Head of Design (AI Startup)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Head of Design (AI Startup)

Company: Jobgether (Partner Company)

Location: Brazil

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Design Leadership / Product Design (GTM Operations Alignment)

Date Posted: 2026-09-04

Experience Level: Senior / Lead

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead end-to-end product experience design for a high-growth AI consumer product, focusing on user acquisition, engagement, and retention strategies.

• Drive measurable business outcomes through design, including conversion rates, customer lifetime value, and overall product engagement metrics, aligning design initiatives with Go-To-Market (GTM) operations.

• Establish and maintain a cohesive design direction, encompassing UX, UI, visual identity, generated content, animation, and UX writing, ensuring brand consistency across all touchpoints.

• Build and mentor a multidisciplinary design team, fostering a culture of experimentation, data-driven decision-making, and continuous improvement in collaboration with Product, Analytics, and Marketing.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the role is "Head of Design," its responsibilities heavily overlap with GTM operations by focusing on driving business outcomes through user experience. The emphasis on acquisition, conversion, and retention necessitates a strong understanding of sales and marketing funnel optimization, making it a crucial role for GTM success.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the complete customer journey, from acquisition creatives and landing pages through onboarding, core product features (avatar selection, chat, media generation), engagement loops, and retention strategies.

• Translate user research, behavioral data, and customer support insights into actionable product hypotheses, prioritized roadmap initiatives, and validated concepts through A/B testing.

• Define and uphold a unified design direction across UI, UX patterns, character and visual styles, generated content, animation, and UX copy, ensuring a consistent and high-quality user experience.

• Develop, evolve, and maintain scalable design systems, patterns, and standards to ensure product consistency and accelerate design velocity across the team and product.

• Lead, mentor, and grow a multidisciplinary design team, including product designers, UX writers, and user researchers, fostering professional development and high performance.

• Establish and optimize efficient design processes, strengthening cross-functional collaboration with Product, Analytics, Marketing, and Engineering teams to ensure seamless product development and Go-To-Market execution.

• Partner closely with Product and Analytics stakeholders to identify and prioritize growth opportunities, making data-informed design decisions that align with business objectives and revenue targets.

• Champion a culture of experimentation, continuous improvement, customer empathy, and accountability within the design function, driving innovation and optimizing user experiences.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary responsibilities highlight a strong focus on measurable business outcomes (conversion, retention, LTV) and collaboration with Product, Analytics, and Marketing. This directly links design leadership to GTM and revenue generation, a key characteristic of senior operations-aligned design roles.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating a deep understanding of user-centered design principles, product strategy, and business impact is paramount. Equivalent practical experience will be highly valued.

Experience: A minimum of 3 years of experience leading a design team of 3 or more professionals is required. Proven experience designing for high-frequency B2C products that have achieved significant scale (e.g., 2 million+ MAU or $50 million+ revenue) is essential.

Required Skills:

• Product Design Leadership: Proven ability to lead and mentor design teams, set strategic design direction, and drive execution.

• End-to-End UX/UI Design: Expertise across the entire product lifecycle, from concept to launch and iteration, including user flows, information architecture, interaction design, and visual design.

• Figma Proficiency: Advanced, hands-on expertise with Figma for design creation, prototyping, and meticulous design system management.

• Design Systems: Experience building, implementing, and scaling robust design systems that enhance consistency and efficiency.

• Growth Design & Experimentation: Deep understanding of growth methodologies, including hypothesis generation, A/B testing frameworks (e.g., RICE), and data-driven product iteration.

• B2C Product Experience: Demonstrated success with consumer-facing products, particularly in high-frequency engagement categories like AI companions, social platforms, dating, health/fitness, or messaging.

• Business Acumen: Ability to connect design decisions directly to measurable business outcomes such as conversion rates, retention, and lifetime value.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Proven ability to partner effectively with Product Management, Data Analytics, and Marketing teams.

• Analytical & Problem-Solving Skills: Strong capability to analyze data, identify user pain points, and devise effective design solutions.

• Visual Craft & Taste: Excellent aesthetic judgment, attention to detail, and a strong portfolio showcasing high-quality visual design.

• Leadership & Communication: Exceptional mentoring, stakeholder management, and communication skills.

• English Proficiency: C1-level English proficiency or higher.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with AI-driven products or generative AI interfaces.

• Familiarity with UX writing principles and best practices.

• Experience with animation and motion design principles.

• Knowledge of user research methodologies and translating insights into design.

