Innovation Head of Design

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Head of Design

Company: Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) - AI-Native Financial Services Platform

Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design Leadership / GTM Operations

Date Posted: April 21, 2026

Experience Level: 7+ years product design; 2+ years in a design leadership or senior IC role

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Spearhead the product design vision and strategy for an AI-native financial services platform, setting the standard for user experience and market differentiation.

• Build and scale the design function from inception, establishing design principles, quality standards, and robust design operations processes.

• Drive hands-on design for complex, data-intensive B2B experiences, including integration configuration, transformation building, and AI interaction patterns.

• Develop a comprehensive design system from scratch, ensuring scalability, consistency, and a high craft bar across the platform and marketing touchpoints.

• Act as a player-coach, mentoring designers while remaining deeply involved in Figma, user research, and strategic roadmap discussions.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a foundational leadership opportunity within a newly formed, AI-native financial services platform backed by an established enterprise. The emphasis on "AI-native," "data integration and transformation," and "B2B financial services" indicates a strong need for operations and GTM alignment, particularly in how design influences adoption, user efficiency, and the overall go-to-market strategy for complex enterprise software. The "player-coach" aspect and building from scratch highlight the hands-on, entrepreneurial nature of the role.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Define and execute the overarching product design vision and strategy for the entire AI-native financial services platform, ensuring alignment with business objectives and user needs.

• Establish and champion core design principles and quality standards that will guide all product development decisions, fostering a culture of design excellence.

• Lead the design of complex, data-intensive user experiences, including integration configuration, transformation building, workflow monitoring, execution results, and audit log views, with a focus on precision and accessibility.

• Design and iterate on novel AI-native interaction patterns, such as natural language transformation generation, streaming outputs, accept/reject/edit flows, AI confidence communication, and human-AI control handoffs.

• Develop and meticulously build a comprehensive design system from the ground up, encompassing components, tokens, patterns, and guidelines to ensure scalability and consistency.

• Conduct and synthesize user research specifically with financial services audiences, encompassing both business users and IT personas, to inform design decisions.

• Recruit, hire, mentor, and grow a high-performing design team, aiming to scale from a solo lead to 3-5 designers within 12-18 months.

• Establish and refine design processes, including critique sessions, design reviews, efficient handoff workflows, and asynchronous collaboration practices.

• Oversee brand identity, visual language, and marketing design, ensuring visual consistency across product and marketing touchpoints (website, launch pages, product communications, conference materials).

• Partner closely with product and engineering leadership on roadmap decisions, representing design in company strategy discussions and advocating for design as a key competitive advantage.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities clearly indicate a need for strategic thinking regarding user adoption and operational efficiency within the financial services context. Responsibilities like "design AI-native interaction patterns," "technical fluency," and "data-intensive B2B experiences" suggest that a strong understanding of how design impacts complex operational workflows and user onboarding is critical for success. The emphasis on building a design system from scratch and establishing design processes from day one points to a need for strong design operations (DesignOps) capabilities.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

Experience:

• Minimum of 7 years of experience in product design, with a proven track record of delivering high-quality user experiences.

• At least 2 years of experience in a design leadership role or as a senior individual contributor with mentorship responsibilities.

• Demonstrated player-coach track record: ability to lead and mentor designers while remaining hands-on and executing design work.

Required Skills:

• Expert Figma Proficiency: Deep expertise in Figma, including advanced use of components, variables, auto-layout, complex prototyping, and efficient Dev Mode handoffs.

• AI Product Design Experience: Demonstrated experience designing for AI-driven products, including non-deterministic outputs, streaming interfaces, or complex human-AI collaboration scenarios.

• Design System Development: Proven ability to build a comprehensive design system from scratch, not merely contribute to an existing one.

• Technical Fluency: Strong comfort level participating in architecture and engineering discussions, with a solid understanding of how software is built and deployed.

