Associate Director, Product Design

OverviewJoin to apply for the Associate Director, Product Design role at Embark Veterinary.We are looking for an Associate Director, Design to drive strategy, execution, and leadership as both a player and coach. You’ll shape how design empowers pet parents to turn genetic insights into everyday actions, while fostering community and long-term engagement.This role requires strong strategic thinking, creative facilitation, and the ability to synthesize complex research into clear product direction. You’ll guide our design team, influence cross-company initiatives, and champion partnerships with brand, marketing, and e-commerce to oversee our design system and product ecosystem.What you’ll doStrategic discovery, research & facilitationDefine and champion Embark's design strategy for personalized pet care experiences byLeading strategic discovery and user research to understand pain points and validate opportunities.Facilitating cross-functional workshops to align Product, Science, Marketing, and Engineering around user-centered solutionsSynthesizing research findings, user feedback, and scientific insights into actionable product opportunities that drive behavioral change, engagement and community.Systems Thinking & Design GovernanceGovern the design system across product, marketing, and brand touchpointsEnsure cohesive user experience, brand cohesion and design quality across our product portfolio, app and web surfacesHands-On Design & ExecutionAct as a player-coach: contributing hands-on design work while mentoring and guiding your team.Design and prototype AI/LLM-powered experiences, crafting a variety of UIs and interaction patterns to deliver adaptive interfaces and journeys that encourage the behaviors and habits we aim to inspire.Work closely with Product Management and Engineering to translate designs into scalable, performant implementations and manage tradeoffs (latency, caching, data loading)Collaboration & LeadershipPartner with Product and Engineering to track key outcomes (activation, engagement, retention) and iteratively refine solutionsConnect insights to product roadmap decisions and business outcomes through ongoing leadership collaborationMentor, coach, and grow design talent—setting a culture of curiosity, craft excellence, and collaboration.Build trusted partnerships with leaders across Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Science to ensure alignment of design with business and customer outcomes.Experience we’re looking forCore CompetenciesStrong strategic thinking: Ability to lead discovery, synthesize complex information, and facilitate alignment around product directionSystems thinking: Can work across multiple touchpoints and teams to create cohesive experiences. Understands how design decisions in one area impact the broader customer journey and product ecosystem.Design Craft: Solid skills across UX strategy, research, interaction, and visual designTechnical literacy: Can collaborate effectively with engineering and understand implementation constraintsCore Experience7 years of professional design experience, with a minimum of 2 years in a leadership roleTrack record of leading strategic discovery and facilitating collaborative problem-solving with cross-functional teamsA portfolio demonstrating the ability to design and ship engaging consumer experiences that deliver measurable behavioral impactExperience in growth-focused product design and leading habit-forming product strategiesStrong communication skills, able to present design solutions and inspire confidence among executives and non-design stakeholders.Experience hiring, structuring, or scaling a design teamFamiliarity with freemium or trial-to-paid monetization models and balancing engagement vs. premium value.Demonstrated capacity to quickly learn and design for emerging technologies, such as AI/LLM, with a focus on translating complexity into simple, behaviorally impactful experiencesNice-to-HavesHealth, wellness, or science-based consumer product experienceDTC subscription, e-commerce, or freemium SaaS backgroundPrior startup experience.BenefitsFlexible vacation policy – take the time you need, when you need it.Paid parental leave – plus paw-ternity leave for new pet parentsEvery other Friday off in the summer – enjoy those long weekends.Subsidized pet insurance – because our pets are family.Big-company benefits with a startup feel – including a 401k match, semi-annual bonus, commuter benefits, and premium healthcare.Competitive salaries and stock options – be an owner in what we’re building.New MacBook Pros or Windows devices – the tools you need to succeed.Continuing education support – conferences, learning resources, and career growth opportunities.Salary: $180,000 - $210,000 depending on experience and qualificationsEmbark is an equal opportunity workplace and values diversity at our company. We are committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship status, sexual orientation, age, disability status, marital status, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected by federal, state or local laws. See also EEO is the Law.Powered by JazzHRSeniority levelDirectorEmployment typeFull-timeJob functionProduct Management and MarketingEEO and related notices were omitted for brevity. #J-18808-Ljbffr