• Experience managing distributed or remote design teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirements emphasize a blend of creative leadership and analytical rigor, crucial for a role that bridges design, product, and GTM strategy. The mention of specific metrics like MAU and revenue, alongside A/B testing and RICE, points towards a performance-oriented design function directly impacting business growth.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrated Business Impact: A significant portion of the portfolio must showcase how your design leadership has directly driven measurable business outcomes (e.g., conversion rate improvements, retention increases, LTV growth) for B2C products. Quantifiable results are critical.

• End-to-End Product Experience: Showcase case studies detailing your ownership of the entire customer journey for a product, from acquisition through retention, illustrating how you’ve ensured consistency and quality.

• Design System Management: Provide examples of design systems you have built, implemented, or significantly evolved, demonstrating their impact on team efficiency and product consistency.

• Experimentation & Iteration: Include case studies detailing your involvement in product experimentation, A/B testing, and data-informed iteration cycles, explaining the hypotheses, methodologies, and outcomes.

• Team Leadership & Process: Illustrate your experience leading design teams, establishing efficient design processes, and fostering cross-functional collaboration.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design & Optimization: Examples of how you have documented and optimized design workflows to improve efficiency, collaboration, and speed to market.

• System Implementation & Standards: Evidence of establishing and maintaining design standards, patterns, and guidelines within a product context, ensuring scalability and consistency.

• Measurement & Performance Analysis: Demonstrate how you use data and analytics to inform design decisions, measure the impact of design initiatives, and drive continuous improvement.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Head of Design role focused on growth, the portfolio must move beyond purely aesthetic or UX flow examples. It needs to clearly articulate how design leadership translates into tangible business results and operational efficiency, aligning with GTM objectives.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for a Head of Design role in a high-growth AI startup in Brazil, with remote work flexibility, and considering the significant experience and leadership requirements (3+ years leading teams, experience with large-scale B2C products), the estimated annual salary range is between R$ 250,000 and R$ 450,000 BRL gross. This range accounts for the seniority, impact on business outcomes, and the competitive nature of attracting top design leadership talent in the tech sector.

Benefits:

• Flexible, Remote Work Environment: Work from anywhere within Brazil in a globally distributed team.

• Generous Paid Time Off: 28 calendar days of annual vacation allowance.

• Wellness Support: 7 dedicated wellness days per year for personal needs.

• Referral Bonuses: Up to $5,000 USD for successful candidate referrals, rewarding your network.

• Professional Development: 50% reimbursement for professional training, international conferences, and industry events to foster continuous learning.

• Learning Resources: Corporate discounts for English language lessons to support skill enhancement.

• Health Support: Up to $1,000 gross per year per employee for health insurance or eligible healthcare expenses where corporate medical insurance is not provided.

• Workplace Setup: Reimbursement of up to $1,000 gross every three years for home-office or coworking expenses, including equipment and workspace resources.

• Internal Rewards Program: Opportunities for recognition and rewards through colleague-exchanged bonuses for merchandise, team-building activities, and more.

• Impactful Role: Opportunity to lead a critical design function and significantly influence product strategy at a global scale.

• Cutting-Edge Exposure: Exposure to AI-driven consumer products, growth design, and data-informed product development.

Working Hours: A standard 40-hour work week is expected, with flexibility offered due to the remote and internationally distributed nature of the team. The focus will be on deliverables and impact rather than strict adherence to traditional office hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on publicly available data for senior design leadership roles in Brazil's tech sector, adjusted for the startup environment and the specific requirements of leading design for a high-impact, revenue-generating product. The benefits package is comprehensive, reflecting a focus on employee well-being, professional growth, and remote work enablement.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Startup, focusing on consumer products. This industry is characterized by rapid innovation, a strong emphasis on data and technology, and a fast-paced, experimental approach to product development.

Company Size: As an AI startup, the company is likely in a growth phase, implying a dynamic, agile environment where individual contributions have a significant impact. The mention of a "multidisciplinary design team" suggests a foundational team structure that is expanding.

Founded: The company's founding date is not specified, but its focus on AI and a "high-growth" trajectory suggests it's a relatively young, ambitious venture likely founded within the last 5-10 years.

Team Structure:

• Design Team: You will lead a multidisciplinary team comprising Product Designers, UX Writers, and User Researchers. This structure allows for specialized expertise within the design function.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Close partnerships are expected with Product Management, Data Analytics, Marketing, and Engineering teams. This indicates a highly collaborative, integrated product development process.

