Founding Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Founding Product Designer

Company: Clera

Location: San Francisco, California, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / Engineering

Date Posted: 2026-08-29

Experience Level: Mid-Level (1-5 years)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the end-to-end design strategy for an innovative agentic integration platform, shaping the user experience for AI-driven enterprise integrations.

• Drive the visual and interaction design for both product interfaces and brand identity, establishing the foundational design language for the company.

• Take ownership of frontend development, shipping production-ready code in React and TypeScript, eliminating the need for traditional design handoffs.

• Collaborate directly with the Chief Product Officer (CPO) to align design vision with product strategy and company goals.

• Define and implement design processes and best practices within an early-stage, autonomous startup environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a "founding" design seat, indicating a high degree of autonomy, impact, and responsibility. The emphasis on shipping production code in React/TypeScript suggests a hybrid Product Designer/Frontend Developer role, a common archetype in early-stage startups where individuals wear multiple hats. The target audience for this role would be experienced designers comfortable with both strategic design thinking and hands-on implementation within a fast-paced, evolving environment.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design intuitive and collaborative user experiences for an agentic platform where AI agents and human users work together to build and manage enterprise integrations.

• Develop user interfaces for the core platform, encompassing deployment workflows, runtime monitoring, observability dashboards, and log management, drawing parallels to developer-centric tools like Vercel or Railway.

• Implement and deploy frontend code for the product using React and TypeScript, ensuring seamless integration with backend services and a high-quality user experience.

• Establish and maintain a comprehensive design system, including UI components, design patterns, and UX principles, to ensure consistency and scalability across the product.

• Own and evolve the Clera brand identity, translating it into a cohesive visual language across the product, marketing materials, and company communications.

• Conduct user research, usability testing, and gather feedback to iterate on designs and continuously improve the product experience.

• Work closely with engineering and product teams to translate complex technical requirements into elegant and user-friendly design solutions.

• Proactively identify opportunities for design innovation and process improvement within the product development lifecycle.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a dual focus on user experience (UX) and brand, a typical requirement for a founding design role. The explicit mention of "agentic UX" and "developer-cloud tools" indicates a need for experience in designing for complex technical audiences and AI-powered workflows. The requirement to "implement and ship production frontend code yourself" is a critical differentiator, signaling that this is not a purely design role but one that requires strong front-end development capabilities.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience: 1–5 years of professional experience in product design, with a strong emphasis on hands-on frontend development.

Required Skills:

• Proven expertise in end-to-end product design, from concept to implementation, with a portfolio showcasing impactful design solutions and a clear distinction between excellent and merely good.

• Hands-on proficiency in developing production-ready frontend code using React and TypeScript.

• Strong command of design tools, specifically Figma, for wireframing, prototyping, and visual design.

• Experience with styling frameworks such as Tailwind CSS for efficient and scalable UI development.

• Demonstrated experience designing complex technical user interfaces, particularly for developer tools, infrastructure platforms, or AI-driven/agentic systems.

• Ability to operate autonomously in an early-stage startup environment, defining processes and driving initiatives with minimal supervision.

• Exceptional design judgment and the ability to articulate the rationale behind design decisions.

• Proficiency in establishing and maintaining design systems and style guides. Preferred Skills:

• Experience with observability platforms, cloud infrastructure tools, or workflow automation systems.

• Familiarity with AI/ML concepts and their application in user interfaces.

• Experience in brand identity development and management.

• Understanding of agile development methodologies.

• Contributions to open-source projects or a public GitHub profile showcasing frontend development skills.

📝 Enhancement Note: The experience requirement is broad (1-5 years), suggesting flexibility for exceptional candidates. The emphasis on "shipping to production, not just to Figma" is a key differentiator, pointing towards a hybrid role. The "Background designing developer tools, infrastructure platforms, or complex technical UX" is crucial for candidates to highlight in their portfolios.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a minimum of 2-3 comprehensive case studies demonstrating end-to-end product design ownership, from problem definition to shipped product.

• Clearly articulate the user problem, design challenges, and your specific contributions and decision-making process.

