Head of Design

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Head of Design

Company: Aurora Solar

Location: Canada (Remote)

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Design Leadership / Revenue Operations Enabler

Date Posted: April 28, 2026

Experience Level: 10+ Years

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead and mentor a high-performing product design team, fostering a culture of collaboration and excellence to deliver cutting-edge SaaS solutions.

• Define key performance indicators (KPIs) that directly support company-wide Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), driving strategic alignment and measurable business impact.

• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, and Go-to-Market teams to ensure customer-centricity and high-quality execution of product initiatives.

• Drive innovation in design operations by adopting industry best practices, including leveraging AI capabilities to enhance design processes and outcomes.

• Champion a data-driven approach by integrating user research and iterative testing to inform product development and uncover user needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: While this role is a "Head of Design," its responsibilities in defining KPIs, partnering with GTM, and evolving design operations to impact product strategy and customer value directly align with the principles of Revenue Operations and GTM Operations. The Head of Design will be instrumental in ensuring the product's usability and adoption, which are critical drivers of revenue.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Team Leadership & Development: Lead, develop, and mentor a team of product designers, setting clear goals, providing constructive feedback, and creating an environment where designers can excel and grow their careers.

• Strategic Alignment & Execution: Define and track KPIs that directly contribute to company-wide OKRs, ensuring the design team's efforts are aligned with strategic business objectives and delivering tangible results.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Forge strong partnerships with Product Management, Engineering, Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success teams to ensure a unified approach to product development, from discovery through to delivery.

• Design Operations Enhancement: Evolve and optimize Aurora's design operations by researching and implementing industry-leading practices, exploring new tools and methodologies, and integrating emerging technologies like AI to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

• Customer-Centricity & Research Integration: Embed user research into the product development lifecycle, ensuring continuous testing, learning, and discovery of genuine user needs to inform design decisions.

• Process & Infrastructure Management: Define, implement, and refine design processes, tools, and infrastructure that support agile product development methodologies and ensure scalability and consistency.

• Product Vision & Strategy: Contribute to the definition and execution of the product vision, ensuring it is clearly communicated and understood across all relevant departments, from engineering to executive leadership.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "defining KPIs that show your team is moving company-wide OKRs" and "partnering with Product, Engineering, and Go-to-Market to ship solutions that drive real value" highlights the strategic operational impact of this design leadership role. It underscores the importance of design in enabling sales and customer success, thereby directly influencing revenue generation.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong foundation in design principles, user experience, and potentially business strategy is expected, often gained through a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, HCI, Computer Science, or a related field, or through equivalent professional experience.

Experience:

• 12+ years of progressive experience in Product Design, User Experience (UX) Design, or a closely related field.

Required Skills:

• Team Leadership & Mentorship: Proven ability to lead, motivate, mentor, and develop a team of product designers, fostering a high-performance culture and nurturing design talent.

• SaaS Product Design Expertise: Deep understanding and practical experience in designing complex, technical SaaS products, with a portfolio showcasing successful end-to-end product development cycles.

• Design Systems Development & Management: Demonstrated experience in creating, implementing, and maintaining robust design systems that ensure consistency, scalability, and efficiency across multiple product lines.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Communication: Exceptional communication skills with a proven track record of effectively collaborating with and influencing diverse stakeholders, including Product Managers, Engineers, Sales, and Executive Leadership, to drive alignment and consensus on complex topics.

• Product Vision & Strategy: Ability to define, articulate, and champion a compelling product vision, translating it into actionable design strategies and roadmaps that align with business objectives.

Preferred Skills:

• Solar Industry Experience: Familiarity with the solar industry, its specific workflows, challenges, and user needs, which would provide immediate context and accelerate impact.

• AI Integration in Design: Experience or a strong understanding of how to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities within design processes, tools, and product features to drive innovation and efficiency.

• Agile Development Methodologies: Experience working within agile development environments, understanding sprint cycles, and contributing effectively to iterative product development.

• User Research & Usability Testing: Proficient in planning, conducting, and integrating user research, usability testing, and A/B testing to validate design hypotheses and inform product decisions.

• Web, iOS, and/or Android Design: Experience in designing for multiple platforms, including complex web applications and potentially mobile applications (iOS/Android).

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for 12+ years of experience and 5+ years in leadership, coupled with the emphasis on SaaS and technical products, indicates a senior role demanding strategic operational thinking. The "nice to have" for solar industry experience suggests a preference for candidates who can quickly grasp the nuances of the business, which is crucial for effective GTM and Revenue Operations alignment.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrate Leadership Impact: Showcase case studies that highlight your leadership in building and mentoring design teams, including examples of team growth, process improvements, and successful project delivery under your guidance.

