Lead Product Designer

At Instawork, we’re driven by our vision to create economic opportunity for local businesses and skilled hourly professionals in communities around the world. With a growing number of hub cities across the world in the U.S., Canada, India, and beyond, we’re looking for top talent to help rapidly scale our high-tech and high-touch labor marketplace. Our accomplished and dedicated team is passionate about our mission and committed to crafting revolutionary products, all with the backing of our world-class investors, including Benchmark, Spark Capital, Craft Ventures, Greylock Capital, Y Combinator, and more

**Who You Are**
- You strike a balance between idealism and pragmatism. You are excited about setting a big vision for the future, while also enthusiastically rolling up your sleeves to ship the smaller improvements it takes to get there..
- You’ve been part of a high-functioning product and design team and have led user research efforts to answer product questions and validate your work. You’re ready to take ownership of the end-to-end design process of the most critical areas of our product.
- You’re confident in your craft and able to give useful feedback to others, but keep a beginners mindset. You’re always open to new ideas and learning new ways of doing things.
- You always get it done, whatever it is. You’re proactive and comfortable taking action even when it’s met with skepticism and doubt. You don’t wait for others to unblock you when you can unblock yourself.
- You understand that everything we ship becomes a part of our design system, intentional or not. You’re adept at knowing when to leverage existing components and when to make a case for a new one.

**What You’ll Do**
- Contribute to our design system:

- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop reusable components, patterns, and guidelines that enhance user experience and accelerate the whole team.
- Conduct regular audits and make updates to components to incorporate feedback and emerging best practices.
- Become an advocate for design system use at Instawork, helping others leverage and evolve components effectively.
- Strategy and Leadership:

- Partner with your product manager to define and drive the overall strategy for your product area, ensuring alignment with business goals and user needs.
- Mentor your fellow UX designers, providing guidance, feedback, and growth opportunities.
- User Research and Testing:

- Conduct and oversee user research activities, including interviews, surveys, usability testing, and competitive analysis.
- Analyze and synthesize research findings to inform design decisions and validate concepts.
- Advocate for user-centered design methodologies and ensure that user feedback is integrated into the design process.
- Design Execution and Collaboration:

- Work closely with developers to ensure accurate implementation of design specifications and provide ongoing support during the development process.
- Facilitate design reviews and present design solutions to stakeholders at various stages of the project lifecycle.
- Develop and deliver high-quality design solutions efficiently and autonomously.
- Continuous Improvement and Innovation:

- Stay current with industry trends, best practices, and emerging technologies in UX design and design systems.
- Foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement within the design team.
- Identify opportunities to enhance the user experience and propose creative solutions to complex design challenges.

**Experience**
- At least 6+ years experience as a product designer, with a strong portfolio demonstrating expertise in design systems and user-centered design.
- Mastery in design tools like Figma
- Strong understanding of front-end technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) and their impact on design.
- Excellent communication, presentation, and collaboration skills.
- Ability to think strategically and execute methodically in a fast-paced environment.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a keen attention to detail.

**Bonus**
- Entrepreneurship or small startup experience
- Experience working in an Agile development environment
- Knowledge of accessibility standards and best practices
- Experience with motion design and micro-interactions
- Familiarity with design thinking methodologies

**About Instawork**
- Founded in 2016,_ _Instawork_ is the leading flexible work app for local, hourly professionals. Its digital marketplace connects thousands of businesses and more than five million workers, filling a critical role in local economies. Instawork has been featured on CBS News, the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Associated Press, and more. In 2022, Instawork was ranked among the country’s top 10% of fastest-growing companies by Inc. 5000 and was included in the Forbes Next Billion Dollar Startup list. Instawork was also named the 2022 ACE Award recipient for “Best Innovation” and one of the “Best Busin