Product Designer

4 weeks ago

San Francisco, United States Substack Full time

Experienced designers know that business realities shape the possibility spaces of product strategy. If “what works” for a product or platform is defined ultimately by “what sells more ads at better prices,” designers may achieve a lovely user interface or ideal typography, but everything will be in service of producing the same strange, often-nightmarish dynamics we all know from the many scaled platforms of the past decade.

Substack does not have silver bullets for the problems of human nature and we will not avoid all of the costs of creating scaled platforms. But we do have a different model, one in which we make money only when writers, musicians, artists, journalists, cooks, students, and people of all kinds earn money from audiences who value them enough to consistently pay them. Crucially, in this model, all scales are reduced: one needs thousands, not millions, of fans, and this difference alone changes the dynamics of the platform, and thus what’s possible with e.g. product architecture. As fundamental, though, is the level of trust and interest involved in paid subscriptions. “What works” for Substack is what leads people to make long-term and real investments in independent creators of all kinds, and we hope this will lead to improved outcomes in aggregate across many types of features.

If you’re interested in working on this model, we’d love to chat Design at Substack is somewhat wild, and we’re looking for rigorous, robust, high-output designers who are comfortable with the pros and cons of startup life. We are not a “best practices” shop; we have little process; we work closely with executives and other functions and we’re not territorial or precious. But we get to shape the development of the most promising platform for creators, we have a lovely and weird little team, and we have a lot of fun in our quite-free and friendly company. If this sounds compelling, hit us up

Substack’s compensation package includes a market-competitive salary, equity for all full-time roles, and exceptional benefits. Our cash compensation salary range for this role is $150K - $215K / year (USD). Multiple factors, including candidate experience and expertise, determine final offer amounts and may vary from the amounts listed above.

Responsibilities

  • Rapidly build context about disparate product areas, community dynamics, and industry norms in any domains, from print media to podcasting to online social systems
  • Identify high-leverage opportunities for your team and help make their pursuit practicable through rigorous path-conception, batch-sizing, staging, and go to market planning
  • Design beautiful, usable, scalable interfaces and flows for a wide range of product zones (from profiles to CRM / analytics, publication aesthetics to moderation systems, email layouts to interactive content actions, and so much more)
  • Think holistically about the second-order effects on Substack as a product system; balance user groups, weigh trade-offs, and pragmatically find solutions which achieve the best outcomes possible given various constraints
  • Find ways to help creators and audiences build long-lasting, rewarding, and healthy relationships; empower audience members to become contributors and creators
  • Help diversify the kinds of creators Substack supports, through novel media type support, alternative reader experiences, supporting outreach programs, and more
  • Shape the culture and processes of Design at Substack

Requirements

  • All product design applications must link to or include a portfolio. This portfolio needn't be overly polished, although excellently presented work might stand out; our focus will above all be on whether you've demonstrated the capacity to craft design solutions in relevant or related product areas
  • 2 years of experience designing software; we're especially keen to see experience with social networks; content networks; or content systems or products of various kinds; but any experience building software interfaces applies (note: if you do not have this experience but believe you can hit the ground running, shipping high quality software immediately, feel free to apply)
  • High degree of competence with Figma. 
  • High tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. Substack is still becoming a company, and much remains up for debate; everything from cycle plans to organizational structure to top-line strategy can change —and will— so a certain degree of adventurousness or heartiness is required, as it can all get rather messy
  • Interest in both independence and collaboration. Sometimes, we must be team players; at other times, we must strike out to explore and find new areas of opportunity. You should be at least comfortable with both modes of operation.

Preferences

  • Technical abilities. While it’s not a requirement, we’ll be very excited to see candidates who can code. Specifically, we highly value strong front-end skills, experience making and deploying sites end to end, and experience with TypeScript and React. We’re also of course very keen on candidates with SwiftUI capabilities. Current product designers with these skills use them often and to great effect, but we also appreciate that technical designers are “into software” as a whole.
  • SF Bay Area based. Living near our San Francisco HQ means being able to work directly with the CEO and others in-office, so it’s preferred. But most of us —including our Head of Design— are fully remote, and remote candidates shouldn’t feel discouraged from applying.