• Highlight the impact of your designs, ideally with quantifiable results (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced task completion time, increased user satisfaction).

• Include examples of user flows, wireframes, high-fidelity mockups, and interactive prototypes created in Figma.

• Demonstrate your frontend development capabilities by including links to live projects, GitHub repositories, or detailed descriptions of your role in implementation.

• For each project, specify the technologies used (e.g., React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS) and your level of involvement in their application. Process Documentation:

• Detail your approach to user research and how you incorporate findings into design iterations.

• Explain your methodology for establishing and evolving design systems and style guides.

• Provide examples of how you collaborate with engineering teams during the development lifecycle.

• Illustrate your process for defining and measuring design success metrics.

• Showcase your ability to define and implement new design processes in an early-stage environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: For this role, the portfolio must heavily emphasize the intersection of design and development. Candidates should be prepared to walk through their code and explain technical implementation decisions alongside design choices. A strong demonstration of a personal design system or component library would be highly beneficial.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $150,000 – $250,000 USD annually.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary and equity package (implied for a founding role).

• Visa sponsorship available for eligible candidates.

• Opportunity to shape the product and brand from the ground up in an early-stage startup.

• Direct reporting relationship to the CPO, offering high visibility and mentorship.

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance (assumed standard for US-based roles).

• Generous paid time off (PTO) and holidays (assumed standard).

Working Hours: 40 hours per week, with flexibility expected in an early-stage startup environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is provided and is competitive for a senior/founding design role in San Francisco. The "Visa sponsorship" is a significant benefit for international candidates. Given the "founding" nature of the role, equity is highly likely but not explicitly stated. The 40-hour work week is a baseline, with the expectation of dedication common in startups.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software / AI / Enterprise Integrations. Clera operates at the cutting edge of AI and enterprise software, aiming to revolutionize how businesses manage complex integrations through intelligent automation. This positions them within a rapidly growing and highly competitive market.

Company Size: Early-stage startup. This implies a lean, agile, and fast-paced work environment. Decisions are made quickly, and individuals are expected to be adaptable and take initiative. Roles are often broad, requiring team members to contribute across multiple functions.

Founded: The company is early-stage, suggesting a recent founding date and a focus on rapid product development and market penetration. The emphasis on a "founding" design seat reinforces this.

Team Structure:

• The design function is currently a single seat, reporting directly to the Chief Product Officer (CPO). This offers direct access to leadership and significant influence.

• As the company grows, this role will likely evolve into a design leadership position, managing future hires.

• Collaboration will be tight-knit with the CPO, engineering leads, and potentially early sales/customer success roles. Methodology:

• Data-driven decision-making, informed by user feedback, analytics, and A/B testing where applicable.

• Agile development methodologies, emphasizing iterative development and rapid deployment.

• A strong focus on user-centric design principles, even within a technically complex domain.

• Emphasis on autonomy and ownership, with individuals expected to define processes and drive outcomes.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture is likely to be highly collaborative, innovative, and fast-paced, characteristic of successful early-stage tech startups. The "agentic integration platform" concept suggests a forward-thinking approach to AI and automation.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role represents a "Founding" or "Lead" Product Designer position. It is suitable for individuals with 1-5 years of experience who are ready to take on significant responsibility and shape a product's entire design trajectory. The expectation is for this individual to grow into a design leadership role as the company scales.

Reporting Structure: You will report directly to the Chief Product Officer (CPO). This provides a direct line of communication to executive leadership, offering high visibility into strategic decision-making and product direction.

Operations Impact: As the founding designer, your impact will be foundational. You will define the core user experience and visual identity of a novel platform, directly influencing user adoption, customer satisfaction, and the company's market perception. Your work will set the standard for all future design and development efforts.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Opportunity to build and lead the design team as the company grows, defining its structure, processes, and culture.

• Product Strategy: Deep involvement in product strategy and roadmap planning, leveraging design insights to influence business direction.

• Technical Skill Development: Continuous learning and application of cutting-edge technologies like AI agents, advanced React patterns, and cloud infrastructure tools.

• Brand Building: Significant opportunity to shape and grow a new brand from its inception.

