Founding Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Founding Product Designer

Company: Clera

Location: Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark (Fully Remote, Europe Preferred)

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / GTM Operations Enablement

Date Posted: 2026-09-19

Experience Level: Mid-Level to Senior (2-5 years experience implied)

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Spearhead end-to-end product design for a seed-stage B2B SaaS startup, translating complex field-service workflows into intuitive user experiences.

• Drive rapid prototyping and user research to validate and iterate on product concepts, ensuring a user-centric approach.

• Collaborate directly with engineering on feature development, leveraging technical fluency in React/TypeScript to accelerate delivery.

• Contribute to broader business design needs, including marketing assets and product flow optimization, showcasing a versatile design skillset.

• Shape the foundational design vision and processes for a new AI-powered operations software platform, influencing product strategy from inception.

📝 Enhancement Note: While this role is "Product Designer," its focus on B2B SaaS, AI-powered operations software, and direct collaboration with engineering for feature development positions it as a critical GTM Operations Enablement role. The designer will be instrumental in creating the user interfaces that sales and customer success teams will use to demonstrate and support the product, directly impacting revenue generation and operational efficiency. The emphasis on simplifying complex workflows for non-technical users is a key operations consideration.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the complete product design lifecycle, from initial concept ideation and user research through to high-fidelity prototyping and final shipped product features.

• Conduct in-depth customer interviews and user research to gather critical insights, translating complex field-service operational needs into elegant and actionable UX solutions.

• Develop and maintain a cohesive design system and style guide to ensure consistency and scalability across the entire B2B SaaS platform.

• Create rapid, iterative prototypes using tools like Figma, Lovable, Cursor, or Webflow, and leverage code (React/TypeScript) when it enhances validation speed and design fidelity.

• Partner closely with the engineering team, providing clear design specifications and actively participating in development sprints to ensure accurate implementation and facilitate agile iteration.

• Champion user-centric design principles across the organization, advocating for the end-user experience in all product decisions and cross-functional discussions.

• Contribute to marketing collateral and sales enablement materials by designing compelling visuals and product flow demonstrations that effectively communicate value propositions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a significant need for understanding B2B workflows and operational challenges. The "simplifying dense, multi-feature B2B interfaces" points directly to operations optimization through user experience. The collaboration with engineering and potential contribution to code implies a hands-on role that bridges design and development, crucial for rapid iteration in a startup environment.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: No specific degree is listed, but a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent practical experience is paramount. Candidates should possess a foundational understanding of design principles and software development lifecycles.

Experience: 3 or more years of dedicated product design experience, with a proven track record of shipping complex B2B products. Hands-on experience in early-stage startups, particularly with "0-to-1" product development, is highly valued.

Required Skills:

• End-to-End Product Design: Demonstrated ability to manage the entire design process from concept to launch.

• UX/UI Design Expertise: Proven skill in creating intuitive and user-friendly interfaces for complex B2B applications.

• Prototyping Proficiency: Expertise in rapid prototyping tools such as Figma, Lovable, Cursor, or Webflow.

• User Research & Customer Interviews: Experience in conducting user research and translating findings into design solutions.

• Technical Fluency: Ability to read or write React/TypeScript, enabling close collaboration with engineering and faster iteration.

• B2B Product Design: Specific experience designing for business-to-business software platforms.

• Startup Experience: Prior experience in fast-paced, early-stage startup environments with a high degree of autonomy.

• High Ownership & Low Ego: A self-starter mentality with the ability to take initiative and work collaboratively.

Preferred Skills:

• AI-Powered Product Design: Familiarity with designing for AI-driven features and understanding of AI's impact on operations.

• Home-Service Industry Knowledge: Understanding of workflows within home-service businesses.

• Design System Development: Experience in creating and maintaining design systems.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Proven ability to work effectively with engineering, product, and marketing teams.

• Marketing Asset Design: Experience in creating marketing visuals and sales enablement materials.

• Background from a strong product/design culture company: Previous employment at organizations recognized for their design excellence.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on technical fluency (React/TypeScript) and experience with "0-to-1" products suggests a need for a designer who can not only conceptualize but also contribute to the technical implementation and rapid iteration cycles critical for a seed-stage startup. The preference for longer tenures indicates a desire for candidates who demonstrate commitment and stability in previous roles.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Shipped Work Showcase: A robust portfolio featuring at least 3-5 significant B2B product design projects that have been successfully launched.

