Staff Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Staff Product Designer

Company: Harvey

Location: San Francisco, California, United States

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design

Date Posted: June 10, 2025

Experience Level: 8+ years (Staff Level)

Remote Status: On-site in San Francisco

🎨 Role Summary

• Lead the design of end-to-end product experiences, managing multiple design projects from concept through polished execution.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including engineers, AI researchers, product managers, and legal professionals to integrate complex AI functionalities into intuitive user interfaces.
• Shape and refine the company's design system, ensuring visual consistency, scalability, and a high standard of design craft across the product suite.
• Conduct user research to gather insights, validate design decisions, and advocate for user needs within the product development lifecycle.

🖼️ Primary Responsibilities

• Drive the design process from initial problem framing and ideation through wireframing, prototyping, and final visual design for complex features.
• Translate abstract business objectives and technical constraints into user-centered design solutions that are both innovative and practical.
• Contribute significantly to and evolve the existing design system, creating new components, guidelines, and documentation to empower the broader design and engineering teams.
• Plan and execute various user research activities, including interviews, usability testing, and surveys, to deeply understand user pain points and validate design hypotheses.
• Create high-fidelity prototypes to effectively communicate design concepts, test interactions, and gather feedback from stakeholders and users.
• Champion design excellence within the organization, advocating for best practices in interaction design, visual design, and the ethical application of AI in user interfaces.
• Actively participate in design critiques, providing constructive feedback to peers and receiving feedback to elevate your own work and the team's overall output.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, HCI, or a related field is often preferred, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent practical experience and a deep understanding of design principles is highly valued at this level.

Experience: 8+ years of progressive experience in product design, specifically within fast-paced technology environments. A portfolio showcasing successful product launches, complex problem-solving, and a strong command of the end-to-end design process is essential.

Required Skills:

• Extensive experience in end-to-end product design, including research, ideation, wireframing, prototyping, and visual design.
• Proven ability to tackle highly complex design challenges and simplify them into intuitive and effective user experiences.
• Deep understanding and practical experience with design systems, including contributing to and maintaining them.
• Strong command of interaction design principles and visual design craft, with meticulous attention to detail.
• Experience planning, conducting, and synthesizing insights from user research to inform design decisions.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and storytelling skills to effectively articulate design rationale and gain buy-in from diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to operate at a strategic level while maintaining a high level of execution quality and pace.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing complex applications for professional services or enterprise software.
• Familiarity with designing user interfaces that incorporate artificial intelligence or machine learning capabilities.
• Experience working in a startup or hypergrowth environment.
• Proficiency in motion design or advanced prototyping techniques.
• Experience mentoring junior designers or leading design initiatives.

🎨 Portfolio & Creative Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Present case studies that clearly articulate your design process from problem definition and research through ideation, iteration, and final solution.
• Showcase your ability to design for complex workflows and information architecture, particularly for sophisticated user bases or professional tools.
• Include examples demonstrating your contribution to or leadership in developing and utilizing design systems for consistency and scalability.
• Highlight projects where you incorporated user research insights to validate or pivot design decisions, demonstrating a user-centered approach.

Process Documentation:

• Detail your approach to the research and discovery phase, including methodologies used (e.g., user interviews, competitive analysis, journey mapping) and how insights informed the problem space.
• Explain your ideation and iteration methods, showing sketches, wireframes, prototypes, and how feedback (from users or internal teams) shaped the design direction.
• Describe your validation and testing approaches, including usability testing methodologies, participant recruitment, and how test findings were incorporated into the final design.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $200,000 - $240,000 USD per year. This range is explicitly stated by the company and is competitive for a Staff Product Designer role in the San Francisco Bay Area, reflecting the high cost of living and demand for experienced design talent in the tech and AI sectors.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive health insurance coverage (likely including medical, dental, and vision) tailored for employees and potentially dependents.
• Retirement savings plan (e.g., 401k) with potential company match, providing long-term financial security.
• Generous paid time off and holidays, supporting work-life balance and personal well-being.
• Opportunities for professional development and continued learning, potentially including conference attendance or access to design-specific training resources.
• Additional benefits may include commuter benefits, wellness programs, and potentially parental leave, common in tech companies of this size and stage.

Working Hours: Full-time position, typically 40 hours per week. Given the fast-paced startup environment and collaboration with cross-functional teams, flexibility may be required at times, but a standard work week is the norm.

🎯Team & Company Context

🏢 Company & Design Culture

Industry: Software Development, specifically focused on secure AI platforms for legal and professional services. This combines the fast-paced nature of tech with the rigorous demands of the legal and professional services sectors.