• Complex SaaS Product Solutions: Present detailed case studies of complex technical SaaS products you have led the design for. This should include problem statements, design process, user research insights, iterative design solutions, and measurable outcomes.

• Design System Implementation: Provide examples of design systems you have developed or significantly contributed to, illustrating their structure, components, guidelines, and impact on consistency and development efficiency.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration Evidence: Include examples of projects where you successfully collaborated with Product, Engineering, and Go-to-Market teams, detailing how you influenced strategy, resolved conflicts, and achieved shared goals.

• Process Innovation & AI Integration: Highlight instances where you have evolved design processes, adopted new tools, or explored the integration of AI capabilities to enhance design workflows or product features.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design & Optimization: Document how you approach designing and optimizing end-to-end user workflows for complex SaaS applications, ensuring efficiency, usability, and scalability.

• Agile Design Integration: Demonstrate how you integrate design processes within agile development frameworks, including sprint planning, backlog refinement, and iterative design critiques.

• Research-to-Design Lifecycle: Showcase your approach to translating user research findings into actionable design requirements, prototypes, and final product features, with clear documentation of the feedback loop.

• Design Operations Frameworks: Outline your methodology for establishing and managing design operations, including tool selection, process standardization, and quality assurance measures.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Head of Design role, the portfolio is critical for demonstrating not just design craft but also leadership, strategic thinking, and operational acumen. The emphasis on SaaS, design systems, and cross-functional collaboration directly relates to the operational efficiency and scalability required in a high-growth tech company.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on the provided information for "Tier 2: All Other CA Locations" and the role's seniority, the estimated salary range is CAD $205,100 to $255,900 annually. The upper end of the provided range (CAD $281,400) is likely reserved for exceptional candidates or specific high-cost regions within Canada not explicitly detailed in the tiering.

Benefits:

• Flexible PTO: Encourages work-life balance through a flexible approach to time off.

• Parental Leave: Comprehensive 16 weeks of paid leave with a gradual return-to-work option.

• Work From Home Stipend: Initial CAD $675 for non-engineers to support remote work setup.

• Coworking Stipend: CAD $400 per month for individuals who prefer working from a coworking space.

• Energize Fridays: Company-wide designated days for employees to disconnect and recharge.

• Connectivity Stipend: Up to CAD $125 per month to cover internet or phone expenses.

• Learning & Development Stipend: CAD $970 annually for professional development opportunities (after 90 days of employment).

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Aurora covers 100% of premiums for medical, dental, and vision plans for employees and their dependents.

• Equity & Bonus: While not explicitly detailed in the benefits list, typical for senior roles at growth-stage SaaS companies, equity and performance-based bonuses are often part of the total compensation package.

Working Hours: Standard full-time hours are assumed to be approximately 40 hours per week. The remote and flexible nature of the role suggests a degree of autonomy in managing work hours, provided that responsibilities are met and collaboration needs are satisfied.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided by the company is specific. The enhancement note clarifies how the "Tier 2" information is applied and acknowledges the upper limit provided in the raw data. The benefits are detailed, and the inclusion of equity/bonus is a reasonable assumption for a Head of Design role in a company like Aurora Solar, aligning with typical compensation structures for senior leadership in the SaaS sector.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: The company operates within the Renewable Energy Technology (specifically Solar Software) sector. Aurora Solar is a leading provider of design and sales software for the solar industry, playing a critical role in accelerating the global transition to solar energy. This industry is characterized by rapid innovation, a focus on sustainability, and a growing market driven by environmental concerns and technological advancements.

Company Size: Aurora Solar is a mid-to-large sized tech company, likely employing several hundred to over a thousand employees. This size typically indicates a stable but still agile environment, with established processes but room for individual impact and innovation. For operations professionals, this often means access to resources and established systems, while still offering opportunities to shape and improve processes.

Founded: Founded in 2013, Aurora Solar has a significant history within the tech startup landscape, suggesting a mature product and established market presence, while still retaining the drive of a growth-stage company.

Team Structure:

• Design Team: The design team currently consists of five product designers. As Head of Design, your role will be to grow this team, likely expanding it with additional product designers, potentially UX researchers, and design operations specialists.