• Equity Growth: Potential for substantial equity in an early-stage startup, aligning personal success with company growth.

📝 Enhancement Note: The growth path here is significant, moving from an individual contributor role with broad scope to potentially managing a team and influencing company-wide strategy. Candidates should be motivated by impact and the opportunity to build something from the ground up.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This is an on-site role in San Francisco, CA. The office environment is expected to be characteristic of an early-stage startup – likely open-plan, collaborative, and dynamic, fostering close interaction among team members.

Office Location(s): San Francisco, California, United States. This places the role within a major tech hub, offering access to talent, networking opportunities, and a vibrant ecosystem.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: Expect a hands-on, collaborative workspace where spontaneous discussions and whiteboarding sessions are common.

• Tools & Technology: Access to modern design and development tools, with the expectation that you will help select and implement new technologies as needed.

• Team Interaction: Close daily interaction with the CPO and engineering teams, facilitating rapid feedback loops and agile development.

Work Schedule: While the standard is 40 hours per week, the nature of an early-stage startup often requires flexibility and dedication. The focus will be on achieving outcomes and meeting project milestones rather than strictly adhering to a clock.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement in San Francisco suggests a company that values in-person collaboration and team cohesion, which can be beneficial for rapid iteration and problem-solving in a startup setting.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of resume and portfolio to assess alignment with required skills and experience, particularly the blend of design and development.

• Design & Technical Challenge: You may be asked to complete a take-home design exercise or a live coding challenge that simulates a real-world problem relevant to the platform. This will assess your design thinking, problem-solving abilities, and technical proficiency.

• Portfolio Presentation & Discussion: A deep dive into your portfolio, where you will present 1-2 key case studies, explaining your process, decisions, and technical implementation. Be prepared to discuss your approach to agentic UX, developer tools, and brand identity.

• Team/Leadership Interviews: Meetings with the CPO and potentially engineering leads to assess cultural fit, collaboration style, and strategic thinking.

• Final Interview: Likely with the founding team or CEO to discuss overall vision and role expectations.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Showcase the Blend: Ensure your portfolio clearly demonstrates both your design expertise (Figma, UX principles) and your coding capabilities (React, TypeScript, shipped code).

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use metrics and data to demonstrate the success of your designs and implementations.

• Articulate Process: Be ready to walk through your design and development process step-by-step, explaining the 'why' behind your choices.

• Highlight Autonomy: Showcase projects where you operated independently, defined processes, and drove outcomes in ambiguous environments.

• Tailor to Clera: Emphasize any experience with developer tools, infrastructure, AI, or complex technical UX.

Challenge Preparation:

• Familiarize yourself with concepts related to AI agents, enterprise integrations, and developer platforms.

• Practice articulating your design and development process concisely and effectively.

• Prepare to discuss trade-offs between design ideals and technical constraints.

• Be ready to whiteboard potential solutions to complex problems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will heavily weigh your ability to execute on both design and development. Candidates should prepare to discuss technical implementation details with the same depth as their design rationale.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design: Figma (primary tool for wireframing, prototyping, UI design, and collaboration).

• Frontend Development: React, TypeScript (core for building production-ready interfaces).

• Styling: Tailwind CSS (for efficient and responsive UI development).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Analytics tools for user behavior tracking (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics – specific tools to be confirmed).

• Dashboarding tools for visualizing product performance and user engagement (internal or external solutions). CRM & Automation:

• While not explicitly mentioned for this role, understanding CRM concepts and workflow automation principles is beneficial given the platform's nature.

• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and deployment tools (e.g., Vercel, Railway, GitHub Actions) would be advantageous.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma, React, and TypeScript is non-negotiable. Experience with Tailwind CSS is also a key requirement. Familiarity with developer tooling and deployment processes will be highly valued.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Impact-Driven: A strong focus on delivering tangible results and contributing directly to the company's success through design and code.

• Ownership & Autonomy: Expectation that individuals will take full ownership of their work, define processes, and drive initiatives forward independently.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Close-knit teamwork, open communication, and a willingness to share knowledge and provide constructive feedback.

