📍 Job Overview
Job Title: Product Designer
Company: Blackbird
Location: New York, New York (in office)
Job Type: On-site
Category: Product Design
Date Posted: 2025-06-05
Experience Level: 2-5 years
Remote Status: On-site
🎨 Role Summary
- Craft intuitive, elegant product experiences across iOS, Android, and Web platforms
- Own the interaction layer, defining how the product feels and behaves
- Collaborate cross-functionally to bring products to life, from early ideas to polished execution
- Evolve shared patterns and components to make work more scalable, consistent, and efficient
- Contribute to critique culture, raising the bar for design practice through thoughtful feedback
📝 Enhancement Note: Blackbird is seeking a Product Designer to join their growing team, focusing on creating intuitive and elegant digital experiences across multiple platforms. The role involves collaborating with cross-functional teams and contributing to the design system's evolution.
🖼️ Primary Responsibilities
- Design across platforms, crafting intuitive, elegant product experiences for iOS, Android, and Web
- Own the interaction layer, defining how the product feels through microinteractions, transitions, and layout behavior
- Document work with clean flows, components, specs, and annotations for seamless handoff and smooth implementation
- Work cross-functionally with PMs, engineers, and fellow designers from early ideas through polished execution
- Shape design systems, helping evolve shared patterns and components for scalability, consistency, and efficiency
- Contribute to critique culture, sharing and inviting thoughtful, detail-oriented feedback to raise the bar for design practice
📝 Enhancement Note: The primary responsibilities of the Product Designer role at Blackbird involve designing intuitive product experiences across multiple platforms, defining the interaction layer, documenting work, collaborating cross-functionally, shaping design systems, and contributing to critique culture.
🎓 Skills & Qualifications
Education: Not specified
Experience: 3-5 years of product design experience
Required Skills:
- Interaction craft: Care for how things feel, not just how they look
- Figma mastery: Organized, thoughtful, and efficient in components, prototyping, and documentation
- Strong visual fundamentals: Sharp eye for typography, layout, hierarchy, and color
- Systems thinking: Design for scale and consistency, not just isolated screens
- Clear communicator: Share thinking early and often with teammates, PMs, engineers, and stakeholders
- Always learning: Humble, curious, and open to feedback
- Fast and focused: Comfortable moving quickly and producing a high volume of thoughtful work in an evolving environment
- Motion fluency: Understand basics of animation and prototyping, enhancing usability and delight
- Accessibility awareness: Create inclusive experiences, familiar with foundational accessibility principles
Preferred Skills:
- Brand design itch: Evolve visual identity and brand holistically across product UI and marketing moments
- Engineer's mindset: Understand how things are built, design with clarity, feasibility, and performance in mind
- Strategic instincts: Distill complex business goals into intuitive, communicable design concepts
- Love for food and dining: Genuine passion for food helps connect with mission and users
📝 Enhancement Note: The required and preferred skills for the Product Designer role at Blackbird emphasize interaction craft, Figma mastery, strong visual fundamentals, systems thinking, clear communication, continuous learning, and more. Preferred skills include brand design itch, engineer's mindset, strategic instincts, and love for food and dining.
🎨 Portfolio & Creative Requirements
Portfolio Essentials:
- Showcase a variety of product design projects, demonstrating your ability to design across platforms (iOS, Android, Web)
- Highlight your interaction design skills through microinteractions, transitions, and layout behavior examples
- Demonstrate your Figma skills by including clean flows, components, specs, and annotations in your portfolio
- Include case studies that illustrate your collaborative process with cross-functional teams and the evolution of design systems
- Showcase your accessibility awareness through inclusive design examples and consideration of users with different needs
Process Documentation:
- Include research and discovery phases, demonstrating your understanding of user needs and business goals
- Showcase your ideation and iteration methods, revealing your design thinking process
- Demonstrate your validation and testing approaches, ensuring your designs meet user needs and business objectives
📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio and creative requirements for the Product Designer role at Blackbird emphasize showcasing a variety of product design projects, highlighting interaction design skills, demonstrating Figma proficiency, and including case studies that illustrate collaborative processes and design system evolution. Additionally, applicants should showcase their accessibility awareness and include research, ideation, validation, and testing processes in their portfolio.
