Founding Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Founding Product Designer

Company: Cimento AI

Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / GTM Operations Enablement

Date Posted: August 25, 2026

Experience Level: Mid-Senior Level (2-5 years recommended, but 4+ years with startup experience is key)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive end-to-end product design, from discovery and wireframing to high-fidelity UI and shipped screens, with a focus on intuitive user experiences for complex data-heavy products.

• Establish and scale a comprehensive design system, including components, patterns, and tokens, to ensure consistency and efficiency across the product.

• Collaborate directly with engineering and product teams, leveraging AI design tools to accelerate development cycles and deliver polished, user-centric solutions.

• Shape Cimento AI's visual identity and brand across product, marketing, and sales, ensuring a cohesive and impactful brand presence.

• Partner closely with customers to validate designs, gather feedback, and drive rapid iteration cycles, ensuring product-market fit and user satisfaction.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Product Designer," the responsibilities and emphasis on "driving design across the full Cimento product," "owning work from concept to delivery," and "shaping visual identity" strongly align with a senior, foundational role that significantly impacts Go-To-Market (GTM) enablement through product experience. This role will create the user interface and experience that sales and marketing teams will leverage to demonstrate value and that customers will use to derive value, directly impacting revenue generation and customer adoption. The emphasis on "high agency over process" and "using AI to work at a pace that shouldn't be possible for a team of one" highlights a need for strategic thinking and execution efficiency, critical for GTM success in a startup environment.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the complete product design lifecycle, from initial concept exploration and user research to wireframing, high-fidelity UI design, and final delivery to engineering.

• Design intuitive workflows for configuring security campaigns, executing phishing simulations, monitoring campaign performance, and interpreting employee risk scores, transforming complex data into actionable insights.

• Develop and maintain a scalable design system that includes reusable components, design patterns, and design tokens, ensuring brand consistency and design velocity as the product evolves.

• Conduct user research and customer interviews to gather insights, validate design hypotheses, and incorporate feedback into iterative design improvements, ensuring the product meets user needs effectively.

• Collaborate closely with engineering teams to ensure seamless implementation of designs, understanding frontend constraints, and contributing to a high-quality, polished user experience.

• Define and evolve Cimento AI's visual identity and brand guidelines across all product touchpoints, marketing materials, and sales collateral, creating a strong and unified brand perception.

• Proactively leverage AI-powered design and prototyping tools to enhance productivity, compress design timelines, and expand the scope of design output without compromising quality.

• Design for complex operational states, including permissions, edge cases, error handling, and system status indicators, ensuring robustness and clarity in the user interface.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities clearly indicate a need for a designer who can operate autonomously and strategically, bridging the gap between user needs, business objectives, and technical feasibility. This is crucial for a founding role where the product experience directly influences customer acquisition, retention, and overall GTM strategy. The specific mention of "security teams configure campaigns, launch phishing simulations, monitor results, and act on employee risk scores" highlights a B2B SaaS context, where understanding user workflows and data visualization is paramount for GTM success.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent practical experience and design acumen is paramount. Candidates with degrees in Design, HCI, Computer Science, or related fields will be considered favorably if their portfolio reflects the required skills.

Experience: 4+ years of dedicated product design experience, with a significant portion spent in startup environments where end-to-end design ownership was a core responsibility. Experience in a "first designer" role or leading design initiatives is highly valued.

Required Skills:

• Proven expertise in end-to-end product design, encompassing user research, wireframing, prototyping, and high-fidelity UI design.

• Demonstrated ability to design complex, data-heavy products, simplifying intricate information into clear and intuitive user interfaces.

• Strong UI craft and UX thinking, evidenced by a portfolio showcasing sophisticated visual design and logical user flows.

• Experience building and scaling design systems, including defining components, patterns, and design tokens.

• Proficiency in core design tools such as Figma, and a demonstrated ability to adapt to new design technologies.

• Ability to design complete user workflows, considering permissions, edge cases, error states, and operational conditions.

• Experience collaborating effectively with engineering teams, understanding frontend development constraints.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a strong bias for transparency and collaborative problem-solving.

• Genuine passion for building products from the ground up and a high tolerance for ambiguity in a fast-paced startup environment. Preferred Skills:

• Hands-on experience with AI design and prototyping tools (e.g., Claude Design, Figma AI, Midjourney for ideation).

• Prior experience in the cybersecurity, enterprise security, or compliance software industries.