• Complex B2B Product Design: Portfolio must demonstrate significant experience with complex, data-dense, or technical Business-to-Business (B2B) product work. Consumer-only portfolios will not be considered.

• Strategic Design Thinking & Execution Craft: Portfolio must showcase both strategic design thinking and a high level of execution craft.

• User Research Synthesis: Ability to conduct and effectively synthesize user research findings from specific target audiences (financial services business users and IT personas).

• Brand Identity & Visual Language: Experience in defining and overseeing brand identity and visual language for digital products.

Preferred Skills:

• Financial services, fintech, or data platform design background.

• Data visualization design expertise, including tables, charts, dashboards, and analytical interfaces.

• Front-end code capability (HTML/CSS or Angular) for advanced prototyping or design system implementation.

• Published writing, conference talks, or open-source design contributions.

• Accessibility expertise, particularly for enterprise and compliance-driven environments.

• Experience with motion and interaction design for complex state transitions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "Technical Fluency" and understanding how software is built is crucial for this role, as it implies the Head of Design will need to collaborate effectively with engineering and understand the technical constraints and possibilities of an AI-native platform. The specific mention of "consumer-only portfolios will not be considered" strongly emphasizes the B2B, enterprise-grade nature of the product, requiring design solutions that prioritize efficiency, data integrity, and robust workflows over purely aesthetic appeal.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Complex B2B Product Work: The portfolio must prominently feature case studies of complex, data-dense, or technically challenging B2B products. Generic consumer app designs or marketing websites alone will not suffice.

• Strategic Design Thinking: Showcase the thought process behind design decisions, including problem definition, user research findings, strategic trade-offs made, and how design solutions addressed business goals.

• Execution Craft & Polish: Demonstrate a high level of visual and interaction design execution, including attention to detail in typography, spacing, iconography, and micro-interactions.

• Design System Development Experience: Include specific examples or case studies detailing the process of building a design system from its foundational stages, highlighting components, patterns, guidelines, and scalability considerations.

• AI/Technical Product Design: If applicable, feature projects that involved designing for AI interactions, complex data visualizations, or enterprise-grade technical workflows, explaining the unique challenges and solutions.

Process Documentation:

• Design Process Methodology: Clearly articulate the end-to-end design process followed for key projects, from discovery and research through to iteration and delivery, emphasizing collaboration with product and engineering.

• Design System Implementation: Detail the methodology used for creating and implementing the design system, including version control, documentation standards, and adoption strategies within development teams.

• User Research Integration: Illustrate how user research was conducted (e.g., interviews, usability testing with target personas) and how insights were synthesized and integrated into design iterations and strategic decisions.

• Cross-Functional Handoffs: Provide examples of how design assets and specifications were handed off to engineering, demonstrating clear documentation and collaboration to ensure accurate implementation.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "building a design system from scratch" and "complex, data-dense B2B product work" means a candidate's portfolio should not only present finished designs but also detail the strategic thinking, process, and foundational work involved. For this role, demonstrating an understanding of how design systems support operational efficiency and scalability in an enterprise context will be key.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• Base Salary: $140,000 - $190,000 per year.

• Additional Compensation: Annual target bonus, profit-sharing.

📝 Enhancement Note: The provided salary range of $140,000 - $190,000 base salary for a Head of Design in Boston, MA, aligns with industry benchmarks for senior leadership roles in technology and financial services. This range considers the seniority, strategic impact, and leadership responsibilities of the position, particularly within a startup environment backed by an established enterprise. The inclusion of an annual target bonus and profit-sharing indicates a performance-driven compensation structure.

Benefits:

• Healthcare: Private healthcare (e.g., Medicover or Luxmed for Poland-based team members, with potential for US-equivalent comprehensive coverage).

• Wellness & Lifestyle: Multisport card (for Poland-based team members, likely US equivalent benefits available).

• Home Office: Home office setup budget.

• Professional Development: Professional development budget for continuous learning and skill enhancement.