• Reporting: While not explicitly stated, a Head of Design typically reports to a C-level executive (e.g., CEO, CPO) in a startup environment.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Product Development: User research, behavioral data, and experimentation (A/B testing) are central to informing product priorities and design decisions.

• Agile & Iterative: The emphasis on hypothesis testing, continuous improvement, and rapid iteration aligns with agile development methodologies.

• Customer-Centric: A strong focus on customer empathy and understanding user needs is fundamental to the design and product strategy.

Company Website: https://jobgether.com/ (This is the platform through which applications are managed, not necessarily the partner company's website. The partner company's specific website is not provided.)

📝 Enhancement Note: The context of an AI startup implies a culture that values innovation, rapid iteration, and data-driven decision-making. The Head of Design will be instrumental in shaping not just the product's aesthetic and usability but also its ability to acquire and retain users, directly impacting the company's growth trajectory.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role represents a senior leadership position within the design function, equivalent to a Director or VP level in larger organizations. It offers the opportunity to build and scale a design operation from a foundational stage within a high-growth AI startup. The scope includes strategic decision-making, team building, process establishment, and direct impact on key business metrics, aligning closely with GTM and revenue operations.

Reporting Structure: As Head of Design, you will likely report directly to a C-level executive, such as the CEO or Chief Product Officer (CPO). This position offers high visibility and direct influence on product strategy and business outcomes.

Operations Impact: The role's core objective is to drive measurable business outcomes through design, specifically focusing on conversion, retention, and lifetime value. This directly translates into revenue generation and customer acquisition/retention efficiency, making it a critical component of the company's Go-To-Market (GTM) operations. Your work will be pivotal in shaping the user experience that drives user acquisition, engagement, and monetization.

Growth Opportunities:

• Strategic Leadership: Opportunity to shape the long-term design vision and strategy for a rapidly growing AI product, influencing product roadmaps and business objectives.

• Team Building & Scaling: Build and scale a high-performing, multidisciplinary design team, developing talent and establishing best practices for a growing organization.

• AI & Growth Design Expertise: Deepen expertise in designing for AI-driven consumer products, growth hacking, experimentation, and data-informed product development in a cutting-edge industry.

• Executive Influence: Direct interaction with executive leadership, providing opportunities to hone strategic thinking, business acumen, and stakeholder management skills at the highest level.

• Potential for Equity: As is common in startups, there may be opportunities for equity, offering significant long-term financial upside as the company scales.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a significant opportunity for career advancement, moving beyond traditional design responsibilities to encompass strategic business impact, team leadership, and operational influence within a fast-paced startup environment. The alignment with GTM objectives makes it a highly strategic position.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This is a fully remote position. The company operates with an "internationally distributed working environment," suggesting a distributed team structure rather than a central office.

Office Location(s): The role is based in Brazil, indicating that candidates must be located within Brazil to be considered. While fully remote, there may be an expectation of collaboration within Brazilian time zones or for specific company-wide events.

Workspace Context:

• Remote Flexibility: The primary workspace will be the employee's home office or a chosen coworking space.

• Technology & Tools: Employees are expected to have reliable internet access and will receive support for workplace setup, including equipment and resources, with reimbursement for eligible home-office or coworking expenses.

• Collaboration: While physically distributed, the environment emphasizes strong digital collaboration through various communication and project management tools. Regular virtual meetings and asynchronous communication will be key.

Work Schedule: A standard 40-hour work week is expected, but the remote nature allows for flexibility in scheduling. The focus is on delivering results and meeting objectives, rather than strict adherence to a 9-to-5 schedule. This flexibility can be advantageous for balancing work with personal life and optimizing productivity within individual peak hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: The fully remote nature and distributed team structure are critical aspects of this role. Candidates should be comfortable with asynchronous communication and self-management, while also being able to foster a cohesive team dynamic across different locations.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• AI-Powered Matching: Jobgether uses an AI system to initially screen applications based on core requirements, ensuring objective and efficient review.

• Shortlisting: Top-fitting candidates are shortlisted and shared directly with the hiring company.

• Hiring Company Management: The partner company manages all subsequent steps, which typically include:

  • Initial Screening Call: A conversation with a hiring manager or recruiter to assess general fit, experience, and motivation.
  • Design Challenge/Case Study Presentation: A practical exercise designed to evaluate your design thinking, problem-solving skills, and ability to drive business outcomes. This is where your portfolio will be heavily leveraged.
  • Team/Stakeholder Interviews: Meetings with key stakeholders from Product, Analytics, Engineering, and potentially other design team members to assess collaboration style and functional expertise.
  • Executive Interview: A final interview with a C-level executive (CEO/CPO) to discuss strategic vision, leadership philosophy, and cultural fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Quantify Impact: For each project, clearly state the problem, your role, the solution, and most importantly, the measurable business outcomes achieved (e.g., "Increased conversion rate by 15%," "Reduced churn by 10%," "Improved user engagement by 20%").