• Reporting Structure: The Head of Design will likely report to a senior executive, such as the VP of Product, Chief Product Officer (CPO), or even the CEO, depending on the company's organizational structure. They will, in turn, manage the product design team.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: The team emphasizes strong collaborative partnerships with Product Management and Engineering from discovery through delivery. This role will also involve close collaboration with Go-to-Market (GTM) functions, including Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success, to ensure product-market fit and drive adoption.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Product Development: A strong emphasis is placed on integrating user research and continuous learning to understand user needs and drive product decisions.

• Iterative Design & Exploration: The team values iterative exploration and uses peer design critiques to elevate the quality of their work.

• Customer-First Mentality: The core philosophy is to prioritize customer needs and ensure the product delivers real value.

• Strategic OKR Alignment: Design efforts are directly tied to company-wide OKRs, ensuring strategic alignment and measurable impact on business goals.

Company Website: https://aurorasolar.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's mission and industry context are vital for understanding the broader impact of the design function. A mid-to-large size company implies a need for structured operations and process refinement, areas where a Head of Design can significantly contribute. The existing design team size suggests an opportunity for significant leadership and team expansion.

📈 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 many organizations. It is a strategic role focused on building and scaling a team, defining processes, and directly impacting product strategy and business outcomes. For operations professionals, this level signifies a move into a leadership role that influences Go-to-Market strategy through product excellence.

Reporting Structure: The Head of Design will report to a senior executive (likely VP of Product or CPO) and will be responsible for managing and growing the product design team. This position requires strong collaboration with other department heads, including Engineering, Product Management, and Go-to-Market leadership.

Operations Impact: The Head of Design's impact extends beyond aesthetics; they are critical in ensuring the usability, adoption, and effectiveness of Aurora Solar's software. High-quality design directly influences customer acquisition (through effective sales tools), retention (through intuitive user experiences), and expansion (through features that drive deeper engagement). This role is therefore a significant enabler of revenue growth and operational efficiency within the GTM motion.

Growth Opportunities:

• Team Expansion & Leadership: Significant opportunity to build and scale the design team, shaping its structure, hiring strategy, and talent development programs.

• Strategic Influence: Influence product strategy, roadmap prioritization, and company-wide OKRs through design leadership and cross-functional collaboration.

• Process Innovation: Define and implement best-in-class design operations, workflows, and methodologies, potentially including the integration of advanced AI capabilities.

• Industry Leadership: Become a key figure in the solar tech industry's design community, contributing to the company's reputation and the broader mission of solar adoption.

• Career Progression: Potential to advance to Chief Design Officer (CDO) or similar executive roles in larger organizations or to transition into broader product leadership roles.

📝 Enhancement Note: This analysis frames the Head of Design role through an operational lens, emphasizing its direct contribution to revenue and GTM success. It highlights how this design leadership position offers strategic growth opportunities that align with career progression in operations-focused leadership tracks.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This is a fully remote position, allowing employees to work from anywhere within Canada. This offers significant flexibility and autonomy.

Office Location(s): While the role is remote, the company has a global presence with teams in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Germany. The specific remote work arrangement is for individuals based in Canada, with stipends provided for home office setups or coworking spaces.

Workspace Context:

• Remote Flexibility: Employees have the freedom to create their ideal workspace, whether at home or a coworking facility, supported by company stipends.

• Technology & Tools: Access to modern design and collaboration tools will be provided, essential for effective remote teamwork and design execution. The company's focus on AI suggests that innovative tools may be part of the tech stack.

• Team Interaction: While remote, the company fosters collaborative interactions through virtual meetings, design critiques, and cross-functional team syncs. The emphasis on a strong collaborative ethos means active participation in virtual team activities is expected.

Work Schedule: While the core work is full-time (approx. 40 hours/week), the remote nature and "Flexible PTO" suggest a degree of flexibility in managing work hours. However, scheduled meetings, design critiques, and collaboration with teams in different time zones will require responsiveness and adherence to agreed-upon schedules.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote-first nature of this role is a key aspect. The stipends for home office and coworking spaces are practical benefits that support a productive remote work environment, crucial for operations roles that often require focused work.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process: The interview process is likely to be multi-stage, designed to assess leadership capabilities, design expertise, strategic thinking, and cultural fit.

1. Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will review your application, focusing on your resume and portfolio to assess alignment with the core requirements.

2. Hiring Manager Interview: A conversation with the direct hiring manager (likely VP of Product or CPO) to delve deeper into your leadership experience, team-building philosophy, and strategic approach to design.

