Head of Design

Head of Design (NYC) | Player-Coach | High-Velocity Startup

We’re hiring a Head of Design to lead product design at a high-growth startup in New York City. This is a true player-coach role: you’ll set the bar for craft and product thinking, ship meaningful work yourself, and build a team that can scale with speed.

If you’re the kind of design leader who can zoom out to direction and zoom in to details, you’ll fit

• Define the product experience vision and translate it into an executable design roadmap.
• Raise the quality bar across interaction design, visual craft, and systems thinking.
• Build the operating system for design: critiques, quality checks, design reviews, decision-making, and standards.

• Stay hands‑on in high‑leverage areas (key flows, foundational systems, new bets, strategic partners).
• Partner tightly with Product and Engineering to move from ambiguity to shipped outcomes.
• Balance velocity with coherence, so the product doesn’t become a Frankenstein.

• Hire and develop a high‑performing design team: product designers, brand/visual, research, and/or content design as needed.
• Create clear levels, expectations, and growth paths.
• Build a culture where people do their best work, quickly, without burning out.

• Establish strong relationships with founders and senior leadership.
• Influence product strategy through customer insight, strong taste, and clear prioritization.
• Make design a force‑multiplier for the whole org, not a service desk.

• 8+ years in product design, including meaningful time leading and scaling teams.
• Credible as both strategist and doer
  : you can lead through the work, not just through taste‑based commentary.
• Track record shipping high‑quality product in fast‑moving environments (0→1, 1→n, or both).
• Strong hiring instincts and an operator mindset: you know how to structure teams, scope work, and set a cadence.
• Excellent collaborator with engineering: you can debate tradeoffs without making it weird.
• Strong communication: clear, direct, and persuasive with execs and ICs.
• NYC‑based. This role is built for in‑person collaboration.
• Experience working in early‑stage startups
• Built or revamped a design system that materially improved speed and consistency.
• Comfort in environments with imperfect product process (you can help create the clarity).
• Strong network for hiring and/or brand‑building within the design community.

• You’ll have meaningful influence on product direction and company trajectory.
• You’ll be the person who turns “we need design” into a design org that ships.
• You’ll get to build: team, culture, and the product experience foundation.