• Familiarity with SaaS product development lifecycles and B2B user experience design principles.

• Experience with user research methodologies and customer feedback integration.

• A portfolio that clearly articulates the design process and the impact of design decisions on user outcomes and business goals.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "4+ years of product design experience, with meaningful time at startups where you owned the full design surface" is a critical requirement. This implies a need for a candidate who can not only execute but also strategize and operate independently, a hallmark of successful GTM enablement roles in early-stage companies. The emphasis on "influencing product decisions and shipping" and "getting work into users' hands and iterating" directly speaks to the GTM impact of a product designer.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A curated portfolio that clearly articulates your design process, from problem definition to solution implementation, highlighting your role and contributions.

• Case studies demonstrating your ability to design for data-heavy products, showcasing how you translated complex information into intuitive user experiences.

• Examples of your work on design systems, including component libraries, style guides, and design tokens, demonstrating scalability and consistency.

• Projects that showcase end-to-end ownership, from initial concept and wireframing to high-fidelity UI and shipped product screens.

• Evidence of your ability to collaborate with engineering and product teams, and how you incorporated feedback into your designs.

• Projects that highlight your experience with AI design tools, demonstrating how you've leveraged them to enhance efficiency or expand creative possibilities. Process Documentation:

• Showcase documentation of design workflows, including user research methodologies, ideation processes, and iteration cycles.

• Provide examples of how you have contributed to or built design systems, including documentation for components, patterns, and usage guidelines.

• Demonstrate how you have documented and communicated design decisions to engineering and stakeholders, ensuring alignment and clarity.

• Include case studies that detail the problem, your design process, the solutions implemented, and the measurable impact (e.g., user adoption, task completion rates, customer satisfaction).

📝 Enhancement Note: For a founding product designer role, the portfolio is paramount. It needs to go beyond just visuals and demonstrate strategic thinking, process mastery, and a track record of tangible impact. For GTM enablement, showcasing how the designed product facilitates sales conversations, user onboarding, and customer success is key. The prompt explicitly mentions that "If your portfolio tells a story about how you think, we want to talk," emphasizing the narrative and strategic depth expected.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for a Founding Product Designer in Salt Lake City, Utah, with 4+ years of experience in a startup environment and expertise in AI tools, the estimated salary range is $120,000 - $160,000 per year. This range reflects the senior nature of the role, the high ownership expectations, and the competitive market for experienced product designers in tech hubs.

Benefits:

• Meaningful equity as an early team member, offering significant potential for long-term financial growth aligned with company success.

• Competitive salary, reflecting the value of the role and the candidate's experience.

• Direct impact on product strategy, customer experience, and overall company direction, providing a high level of professional fulfillment.

• Opportunity to work within a small, visible team where contributions are highly valued and recognized.

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.

• Paid time off and holidays.

• Potential for professional development and training opportunities.

Working Hours: This is a full-time role, typically requiring approximately 40 hours per week. However, given the "high agency over process" and startup environment, there may be instances requiring flexibility to meet critical deadlines or project milestones. The emphasis on using AI to "work at a pace that shouldn't be possible for a team of one" suggests an expectation of high productivity and efficient time management.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is an estimate based on typical compensation for senior product design roles in a tech hub like Salt Lake City, considering the "founding" nature of the position and the required experience. The emphasis on "meaningful equity" is a key differentiator for early-stage startups and a significant part of the total compensation package. The "40 hours per week" is a standard baseline, but the context of a startup and a founding role implies a need for adaptability and a results-oriented approach that may extend beyond strict hours.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Cimento AI operates in the rapidly evolving Cybersecurity industry, specifically focusing on AI-driven cybersecurity training. This sector is characterized by high growth, continuous innovation, and a critical need for effective, user-friendly solutions to combat sophisticated threats. The company's AI focus places it at the forefront of technological advancement in this domain.

Company Size: As an early-stage startup, Cimento AI is likely small, with a lean and agile team structure. This means a high degree of cross-functional collaboration, direct access to leadership, and the opportunity for significant individual impact. For operations professionals, this translates to a dynamic environment where processes are being built, and there's a chance to shape how things are done.

Founded: The company was founded with the mission to revolutionize cybersecurity training using AI. Its backing by experienced operators and angels from prominent tech companies (Cloudflare, CrowdStrike, Okta) signifies a strong foundation, industry credibility, and a network of experienced advisors.

