Director, Product Design

The role: 

• As a member of our Design team, the Director, Product Design will lead the strategy and vision for design across our products. 
• You are a strong leader, design evangelist, and thought partner with comprehensive industry knowledge. 
• You will retain, motivate, and develop a high-performing design team while fostering an environment for helping others learn and grow.You do not shy away from difficult conversations and you will coach and mentor team members by providing effective performance feedback to improve and develop optimum performance through day-to-day design challenges.
• You will produce non-obvious user experience insights to create innovative designs for Newsela and identify ways to improve the user experience both visually and by measurable user outcomes. 
• You will independently produce, deliver, and validate high-quality end-to-end product(s), with a focus on ideating short-term design strategies and features with our product team that balances strategic business goals with the needs of clients.
• You will collaborate with core team members to introduce new product features and create a better user experience based on user feedback. 
• You will partner closely across our cross-functional team to bring the voice of the customer to every conversation – and ensure we are building the best products in the market.
• You will be building the org by creating and executing on design vision with a focus on quality metrics for usability while delivering experiences that drive growth. You will be leading the design strategy and influencing direction by using data, examples, and sway to create the vision for where the product design should head for dynamic experiences.

Why you’ll love this role:

• You will have the opportunity to have an impact on the design strategy and vision across Newsela’s products. 
• You will be joining a fun team with the opportunity for virtual get-togethers and on-site events throughout the year.
• The team is a blend of high-functioning and collaborative Product Designers and User Researchers who are key in shaping our features and products.
• You will have a direct impact on our customer-obsessed team who deeply cares about shaping our teacher and student experience, which will ultimately scale Newsela’s ability to bring engaging, culturally responsive learning content to K-12 classrooms nationwide.

Why you’re a great fit:

• 3+ years of experience leading design teams and a minimum of 7+ years of product design experience. Skilled at implementing and optimizing the organizational structure and creative development processes that allow the design team to scale with the company.
• Experience with a wide range of design prototyping tools and methods like sketching, storyboarding, diagramming, wireframing, prototyping, and user research.
• Deep knowledge in 2-3 key areas: UX/Prototyping & Interaction Design, UI/Visual Design, Understanding Human Behavior, Business and Product Strategy, Design Thinking, Accessibility and Inclusive Design, Information Design, Information Architecture, and Design Systems.
• Product-minded design leader with the confidence and ability to be a thought partner to business leads and our Senior VP of Product.
• Cross-functional partnership experience across the organization, including Product, Engineering, Marketing, Customer Services, Sales, and Leadership.
• You can effectively guide designers to communicate and negotiate with other cross-functional members.
• You have proven experience fostering strong relationships with cross-functional agile teams while successfully managing many stakeholders through all phases of the design process.
• Excellent communication, presentation, interpersonal, and negotiation skills for a broad range of audiences including leadership.
• Ability to drive end-to-end product design and lead the design strategy of our entire product portfolio.
• You are confident engaging with executives and updating the design framework and processes to meet emerging customer and internal needs.