Company Size: Listed as 51-200 employees on LinkedIn, and also mentioned as scaling "very quickly" with around 591 employees listed on LinkedIn. This indicates a hypergrowth phase, offering significant opportunities for impact and shaping the design organization.

Founded: 2022. A relatively young company in a rapid growth phase, suggesting a dynamic environment with evolving processes and a strong emphasis on innovation.

Team Structure:

• The design team likely collaborates closely with engineers, AI researchers, product managers, and domain experts (lawyers and professional service providers).
• As a Staff Designer, you would likely report to a Design Lead or Head of Design and potentially mentor more junior designers.
• Cross-functional pods or teams are likely utilized, where designers are embedded within teams focused on specific product areas or features.

Methodology:

• Given the focus on AI and complex workflows, the design process likely involves deep user research, iterative prototyping, and close collaboration with technical teams.
• Agile or Lean methodologies are likely employed for product development, with design integrated into sprints and development cycles.
• Emphasis on understanding complex legal and professional workflows is crucial for successful design solutions.

Company Website: https://www.harvey.ai/

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Design Career Level: Staff Product Designer. This is a senior individual contributor role focused on leading complex design initiatives, influencing product strategy through design, and elevating the overall design practice within the team. It typically involves a high degree of autonomy and responsibility.

Reporting Structure: Likely reports to a Design Lead or Design Manager. At the Staff level, you would be expected to operate with significant independence and potentially guide the work of more junior designers, though direct management may not be required.

Design Impact: Design plays a critical role in translating complex AI capabilities into usable and trustworthy interfaces for legal and professional users. The Staff Product Designer will have a direct impact on the core user experience, workflow efficiency, and the perceived value of the AI platform.

Growth Opportunities:

• Opportunity to specialize in designing for AI and complex professional workflows, a rapidly growing and in-demand area.
• Potential for advancement into a Design Lead or management position as the design team continues to scale during the company's hypergrowth phase.
• Opportunities to mentor and influence less experienced designers, contributing to the growth of the design team.
• Exposure to cutting-edge AI research and development, providing unique learning experiences at the intersection of design and artificial intelligence.

🌐 Work Environment

Studio Type: On-site office environment in San Francisco. This suggests a collaborative workspace designed to facilitate in-person interaction among cross-functional teams.

Office Location(s): San Francisco, California, USA. Being located in a major tech hub provides access to a vibrant design community and industry events.

Design Workspace Context:

• Expect a dynamic and fast-paced environment typical of a hypergrowth startup.
• The workspace is likely designed to encourage collaboration between design, engineering, product, and research teams.
• Access to necessary design tools, technology, and resources to support a high-quality design workflow.

Work Schedule: Standard full-time schedule, with the expectation of being present in the San Francisco office. Flexibility may be possible depending on team needs and company policy, but the primary mode of work is on-site collaboration.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Design Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Likely involves a call with a recruiter to discuss your experience, fit with the role, and salary expectations. Be prepared to briefly discuss your portfolio and relevant projects.
• Portfolio Review: A dedicated session where you walk through selected case studies from your portfolio, focusing on your design process, problem-solving skills, and impact. Be ready to discuss your rationale and collaboration approach.
• Design Challenge or Whiteboarding Session: You may be given a design problem to solve or discuss in real-time, demonstrating your ability to think critically, ideate, and communicate your design process under pressure.
• Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with team members from Product Management, Engineering, AI Research, and potentially Legal/Domain Experts to assess collaboration skills and technical understanding.
• Manager/Leadership Interview: Conversation with the hiring manager or Head of Design to discuss your career goals, leadership potential, and fit within the design team's culture and strategy.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Select 2-3 case studies that best demonstrate your experience with complex problem-solving, end-to-end design process, and working with technical constraints or AI.
• Clearly articulate the problem you were solving, your role, the process you followed, the key design decisions, and the impact of your work.
• Highlight your contribution to design systems or how you leveraged existing systems in your projects.
• Be prepared to discuss the trade-offs you made and the challenges you encountered during the design process.

Challenge Preparation:

• Practice articulating your design process aloud, explaining your thinking at each step.
• Familiarize yourself with common design challenge formats (e.g., product improvement, new feature design).
• Focus on demonstrating your understanding of user needs, technical feasibility, and business goals in your solution.
• Ask clarifying questions and collaborate with the interviewer during the session.

