Director of Product, Design Systems

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Director of Product, Design Systems

Company: Higharc

Location: Remote (United States)

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Management / Design Systems Platform

Date Posted: April 29, 2026

Experience Level: Senior (10+ years)

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the product vision, strategy, and execution for Higharc's core platform experience, encompassing the entire flow from drafting to construction documents, with a strong emphasis on design systems principles.

• Drive the transformation of Higharc's Studio product into a robust platform by exposing core building models and drafting workflows through APIs for seamless integration with customer and partner systems.

• Define and integrate AI capabilities across the product portfolio, both within core workflows and as shared platform services, leveraging proprietary homebuilding data.

• Own and track key product metrics and business outcomes, ensuring accountability for performance, adoption, quality, and overall impact.

• Foster a high-performing team of product managers, supporting their growth and maintaining a high standard for product thinking, execution, and customer impact.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a Director, indicating a significant level of strategic responsibility and team leadership. The focus on "Design Systems" and "Platform" suggests a need for individuals with a strong understanding of scalable, reusable components and architectural principles, which are critical for efficient product development and consistency. The emphasis on APIs and AI integration points towards a forward-thinking product leader adept at leveraging modern technologies to drive business value.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Develop and manage a team of product managers, fostering their professional development and ensuring a high-performance culture within the product organization.

• Establish and articulate the product vision, strategy, and roadmap for Higharc's core platform, with a specific focus on the end-to-end journey from initial drafting to the generation of construction documents.

• Spearhead the platformization of the Studio product by designing and implementing APIs that expose the fundamental building model and drafting workflows, enabling direct integration with external design, estimating, and operational systems.

• Collaborate with the R&D team to strategically embed AI across the product portfolio, developing both embedded intelligence within core workflows and shared platform capabilities that can be leveraged by multiple teams and products.

• Define, monitor, and report on key product metrics and business outcomes, taking clear accountability for performance, user adoption, product quality, and overall impact over time.

• Work in close partnership with Engineering and Design leadership to translate complex technical and workflow challenges into scalable, intuitive, and high-quality product experiences.

• Shape the strategy for how platform capabilities are exposed, extended, and leveraged through integrations, internal tooling, and shared services across the entire company.

• Create clarity and direction in ambiguous problem spaces by effectively connecting customer needs, technical architecture, and overarching company strategy into a cohesive product roadmap.

• Stay abreast of industry trends and emerging technologies, with a particular focus on advancements in AI, design automation, 3D workflows, interoperability standards, and construction technology.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic leadership, team management, and deep product execution, particularly concerning platform development and AI integration. The emphasis on turning "Studio product into a platform" through APIs is a critical differentiator for this role, requiring a product leader with a strong architectural and integration mindset.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Product Management, or a related field is often preferred for roles of this seniority and technical scope. Advanced degrees (Master's or MBA) can be advantageous.

Experience: 8+ years of progressive product management experience, with a proven track record of successfully shipping complex platform, workflow, or systems-driven products that have delivered significant customer and business impact. Minimum of 4 years in people management, demonstrating expertise in coaching, mentoring, and developing product managers.

Required Skills:

• Product Vision & Strategy: Ability to define and articulate a compelling product vision and strategic roadmap for complex platform areas.

• People Management: Proven experience in leading, managing, and developing teams of product managers, fostering growth and high performance.

• Platform Product Development: Strong track record of shipping platform products, understanding scalability, APIs, and integration strategies.

• Systems Thinking: Demonstrated ability to connect technical architecture, customer workflows, and business goals into cohesive product solutions.

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Experience leading and collaborating with diverse teams including Product, Engineering, Design, and Go-to-Market (GTM) in fast-paced environments.

• Design Judgment: Ability to pair strong product thinking with excellent design sensibilities to ensure intuitive, cohesive, and high-quality user experiences.

• Customer Focus: Deep understanding of customer needs and the ability to translate them into effective product solutions.

• Communication & Stakeholder Management: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to align stakeholders and drive decisions at strategic and tactical levels.

• Ambiguity Navigation: Comfort and proficiency in operating in ambiguous environments, translating broad problem spaces into focused roadmaps and execution plans.