Team Structure:

• The operations team is likely nascent, with this Founding Product Designer being the first dedicated hire in the design function. This implies a flat hierarchy and direct reporting to founders or senior leadership.

• Cross-functional collaboration will be essential, particularly with engineering and potentially product management or founders, to translate strategic vision into tangible product features.

• The culture emphasizes "creative spark over credentials and high agency over process," indicating a preference for initiative-takers, problem-solvers, and individuals who can drive outcomes without extensive oversight. Methodology:

• Design decisions will be heavily influenced by AI capabilities, aiming to achieve unprecedented speed and efficiency in product development.

• User-centric design and rapid iteration based on customer feedback are core to the product development methodology.

• Emphasis on building a scalable design system from the outset to support future growth and maintain consistency.

• A data-driven approach will likely inform design choices, particularly in understanding user behavior and the effectiveness of security training campaigns.

Company Website: Cimento AI (implied domain: cimento.ai)

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on AI in cybersecurity training is a significant differentiator. This role requires a designer who can not only create aesthetically pleasing and functional interfaces but also understand the nuances of security-related data and user workflows. The "backed by operators and angels" suggests a strong understanding of scaling a tech company, which will influence the operational rigor and strategic direction.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Founding/Senior Product Designer role. It represents a pivotal opportunity for an individual to establish the design function within a growing startup. The scope of responsibility is broad, encompassing strategy, execution, and system building. This level demands a high degree of autonomy, proactive problem-solving, and the ability to influence product direction. It's ideal for someone looking to make a substantial impact and grow with a company from its early stages.

Reporting Structure: As the founding designer, you will likely report directly to one of the company's founders or the Head of Product/Engineering. This close proximity to leadership facilitates direct influence on product strategy and decision-making. The structure is expected to be lean and agile, with minimal layers of management.

Operations Impact: The product designer's impact is directly tied to the user experience of Cimento AI's platform. A well-designed product will:

• Enhance customer acquisition by providing a compelling and intuitive demonstration of value.

• Improve customer retention by ensuring users can effectively configure, operate, and derive insights from the platform.

• Enable sales and marketing efforts by providing a product that is easy to showcase and understand.

• Contribute to product-market fit by translating user needs and market demands into a polished and effective solution.

• Drive operational efficiency through a well-defined design system that speeds up development. Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: As the company scales, this role can evolve into a Design Lead or Head of Design position, with the opportunity to build and manage a design team.

• Product Strategy: Deep involvement in product strategy and roadmap planning, leveraging design expertise to guide future product development.

• Cross-Functional Expertise: Develop a strong understanding of engineering, product management, and GTM strategies through close collaboration.

• Industry Specialization: Become an expert in AI-driven cybersecurity solutions, a high-demand niche.

• Equity Growth: Significant potential for equity appreciation as the company grows and achieves milestones.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "founding" aspect of this role is critical. It implies a significant opportunity for growth, not just in terms of individual contribution but also in building out a function and potentially a team. The direct impact on GTM is immense, as the product's usability and appeal are primary drivers of sales and customer adoption.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is described as On-site in Salt Lake City, Utah. This suggests a physical office space designed to foster collaboration and innovation. The environment is likely to be dynamic and fast-paced, typical of an early-stage startup.

Office Location(s): Salt Lake City, Utah. This location offers a growing tech scene with access to talent and a reasonable cost of living compared to major coastal tech hubs.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: Expect a workspace that encourages direct interaction with engineering, product, and leadership teams. The emphasis on "high agency over process" suggests an environment where proactive communication and collaboration are key.

• Tools & Technology: Access to modern design tools, including AI-powered solutions, will be provided to facilitate efficient and cutting-edge design work. The company is likely to invest in the necessary technology stack to support its ambitious goals.

• Team Interaction: As a small, founding team, opportunities for direct interaction and mentorship with experienced founders and advisors will be abundant. This fosters a strong sense of camaraderie and shared purpose.

Work Schedule: While the standard expectation is 40 hours per week, the startup environment and the "founding" nature of the role may require flexibility. The focus is on delivering results and working at a pace that leverages AI for efficiency. This means a commitment to the company's mission and the ability to adapt to evolving project needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement in Salt Lake City suggests a desire for in-person collaboration and team cohesion, which can be highly beneficial for a founding role where rapid iteration and close communication are crucial. The workspace context emphasizes innovation and efficiency, aligning with the company's use of AI.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess experience, design craft, and fit with the company's values and needs.

