NYC: (Senior) Manager of Product Design, Payments

@ well-known Benefits / Payroll tech co helping SMBs

Location: 3 days/week onsite in NYC; sweeping views of the bay!

Comp: $190-230K base + strong equity package + world-class benefits

Visas: Sorry, no visa transfers available at this time

The client:

Chances are, if you've worked for a startup or an established small-to-medium-sized business, you're probably already familiar with our client!

They're a late-stage Benefits / Payroll platform tech company (Series E, pre-IPO) in an exciting stage of massive growth (we are working on 8 searches for them right now!), and with great name recognition in the tech space. They provide SMBs - including many in the tech industry - high-quality, enterprise-level health insurance and payroll tools that smaller businesses and their employees wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

They also have an incredible culture, rooted in honesty, openness, integrity, friendliness, no-ego, and inclusion – “collaboration” isn’t just a a word on a cheesy poster in their hallways – it’s their values at their core.

It’s truly a dreamy place to work, and this is a golden opportunity to lead one of their highest-visibility teams (Payments) that will be instrumental to their growth ahead.

Their street cred:

Fortune magazine named them to their Best Workplaces in New York list 5 times, and they’re also on BuiltIn’s list of “NYC Best Large Companies to Work For".

They’ve been in business for 10+ years and are an important player in the $40B HR Tech industry. They’re secured $160M in funding from top VCs including Bain, Thrive, Union Square Ventures.

Their star is rapidly rising; it’s a great time to get in the door! They recently expanded into global markets and have grown consistently and intelligently year over year, including during times when many other companies were laying people off. 

They’re currently at 1300 total employees, with 30+ Designers, and have doubled their Product org in the last 2 years. They’re now adding a full suite of products to their already well-known core product, so they’re in a great place for continued growth and visibility!

What’s happening there in Design:

A year ago, they hired their first-ever VP of Design, who we’ve known for years and ADORE. His arrival there is a great signal for their investment in Design and respect for the discipline, and indeed, he’s raised the visibility and power of Design within the org exponentially.

We’ve helped this VP grow his teams through the years and have seen firsthand how his design teams adore and trust him. He’s empathic, strategic, supersmart, and a thought leader in the space. Plus, he’s got a great sense of humor – which makes for a super enjoyable work vibe!

This role reports into a Directors of PD who is great, too. She’s seasoned, kind, comes out of well-known companies, and her teams shine under her leadership.

The role:

They’re seeking a fulltime, seasoned (Senior) Manager of Product Design for their Payments team, to work onsite 3x / week in their lower NYC office.

The Payments team is hugely important one – it’s THE key team that’s instrumental to our client continuing their successful flight path of growth, and a lot of eyes (including the CEO’s) and resources are dedicated to it.

You are a collaborative, visionary design leader with relevant B2B or SaaS experience, 4+ minimum years of management experience, a proven track record of managing teams of 4-6 people, and have applicable experience designing software products and experiences, with some experience in SaaS or B2B companies.

You’ve most likely already been operating at a Manager or even Senior Manager level or equivalent for at least a few years. This isn’t a role for someone looking to stretch up into it; they need someone highly seasoned with a longstanding, proven track record of leadership, who can come in and start creating value for both the company and your teams right away.

That said, you still keep a portfolio and you have a strong sense of craft, as this role, while it leans towards leadership and management (70-80%), there is still a hands on design element to it, too (20-30%). You are comfortable using Figma, and you’ve started to dig into and incorporate AI into your design process. (You don’t have to be an expert, but you’re intrigued by new technology and can use it in out-of-the-box-thinking ways.

You are a compassionate and supportive people manager who inspires Design teams to do their best work, and you have created and grown a Design culture within an org.

You have a strategic mindset and lean on data to inform and track business goals.

An excellent communicator and enthusiastic collaborator, you work well with team members, external partners, and senior management. You use communication and presentation skills to engage, inspire and influence. You’re a fabulous storyteller!

What you’ll get to do in this role:

• Manage and develop a team of 4-6 IC-level Designers, influencing product direction and roadmaps in support of business objectives.
• Build strong, collaborative working relationships with leadership, product development, and product marketing teams to drive alignment on product vision, direction, and strategy.
• Partner with your peers in Experience Design as well as Manager- and Director-level leaders across Engineering, Product Management, Marketing, Support, and Sales, to ensure delivery of customer value, product usability, feasibility, and business viability.
• Use your experience as a people leader to unlock the best in your teams to develop their skills and help them do the best work of their careers.
• Help define design culture, standards, guidelines, best practices, and processes.
• Understand company strategic goals, connecting these to your teams’ missions, weaving them into product and design strategy to ensure that your teams’ investments and experiments are aligned with the needs of the company.
• Help hire and retain top talent, focusing on attracting designers from various backgrounds and perspectives.

What they're looking for in your portfolio:

• You’ve got a portfolio of case studies demonstrating how you have used the above skills to lead teams to deliver exemplary design work to achieve meaningful business outcomes.
• We’d love to know the results / success metrics of your work, for both the business AND the end user.
• The level of design craft of your portfolio should exemplify what you consider to be ‘great design” and the kind of design that you want your design team to strive to achieve.

The ideal candidate has:

• 8+ years of applicable experience designing software products and experiences, with some experience in SaaS or B2B / B2B2C companies.
• 4+ minimum years of experience formally managing teams of Designers to successful outcomes, with team sizes of 4-6 people minimum
• Deep experience designing for complex workflows, ideally in payments, fintech, insurance, human resources, healthcare, benefits, or related and regulated domains.
• Expertise in a wide range of design methods, and the ability to demonstrate and teach best practices.
• Practical understanding of how qualitative and quantitative research and data inform product and design decisions.
• Attention to detail, and a refined sense of craft in visual design, typography, and brand expression.
• The ability to build influence and alignment with cross-functional partners and stakeholders of all levels including leadership across Engineering, Product, Research, Marketing, Data, and others.
• Executive presence and strong written and spoken communication skills.
• You are an empathetic listener who can give and receive honest, thoughtful feedback.
• You make space for reflection and proactive learning.
• You set high standards for yourself and others and can help others meet these with a growth mindset. You create psychological safety for your teams to grow.

Comp:

$190-230K base + meaningful equity + great benefits

Benefits:

World-class health insurance, unlimited PTO, a dog-friendly office, 16-week parental leave, full or partial coverage for Citibike / Talkspace / Headspace / Peloton / Classpass memberships, ERG groups, continued learning resources, fitness discounts, wellness room, and more.

Visas:

Sorry, but no visa transfers are available at this time.

TO APPLY:

Email us at team@joanneweavergroup.com with your resume, portfolio, openness to 3x/week onsite in NYC, and desired comp range.

Or, apply here online, and just pop us an email to the above team@ address letting us know you applied.

We'll get back to you if this feels like it could be a good fit for you!



MORE ROLES:

Not for you but you want to hear about more of our roles? Check out our Job Board here: https://tinyurl.com/yt2z7jdd

$1,000 Referral Bonus!

Not for you but know great folks in NYC to recommend? We give up to a $1,000 referral bonus for the longterm placement of your peeps - and lots of thanks!