• Equity: Equity options are available for select roles, indicating potential for significant long-term financial upside.

• Performance Incentives: Annual target bonus and profit-sharing contribute to the total compensation package.

• Retirement Savings: Comprehensive benefits package likely includes retirement savings plans (e.g., 401k in the US).

• Income Protection: Benefits that enhance income protection.

• Time Off: Ample time off to support overall well-being.

Working Hours:

• Standard full-time hours are expected, likely around 40 hours per week, with flexibility inherent in a startup environment and a focus on outcomes rather than strict clock-watching.

📝 Enhancement Note: The benefits list includes specific provisions for Poland-based team members, suggesting a global or distributed team structure. For US-based employees in Boston, while specific providers might differ, the intent is to offer comparable comprehensive healthcare, wellness, professional development, and financial security benefits, including potential equity for key leadership roles.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Financial Services (AI-Native Platform) / Technology Startup

Company Size: Startup backed by an established enterprise (Brown Brothers Harriman). Specific size of the startup team is not detailed but expected to be lean and growing. Brown Brothers Harriman is a large, established financial services firm.

Founded: The startup is newly formed, while Brown Brothers Harriman was founded in 1796.

Team Structure:

• Founding Team: This role is a foundational hire, meaning the Head of Design will be integral to establishing the initial team and culture.

• Design Team Growth: The immediate plan is to grow the design team from a solo leader to 3-5 designers within 12-18 months.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: The role requires close partnership with product management and engineering leadership, emphasizing collaboration in an "engineering-dominant organization." This suggests a need for strong communication and advocacy skills to integrate design effectively.

• Startup Pace: Operates with "startup speed" despite enterprise backing, implying a fast-paced, agile, and iterative environment.

Methodology:

• AI-Native Approach: The platform is built with an AI-first mindset, influencing product design and interaction patterns.

• Data-Driven Design: Emphasis on "data-intensive experiences" and user research suggests a data-informed approach to design decisions.

• Process Optimization: The core mission of the platform is to rebuild and optimize data integration and transformation processes, highlighting a company-wide focus on efficiency and improvement.

• Agile Development: The "startup speed" and focus on shipping suggest an agile development methodology.

Company Website: https://bbh.com/ (for Brown Brothers Harriman) and a separate, unlinked website/platform for the AI-native startup initiative.

📝 Enhancement Note: The dual nature of being a startup backed by a large, established enterprise like BBH presents a unique cultural dynamic. The startup will likely foster innovation and agility, while BBH's backing provides stability, domain expertise, and a long-term perspective. The "engineering-dominant organization" context is key for candidates to understand the need for strong influence and collaboration skills.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role represents a senior leadership position, specifically the founding Head of Design for a new initiative. It is a strategic individual contributor role with significant team-building and functional ownership responsibilities, bridging creative leadership with operational execution.

Reporting Structure: While not explicitly stated, as a founding leader, this role likely reports directly to a senior executive within the AI-native platform initiative, such as a CTO, Head of Product, or CEO of the unit. The Head of Design will then build and lead their own design team.

Operations Impact: The Head of Design will have a profound impact on the success of the AI-native platform by:

• Product Adoption & Usability: Ensuring the platform is intuitive and trusted by both business users and IT professionals, directly influencing user adoption rates and reducing onboarding friction.

• Competitive Differentiation: Establishing a superior user experience that sets the platform apart in a market where design is often an afterthought.

• Operational Efficiency: Designing workflows and interfaces that streamline complex data integration and transformation processes, contributing to the platform's core value proposition.

• Brand Perception: Shaping the visual identity and brand consistency across product and marketing, influencing market perception and trust.

• Team Development: Building a high-performing design team that becomes a strategic asset to the organization.

Growth Opportunities:

• Functional Leadership: Opportunity to build and lead a design department from its inception, defining its culture, processes, and strategic direction.

• Strategic Influence: Play a key role in company strategy discussions, influencing the product roadmap and overall business direction.