ATS Keywords: Product Design, UX Design, Interaction Design, Visual Design, Design Systems, User Research, Usability Testing, Prototyping, Wireframing, Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, AI Design, Generative AI, Legal Tech, Enterprise Software, SaaS, Collaboration, Cross-functional Teams, Stakeholder Management, Information Architecture, Workflow Design, Problem Solving, Design Thinking, Agile, Lean UX, Case Studies, Portfolio, Leadership, Staff Product Designer.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Design Tools:

• Figma: Highly likely to be the primary tool for UI design, prototyping, and collaboration, given its prevalence in tech and remote/hybrid workflows. Proficiency in advanced features like components, variants, and auto layout is expected.
• Sketch: While Figma is dominant, some companies may still use Sketch, or require familiarity for working with legacy files.
• Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator): May be used for visual asset creation, illustration, or advanced image manipulation, although UI design is typically done in dedicated tools.
• Prototyping Tools (e.g., Principle, After Effects, InVision): Used for creating more complex interactions and animations beyond the capabilities of primary design tools.

Collaboration & Handoff:

• Figma (Dev Handoff features): Used for providing design specifications, assets, and redlines to engineering teams.
• Jira or Asana: Project management tools used for tracking design tasks, collaborating with product and engineering, and managing workflows.
• Confluence or Notion: Documentation tools used for creating and maintaining design specifications, research findings, and design system guidelines.
• Slack or Microsoft Teams: Communication platforms for daily team interaction and cross-functional collaboration.

Research & Testing:

• User Interview Platforms (e.g., Zoom, Google Meet): For conducting remote user interviews.
• Usability Testing Tools (e.g., Maze, UserTesting.com, Lookback): Platforms for conducting and recording usability sessions.
• Survey Tools (e.g., SurveyMonkey, Typeform, Google Forms): For gathering quantitative and qualitative feedback from users.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Design Values:

• User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding the needs and workflows of legal and professional service users to design truly effective solutions.
• Craftsmanship & Detail: Emphasis on creating high-quality, polished designs with attention to interaction details that build trust and usability, especially when incorporating AI.
• Collaboration & Communication: Valuing close collaboration with diverse teams (engineering, AI research, legal) and effective communication of design rationale.
• Innovation with Responsibility: A drive to push the boundaries of AI in professional services while considering the ethical implications and ensuring user trust and understanding.

Collaboration Style:

• Expect a highly collaborative environment with frequent interaction with cross-functional team members.
• Design critiques and feedback sessions are likely a key part of the workflow to ensure design quality and alignment.
• Emphasis on transparent communication and knowledge sharing across teams.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Design Challenges:

• Designing intuitive and trustworthy interfaces for complex AI functionalities in a domain (legal/professional services) with unique workflows and high stakes.
• Balancing innovation with the need for security, compliance, and reliability required in professional services software.
• Educating users on how to effectively interact with and leverage AI outputs, building understanding and trust in the technology.
• Working in a fast-paced, hypergrowth startup environment where priorities and requirements may evolve rapidly.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Become an expert in the intersection of AI, design, and professional services – a highly specialized and valuable skillset.
• Work directly with leading AI researchers and legal experts, gaining deep domain knowledge and technical understanding.
• Opportunity to shape the design culture and processes within a growing design team.
• Potential to attend industry conferences focused on AI, design, and legal tech.

💡 Interview Preparation

Design Process Questions:

• Be prepared to walk through a complex project from your portfolio, detailing your end-to-end design process and how you tackled specific challenges. Focus on your strategic thinking and problem-solving approach.
• Discuss how you approach designing for complex workflows and information architecture, providing examples from your past work.
• Explain your experience with and philosophy on using and contributing to design systems.
• Describe your approach to incorporating user research insights into your design decisions and how you validate your designs.

Company Culture Questions:

• Research Harvey's mission, values, and recent news, particularly regarding their partnerships and funding. Be prepared to discuss why you are interested in designing for the legal/professional services domain and AI.
• Ask questions about the collaboration between design, engineering, AI research, and legal teams.
• Inquire about the design team's structure, design critique process, and how design is integrated into the product development lifecycle.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure your presentation around compelling case studies that showcase your most relevant experience, particularly with complex problems or AI integration.
• Clearly articulate your role and contributions within each project.
• Focus on the "why" behind your design decisions, explaining your rationale and the impact of your work.
• Be prepared to discuss the technical constraints or challenges you faced and how you worked with engineers to overcome them.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this design position:

• Submit your application through this link.
• Carefully review your portfolio to ensure case studies are up-to-date, articulate your process clearly, and highlight projects relevant to designing for complex workflows or technical domains.
• Tailor your resume to emphasize your experience as a Staff-level designer, highlighting leadership in design initiatives, contribution to design systems, and collaboration with cross-functional teams.
• Prepare for the interview process by practicing articulating your design process, preparing compelling portfolio walkthroughs, and researching Harvey and the legal/AI tech industry.
• Consider how your experience can specifically contribute to designing intuitive and effective AI-powered tools for legal and professional users.