• End-to-End Case Studies: Detailed case studies for key projects, illustrating the entire design process from problem definition and user research to solution design, prototyping, and final implementation.

• Complexity Demonstration: Projects that clearly showcase the ability to design for complex, multi-feature B2B interfaces and simplify dense operational workflows.

• Technical Collaboration Evidence: Examples or descriptions of how design was integrated with engineering, potentially including insights into how design decisions were influenced by or informed technical constraints/opportunities (e.g., React/TypeScript).

• User-Centricity Proof: Evidence of user research methodologies employed, customer interview insights, and how these directly informed design decisions and improved user outcomes.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Optimization Examples: Portfolios should ideally include examples of how designs have optimized existing operational workflows, reduced user effort, or improved efficiency for end-users.

• Rapid Prototyping & Validation: Showcase the use of rapid prototyping tools and methods to quickly test and validate design concepts with stakeholders or users.

• Design System Contribution: If applicable, include examples of contributions to or creation of design systems, demonstrating a commitment to scalable and consistent design practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a founding designer role, the portfolio is paramount. It needs to demonstrate not just aesthetic skill but a deep understanding of user problems, the ability to translate those into functional and intuitive interfaces for complex B2B operations, and the capacity to work effectively within a lean, technical team. The "0-to-1" aspect means showcasing the ability to build from scratch.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $100,000 to $180,000 USD annually. This range is competitive for a founding Product Designer role in a seed-stage startup, reflecting the high impact and autonomy of the position. The upper end of the range may be accessible for candidates with extensive relevant experience and a strong portfolio demonstrating significant impact.

Benefits:

• Visa Sponsorship: Available for qualified candidates, indicating a commitment to attracting global talent.

• Equity/Stock Options: (Implied for a founding role) While not explicitly stated, founding team members in seed-stage startups typically receive significant equity grants as part of their compensation package, reflecting their contribution to the company's growth.

• Health Insurance: (Implied for a full-time role) Standard health benefits are typically provided.

• Paid Time Off: Generous PTO is customary for remote roles to promote work-life balance.

Working Hours: Approximately 40 hours per week, with flexibility expected in a startup environment. Given the remote-first nature and preferred European/US East Coast time zones, candidates should be prepared for potential overlap with core team working hours, likely between 9 AM and 5 PM CET or EST, with flexibility for asynchronous collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is provided in USD, suggesting the company may be US-based or operates with US compensation benchmarks. For candidates in Denmark or Europe, this USD range may need to be converted to EUR, and local cost of living should be considered. The implication of equity is a significant part of the total compensation for such a foundational role.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: B2B SaaS, AI-powered Operations Software for Home-Service Businesses. This sector is rapidly evolving, with a strong emphasis on efficiency, automation, and data-driven decision-making.

Company Size: Seed-stage startup. This implies a small, agile, and highly collaborative team where every member's contribution is critical. The team is likely composed of experienced individuals, potentially including second-time founders.

Founded: Seed-stage. This means the company is in its early phases of development, focusing on product-market fit, initial customer acquisition, and building core infrastructure.

Team Structure:

• Founding Team: Likely consists of 2-3 individuals with prior startup experience, covering product, engineering, and potentially business/sales.

• First Dedicated Designer: This role is the first specialist designer, expected to establish design practices and influence product direction significantly.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Close partnership with engineering is a key aspect, with potential collaboration with early sales, marketing, and customer success functions as the company grows.

Methodology:

• Agile & Lean: Expect a fast-paced, iterative development approach, prioritizing rapid feedback loops and continuous improvement.

• Data-Driven Design: Decisions will be informed by user research, customer interviews, and potentially early product analytics.

• AI Integration: A core focus on leveraging AI to enhance operational efficiency and user experience.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The "seed-stage B2B SaaS startup" context is crucial. It means the designer will have immense influence but also face ambiguity and the need for self-direction. The AI-powered aspect suggests a forward-thinking approach to solving operational challenges.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Founding Product Designer. This is a senior-level individual contributor role with significant strategic impact. It offers the opportunity to define the design function from its inception and build out processes and methodologies.

Reporting Structure: The designer will likely report directly to one of the founders (e.g., CEO or CTO), indicating high visibility and direct access to leadership.

Operations Impact: This role has a direct impact on the company's ability to acquire and retain customers by ensuring the product is intuitive, efficient, and solves critical operational pain points for home-service businesses. The design will be a key differentiator in a competitive market.