• Product Metrics & Business Outcomes: Ability to define, track, and analyze product metrics to drive business outcomes and demonstrate impact.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in architecture, construction technology, design tools, or homebuilding software.

• Familiarity with 3D workflows, CAD, BIM systems, configurators, or construction document generation.

• Experience with API design, integration strategies, broader platform strategy, or AI-enabled product experiences.

• Proven track record of scaling services designed to handle high data loads efficiently.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirements emphasize a blend of strategic leadership, technical understanding of platforms and APIs, and people management. The "plus" skills are highly relevant to the construction technology domain, suggesting that candidates with this specific industry experience will have a significant advantage. The "10+" experience level inferred by the AI aligns with the Director title and the scope of responsibilities.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Platform Strategy Case Studies: Showcase examples of products or features that were designed as platforms, highlighting how they enabled extensibility, integration, and scalability for other teams or external partners.

• API-First Product Development: Include projects where API design and integration were central to the product's success, demonstrating an understanding of developer experience and ecosystem building.

• Workflow Optimization Documentation: Present case studies detailing the analysis and improvement of complex workflows, such as drafting to construction document generation, emphasizing efficiency gains and process streamlining.

• AI Integration Examples: If applicable, provide examples of how AI or machine learning was incorporated into product features or platforms, detailing the problem solved, the technology used, and the resulting impact.

• Design Systems Contributions: Highlight any experience with or contributions to design systems, demonstrating an understanding of consistency, reusability, and scalable design principles across a product suite.

Process Documentation:

• Roadmap Development & Execution: Demonstrate a structured approach to roadmap planning, prioritization, and execution, showing how strategic goals translate into actionable product initiatives.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration Frameworks: Illustrate how you facilitate collaboration between Product, Engineering, Design, and other departments to ensure alignment and efficient product delivery.

• Metrics Definition & Analysis: Showcase a methodical approach to defining key performance indicators (KPIs) for platform products and conducting data analysis to inform product decisions and measure success.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Director-level role focused on platform and design systems, a portfolio should not only showcase past successes but also demonstrate strategic thinking around scalability, integration, and team leadership. The emphasis on APIs, AI, and workflow optimization is critical. It's essential for candidates to illustrate how they've built foundational products that enable others.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for a Director of Product with 10+ years of experience, managing product teams, and specializing in platform/design systems in a remote US-based role at a well-funded startup, a competitive salary range is estimated between $200,000 - $270,000 USD per year. This range can vary based on specific experience, interview performance, and the candidate's location within the US (though remote roles often aim for a more standardized compensation band).

Benefits:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.

• Unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO) to promote work-life balance.

• Meaningful maternity and paternity leave for US-based full-time employees.

• Short-term and long-term disability plans.

• 401K retirement savings plan.

• Significant equity in a fast-growing, well-funded startup.

• Home office stipend to help create an optimal remote work environment.

• Flexible working hours to support personal and professional needs.

Working Hours: The role is full-time, typically requiring approximately 40 hours per week. Higharc emphasizes flexible hours, allowing employees to manage their schedules to optimize productivity and work-life integration, while still ensuring timely collaboration with team members across different time zones.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on data for Director-level Product Management roles in the US tech sector, particularly for remote positions at venture-backed startups. The inclusion of significant equity is a key component of compensation at this level in such companies. The benefits package is robust and typical for a remote-first, growth-stage technology company.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Higharc operates within the Construction Technology (ConTech) and PropTech sectors, specifically focusing on transforming residential home design and construction through software. The company is a VC-backed startup, indicating a dynamic, fast-paced, and innovation-driven environment.

Company Size: Higharc is a growing startup that has raised significant funding ($83M), suggesting a team size likely in the range of 50-200 employees. This size typically offers a balance between the agility of a smaller company and the structure needed for scaling operations.

Founded: Founded in 2018, Higharc is a relatively young company with a clear mission to revolutionize home design and construction. This relatively short history implies a culture that is likely still evolving, with a strong emphasis on innovation, rapid iteration, and building foundational processes from the ground up.

Team Structure:

• The Product organization at Higharc is structured to support its strategic pillars. This Director role leads a significant pillar focused on the "core platform experience" and "design systems."