• Innovation & Agility: Embracing new technologies, adapting quickly to change, and continuously seeking better ways to solve problems.

• User-Centricity: A commitment to understanding and serving the user, even in highly technical product domains.

Collaboration Style:

• Close-Knit: Working intimately with the CPO and engineering team, fostering rapid iteration and feedback loops.

• Proactive: Encouraging team members to proactively identify issues, propose solutions, and contribute to strategic discussions.

• Constructive Feedback: A culture where feedback is given and received openly to drive continuous improvement in both product and processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture will be fast-paced and demanding, characteristic of a high-growth startup. Success will depend on an individual's ability to thrive in ambiguity, take initiative, and collaborate effectively.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Defining a New Paradigm: Designing user experiences for agentic AI interactions and complex enterprise integrations is a novel challenge, requiring innovative solutions.

• Balancing Design and Development: Effectively managing the dual responsibilities of high-level design strategy and hands-on production coding.

• Establishing Processes: Creating and refining design processes, systems, and brand guidelines from scratch in an early-stage environment.

• Rapid Iteration: Adapting designs and code quickly to feedback and evolving product requirements in a fast-paced startup.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI/Agentic Design: Deep dive into designing for AI-powered systems and human-agent collaboration.

• Developer Tooling: Gaining expertise in the ecosystem of developer tools and infrastructure platforms.

• Startup Growth Dynamics: Learning firsthand how to scale a product and a company from its inception.

• Leadership Potential: Opportunity to grow into a design leadership role, shaping team structure and mentorship.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers significant challenges that are also excellent learning opportunities. Candidates looking for steep learning curves and the chance to pioneer new design approaches will find this role highly rewarding.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to design for a complex technical audience. What were the key challenges and how did you address them?" (Focus on your experience with developer tools or infrastructure.)

• "How would you approach designing the collaborative UX between a user and an AI agent for building integrations?" (Think about workflow, communication, error handling, and user control.)

• "Walk us through your process for establishing a design system from scratch for a new product." (Highlight your methodology, tool choices, and how you ensure adoption.)

• "Given our product is an agentic integration platform, what are the key UX principles you would prioritize?" (Consider aspects like trust, transparency, control, and feedback loops.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why are you interested in working at an early-stage startup like Clera?" (Show enthusiasm for the mission and the startup environment.)

• "How do you handle ambiguity and evolving requirements?" (Demonstrate your adaptability and proactive approach.)

• "Describe your ideal collaboration with an engineering team and a CPO." (Highlight your communication and teamwork skills.)

• "What does 'founding designer' mean to you?" (Show you understand the scope of responsibility and impact.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Project Selection: Choose 1-2 projects that best showcase your end-to-end capabilities, ideally involving complex technical UX and/or frontend development.

• Structure: Clearly outline the problem, your process (research, design, development), your specific contributions, the outcomes, and lessons learned.

• Code Discussion: Be prepared to discuss the technical implementation details of your projects, including architecture, challenges, and trade-offs.

• Visuals: Use clear, concise visuals (wireframes, mockups, prototypes, live demos if possible) to illustrate your points.

• Brand Integration: If you have brand design experience, be ready to discuss how you've integrated brand identity with product design.

📝 Enhancement Note: Be ready to demonstrate your ability to think strategically about product and business goals while also executing technically. Your portfolio presentation should be a narrative that clearly articulates your value as both a designer and a developer.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Customize Your Resume: Tailor your resume to highlight specific keywords from the job description, such as "Product Design," "React," "TypeScript," "Figma," "Tailwind CSS," "Developer Tools," "Agentic UX," and "Frontend Development." Quantify achievements with numbers and metrics where possible.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Ensure your portfolio prominently features projects that demonstrate your end-to-end design and development capabilities. Prioritize case studies that align with Clera's focus on AI, integrations, and developer tools. Include links to live projects or GitHub repositories.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice articulating your design process, technical implementation details, and the impact of your work. Be ready to discuss your experience in ambiguous, early-stage environments.

• Research Clera: Thoroughly understand Clera's product, mission, and target market. Be prepared to discuss why you are a good fit for their specific challenges and company culture.

⚠️ 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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