Growth Opportunities:

• Establish Design Function: Opportunity to build and lead the design team as the company scales, defining its culture, processes, and hiring strategy.

• Strategic Product Influence: Direct input into product strategy, roadmap prioritization, and market positioning based on user insights and design expertise.

• Deep Domain Expertise: Develop specialized knowledge in AI-powered operations software for the home-service industry, becoming a subject matter expert.

• Skill Expansion: Opportunity to gain experience in areas beyond pure design, such as product management, user research strategy, and even contributing to front-end development.

📝 Enhancement Note: As a founding team member, the growth potential is significant, tied directly to the company's success. The role offers a unique chance to shape not just a product but an entire function and company culture from the ground up.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully Remote. This offers flexibility and access to a global talent pool.

Office Location(s): While fully remote, candidates based in Europe are strongly preferred, with US East Coast time zone also being a welcome option. This preference aims to facilitate core team collaboration and asynchronous communication across a manageable time difference.

Workspace Context:

• Autonomous Work: Expect a high degree of autonomy and the need for self-discipline in managing your workload and schedule.

• Collaborative Tools: Reliance on digital collaboration tools (e.g., Slack, Figma, Jira, Notion) for communication, design handoffs, and project management.

• Direct Team Interaction: Close working relationships with a small, dedicated team, fostering a sense of shared mission and collective ownership.

• Technology Stack: Access to modern design and development tools, including Figma, AI-assisted tools, and a React/TypeScript codebase.

Work Schedule: While the core working hours will likely align with European or US East Coast time zones for effective collaboration, the remote nature allows for flexibility in structuring the workday to optimize personal productivity and work-life balance.

📝 Enhancement Note: The preference for European or US East Coast time zones is key for operational efficiency, ensuring overlap for critical meetings and real-time collaboration on design and development tasks.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A brief call to assess overall fit, experience, and understanding of the role.

• Portfolio Review & Design Deep Dive: A session where you will walk through your portfolio, discussing specific projects, your design process, user research methodologies, and technical collaboration. Be prepared to articulate the "why" behind your design decisions and the impact of your work.

• Technical/Collaboration Interview: Discussion with engineering or founders focusing on your technical fluency (React/TypeScript), ability to collaborate with engineers, and understanding of B2B SaaS challenges.

• Founder/Final Interview: A more in-depth conversation with the founders to assess cultural fit, strategic thinking, long-term vision, and alignment with the company's mission.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Selectively: Focus on projects that best demonstrate your ability to solve complex B2B problems, simplify dense interfaces, and drive tangible results.

• Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, your process, the challenges faced, your solutions, and the outcomes/impact. Quantify results whenever possible (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced task completion time).

• Highlight 0-to-1 Experience: Emphasize projects where you were instrumental in building a product or feature from its initial stages.

• Showcase Technical Collaboration: If possible, include examples or discuss how you've worked with engineers, potentially mentioning your comfort with front-end code.

• Be Ready for Figma/Prototyping Demos: Have your Figma files or prototypes readily accessible and be prepared to navigate them smoothly.

Challenge Preparation:

• Anticipate Design Challenges: Be prepared for a potential small design exercise or a discussion about how you would approach a specific design problem relevant to Clera's domain.

• Articulate Your Process: Clearly explain your approach to problem-solving, user research, and iterative design.

• Understand the Business Context: Research Clera, its target market (home-service businesses), and the operational challenges they aim to solve. Frame your answers in terms of business impact and user value.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "0-to-1" products and "high ownership, low ego" means interviewers will be looking for initiative, problem-solving skills, and the ability to thrive in ambiguity. Your portfolio should directly address these points.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core design and prototyping tool. Proficiency is essential for creating wireframes, high-fidelity mockups, and interactive prototypes.

• Lovable, Cursor, Webflow: Mentioned as alternative or supplementary prototyping tools. Familiarity with any of these would be a plus.

• AI-Assisted Design Tools: The company uses AI, so familiarity with tools that integrate AI for design assistance (e.g., AI-powered wireframing, content generation, or optimization tools) would be advantageous.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics Tools: (Implied) While not specified, expect to work with tools like Amplitude, Mixpanel, or similar to track user behavior and product performance.

• User Feedback Platforms: Tools for collecting and analyzing user feedback (e.g., SurveyMonkey, Typeform, Hotjar).

CRM & Automation:

• CRM System: (Implied) Understanding of how design integrates with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) for sales and customer success workflows.

• Project Management Tools: Tools like Jira, Asana, or Trello for managing design tasks and collaborating with engineering.