• The team likely consists of multiple product managers, each potentially owning specific areas within the platform, reporting up to this Director.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Product Development: With a focus on product metrics and business outcomes, the approach is likely data-informed, utilizing analytics to guide decisions and measure impact.

• Agile & Iterative Development: Common in startups, an agile methodology is probable, allowing for rapid prototyping, testing, and iteration based on customer feedback and market dynamics.

• Systems & Platform Thinking: The core of this role involves building foundational, scalable systems and platforms, emphasizing modularity, APIs, and reusability.

• AI Integration: A forward-looking methodology that actively seeks to leverage AI and machine learning to enhance product capabilities and user experiences.

Company Website: https://www.higharc.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on revolutionizing home design and construction through technology, combined with its startup status and significant funding, points to an environment that values innovation, speed, and a strong technical foundation. The "Director of Product, Design Systems" title implies a critical role in establishing and scaling the company's core product architecture and user experience consistency.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Director-level position within Product Management. It signifies a senior leadership role responsible for a major product area, including strategic direction, roadmap ownership, and people management. This level requires a blend of deep product expertise, strategic foresight, and the ability to lead and develop talent. The focus on platform and design systems indicates a specialization within product management that is foundational to a company's scalability and product quality.

Reporting Structure: The Director of Product, Design Systems will likely report to a VP of Product, Chief Product Officer (CPO), or potentially a CTO, depending on the company's organizational structure. They will directly manage a team of Product Managers.

Operations Impact: This role has a profound impact on Higharc's ability to scale and innovate. By defining the core platform and design system, this Director will enable faster product development across the company, ensure a consistent and high-quality user experience, and facilitate integrations that expand Higharc's ecosystem. The success of the platform directly influences the efficiency of GTM teams and the overall market competitiveness of Higharc's offerings.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Expansion: Potential to grow into a VP of Product or CPO role as the company scales, overseeing larger product portfolios and strategic initiatives.

• Domain Specialization: Deepen expertise in construction technology, AI in product development, and platform strategy, becoming a recognized leader in these niche areas.

• Strategic Influence: Play a key role in shaping the long-term product strategy and technological direction of Higharc, influencing company-wide decisions.

• Mentorship & Team Building: Develop a career path focused on building and scaling high-performing product teams, honing leadership and talent development skills.

📝 Enhancement Note: The Director title implies a significant scope of influence, not just within product but across the entire organization. The focus on foundational platform elements means this role is critical for Higharc's future growth trajectory and technical scalability.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Higharc operates as a remote-first company. This means there is no central physical office for teams to gather daily. The work environment is entirely virtual, relying on digital collaboration tools.

Office Location(s): While the position is remote within the United States, Higharc's founding team has ties to various tech hubs, and their investors are distributed. The remote-first nature allows employees to work from anywhere within the US, offering flexibility in living arrangements.

Workspace Context:

• Digital Collaboration Hub: The primary workspace is digital, utilizing platforms like Slack, Zoom, Ashby, and potentially other project management and documentation tools for communication and collaboration.

• Home Office Setup: Employees are provided with a stipend to create an ergonomic and productive home office environment, ensuring they have the necessary tools and comfort for remote work.

• Asynchronous Communication: Given the distributed nature and flexible hours, there's an emphasis on effective asynchronous communication, ensuring information is accessible and workflows can proceed even when team members are not online simultaneously.

Work Schedule: Higharc offers flexible working hours. While full-time commitment is expected (approx. 40 hours/week), employees have autonomy in structuring their workdays to best suit their productivity and personal commitments. This flexibility is crucial for remote teams spread across different time zones within the US.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "remote-first" designation is key. Candidates should be comfortable with a fully virtual work environment and possess strong self-management and communication skills. The flexible hours are a significant perk but require discipline to ensure team alignment and project progress.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A brief call with a recruiter or hiring manager to assess basic qualifications, cultural fit, and interest in the role and Higharc.

• Hiring Manager Interview: In-depth discussion with the hiring manager (likely VP Product or CPO) covering strategic thinking, leadership experience, product philosophy, and alignment with Higharc's mission.