💵 Compensation & Benefits
Salary Range: $105,000 - $140,000 USD per year
Benefits:
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Flexible time off
- 401(k) plan
- Stock options
- Extra-fun perks
Working Hours: Full-time (40 hours per week)
📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range for the Product Designer role at Blackbird is $105,000 - $140,000 USD per year. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance, flexible time off, 401(k) plan, stock options, and extra-fun perks. The role is full-time, with a 40-hour workweek.
🎯Team & Company Context
🏢 Company & Design Culture
Industry: Technology, Information and Media
Company Size: 11-50 employees
Founded: 2022
Team Structure:
- Small, growing design team with a focus on collaboration and cross-functional integration
- Flat reporting structure, with designers working closely with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders
- Cross-functional collaboration patterns emphasize shared ownership and collective problem-solving
Methodology:
- User-centered design approach, with a focus on understanding user needs and behaviors
- Iterative design process, with continuous feedback and refinement
- Design thinking methodologies, such as empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test
Company Website: https://www.blackbird.xyz/
📝 Enhancement Note: Blackbird is a technology company in the information and media industry, founded in 2022, with a small, growing design team. The company emphasizes user-centered design, iterative processes, and design thinking methodologies. Blackbird's website can be found at https://www.blackbird.xyz/.
📈 Career & Growth Analysis
Design Career Level: Mid-level to Senior-level Product Designer, with opportunities for growth and leadership
Reporting Structure: Flat reporting structure, with designers working closely with product managers and other stakeholders
Design Impact: Significant design impact on product and business decisions, shaping the direction of Blackbird's products
Growth Opportunities:
- Evolve into a senior design role, leading and mentoring other designers as the team grows
- Develop specialized skills in areas such as brand design, strategic thinking, or motion design
- Transition into a design leadership role, driving the design team's vision and strategy
📝 Enhancement Note: The Product Designer role at Blackbird offers mid- to senior-level career opportunities, with the potential to grow into senior design, specialized skill development, or design leadership positions. Designers at Blackbird have significant design impact on product and business decisions, shaping the direction of the company's products.
🌐 Work Environment
Studio Type: In-office studio, with a focus on collaboration, creativity, and connection
Office Location(s): New York, NY (10012)
Design Workspace Context:
- Collaborative workspace with shared ownership and collective problem-solving
- Access to design tools, resources, and technology to support creative workflows
- Design-focused culture that values creativity, innovation, and continuous learning
Work Schedule: Flexible work hours, with a focus on productivity, creativity, and work-life balance
📝 Enhancement Note: Blackbird offers an in-office studio with a collaborative workspace, design-focused culture, and flexible work hours. The design workspace context at Blackbird emphasizes collaboration, shared ownership, and collective problem-solving, with access to design tools, resources, and technology to support creative workflows.
📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process
Design Interview Process:
- Portfolio review and case study presentation, focusing on design process, methodology, and problem-solving skills
- Behavioral interviews, assessing communication, collaboration, and cultural fit
- Technical challenges or design exercises, evaluating design skills and problem-solving abilities
- Final evaluation, focusing on design impact, strategic thinking, and alignment with Blackbird's mission and values
Portfolio Review Tips:
- Highlight your interaction design skills, showcasing microinteractions, transitions, and layout behavior examples
- Demonstrate your Figma proficiency through clean flows, components, specs, and annotations
- Include case studies that illustrate your collaborative process, design system evolution, and accessibility awareness
- Showcase your understanding of Blackbird's mission, values, and design culture
Challenge Preparation:
- Practice design exercises that focus on interaction design, Figma proficiency, and accessibility awareness
- Prepare for behavioral interviews by reflecting on your communication, collaboration, and cultural fit skills
- Research Blackbird's design culture, mission, and values to ensure a strong alignment with the company
ATS Keywords: Product Design, Interaction Design, Figma, User Experience, User Interface, Design Thinking, Collaboration, Cross-functional Teams, Accessibility, Design Systems, Portfolio, Case Studies, Behavioral Interviews, Technical Challenges
📝 Enhancement Note: The design interview process at Blackbird involves portfolio review, case study presentation, behavioral interviews, technical challenges, and a final evaluation. Portfolio review tips include highlighting interaction design skills, demonstrating Figma proficiency, showcasing collaborative processes, and aligning with Blackbird's mission and values. Challenge preparation involves practicing design exercises, reflecting on behavioral skills, and researching Blackbird's design culture.
