Founding Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Founding Product Designer

Company: C10 Labs

Location: Washington, DC

Job Type: Contractor

Category: Product Design / UX/UI

Date Posted: 2026-06-23

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: On-site (with potential for remote work within the US)

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the end-to-end product design strategy, user experience (UX), and visual direction for C10 Labs' innovative circular economy platform.

• Translate complex business requirements and operational processes into intuitive, enterprise-grade user workflows and interfaces.

• Develop and maintain a scalable design system within Figma, ensuring consistency and reusability across the product.

• Collaborate closely with founders, engineers, and customers to iterate on product direction and advocate for user-centric design solutions.

• Define and establish design principles and standards that will shape the future of the product and company culture.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the listing specifies "On-site" for Washington, DC, the "TELECOMMUTE" location type and "United States" as a location requirement suggest a potential for remote work within the US, especially for a contractor role. Candidates should clarify this with the hiring team. The role is distinctly focused on product strategy and early-stage platform development, requiring a blend of strategic thinking and hands-on design execution.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Evaluate existing product interfaces and workflows to identify critical areas for usability enhancement and strategic improvement.

• Conceptualize and design intuitive user journeys and end-to-end workflows for complex enterprise operations in logistics, asset management, manufacturing, and sustainability.

• Develop wireframes, user flows, high-fidelity mockups, and interactive prototypes to effectively communicate design concepts and user interactions.

• Conduct thorough usability reviews and customer interviews to gather feedback and inform design iterations, ensuring a user-centric approach.

• Create, manage, and evolve a robust and scalable design system in Figma, defining reusable components, interaction patterns, and visual guidelines.

• Actively participate in product roadmap discussions, feature planning, and strategic decision-making, bringing user and design insights to the forefront.

• Collaborate seamlessly with engineering teams to ensure designs are technically feasible, efficiently implemented, and adhere to established standards.

• Contribute to the foundational product culture by advocating for user needs, challenging assumptions, and championing best practices in design.

• Bring a "founder mentality" to the role, demonstrating a high degree of ownership, initiative, and a proactive approach to problem-solving.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "Founding Product Designer" and "This is not a role for someone who simply executes mockups" indicates a strong expectation for strategic input, critique of existing solutions, and proactive proposal of design improvements, rather than just fulfilling design requests. The role requires a blend of strategic product thinking and detailed execution.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience, is implied for a role with this level of responsibility.

Experience: 4+ years of dedicated experience in Product Design, UI/UX Design, or User Experience roles, with a proven track record of delivering impactful design solutions in complex environments.

Required Skills:

• Advanced Proficiency in Figma: Expert-level skills in using Figma for wireframing, prototyping, design system creation, and collaborative design workflows.

• End-to-End Product Design: Demonstrated experience in owning the design process from initial concept and user research through to high-fidelity design and collaboration with engineering.

• UX Principles & Information Architecture: Deep understanding of core UX principles, information architecture, user-centered design methodologies, and interaction design best practices.

• Wireframing & Prototyping: Ability to create clear and effective wireframes, user flows, and interactive prototypes to communicate design intent and user journeys.

• Design Systems: Experience in creating, maintaining, and scaling design systems, including defining components, patterns, and style guides.

• Collaboration with Engineering: Proven ability to work effectively and closely with software engineers, ensuring smooth implementation and technical feasibility of designs.

• Communication & Rationale: Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions, rationale, and strategic recommendations clearly and persuasively.

Preferred Skills:

• SaaS/Enterprise Software Design: Prior experience designing for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms, enterprise-level software, or complex operational tools.

• Startup/Early-Stage Environment: Experience thriving in fast-paced, ambiguous startup environments, contributing to product strategy and building from the ground up.

• Data-Heavy Applications: Familiarity with designing for data-intensive applications, dashboards, reporting tools, and analytical platforms.

• Customer Research: Experience conducting customer interviews, usability testing, and applying user research findings to product design.

• AI & Automation: Understanding of AI-enabled products and workflow automation concepts, and experience designing for such systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Founding" nature of this role implies a need for individuals who are self-starters, comfortable with ambiguity, and capable of establishing processes and standards from scratch. The preferred qualifications highlight a strong alignment with the company's focus on enterprise SaaS and potentially complex operational workflows.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Comprehensive Case Studies: Showcase 2-3 detailed case studies demonstrating end-to-end product design ownership, from problem definition and research to solution design and implementation collaboration.

• Figma Proficiency Showcase: Highlight examples of your work within Figma, including complex wireframes, interactive prototypes, and components of a design system you have built or contributed to.