• Team/Peer Interviews: Meetings with key stakeholders, including Engineering and Design leads, and potentially other Product Managers. These interviews will focus on collaboration style, technical understanding, and ability to work with diverse teams.

• Product Case Study/Presentation: Candidates will likely be asked to prepare and present a case study or strategic plan related to platform development, design systems, or AI integration, demonstrating their product thinking, strategic approach, and communication skills.

• Executive Interview: A final conversation with a senior executive (e.g., CEO, CPO) to assess overall fit, strategic vision, and long-term potential.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Platform & Systemic Impact: Curate examples that clearly demonstrate your ability to build scalable platforms, design systems, or complex workflows. Highlight how your work enabled others or created foundational value.

• Quantify Impact: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your solution, the technologies used, and the measurable business outcomes (e.g., efficiency gains, adoption rates, revenue impact, reduced development time).

• Showcase Leadership: Include examples of how you've led teams, managed product managers, and influenced cross-functional stakeholders to achieve product goals.

• Demonstrate Systems Thinking: Explain your thought process behind architectural decisions, API design, and how you connected user needs with technical feasibility and business strategy.

• AI & API Proficiency: If possible, highlight specific projects involving API development, integration strategies, or AI/ML applications within product development.

Challenge Preparation:

• Platform Strategy Deep Dive: Be prepared to discuss your approach to defining a platform strategy, including identifying core components, enabling extensibility, and managing an API ecosystem.

• Design Systems Philosophy: Articulate your philosophy on design systems, their importance, and how to implement and scale them effectively across an organization.

• AI in Product: Think critically about how AI can be strategically applied to Higharc's domain (home design, construction) to create unique value and competitive advantages.

• Leadership Scenarios: Prepare for questions about managing product managers, handling underperformance, driving alignment across teams, and navigating ambiguity.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process for a Director-level role is rigorous, aiming to assess strategic leadership, technical depth, and cultural alignment. A strong portfolio that clearly demonstrates experience with platforms, APIs, and managing teams is essential. The case study is likely a critical component to evaluate strategic thinking and communication.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Product Management Platforms: Tools for roadmap planning, backlog management, and user story creation (e.g., Jira, Asana, Productboard, Aha!).

• Collaboration & Communication: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom for daily interaction and team meetings.

• Documentation & Knowledge Sharing: Confluence, Notion, Google Workspace for documenting processes, strategies, and product requirements.

• Design & Prototyping Tools: Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (for understanding Design System outputs and collaboration with Design).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics: Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics, or similar tools for tracking user behavior, feature adoption, and product performance.

• Business Intelligence (BI) Tools: Tableau, Power BI, Looker, or internal dashboards for reporting on key business and product metrics.

• Data Warehousing/ETL: Familiarity with how data is sourced and managed, potentially involving tools like Snowflake, Redshift, or data pipeline technologies.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems: Experience with Salesforce or similar CRM platforms for understanding customer data and sales/GTM processes.

• API Integration Tools: Understanding of RESTful APIs, GraphQL, and potentially tools for API management and integration (e.g., Postman, Swagger).

• AI/ML Platforms: Familiarity with AI/ML concepts and potentially cloud-based AI services (e.g., AWS SageMaker, Google AI Platform, Azure ML) or specific AI libraries if hands-on experience is relevant.

📝 Enhancement Note: The technology stack for a Director of Product, Design Systems role will be broad, encompassing tools for product management, collaboration, data analysis, and an understanding of developer tools (APIs). The emphasis on platform and AI suggests familiarity with modern cloud architectures and data infrastructure.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Obsession: A deep commitment to understanding and solving customer problems, particularly those within the architecture, design, and construction industries.

• Innovation & Ambition: A drive to push boundaries and create transformative solutions, exemplified by the company's mission and VC backing.

• Collaboration & Transparency: An emphasis on open communication, shared ownership, and cross-functional teamwork to achieve common goals.

• Rigor & Quality: A commitment to high standards in product development, design, and execution, ensuring scalable and reliable solutions.

• Systems Thinking & Scalability: A focus on building foundational products and processes that can grow and adapt with the company.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Strong emphasis on collaborative relationships between Product, Engineering, Design, and GTM teams, fostering a shared understanding and unified approach to product development.

