Position: Founding Product Designer @ seed-stage AI startup building a “cognitive companion”

Location: NYC, SF, or Seattle - hybrid onsite 1-2x/week (in SF and NYC, will be remote to start)

Must be currently based in NYC, SF or Seattle.

Possibly open to candidates in CA, WA and NY not in those cities, in exceptional cases.

Salary: $150K - $170K base + significant equity! + unlimited PTO

Sorry, no visa support is available.

About our client:

Get in on the ground floor of an exciting, early stage AI startup with seasoned leadership! They’re building a “cognitive companion” and creating a new category of knowledge management with their revolutionary AI tool. Yep, it’s as cool as it sounds.

This is also an incredible growth opportunity - if you have prior management experience, or even strong mentoring experience, you can potentially grow into a Head of Design role here.

Their culture is kind, collaborative, diverse, and progressive. We worked with their CEO in his last role - he’s a Product leader from both Google and a renowned no/low code startup in NYC, with an MBA from Harvard. His CTO partner oversees Design, and she was a longtime Eng leader at Dropbox and Microsoft.

Their company’s mission is to revolutionize workflow processes and access to information through the power of AI. Their ambient AI-driven “cognitive companion” proactively surfaces relevant knowledge across multiple data sources exactly when it’s needed, creating a seamless workflow. 

They’re not just building a tool; they’re creating a new category of knowledge management that integrates seamlessly with AI to amplify human potential. It learns who the user is over time so that it can surface just the right information, right when the user needs it.

Their initial target users are knowledge workers - ie, researchers, VC investors, marketers, consultants, executives, or even students or lifelong learners.

They scored a $3M seed stage fund last winter, led by Crosslink Capital, a big West coast VC that also backed Clyde, BetterUp, Enigma, Postmates, and also exits at Casper and Ancestry.

They are growing, passionate, and squarely on a path to revolutionize how we work!

About the Role:

As a Founding Product Designer, you’ll play a crucial role in shaping the future of their AI-driven platform. You’ll be responsible for designing intuitive and delightful user experiences across web, desktop, mobile, and other platforms. 

This is a rare opportunity to be part of an early-stage startup where you’ll be on the cutting edge of AI, as well as helping define the direction of the product while influencing every aspect of its design.

You’ll be the first designer on the team, working directly with the co-founders, including the CTO, to define and execute a clear and strategic design vision. 

If you have prior management or strong mentoring experience, there’s potential for this role to evolve into Head of Product Design down the road, making this a great opportunity for candidates who are excited about growing with a fast-moving startup and taking on leadership responsibilities.

Responsibilities:

• Lead design efforts for their AI-powered knowledge management tool, creating user experiences that make complex AI capabilities accessible and intuitive
• Own the design vision across all platforms (web, desktop, mobile, Chrome extension) and ensure a cohesive user experience across touchpoints
• Collaborate closely with engineering to translate complex AI functionality into user-friendly interfaces
• Drive the end-to-end design process from ideation and prototyping to user validation and final implementation
• Conduct user research and directly speak to users to deeply understand pain points and unmet needs, using those insights to refine designs
• Build and scale their design system, ensuring consistency and efficiency across all products
• Work closely with the CTO and co-founders to align design with the overall product strategy
• You don’t need to come out of Brand or Visual Design, but you can weigh in on overall brand guidelines and ensure it fits into a cohesive whole with their product design
• Potentially mentor and grow a design team as the company expands, evolving into a leadership role as our client grows
• Participate in AI research and explore new tools and technologies to push the boundaries of design in the AI era

Skills You’ll Be Bringing:

Required:

• 5+ years of experience designing and shipping successful digital products, including complex enterprise / b2b software
• Some b2c experience as well, as this is a consumer-grade knowledge management tool. Look / feel count for a lot.
• A strong portfolio demonstrating both aesthetic UI excellence as well as complex UX design, and measurable user impact
• Proven experience designing across multiple platforms (web, desktop, mobile) with a focus on creating seamless, user-centered experiences
• A deep understanding of the intersection between AI systems and human cognition, with the ability to design intuitive interactions that make complex AI accessible
• Well-rounded skills across UX, Research, and Visual UI - you can know what to build, as well as how to make it look great
• Past experience interfacing directly to users, and being able to quickly mock up ideas based on user feedback
• Strong skills in design systems, with experience creating and scaling them across products
• Proficiency in design tools like Figma and ability to craft high-fidelity prototypes that communicate interactions effectively
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present design decisions clearly and confidently to stakeholders
• A passion for creating products that make a real difference in users' lives, with an empathetic and user-focused approach to design
• Self-driven, with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, startup environment where ambiguity is a given, and speed and velocity are key
• Experience exploring and using AI tools to enhance design workflows and prototyping, and you are already incorporating AI into your daily work, and can speak conversantly about your experience here
• Passion for the AI space and a willingness to experiment and play!

Nice to Haves:

• Experience leading 0-to-1 design initiatives, ideally in a startup or early-stage company
• Familiarity with productivity tools, knowledge management systems, or AI/ML-powered interfaces
• Previous experience working in a team with AI-driven products, particularly in the context of ambient AI
• Coding skills (e.g., HTML, CSS, JavaScript) are a plus but not required
• A desire to take on more leadership and potentially become the Head of Product Design as the company grows, but this is not required

Perks:

• Competitive salary and meaningful equity, with significant growth potential as the company scales
• Hybrid work environment with flexibility to work from Seattle, SF, NYC, 1-2x/week in office, although this could be even more flexible
• Health insurance including medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Unlimited PTO
• The opportunity to be part of a mission-driven startup with a deeply collaborative culture
• A chance to grow into a leadership position as the company scales

To apply:

Apply here on our website, or send your resume, portfolio, comp range, and location / openness to hybrid onsite to:

team (at) joanneweavergroup.com 

If this isn't for you, but you know someone who might be great:

We give up to a $1,000 referral bonus for the longterm placement of your peeps - and lots of thanks! 

You can send their names or LinkedIn URLs our way to team (at) joanneweavergroup.com, and please let us know if we can drop your name. We'd be so appreciative!