VP, Product Design, Newspapers

With more than 3,000 employees across the nation, Hearst Newspapers publishes 28 dailies and 52 weeklies, including the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, Austin American Statesman, San Antonio Express-News, Albany Times Union, and CT Insider.

It is our singular mission to be the most trusted, most respected, and most accurate source of news and information in the communities we serve.

We place our readers' interests above all others, dedicating ourselves to the principles of truthfulness, fairness, and independence. We understand that the free flow of accurate information is vital to our democracy and economy.

The Hearst Newspapers Product Development team delivers best-in-class product experiences that balance editorial, business, and audience needs, and guides product strategy to enable future products and services. Our team includes engineers, DevOps, QA, product managers, strategists, designers, and product operations specialists. We are organized into cross-functional pods supporting end users, internal users, and revenue growth, working closely with Content and Revenue teams.

We're looking for a transformational design executive to redefine product design at Hearst Newspapers. This is a role for a bold leader who can set a vision, raise standards, and move fast to deliver innovation.

The ideal candidate has deep expertise in UX and product strategy, a track record of launching products from zero-to-one, and an active presence in the global design community. They will bring outside perspective, thought leadership, and energy to push our teams beyond incremental improvement.  They will be skilled in leveraging AI to speed design iterations.

This leader will shape the design culture, establish Hearst as a design thought leader, and partner closely with product and engineering executives to create products that are useful, usable, distinctive, and loved by diverse audiences.

Visionary Leadership

• Set a clear, ambitious design vision that elevates the role of design as a driver of product and business strategy.
• Build, coach, and inspire a small team of designers and researchers while raising organizational design maturity and demanding excellence.

Strategic Product Design

• Own UX strategy end-to-end: from framing the right problems to designing user journeys, prototypes, and product opportunities.
• Lead rapid experimentation and deliver early, tangible wins that demonstrate the impact of design on business outcomes.

Collaboration & Facilitation

• Partner with Product, Engineering, Content, and Revenue leaders to co-create new ventures, align on priorities, and bring products to market quickly.
• Facilitate workshops and design sprints that surface bold ideas and help stakeholders rally around customer needs.

User Research & Insights

• Oversee qualitative and quantitative research; translate insights into actionable opportunities and measure design's impact.

Design Systems

• Drive the development of scalable, atomic/component-based systems that empower teams and accelerate delivery across platforms.

External Thought Leadership

• Maintain a visible presence in the design industry—publishing, speaking, and engaging with peers to bring fresh thinking into Hearst.
• Represent Hearst Newspapers as a leader in design innovation at relevant communities and events.

Advocacy

• Champion the voice of the user and the value of design across the organization, using storytelling and facilitation to influence executives and teams.
   

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years in product design with at least 3 years in a senior leadership role transforming design practices.
• Proven track record of launching innovative products from zero-to-one and influencing product strategy.
• Deep expertise in UX research, design thinking, interaction design, atomic design principles, and UI design.
• Strong portfolio showcasing strategic design leadership, early-stage product incubation, and measurable product impact.
• Demonstrated active engagement in the design community (e.g., speaking, publishing, contributing to industry groups, open-source, or other forms of thought leadership).
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence C-suite conversations and drive alignment across functions.
   

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with design thinking and lean product development approaches.
• Proficiency in Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, and similar tools.
• Bachelor's degree in Design, HCI, or related field (Master's degree preferred).
• Familiarity with pattern libraries and AI Design tools

In accordance with applicable law, Hearst is required to include a reasonable estimate of the compensation for this role if hired in New York, NY. The reasonable estimate is $200,000 - $220,000. A final decision on the successful candidate's starting salary will be based on a number of permissible, non-discriminatory factors, including but not limited to skills and experience, training, certifications, and education.