3. Design Team & Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with existing product designers and key stakeholders from Product, Engineering, and potentially GTM teams. These will assess your collaboration style, ability to influence, and technical understanding.

4. Portfolio Presentation & Case Study: A dedicated session where you present selected case studies from your portfolio, demonstrating your design process, leadership impact, and problem-solving skills. This is where you'll articulate how your work drives business value.

5. Executive/Final Interview: A final conversation with a senior executive to discuss company vision, strategic alignment, and overall fit for the leadership team.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate for Leadership: Select case studies that prominently feature your leadership impact, team development, and strategic contributions, not just individual design execution.

• Quantify Impact: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process followed, the solutions implemented, and most importantly, the quantifiable business outcomes (e.g., increased conversion rates, improved user satisfaction, reduced development time, revenue impact).

• Structure for Clarity: Organize your portfolio logically. For each project, provide a concise overview, followed by detailed sections on discovery/research, ideation/design, implementation, and results. Use visuals effectively but ensure the narrative and impact are clear.

• Highlight Process Innovation: Showcase examples where you've improved design processes, implemented design systems, or integrated new technologies like AI.

• Tailor to Aurora Solar: Research Aurora Solar's products, target audience, and mission. Be prepared to discuss how your experience and vision align with their goals and the solar industry's unique challenges.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design Strategy Exercise: Be prepared for a potential design strategy exercise or a deep-dive discussion on how you would approach a specific challenge at Aurora Solar (e.g., improving a key user workflow, scaling the design system, integrating AI features).

• Team Building & Management Scenarios: Prepare to discuss how you would handle common team management scenarios, such as performance issues, conflict resolution, fostering psychological safety, and scaling a team.

• Cross-Functional Alignment Scenarios: Practice articulating how you would gain buy-in and collaborate with non-design stakeholders on complex product decisions.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section provides practical advice tailored to a senior design leadership role. The emphasis on quantifying impact and showcasing strategic contributions is crucial for demonstrating operational value beyond pure design craft.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (highly probable as industry standard for collaborative design), Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, InVision, Axure RP.

• User Research & Testing: UserTesting.com, Maze, Hotjar, Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, Mixpanel/Amplitude (for behavioral analytics).

• Design Systems Management: Storybook, Zeroheight, internal documentation platforms.

• Collaboration & Project Management: Jira, Asana, Trello, Confluence, Slack, Microsoft Teams.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics: Mixpanel, Amplitude, Google Analytics.

• Business Intelligence: Tableau, Power BI, Looker (for broader company-wide reporting that design can leverage).

• Reporting Dashboards: Tools may be built in-house or leverage BI platforms to visualize key design-related KPIs and OKRs.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly managed by Design, exposure to CRM systems like Salesforce and marketing automation platforms (e.g., Marketo, HubSpot) is beneficial for understanding the broader GTM ecosystem and how design impacts conversion and customer journey.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the role's focus on evolving design operations and leveraging AI, the Head of Design should be proficient in modern design tooling and have a keen interest in how analytics and emerging technologies can enhance design processes and outcomes.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer-Centricity: A fundamental value driving all product decisions, ensuring that user needs and pain points are at the forefront of design and development.

• Collaboration & Transparency: A strong emphasis on working together across departments, sharing knowledge openly, and fostering an environment where feedback is welcomed and acted upon.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Utilizing research, analytics, and performance metrics to inform design choices and measure the impact of design initiatives.

• Excellence & Craftsmanship: A commitment to high standards in design quality, user experience, and product execution.

• Innovation & Continuous Improvement: Encouraging exploration of new ideas, technologies (like AI), and methodologies to constantly enhance processes and product offerings.

Collaboration Style:

• Partnership Model: Design operates as a collaborative partner with Product and Engineering, involved from early discovery through post-launch iteration.

• Open Feedback Culture: Regular design critiques and cross-functional reviews are integral to the process, promoting shared ownership and continuous refinement.

• Knowledge Sharing: A culture that supports sharing insights, best practices, and learnings across the design team and with other departments.

• Agile Integration: Seamless integration into agile sprints, ensuring design work is flexible, iterative, and responsive to changing project needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's stated values and the team's collaborative ethos are crucial for operations candidates to understand. This role requires someone who can not only lead a team but also effectively integrate design into the broader operational and GTM functions of the company.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Scaling the Design Team: Growing a high-performing design team from 5 to a larger, more specialized unit while maintaining quality and culture.

• Balancing Strategic Vision with Execution: Ensuring the team's work aligns with long-term company goals while delivering on immediate product roadmap needs.