• Technical Specialization: Deepen expertise in AI product design, data-intensive B2B applications, and enterprise-grade design systems.

• Entrepreneurial Experience: Gain valuable experience in a high-growth startup environment, working closely with founders and key stakeholders.

• Leadership Development: Develop leadership skills through team building, mentorship, and cross-functional collaboration within a fast-paced, innovative setting.

• Potential for Equity: For select roles, equity participation offers a direct stake in the company's success and significant long-term financial growth potential.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "player-coach" nature and the mandate to build a function from scratch suggest significant growth potential for someone looking to establish a design practice. The role is positioned as a critical strategic asset, impacting not just the product's look and feel but its fundamental usability and adoption in a complex B2B financial services market.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: On-site in Boston, MA. This indicates a traditional office-based work environment, fostering in-person collaboration and team cohesion.

Office Location(s): Boston, Massachusetts, United States. This location provides access to a strong talent pool and a vibrant tech and finance ecosystem.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hub: The on-site nature promotes direct, in-person collaboration with product, engineering, and business stakeholders, crucial for rapid iteration and problem-solving in a startup environment.

• Access to Resources: Employees will have access to standard office amenities and potentially specialized design resources and tools provided by BBH.

• Team Integration: The physical presence facilitates stronger team bonding and cultural immersion within the new AI-native platform initiative.

• Focus on Innovation: The environment is likely geared towards rapid prototyping, iterative design, and close-knit teamwork essential for building a new product from the ground up.

Work Schedule:

• Standard full-time work schedule, typically 40 hours per week, with an expectation of dedication to meet startup timelines. While core hours will likely be standard business hours, the emphasis on "shipping comes before perfection" suggests flexibility and a results-oriented approach may be necessary.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement in Boston suggests a preference for deep, in-person collaboration, which is often beneficial for foundational roles where rapid iteration, whiteboarding sessions, and strong interpersonal dynamics are key to building complex products and teams from scratch.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of resume and portfolio to assess alignment with experience requirements, particularly for complex B2B and AI product design.

• Portfolio Presentation & Discussion: Candidates will likely present their portfolio, focusing on specific case studies that demonstrate strategic design thinking, execution craft, design system development, and experience with data-intensive or technical B2B products. This will involve deep dives into problem-solving, user research, and decision-making processes.

• Design Leadership & Strategy Interview: Discussions will focus on the candidate's vision for design, approach to building a design team and function from scratch, design operations strategy, and how they would establish design principles and quality standards in an engineering-dominant environment.

• Cross-Functional Stakeholder Interviews: Meetings with product and engineering leadership to assess technical fluency, collaboration style, and ability to influence roadmap decisions and integrate design into the development lifecycle.

• Founder/Executive Interview: Final discussion to gauge cultural fit, strategic alignment, and overall leadership potential for this critical founding role.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-4 of your strongest B2B, data-intensive, or technical product case studies. Ensure they highlight your ability to tackle complex problems and deliver tangible results.

• Emphasize the "Why": For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the user research conducted, the strategic decisions made, the design process, and the outcome (quantifiable if possible).

• Showcase Design System Work: If you have built a design system, dedicate specific slides or sections to its architecture, components, usage guidelines, and the process of its creation.

• Highlight AI/Technical Nuances: If applicable, explain the unique challenges and solutions for designing AI interactions, complex data visualizations, or enterprise workflows.

• Demonstrate Leadership & Coaching: Include examples of how you've mentored designers, led projects, or contributed to team processes.

• Be Prepared for Figma Deep Dives: Be ready to walk through Figma files, explaining your component structure, auto-layout usage, prototyping methods, and Dev Mode handoff practices.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design Strategy Scenario: Be prepared to discuss how you would approach defining the design vision for a new AI-native financial services platform, considering the target audience and competitive landscape.

• Team Building Scenario: Outline your strategy for recruiting, hiring, and onboarding the first few designers onto the team.