Substack is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or transgender status), age, national origin, veteran or disability status. We’re seeking people passionate about enabling independent expression and building a better business model for creators. If you want to see what media, communities, and content can become when unmoored from advertising models, and you have the skills and experience to contribute, we’d love to meet you.

  • Head of Design

    1 month ago

    San Francisco, California, United States Product Hunt Full time

    We're beginning a new era of Product Hunt. As our first designer, you'll be the strategic design voice as we build Product Hunt's next chapter, and also apply your craft to make it happen.Your challenge? Learn our product inside out, learn what our users need and the problems we are trying to solve. Explore and test different ways to leverage design to make...

  • Lead Product Strategist

    2 weeks ago

    San Francisco, California, United States The Product Folks Full time

    About The Product FolksAt The Product Folks, we are dedicated to enhancing lives through innovative product solutions. Our commitment begins with fostering a diverse, inclusive, and open workplace.We connect users with transformative products that redefine their experiences. We seek product managers who possess outstanding creative, strategic, and analytical...

  • Lead Product Strategist

    1 week ago

    San Francisco, California, United States The Product Folks Full time

    About The Product FolksAt The Product Folks, we are dedicated to enhancing lives through innovative solutions in the transportation sector. Our commitment to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace is paramount as we strive to connect individuals with transformative transportation options.We are seeking experienced product managers who possess...

  • Lead Product Strategist

    2 weeks ago

    San Francisco, California, United States The Product Folks Full time

    About The Product FolksAt The Product Folks, we are dedicated to enhancing lives through innovative solutions in the product landscape. Our commitment to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace is at the core of our mission.We are in search of experienced product managers who possess exceptional creative, strategic, and analytical capabilities to propel...

  • Lead Product Strategist

    1 week ago

    San Francisco, California, United States The Product Folks Full time

    About The Product FolksAt The Product Folks, we are dedicated to enhancing lives through innovative solutions in the transportation sector. Our commitment lies in fostering a culture that is open, inclusive, and diverse.Role OverviewWe are in search of a Senior Product Manager who possesses outstanding creative, strategic, and analytical capabilities to...

  • Lead Product Strategist

    2 weeks ago

    San Francisco, California, United States The Product Folks Full time

    About The Product FolksAt The Product Folks, we are dedicated to enhancing lives through innovative transportation solutions. Our commitment to fostering an open, inclusive, and diverse workplace is at the core of our mission.We connect individuals to transformative transportation options, aiming to revolutionize how communities engage with mobility. We seek...

  • Lead Product Strategist

    1 week ago

    San Francisco, California, United States The Product Folks Full time

    About The Product FolksAt The Product Folks, we are dedicated to enhancing lives through innovative transportation solutions. Our commitment begins with fostering a community that values openness, inclusivity, and diversity.Role OverviewWe are in search of experienced product managers who possess outstanding creative, strategic, and analytical capabilities...

  • Product Designer

    3 weeks ago

    San Francisco, United States Performing Arts Consultants Full time

    About the job Product Designer As a Product Designer at our company, you will play a key role in shaping the future of our products. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to design user-centered solutions that meet both user needs and business goals. You will be responsible for the end-to-end product design process, from conducting user research...

  • Product Designer

    4 weeks ago

    San Francisco, United States UpRecruit Full time

    Job DescriptionJob DescriptionJob DetailsTitle: Product DesignerSalary: $160K - $220KRequirements: 4+ years UI/UX expLocation: On-Site (San Francisco Bay Area)Our client is seeking a Product Designer to join their passionate and growing team! Our ideal candidate will have a strong portfolio showcasing web and mobile app design, along with experience in...

  • Product Designer

    3 months ago

    San Francisco, United States UpRecruit Full time

    Job DescriptionJob DescriptionJob DetailsTitle: Product DesignerSalary: $160K - $220KRequirements: 4+ years UI/UX expLocation: On-Site (San Francisco Bay Area)Our client is seeking a Product Designer to join their passionate and growing team! Our ideal candidate will have a strong portfolio showcasing web and mobile app design, along with experience in...