• Showcase End-to-End Ownership: Present case studies that illustrate your comprehensive involvement from initial concept and user research through to detailed UI, prototyping, A/B testing, and post-launch iteration.

• Highlight Leadership & Process: Include examples of how you’ve led design teams, established design systems, defined processes, and fostered cross-functional collaboration.

• Focus on Growth & Strategy: Emphasize projects that demonstrate your understanding of growth loops, user acquisition funnels, retention strategies, and how design contributes to achieving key business objectives.

• Figma & Design System Examples: Clearly demonstrate your proficiency with Figma and showcase your work on design systems, highlighting their structure, scalability, and impact.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Product: Thoroughly research the AI product and its target audience. Understand its value proposition, competitive landscape, and potential growth levers.

• Focus on Business Metrics: Frame your approach to any design challenge through the lens of business impact (conversion, retention, LTV). How will your proposed solution drive these metrics?

• Demonstrate Process: Be prepared to walk through your design process, from problem definition and research to ideation, prototyping, testing, and iteration. Articulate your decision-making rationale.

• Data & Experimentation: Show how you would leverage data and experimentation (A/B testing) to validate your ideas and optimize the user experience.

• Communicate Effectively: Practice articulating your ideas clearly and concisely, both verbally and visually, especially when presenting your portfolio or design challenge.

📝 Enhancement Note: The application process leverages AI for initial screening, emphasizing the need for clear, keyword-rich applications and resumes. The portfolio review is critical and must heavily focus on quantifiable business impact and leadership, reflecting the role's strategic and revenue-generating responsibilities.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: This is a mandatory requirement. Expect to use Figma extensively for UI/UX design, prototyping, and design system management. Proficiency is non-negotiable.

• Design System Tools: Beyond Figma, familiarity with tools or methodologies for managing design tokens, component libraries, and documentation (e.g., Zeroheight, Storybook, or custom solutions) will be beneficial.

• Prototyping Tools: While Figma has robust prototyping capabilities, experience with other tools like InVision, Principle, or Adobe XD might be useful for specific use cases or historical projects.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Data Analytics Platforms: Experience working with data from platforms such as Google Analytics, Amplitude, Mixpanel, or similar tools is crucial for understanding user behavior and informing design decisions.

• A/B Testing Tools: Familiarity with experimentation platforms like Optimizely, VWO, LaunchDarkly, or in-house A/B testing frameworks will be essential for validating hypotheses and optimizing experiences.

• Dashboarding Tools: Experience interpreting data presented in dashboards created with tools like Tableau, Looker, Power BI, or custom solutions.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems: While not directly a CRM role, understanding how user acquisition and engagement data feeds into CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) can provide context for the customer journey.

• Marketing Automation: Awareness of how design impacts marketing automation workflows and user segmentation.

• Project Management & Collaboration: Tools like Jira, Asana, Trello, Slack, and Notion are standard for managing design workflows, team communication, and cross-functional collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on Figma and design systems is paramount. The need to work closely with data analytics and experimentation tools highlights the data-driven and growth-oriented nature of this design leadership role, directly impacting GTM operations.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Empathy: A deep understanding and focus on user needs, ensuring that design decisions are user-centered and drive positive customer experiences.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: A commitment to using data, research, and experimentation to inform strategy, prioritize initiatives, and measure impact. This aligns with a core tenet of operations.

• Bias for Action & Experimentation: A culture that encourages rapid prototyping, hypothesis testing, and learning through doing, rather than over-analyzing.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Open communication, shared ownership, and close partnerships across Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Analytics teams to achieve collective goals.

• Accountability & Ownership: Taking full responsibility for design outcomes and their impact on business metrics, from initial concept through to successful implementation.

Collaboration Style:

• Integrated Product Development: Design is not a silo but an integral part of the product development process, working hand-in-hand with Product Managers and Engineers from ideation to launch.

• Data-Informed Dialogue: Design discussions are grounded in data and user insights, fostering constructive debates and evidence-based decision-making.

• Feedback-Rich Environment: An open culture where constructive feedback is regularly exchanged among team members and cross-functional partners to drive continuous improvement.