• Communication Platforms: Slack for real-time team communication.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Figma, Lovable, Cursor, and Webflow, alongside React/TypeScript, indicates a modern tech stack. The candidate's ability to adapt to or already possess skills with these tools will be a significant advantage.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• High Ownership: Taking full responsibility for outcomes and proactively identifying and solving problems.

• Low Ego: Prioritizing team success and product goals over individual recognition; being open to feedback and collaboration.

• Speed & Agility: A willingness to move quickly, iterate rapidly, and adapt to changing priorities in a startup environment.

• User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and serving the needs of the end-user, particularly non-technical operators in home-service businesses.

• Technical Pragmatism: Bridging the gap between design and development, understanding technical constraints and opportunities to deliver effective solutions.

Collaboration Style:

• Direct & Transparent: Open communication and feedback loops are essential in a small, fast-moving team.

• Cross-Functional Integration: Designers will work hand-in-hand with engineering, likely with founders, to ensure product vision alignment and efficient execution.

• Autonomous yet Connected: While individuals are expected to work independently, regular check-ins and collaborative sessions will be key to maintaining alignment and fostering a cohesive team spirit.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "high ownership, low ego" and "scrappy, fast-moving working style" are critical cultural indicators for startup environments. Candidates should demonstrate how they embody these traits.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Building from Scratch: Establishing design processes, a design system, and a design culture in a seed-stage company requires significant initiative and strategic thinking.

• Ambiguity and Evolving Requirements: Working in an early-stage startup means dealing with undefined processes and shifting priorities, requiring adaptability and resilience.

• Simplifying Complex Operations: Translating intricate field-service workflows into intuitive interfaces for non-technical users is a significant UX challenge.

• Balancing Design and Development Speed: The need to ship rapidly while maintaining high design quality and technical feasibility.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Foundational Role: Opportunity to define and build the design function from the ground up, shaping its future direction and team.

• Direct Impact: Witnessing and contributing to the direct impact of design decisions on product success and company growth.

• Technical Skill Enhancement: Deepening expertise in React/TypeScript and potentially exploring AI-driven design tools.

• Strategic Product Input: Gaining valuable experience in product strategy, market positioning, and early-stage business development.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are directly linked to the growth opportunities. Overcoming them will lead to significant professional development and career advancement within the company.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to design a complex B2B workflow from scratch. What was your process, and what were the key outcomes?"

• "How do you approach simplifying dense, multi-feature interfaces for non-technical users? Can you provide an example from your portfolio?"

• "Imagine you're given a vague requirement for a new AI feature. How would you go about defining the user experience and collaborating with engineering?"

• "What is your experience with React/TypeScript, and how has it informed your design process or collaboration with developers?" Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why are you interested in working at a seed-stage startup like Clera, and what excites you about our mission?"

• "How do you embody 'high ownership' and 'low ego' in your work?"

• "Describe your ideal collaboration style with engineering and product teams."

• "What are your thoughts on building a design system from the ground up?" Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Case Studies: For each project, clearly outline: Problem, Your Role, Process, Solution, and Impact/Results.

• Quantify Impact: Use metrics whenever possible to demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., increased user engagement, reduced error rates, improved efficiency).

• Showcase Your Process: Be prepared to talk through your wireframes, prototypes, user research findings, and how you iterated based on feedback.

• Highlight Technical Collaboration: If you have examples of working closely with developers or understanding code, be sure to mention them.

• Be Ready to Discuss Ambiguity: Explain how you handle situations with incomplete specifications or evolving requirements.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interviewers will be assessing not just your design skills but your ability to thrive in a startup environment: your initiative, problem-solving capabilities, collaboration, and cultural fit. Your portfolio should be a narrative that supports these qualities.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this founding Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features B2B product design projects, specifically highlighting any experience with complex workflows, 0-to-1 products, or early-stage startups. Tailor your case studies to showcase your end-to-end design process, user research, and technical collaboration.

• Resume Optimization: Update your resume to emphasize relevant experience (3+ years, B2B, startup), key skills (Figma, React/TypeScript, UX/UI, prototyping), and achievements that demonstrate high ownership and impact.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Be ready to articulate your design philosophy, your approach to solving complex operational problems through design, and your excitement for Clera's mission. Practice walking through your portfolio with clarity and confidence.

• Research Clera: Understand their product, target market (home-service businesses), and the competitive landscape. Think about how your design skills can directly address their operational challenges.

⚠️ 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.