• Portfolio Presentation & Discussion: A dedicated session where you present your portfolio, walking through case studies and explaining your thought process, design decisions, and impact. Expect to discuss how you've handled ambiguity and driven outcomes.

• Skills Assessment/Design Challenge: Potentially a focused design challenge or a discussion around hypothetical scenarios to evaluate your problem-solving skills, UX thinking, and ability to design for complex, data-heavy products. This may involve how you'd approach designing specific features like campaign configuration or risk score visualization.

• Team/Founder Interviews: Conversations with founders and key team members to assess cultural fit, communication style, and alignment with the company's vision and values. Discussions will likely revolve around your agency, passion for building, and comfort with ambiguity.

• Reference Checks: Standard verification of your professional background and performance.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Tell a Story: Your portfolio should narrate your design journey for each project, explaining the problem, your approach, the challenges faced, your solutions, and the measurable outcomes.

• Highlight AI Usage: Clearly showcase how you've incorporated AI tools into your workflow to achieve specific results, whether for efficiency, ideation, or advanced prototyping.

• Demonstrate Impact: Quantify your achievements whenever possible. Focus on how your designs solved user problems, improved business metrics, or contributed to product success.

• Showcase Data Design: Include projects where you've designed for complex data sets, illustrating your ability to make data accessible and actionable.

• Explain Your Process: Be prepared to articulate your design methodology, from user research and ideation to iteration and collaboration with engineering.

• Tailor to Cimento: If possible, subtly tailor your presentation to highlight aspects of your work that are most relevant to Cimento AI's mission in cybersecurity and AI.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Familiarize yourself with cybersecurity training concepts, phishing simulations, and the general landscape of enterprise security software.

• Think Holistically: When presented with a design challenge, consider the entire user journey, including onboarding, configuration, reporting, and potential edge cases.

• Articulate Trade-offs: Be ready to discuss design trade-offs and justify your decisions, especially when balancing user experience with technical constraints or business requirements.

• Focus on AI Integration: Consider how AI could be leveraged within the context of the challenge, either in the user's experience or in your own design process.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "If your portfolio tells a story about how you think, we want to talk" and the requirement for "high agency over process" suggests that the interview process will heavily scrutinize not just design skills but also strategic thinking, problem-solving capabilities, and the ability to operate independently and effectively in a startup environment.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core tool for UI design, wireframing, prototyping, and collaboration. Proficiency is expected.

• AI Design Tools: Experience with tools like Claude Design, Figma AI, Midjourney, or similar AI-powered design assistants for ideation, content generation, or rapid prototyping.

• Prototyping Tools: Beyond Figma, familiarity with tools like Principle, ProtoPie, or InVision for more advanced interactive prototypes.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not a direct responsibility, understanding how to design for data visualization and how product usage data is tracked will be beneficial. Familiarity with analytics platforms like Amplitude, Mixpanel, or Google Analytics could be advantageous for understanding user behavior post-launch. CRM & Automation:

• As the founding designer, you'll be instrumental in shaping the user experience of the Cimento AI platform, which will be used by sales and cybersecurity professionals. While direct CRM/automation tool use might not be required, understanding how CRM and automation tools integrate into a business workflow and impact user experience is valuable.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of using "AI design and prototyping tools to compress timelines and expand your range" makes proficiency or at least demonstrable interest and ability to learn these tools a significant advantage. This signals a forward-thinking company looking to leverage technology for maximum efficiency.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Creative Spark: Valuing innovative ideas and original thinking over purely credential-based qualifications.

• High Agency: Prioritizing individuals who take initiative, drive projects forward independently, and solve problems proactively.

• Process Agility: While not anti-process, there's a preference for speed and adaptability over rigid, bureaucratic procedures. The focus is on achieving results efficiently.

• Transparency: Open communication and honest feedback are likely encouraged across the team.

• User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and serving customer needs through thoughtful design.

• AI-Driven Innovation: Embracing AI as a tool to enhance creativity, productivity, and product capabilities.

Collaboration Style:

• Direct & Iterative: Expect a collaborative style characterized by frequent communication, rapid feedback loops, and iterative development, especially between design and engineering.

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Close working relationships with founders, engineering, and potentially early sales/marketing hires will be essential.