  • Product Designer

    1 month ago

    San Francisco, United States UpRecruit Full time

    Job Details Title: Product Designer Salary: $160K - $220K Requirements: 4+ years UI/UX exp Location: On-Site (San Francisco Bay Area) Our client is seeking a Product Designer to join their passionate and growing team! Our ideal candidate will have a strong portfolio showcasing web and mobile app design, along with experience in design systems,...

  • Product Designer

    2 weeks ago

    San Francisco, United States OpenAI Full time

    About the Team OpenAI's mission is to ensure that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. The ChatGPT team works across research, engineering, product, and design to bring OpenAI's technology to the world. We serve a diverse audience of users who are already using ChatGPT daily in their lives and work. We seek to learn from...

  • Product Designer

    1 month ago

    San Francisco, United States RTA US Full time

    Job DescriptionJob DescriptionProduct Designer, Content ManagementContract: 1 year PR: 95 - 105/hr (depending on YOE)RemoteResponsibilities:Design products systematically, interactively, and visually with pixel-level precision.Collaborate closely with engineering, product management, and research to develop impactful, user-centric, and data-informed...

  • Product Designer

    11 hours ago

    San Francisco, United States Albert Bow Full time

    Product Designer | AI Cloud Startup | Hybrid San Francisco | Up to $160,000 Company Overview: Join an innovative AI startup that optimizes cloud usage to drive cost savings for businesses. Their platform empowers organizations to streamline cloud management, reduce costs, and improve efficiency through AI-driven insights.Role: They are seeking a skilled...

  • Product Designer

    6 days ago

    San Francisco, United States Hiive LLC Full time

    Hiive is a fintech/marketplace startup connecting buyers and sellers of stock in venture-backed pre-IPO companies. Thanks to our industry leading technology and our best in class capital markets team, we are home to the fastest growing marketplace for the stock of "unicorns" on the planet. As a profitable and rapidly growing business backed by tier one...

  • Product Designer

    3 weeks ago

    San Francisco, California, United States The Athletic Full time

    About UsThe Athletic is a direct-to-consumer digital sports media company committed to helping subscribers experience storytelling in a whole new way. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Francisco, The Athletic has more than 575 full-time employees and covers more than 250 professional sports and collegiate teams in the US, Canada and the UK. The...

  • Product Designer

    2 months ago

    San Francisco, California, United States Ashby (YC W19) Full time

    Welcome to AshbyIn modern SaaS development, product teams often consist of a product manager, a designer, and ~4-5 engineers. The product manager briefs the designer who then designs. After designing, mocks are handed to the engineers. While that may work for many product teams, Ashby takes a different approach. Here, engineers are empowered to make their...

  • Product Designer

    2 months ago

    San Francisco, California, United States Pallet Full time

    WHO WE AREPallet is a company dedicated to disrupting the logistics industry. Located in San Francisco, CA, we've secured $21 million in funding from investors, including Bain Capital Ventures and Bessemer.Our flagship product is a Transportation Management System (TMS) and Warehouse Management System (WMS) designed to streamline business operations. We've...

  • Head of Product Strategy Summit

    2 weeks ago

    San Francisco, California, United States Product-Led Alliance Full time

    Product Strategy Summit - Engage in a transformative experience at the Product Strategy Summit, where you will have the opportunity to learn from esteemed industry leaders and connect with fellow senior product strategists. This event fosters a collaborative atmosphere for exchanging insights and best practices.During this summit, you will:Uncover strategies...

  • Product Designer

    1 month ago

    San Francisco, United States Splice Full time

    Company Description Our client is a stealth startup with significant funding from named VC's is seeking a Product Designer to be a founding engineer. Solid base salary and equity along with many other benefits. Job Description Who are we looking for? 5+ years of experience designing and shipping SaaS & consumer products Ability to translate stakeholder...