• Problem-Solving Examples: Illustrate how you've approached complex user problems, evaluated existing solutions, and proposed thoughtful, strategic design recommendations.

• Enterprise Workflow Design: Include examples of designing for complex business processes, operational workflows, or data-heavy applications relevant to enterprise users.

• System Thinking: Demonstrate your ability to think about scalability, consistency, and reusability through examples of design systems or component-based design approaches.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design & Optimization: Present documentation or visuals that explain your process for mapping out user journeys and optimizing complex operational workflows.

• Design System Development: Provide examples of how you've documented design principles, components, and interaction patterns for a design system.

• Usability & Iteration: Showcase how you've documented user feedback, usability testing results, and the iterative design process used to improve a product.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a "Founding" role, the portfolio is crucial for demonstrating strategic thinking and the ability to establish design foundations. Candidates should emphasize their process, decision-making, and the impact of their designs, not just the final visual output. The ability to articulate "why" behind design choices is paramount.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $40.00 - $50.00 per hour.

Benefits:

• Founding-Team Influence: Direct impact on product direction and company strategy from the outset.

• Founder & Leadership Collaboration: Opportunity to work closely with the company's founders and engineering leadership team.

• Design System Ownership: Chance to define and build the core design language and system for a new platform.

• Significant Ownership & Visibility: High degree of autonomy and visibility across the organization.

• Meaningful Impact: Contribute to solving critical sustainability and circular economy challenges.

• Growth Pathway: Potential to evolve into a long-term Product Design leadership role as the company scales.

Working Hours: The role is listed as a contractor position with an expected 40 hours per week. Given the "TELECOMMUTE" and "United States" location requirements, there may be flexibility in daily scheduling, but consistent availability for collaboration during core business hours (likely EST) will be expected.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is typical for experienced contract product designers in the US, especially those with specialized skills in enterprise SaaS and early-stage environments. The benefits listed are more strategic and impact-oriented, reflecting the early-stage nature of the company and the "founding" aspect of the role, rather than traditional corporate benefits like health insurance or paid time off, which are often managed separately by contractors.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Environmental & Sustainability, Technology, Logistics, Circular Economy, SaaS. C10 Labs operates at the intersection of these critical sectors, aiming to build the intelligence layer for the circular economy.

Company Size: Early-stage startup (founded in 2025). This implies a lean, agile, and fast-paced environment where roles are often fluid and impact is direct.

Founded: 2025. Buckstop (C10 Labs) is a new venture focused on creating a sustainable end-of-life for electronic devices, transforming waste into resources through a proprietary platform.

Team Structure:

• Lean & Cross-Functional: Expect a small, highly collaborative team comprising founders, engineers, and key early hires like this product designer.

• Founder-Led: The founding team brings diverse expertise from manufacturing, logistics, reverse supply chains, energy, mining, and technology.

• High Collaboration: Close working relationships with founders and engineering are essential. Cross-functional collaboration across engineering, operations, and leadership is a core expectation.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven & User-Centric: The company aims to provide a "single source of truth" and "maximum value," indicating a strong reliance on data and user insights to drive product development and operational efficiency.

• Agile & Iterative: As an early-stage startup, the product development process will likely be agile, with rapid iteration based on customer feedback and market needs.

• Strategic Design Integration: Design is positioned as a strategic partner, not just an execution function, integral to shaping product direction and user experience.

Company Website: https://c10labs.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's mission is highly relevant to current global sustainability initiatives, which can be a strong motivator for candidates. The "founding" aspect means the culture is still being shaped, offering a unique opportunity for influence.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a "Founding" level Product Designer role, signifying a highly influential and strategic position within the company. It's akin to a Senior or Lead Product Designer role in a larger organization, but with significantly more ownership and direct impact on the product's initial direction and foundational design.

Reporting Structure: The designer will report directly to the founders and work in close partnership with engineering leadership. This offers direct access to decision-makers and a clear line of sight into business strategy.

Operations Impact: The Product Designer's impact will be profound, directly shaping how users (enterprises managing electronic assets) interact with the platform. Success in this role will drive user adoption, operational efficiency for clients, and ultimately, the perceived value and scalability of C10 Labs' circular economy solution. The designs will be fundamental to the company's ability to achieve its mission.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership Track: The explicit mention of a "potential pathway into a long-term Product Design leadership role" as the company scales is a significant growth opportunity. This could lead to managing a design team, defining long-term design strategy, and becoming a key leader within the organization.

• Category Definition: Opportunity to be a foundational voice in defining the design language and user experience for a nascent category (intelligence layer for the circular economy).