• Ownership & Accountability: A culture where individuals take ownership of their work and are accountable for delivering high-quality outcomes.

• Learning Mindset: A willingness to learn, adapt, and experiment, particularly with new AI technologies and design approaches.

📝 Enhancement Note: The core values of "creative spark" and "high agency" are central to the company's operational philosophy. This means candidates are expected to be self-starters who can contribute strategically and execute independently, embodying the agile nature of a startup.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Establishing Design Function: As the first designer, you'll be responsible for building the design function from the ground up, including processes, standards, and potentially future hires.

• Ambiguity & Rapid Evolution: Startups are inherently ambiguous. The product roadmap, user needs, and company priorities may shift rapidly, requiring adaptability and resilience.

• Balancing Speed and Quality: Leveraging AI for speed while ensuring that design quality, user experience, and brand consistency are maintained at a high level.

• Designing for Complex Domains: Translating intricate cybersecurity concepts and data into user-friendly interfaces requires deep understanding and strong problem-solving skills.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Ensuring seamless collaboration and alignment with engineering and product teams, especially in a fast-paced environment.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI Tool Mastery: Deepen expertise in cutting-edge AI design and prototyping tools, becoming a leader in their application for product development.

• Product Strategy Influence: Gain significant experience in shaping product strategy and roadmap through direct involvement with leadership.

• Startup Scaling: Learn firsthand how to build and scale a product and design function within a high-growth startup environment.

• Cybersecurity Domain Expertise: Develop specialized knowledge in the cybersecurity training sector, a critical and growing field.

• Leadership Potential: Opportunity to grow into a design leadership role, managing a team and defining the company's design vision.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are framed as opportunities for growth. The company is looking for someone who thrives in such an environment and can turn potential hurdles into stepping stones for personal and professional development.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to design a complex, data-heavy product. What were the key challenges, and how did you approach simplifying the user experience?" (Focus on your process, UI craft, and ability to handle complexity.)

• "How would you approach building a design system for a new product from scratch? What are the key components, and how would you ensure it scales?" (Demonstrate your understanding of design system architecture and scalability.)

• "Imagine you're tasked with designing the campaign configuration flow for Cimento AI. Walk us through your initial thoughts on user needs, key features, and potential AI integrations." (Showcase your ability to think strategically and leverage AI in design.)

• "Tell me about a time you had to strongly influence product decisions with your design recommendations. How did you present your case, and what was the outcome?" (Highlight your communication, persuasion skills, and ability to drive impact.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Cimento AI's mission and the cybersecurity training space?" (Show your genuine interest and understanding of the domain.)

• "How do you define 'high agency,' and can you provide an example from your experience where you demonstrated it?" (Align with the company's core value and provide concrete evidence.)

• "How do you prefer to collaborate with engineers and product managers? What's your approach to handling design disagreements?" (Assess your teamwork and communication style.)

• "Given your experience, how would you envision your role in shaping Cimento AI's product and visual identity as the founding designer?" (Show your strategic vision and understanding of the role's scope.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your role, the process, the solution, and the impact. Use visual aids effectively.

• Emphasize AI in Action: Dedicate a section or highlight throughout your presentation how you've used AI tools. Be specific about the tools and the benefits achieved (e.g., speed, iteration, novel ideas).

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use mockups, prototypes, and live demos (if applicable) to illustrate your design solutions.

• Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, present metrics that demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced task completion times, increased user satisfaction).

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about your design decisions, trade-offs, and how you'd adapt your approach to Cimento AI's specific challenges.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview preparation focuses on demonstrating not only design skills but also strategic thinking, problem-solving abilities, and an understanding of the startup environment and AI integration, which are key requirements for this founding role.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Founding Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on app.dover.com.

• Curate Your Portfolio for Impact: Ensure your portfolio prominently features case studies demonstrating your experience with data-heavy products, AI tool integration, and end-to-end design ownership. Highlight your process and the tangible outcomes of your work.

• Tailor Your Resume: Optimize your resume to highlight your experience in startup environments, your ability to operate with high agency, and any relevant cybersecurity or AI design experience. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice walking through your portfolio, focusing on clear storytelling, demonstrating your design process, and articulating the impact of your work, especially how you've leveraged AI.

• Research Cimento AI: Understand their mission, the cybersecurity training market, and their AI-driven approach. Prepare thoughtful questions about the product, team, and company vision.

⚠️ 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.