends and technologies
• Experience in SaaS industry, particularly B2B enterprise software
• Background in service industry workflows, field service management, or fintech products
• Experience working in companies with complex acquisition integrations and multi-product portfolios
• Previous work designing for mobile platforms and cross-device experiences
• Experience establishing design operations practices or leading design system initiatives
• Knowledge of agile and lean product development methodologies
• Experience presenting at design conferences or contributing to the design community
• Understanding of technical constraints and development processes to collaborate effectively with engineering teams