• DesignOps Planning: Discuss how you would establish design processes (critiques, reviews, handoffs) and foster a design-centric culture within an engineering-heavy organization.

• UX Trade-off Discussion: Be ready to discuss hypothetical UX trade-offs, particularly those involving AI interaction patterns, information density, and balancing business vs. IT user needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to evaluate not just design skills but also leadership potential, strategic thinking, and the ability to operate effectively in a startup context. The portfolio review is critical, with a strong emphasis on B2B and technical product work, as well as demonstrated experience in building foundational design assets like design systems.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Expert proficiency is a mandatory requirement. This includes advanced features like components, variants, styles, variables, auto-layout, prototyping, and Dev Mode for developer handoffs.

• Prototyping Tools: Beyond Figma's native capabilities, familiarity with advanced prototyping tools might be beneficial for complex interactions.

• User Research Platforms: Tools for conducting and synthesizing user research (e.g., UserTesting.com, Maze, Dovetail) will be essential.

• Design System Management Tools: While Figma is primary, tools that aid in design system documentation and distribution (e.g., Zeroheight, Storybook integrations) may be used.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics: Familiarity with product analytics platforms (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel, Pendo) to understand user behavior and inform design iterations.

• Data Visualization Tools: While not explicitly required, experience with tools that help visualize data (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, or custom-built dashboards) would be advantageous given the data-intensive nature of the product.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems: Understanding how design impacts CRM workflows and user journeys within sales and customer success operations (e.g., Salesforce) could be relevant, though not a primary design tool.

• Project Management Tools: Proficiency with tools like Jira, Asana, or Trello for managing design tasks, sprints, and cross-functional workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of "Expert Figma proficiency" is a critical requirement. The role also implies a need to work with tools and data that support complex financial operations, suggesting that an understanding of how design integrates with data pipelines and enterprise workflows is valuable. Experience with tools that facilitate cross-functional collaboration and efficient handoffs to engineering is also paramount.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Design Excellence & Craft: A commitment to high-quality design execution, attention to detail, and a relentless pursuit of user-centric solutions.

• Innovation & AI Integration: Embracing new technologies, particularly AI, and finding creative ways to integrate them into intuitive and powerful user experiences.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Fostering an open environment where ideas are shared freely, critiques are constructive, and cross-functional teams work cohesively.

• User Focus & Empathy: Deep understanding of user needs, particularly within the complex financial services domain, leading to designs that are both precise and accessible.

• Efficiency & Scalability: Designing solutions and systems that are not only effective today but also scalable and maintainable for future growth, particularly through robust design systems.

• Bias for Action & Pragmatism: Operating with "startup speed," where shipping functional products and iterating based on feedback is prioritized, while maintaining high standards.

Collaboration Style:

• Player-Coach Mentality: Leaders are expected to be hands-on contributors while also guiding and developing their team.

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Close collaboration with product management and engineering is essential, requiring strong communication, negotiation, and influence skills to integrate design effectively into an engineering-driven environment.

• Design Critique Culture: Regular design critique sessions and reviews are expected to foster continuous improvement and collective problem-solving.

• Knowledge Sharing: Encouraging the sharing of best practices, learnings, and insights across the team and with other departments.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company values emphasize a blend of high-craft design, innovation (especially in AI), and operational efficiency, which is critical for enterprise software. The collaborative style highlights the need for strong interpersonal skills to navigate an engineering-dominant culture and build a successful design function.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Building from Scratch: Establishing a design function, design system, and design processes in a new initiative requires significant initiative, strategic planning, and execution.

• Engineering-Dominant Culture: Effectively advocating for and integrating design within an organization where engineering may be the primary focus requires strong communication, influence, and data-driven arguments.

• Complex Domain: Designing for financial services data integration and transformation involves intricate technical requirements and a need for high precision and trust.

• AI Interaction Design: Creating intuitive and reliable user experiences for AI-driven features, which are inherently less deterministic than traditional software.