• Data-Informed Decision Making: A culture where decisions are supported by data analysis and insights, encouraging a pragmatic and objective approach to problem-solving.

• Open Feedback & Iteration: An environment where constructive feedback is welcomed and utilized to continuously improve products, processes, and team dynamics.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture at Higharc, as a remote-first, well-funded startup in a disruptive industry, likely values agility, innovation, and strong execution. The emphasis on "systems thinking" and "rigor" aligns perfectly with the requirements of a Design Systems and Platform Director role.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Platform vs. Feature Development: The constant challenge of allocating resources and focus between building foundational platform capabilities and delivering immediate feature value to end-users.

• Defining and Maintaining Design System Cohesion: Ensuring the design system remains robust, scalable, and consistently adopted across a growing product suite and potentially multiple product teams.

• Integrating AI Strategically: Identifying and implementing AI capabilities that genuinely enhance user workflows and business outcomes, rather than being purely experimental.

• Navigating Ambiguity in a Startup: Thriving in a fast-paced, evolving startup environment where priorities and strategies may shift, requiring adaptability and resilience.

• Remote Team Management: Effectively leading and fostering a cohesive team culture in a fully remote setting, ensuring clear communication and engagement.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Dive into Construction Tech: Gain unparalleled expertise in the intricacies of home design and construction workflows, and how technology can optimize them.

• Platform Architecture & API Strategy: Develop advanced skills in designing and managing complex software platforms and API ecosystems.

• AI Product Development: Expand knowledge and practical application of AI/ML in product contexts, contributing to cutting-edge solutions.

• Leadership Development: Hone skills in people management, strategic planning, and executive communication through hands-on experience and potential company-provided training.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to a Director-level role in a rapidly scaling tech company, particularly one focused on foundational product elements. The growth opportunities are significant, offering a chance to shape a critical area of the business and develop expertise in high-demand fields like platform strategy and AI.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach defining the product vision and strategy for Higharc's core platform, considering our mission to change home design and construction?" (Focus on linking vision to company goals, market needs, and technical feasibility.)

• "Describe your philosophy on building and scaling a design system. What are the critical components, and how do you ensure adoption and consistency across product teams?" (Emphasize modularity, governance, developer experience, and collaboration with engineering/design.)

• "Where do you see the biggest opportunities for AI to impact the home design and construction lifecycle, and how would you prioritize these opportunities for Higharc's platform?" (Showcase understanding of the domain and strategic AI application.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why Higharc? What excites you about our mission and the problems we are solving?" (Demonstrate genuine interest in the company's industry and vision.)

• "Describe your experience managing and developing product managers. How do you foster a high-performing team, especially in a remote environment?" (Focus on leadership style, coaching techniques, and team-building strategies.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly outline the problem, your role/responsibilities, the solution developed (especially platform/API/AI aspects), the process followed, and the quantifiable results.

• Highlight Strategic Impact: Emphasize how your work contributed to broader company goals, scalability, efficiency, or innovation, not just individual feature success.

• Showcase Systems Thinking: Be prepared to walk through architectural diagrams, API designs, or workflow maps to illustrate your understanding of complex systems.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about your technical decisions, trade-offs made, and how you collaborated with engineering and design to bring your vision to life.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic leadership, a strong understanding of platform/design systems principles, and the ability to manage and grow a product team. Specific knowledge of the construction tech industry and AI applications will be a significant advantage.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Director of Product, Design Systems position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight experience in product management, platform development, API strategy, design systems, AI integration, and people management. Use keywords from the job description and quantify your achievements with metrics.

• Develop Your Portfolio: Curate 2-3 key case studies that best demonstrate your experience with platform strategy, API-first development, workflow optimization, and/or AI product development. Focus on impact and your strategic contributions.

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice articulating your portfolio case studies and your approach to product strategy, design systems, and team leadership. Be ready to present and discuss your work thoroughly.

• Research Higharc: Understand their mission, product, market position, and recent funding. Prepare thoughtful questions that demonstrate your engagement and strategic thinking about their business.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

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