🛠 Tools & Technology Stack
Primary Design Tools:
- Figma: Used for design, prototyping, and collaboration across the design team
- Sketch: Used for initial ideation, brainstorming, and quick design iterations
- InVision: Used for user testing, feedback collection, and design iteration
- Zeplin: Used for design system creation, maintenance, and collaboration
Collaboration & Handoff:
- Slack: Used for team communication, collaboration, and design feedback
- Notion: Used for design documentation, knowledge sharing, and project management
- GitHub: Used for version control, code collaboration, and design system management
Research & Testing:
- UserTesting: Used for user testing, feedback collection, and design iteration
- Google Analytics: Used for design performance measurement, optimization insights, and user behavior analysis
📝 Enhancement Note: The primary design tools at Blackbird include Figma, Sketch, InVision, and Zeplin. Collaboration and handoff tools include Slack, Notion, and GitHub. Research and testing tools include UserTesting and Google Analytics.
👥 Team Culture & Values
Design Values:
- User-centered design approach, prioritizing user needs and behaviors
- Iterative design process, with continuous feedback and refinement
- Design thinking methodologies, such as empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test
- Collaborative design culture, emphasizing shared ownership and collective problem-solving
Collaboration Style:
- Cross-functional collaboration, working closely with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders
- Design critique culture, sharing and inviting thoughtful, detail-oriented feedback
- Design system contribution, knowledge sharing, and collective problem-solving
📝 Enhancement Note: The design values at Blackbird emphasize user-centered design, iterative processes, design thinking methodologies, and collaborative culture. The collaboration style involves cross-functional collaboration, design critique culture, and design system contribution.
⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities
Design Challenges:
- Scaling design systems for consistency, efficiency, and maintainability
- Balancing user needs, business goals, and technical constraints in design decisions
- Evolving design processes and methodologies to keep up with industry trends and best practices
- Fostering a culture of continuous learning, growth, and innovation within the design team
Learning & Development Opportunities:
- Design skill advancement, with a focus on interaction design, accessibility, and design systems
- Industry conference and workshop participation, with opportunities for networking and learning
- Design mentorship and leadership development, with guidance from senior designers and industry experts
📝 Enhancement Note: The design challenges at Blackbird include scaling design systems, balancing user needs and business goals, evolving design processes, and fostering a culture of continuous learning. Learning and development opportunities involve design skill advancement, industry conference participation, and design mentorship and leadership development.
💡 Interview Preparation
Design Process Questions:
- Walkthrough your design process, highlighting your interaction design skills, Figma proficiency, and accessibility awareness
- Explain your design thinking approach, emphasizing user-centered design, iterative processes, and design thinking methodologies
- Demonstrate your ability to collaborate cross-functionally, working with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders
Company Culture Questions:
- Explain how your design values align with Blackbird's user-centered design approach, iterative processes, and collaborative culture
- Describe your experience with design critique culture, sharing and inviting thoughtful, detail-oriented feedback
- Discuss your understanding of Blackbird's mission, values, and design culture, and how you would contribute to the team
Portfolio Presentation Strategy:
- Highlight your interaction design skills, showcasing microinteractions, transitions, and layout behavior examples
- Demonstrate your Figma proficiency through clean flows, components, specs, and annotations
- Include case studies that illustrate your collaborative process, design system evolution, and accessibility awareness
- Showcase your understanding of Blackbird's mission, values, and design culture, and how your design work aligns with the company's goals
📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation for the Product Designer role at Blackbird involves walking through the design process, explaining design thinking approaches, demonstrating collaborative skills, and aligning design values with the company's culture. Portfolio presentation strategies include highlighting interaction design skills, showcasing Figma proficiency, and aligning design work with Blackbird's mission and values.
📌 Application Steps
To apply for this design position:
- Submit your application through this link
- Customize your portfolio to showcase your interaction design skills, Figma proficiency, and accessibility awareness
- Optimize your resume for design roles, highlighting your design skills, portfolio, and relevant experience
- Prepare for design interviews by practicing design exercises, reflecting on behavioral skills, and researching Blackbird's design culture
- Demonstrate your understanding of Blackbird's mission, values, and design culture, and how your design work aligns with the company's goals
⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and design industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.