• Balancing User Needs & Technical Constraints: Making high-judgment UX trade-offs between the needs of diverse user types (business vs. IT) and the technical realities of building an AI-native platform.

• Rapid Growth & Scaling: Growing the design team and its capabilities to keep pace with the platform's development and market demands.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Domain Expertise: Gaining in-depth knowledge of financial services data integration, transformation processes, and AI applications within the sector.

• Foundational Leadership: Developing expertise in building and scaling design teams and functions from the ground up.

• AI Product Design Specialization: Becoming a leader in designing cutting-edge AI-native user experiences.

• Strategic Influence: Growing capabilities in influencing product strategy and company direction through design leadership.

• Industry Conferences & Certifications: Leveraging the professional development budget for relevant industry events, workshops, and certifications in design leadership, AI, or financial technology.

• Mentorship: Opportunities to mentor junior designers and potentially receive mentorship from senior leaders within BBH.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are directly tied to the startup nature of the role and the complexity of the domain. The growth opportunities are substantial for a candidate looking to make a significant impact and develop leadership skills in a cutting-edge technological and financial domain.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your approach to defining a design vision for a new AI-native B2B financial services platform. How would you align this vision with business goals and user needs?" (Preparation: Focus on strategic frameworks, user research integration, and competitive analysis.)

• "Imagine you need to make a significant UX trade-off between information density for power users and simplicity for business users in a data-intensive interface. How would you approach this decision, and how would you communicate it to stakeholders?" (Preparation: Emphasize decision-making frameworks, scenario planning, and stakeholder communication techniques.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What is your understanding of the financial services data integration and transformation market, and what unique design challenges do you foresee in an AI-native approach?" (Preparation: Research the industry, competitors, and key trends in fintech and AI.)

• "How would you foster a design-centric culture within an engineering-dominant organization, and what are your strategies for building strong collaborative relationships with product and engineering teams?" (Preparation: Prepare examples of successful cross-functional collaboration and strategies for building influence.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Narrative Structure: For each case study, tell a compelling story: the problem, your role, the process, the solution, and the outcomes. Use clear headings and concise language.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, present metrics demonstrating the success of your designs (e.g., increased user engagement, reduced error rates, faster task completion).

• Showcase Design System Genesis: If you built a design system, clearly articulate the "why" and "how"—its architecture, core principles, and the process of its implementation.

• Highlight AI/Technical Design: Clearly explain the unique challenges and your innovative solutions for designing AI interactions or complex technical workflows.

• Interactive Elements: Use interactive prototypes within Figma to demonstrate user flows and micro-interactions, making your presentation more engaging.

• Tailor to the Role: Emphasize projects that showcase your experience with B2B, data-intensive, or technically complex products, aligning with the job requirements.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic thinking, leadership capabilities, and a deep understanding of the specific challenges of designing for AI, data, and complex B2B financial services. The portfolio presentation is a critical component, requiring candidates to articulate their process, impact, and foundational design work effectively.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Head of Design position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the BBH Workday job portal.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your resume and cover letter to highlight your experience in complex B2B product design, AI product design, design system development, and leadership. Ensure your portfolio prominently features relevant case studies, emphasizing your strategic thinking and execution craft.

• Resume Optimization: Clearly articulate your 7+ years of product design experience and 2+ years in a leadership or senior IC role. Use keywords from the job description, such as "Figma," "Design System," "AI Product Design," and "B2B." Quantify achievements where possible.

• Interview Preparation: Thoroughly prepare for each stage of the interview process, focusing on articulating your design vision, leadership philosophy, and problem-solving approach. Practice presenting your portfolio, emphasizing your impact and process.

• Company Research: Deeply research Brown Brothers Harriman and the strategic initiative of the AI-native financial services platform. Understand their mission, market position, and the "startup speed" culture. Prepare thoughtful questions that demonstrate your engagement and strategic insight.

⚠️ 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.