• Integrating AI into Design Workflows: Exploring and effectively implementing AI tools and methodologies to enhance design efficiency and product capabilities without compromising user experience.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Navigating complex stakeholder needs and ensuring design decisions are well-understood and supported across various departments, especially in a fast-paced growth environment.

• Defining and Measuring Design Impact: Clearly articulating and quantifying the ROI of design efforts to demonstrate value to executive leadership and secure resources.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Leadership Skills: Opportunity to hone executive leadership, strategic planning, and team-building skills in a dynamic SaaS environment.

• Industry-Specific Knowledge: Deepen understanding of the solar energy sector, its market dynamics, and user needs, potentially leading to thought leadership.

• Emerging Technology Integration: Gain hands-on experience with integrating cutting-edge technologies like AI into product design and operations.

• Mentorship & Executive Coaching: Access to mentorship from senior leadership and potential for executive coaching to support career growth.

• Professional Development Budget: Utilize the annual CAD $970 stipend for courses, conferences, workshops, or certifications relevant to design leadership, operations, or AI.

📝 Enhancement Note: Identifying these challenges and growth opportunities allows candidates to prepare for potential hurdles and understand the developmental trajectory of the role, which is important for long-term career planning in operations-adjacent fields.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach scaling our product design team from 5 to 15 designers over the next two years, considering specialized roles like UX research and design operations?"

  • Preparation: Outline your hiring strategy, team structure models (e.g., by product area, by customer segment), and how you'd foster a strong team culture remotely.

• "Describe your process for defining and measuring KPIs for a design team that directly impact company OKRs. Walk us through an example."

  • Preparation: Be ready to discuss metrics related to user adoption, task success rates, customer satisfaction, and how these tie into revenue or growth objectives.

• "How would you integrate AI capabilities into Aurora's design processes and product offerings? What are the potential benefits and risks?"

  • Preparation: Research current AI applications in design tools and SaaS products. Think about AI for content generation, user insights, workflow automation, and personalized experiences.

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Based on your understanding of Aurora Solar and the solar industry, what do you see as the biggest design challenges and opportunities for our product?"

  • Preparation: Research Aurora Solar's products, competitors, and the current state of the solar industry. Formulate informed opinions on user needs and market trends.

• "How do you foster a collaborative and customer-centric culture within a remote design team, and how do you ensure that culture extends to cross-functional partners?"

  • Preparation: Discuss specific strategies for remote team building, communication, feedback loops, and integrating design into the broader company culture.

• "What is your philosophy on design operations, and how would you evolve Aurora's current practices to improve efficiency and scalability?"

  • Preparation: Be ready to discuss best practices in design operations, including toolchain management, process documentation, and knowledge sharing.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Focus on Impact & Leadership: Select 2-3 case studies that best demonstrate your leadership, strategic thinking, and quantifiable impact on business outcomes.

• Narrative Arc: Structure each case study as a story: the problem/opportunity, your strategic approach, the collaborative process, the design solution, and the measurable results.

• Quantify Everything: For each project, clearly state the KPIs you influenced and the ROI achieved. Use data visualization where appropriate.

• Demonstrate Process Evolution: Highlight instances where you improved design processes, implemented design systems, or adopted new technologies.

• Engage Your Audience: Be prepared to answer in-depth questions about your decisions and be open to discussing alternative approaches.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section provides actionable advice for preparing for a senior design leadership interview, focusing on strategic thinking, operational impact, and leadership competencies, which are crucial for roles that bridge design and business operations.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Head of Design position at Aurora Solar:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby HQ.

• Portfolio Customization: Curate your portfolio to prominently showcase leadership experience, complex SaaS product design, design system development, and quantifiable business impact. Tailor your case studies to highlight your ability to drive revenue and operational efficiency through design.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your 12+ years of design experience and 5+ years of team leadership, using keywords related to SaaS, product strategy, design operations, and cross-functional collaboration. Quantify your achievements whenever possible.

• Interview Preparation: Thoroughly review the "Interview Preparation" section above. Practice articulating your leadership philosophy, design strategy, and how you would address the specific challenges and opportunities at Aurora Solar. Prepare to present your portfolio with a focus on strategic impact and measurable results.

• Company & Industry Research: Deeply research Aurora Solar's mission, products, target market, and competitors. Understand the nuances of the solar industry and be ready to discuss how design can uniquely contribute to their growth and operational goals.

⚠️ 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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