• Skill Expansion: Exposure to business strategy, early-stage company building, and the complexities of the circular economy can broaden skill sets beyond traditional design.

• Equity/Ownership: While not explicitly stated for contractors, early employees in founding roles often have opportunities for equity or significant bonuses tied to company success, which should be clarified.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is ideal for a designer who wants to be deeply involved in the strategic formation of a product and company, rather than just executing assigned tasks. The growth potential is tied to the company's success and the individual's ability to drive impact.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The primary location is Washington, DC, with the role designated as "TELECOMMUTE" and requiring presence within the "United States." This suggests a hybrid or on-site model in DC, but with significant flexibility for remote work for candidates based elsewhere in the US. The specific setup (e.g., co-working space, dedicated office) is not detailed, but likely reflects a startup environment.

Office Location(s): Washington, DC. Candidates should confirm if this is a requirement for the majority of their work or if remote work within the US is fully supported.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hub: Expect an environment that fosters close collaboration between design, engineering, and founders. This may involve frequent sync-ups, design reviews, and brainstorming sessions.

• Tooling & Technology: The primary tool will be Figma. Access to other relevant design and collaboration tools will be provided as needed.

• Founder Interaction: Direct and frequent interaction with the company's founders, providing a unique opportunity to influence product strategy and company direction.

Work Schedule: While the role is listed as 40 hours per week, the "TELECOMMUTE" designation suggests some flexibility in daily hours. However, it's crucial for a founding team member to be available for critical meetings and collaborative sessions, likely aligning with Eastern Time (ET) business hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: Clarifying the exact expectations regarding on-site presence in Washington, DC versus fully remote work within the US is essential for candidates. The emphasis on collaboration implies that asynchronous communication will be supplemented by synchronous interactions.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A preliminary call to assess basic qualifications, experience, and alignment with the role's strategic expectations.

• Portfolio Review & Design Challenge: A deep dive into the candidate's portfolio, focusing on their process, strategic thinking, and ability to critique and propose solutions. This may include a specific design challenge tailored to C10 Labs' domain (circular economy, enterprise workflows).

• Founder/Leadership Interviews: Discussions with the founders to assess cultural fit, strategic alignment, problem-solving approach, and overall vision.

• Engineering Collaboration Discussion: An interview, potentially with engineering leads, to gauge collaboration style and understanding of technical implementation.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Tell a Story: Structure your case studies to clearly articulate the problem, your process, the constraints, your strategic decisions, the solutions you designed, and the impact achieved.

• Showcase Your Process: Clearly outline your methodology for research, ideation, iteration, and collaboration. Demonstrate how you move from understanding a problem to a well-reasoned solution.

• Highlight Strategic Thinking: Emphasize instances where you identified opportunities for improvement, challenged assumptions, and proposed strategic design directions, rather than just executing tasks.

• Demonstrate Figma Expertise: Be prepared to walk through your Figma files, showcasing your system design, component usage, and prototyping capabilities.

• Focus on Enterprise Context: Tailor examples to showcase experience with complex workflows, data visualization, or enterprise SaaS environments, if applicable.

• Address the "Why": Be ready to explain the rationale behind your design choices and how they align with business goals and user needs.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Research the circular economy, electronic waste management, reverse logistics, and enterprise asset management. Understand the typical challenges and workflows in these areas.

• Emphasize Critique & Recommendation: Practice articulating your critique of existing (hypothetical or real) product experiences and developing actionable design recommendations for improvement.

• Design System Thinking: Be prepared to discuss how you would approach building or evolving a design system for an early-stage enterprise SaaS product.

• Founder Mentality: Think about how you would approach ambiguity, prioritize tasks, and contribute to overall product strategy as a founding team member.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will heavily weigh strategic thinking and the ability to critically assess and improve existing designs. Candidates should prepare to not only show what they've done but also explain why they did it and how they would approach new challenges with a founder's mindset.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: This is the core design tool. Advanced proficiency is a must for wireframing, prototyping, design system development, and collaboration.

• Prototyping Tools: While Figma offers robust prototyping, familiarity with other tools like InVision or Adobe XD may be beneficial, though less critical given Figma's capabilities.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Data Visualization Tools: Experience with tools that present data in dashboards and reports (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, Looker, or custom-built solutions) would be advantageous for designing interfaces that handle complex data.

• Analytics Platforms: Understanding how users interact with data to make decisions will be key.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly designing CRM/automation systems, understanding how enterprise users interact with these tools and how data flows between them will be crucial for designing integrated workflows. Familiarity with common enterprise SaaS integrations is a plus.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary technical requirement is Figma mastery. However, an understanding of how design integrates with data analysis, reporting, and broader enterprise software ecosystems is highly valued for this role.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and serving the needs of enterprise users, translating complex operational realities into intuitive experiences.