• Process Optimization Focus: A collective effort to refine workflows and processes to enhance efficiency, reduce friction, and accelerate the delivery of value to users and the business.

📝 Enhancement Note: The cultural values emphasize a blend of user-centricity, data-driven rigor, and a proactive, collaborative approach—all hallmarks of effective operational teams and successful GTM functions.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Scaling Design in a Fast-Paced Startup: Balancing the need for rapid iteration and growth with the establishment of scalable processes, robust design systems, and consistent quality.

• Defining and Measuring Impact: Continuously demonstrating the direct business impact of design initiatives in a highly quantitative environment, linking design efforts to revenue and user growth.

• Leading a Distributed Team: Effectively managing, mentoring, and fostering a cohesive and high-performing design team across different locations and time zones.

• Navigating AI Product Complexity: Designing intuitive and engaging experiences for cutting-edge AI products, which can involve novel interaction paradigms and user expectations.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Ensuring seamless collaboration and alignment with Product, Analytics, and Marketing, especially when priorities may differ.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI Product Innovation: Gain deep expertise in designing for emerging AI technologies and understanding their potential for consumer products.

• Growth Design Mastery: Hone skills in growth hacking, experimentation, and data analysis to drive significant user acquisition, engagement, and monetization.

• Strategic Leadership Development: Develop advanced strategic thinking, business acumen, and executive communication skills through direct involvement in company-level decision-making.

• Team Building & Mentorship: Build and shape a world-class design team, refining leadership and people management capabilities.

• Industry Exposure: Participate in international conferences and training programs with 50% reimbursement, staying at the forefront of design and AI trends.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are typical for a senior leadership role in a growing startup, offering significant opportunities for professional development and skill enhancement, particularly in areas critical to GTM and revenue operations.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach establishing a design vision and roadmap for a new AI consumer product aiming for rapid user acquisition and retention?" (Prepare to discuss your process, key metrics, and cross-functional alignment.)

• "Describe a time you used data and experimentation (A/B testing) to significantly improve a key product metric like conversion or retention. What was your role, the hypothesis, the experiment, and the outcome?" (Focus on quantifiable results and your specific contribution.)

• "How do you balance the need for design consistency and quality with the demands of rapid iteration and growth in a startup environment?" (Discuss your approach to design systems, process, and prioritization.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about working for an AI startup, and what do you see as the biggest design challenges in this space?" (Research the company’s mission and the AI product.)

• "Describe your leadership style and how you foster a collaborative and high-performing design team, especially in a remote setting." (Highlight your experience in mentoring, process building, and team cohesion.)

• "How do you measure the success and impact of a design function within a company, particularly in relation to business objectives like revenue and user growth?" (Connect design work to business outcomes and operational efficiency.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Storytelling: Structure your case studies as compelling narratives. Start with the business problem or user need, outline your strategic approach, detail your design process and solutions, and conclude with the measurable impact.

• Quantify Everything: For each project, clearly articulate the metrics you influenced (e.g., conversion rate, LTV, engagement, retention) and the percentage of improvement. Use charts or graphs if possible.

• Highlight Leadership & Process: Showcase your ability to lead teams, define processes, build design systems, and collaborate effectively with Product, Engineering, and Marketing.

• Focus on Growth: Select projects that best demonstrate your expertise in driving growth through design, especially for B2C products.

• Conciseness & Clarity: Be prepared to present your key projects within a given timeframe (e.g., 15-20 minutes), focusing on the most impactful work.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating a blend of creative vision, strategic thinking, data-driven execution, and strong leadership capabilities, all framed within the context of driving business outcomes and GTM success.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations-aligned design leadership position:

• Submit your application through the Jobgether platform. Ensure your profile and application are complete and accurately reflect your experience.

• Tailor your Resume: Highlight keywords related to AI, product design leadership, growth design, B2C products, Figma, design systems, A/B testing, and business metrics (conversion, retention, LTV). Quantify your achievements wherever possible.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 3-4 of your most impactful projects that best showcase your leadership, end-to-end product ownership, measurable business impact, and experience with growth strategies. Ensure each case study clearly articulates the problem, your solution, your process, and quantifiable results.

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice presenting your portfolio case studies concisely and compellingly, focusing on storytelling and quantifiable outcomes. Be ready to discuss your leadership philosophy and approach to building design teams and processes.

• Research the Company: Understand the partner company's AI product, target market, and any publicly available information about their mission and vision. Prepare thoughtful questions about their product strategy, design challenges, and growth opportunities.

⚠️ 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.