• Sustainability & Impact: A passion for C10 Labs' mission to create a more sustainable circular economy and a drive to make a tangible positive impact on the environment.

• Ownership & Initiative: A proactive, "builder" mentality where individuals take full ownership of their work and drive initiatives forward without constant oversight.

• Strategic Thinking: Valuing thoughtful analysis, critical evaluation of existing solutions, and the articulation of well-reasoned design strategies.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Openness to feedback, direct communication, and working closely with founders, engineers, and customers.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Expect close collaboration with engineering and founders, involving frequent sync-ups, design reviews, and joint problem-solving sessions.

• Feedback-Driven Iteration: A culture that embraces constructive feedback from both internal stakeholders and external customers to continuously refine the product.

• Knowledge Sharing: As a founding member, contributing to the establishment of knowledge-sharing practices around design principles, user insights, and best practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company is actively building its culture. Candidates who are comfortable with ambiguity, eager to contribute to shaping culture, and align with a mission-driven approach will thrive.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Ambiguity & Early Stage: Operating in an early-stage startup environment with evolving requirements and a need to define processes from scratch.

• Complexity of Domain: Designing for complex enterprise workflows in logistics, asset management, and sustainability, which requires a deep understanding of user needs and business constraints.

• Balancing Strategy & Execution: The need to simultaneously contribute to high-level product strategy and execute detailed design work, including building a design system.

• Defining a New Category: Establishing the visual language and user experience for a new category of "intelligence layer for the circular economy."

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Founding Team Experience: Gaining invaluable experience in early-stage company building, product strategy, and market definition.

• Leadership Development: A clear path to grow into a leadership role within the design function as the company scales.

• Industry Expertise: Deepening knowledge in sustainability, circular economy principles, and enterprise operations.

• Cross-Functional Skill Building: Developing stronger skills in product management, business strategy, and stakeholder communication.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents significant challenges inherent to startups but offers commensurate growth opportunities for ambitious and impact-driven designers. The ability to navigate ambiguity and drive results will be key.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you evaluated an existing product and proposed significant improvements. What was your process and what was the outcome?" (Focus on critique, strategic recommendations, and impact.)

• "How would you approach building a design system for a new enterprise SaaS platform from scratch? What are your key considerations?" (Assess system thinking, scalability, and process.)

• "Imagine you're working with a customer in the electronics recycling industry. What questions would you ask to understand their core operational challenges and how would you translate those into product features?" (Gauge user empathy, domain understanding, and problem-solving.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What attracts you to C10 Labs' mission and the circular economy space?" (Assess passion and alignment with company values.)

• "How do you approach working with founders and engineers in an early-stage startup environment? How do you handle differing opinions?" (Evaluate collaboration style and cultural fit.)

• "How do you define and measure the success of your design work in terms of business impact and user adoption?" (Understand your approach to ROI and value demonstration.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Focus on Impact: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, your strategic approach, the specific design solutions, and the measurable outcomes or impact.

• Showcase Your Process: Be prepared to walk through your Figma files, explaining your wireframing, prototyping, and design system creation process.

• Articulate Your Rationale: Clearly explain why you made specific design decisions, linking them to user needs, business goals, or technical constraints.

• Highlight Strategic Contributions: Emphasize instances where you contributed to product strategy, identified key user pain points, or proposed innovative solutions beyond just executing tasks.

• Be Ready for Critique: Show that you can thoughtfully discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your own work and how you would iterate based on feedback.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interviewers will be looking for a blend of strategic acumen, design craft, and a proactive, founder-like attitude. Prepare to discuss your process, your rationale, and your vision for shaping the product's user experience.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Founding Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the C10 Labs Pinpoint portal.

• Curate Your Portfolio for Impact: Select 2-3 case studies that best showcase your end-to-end product design process, strategic thinking, and experience with complex enterprise workflows. Emphasize your Figma skills and any design system contributions.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight experience relevant to SaaS, enterprise software, early-stage startups, and any work related to data-heavy applications or operational tools. Use keywords from the job description, such as "Product Design," "UI/UX," "Figma," "Design Systems," and "Enterprise Software."

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice walking through your portfolio, clearly articulating your problem-solving process, design rationale, and the impact of your work. Be ready to discuss your approach to building a design system and improving existing product experiences.

• Research C10 Labs: Familiarize yourself with C10 Labs' mission, the circular economy, and the challenges of electronic waste management. Understand their value proposition and target users.

⚠️ 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.