Founding Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Founding Product Designer

Company: Hera

Location: New York City, New York, United States

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / Healthcare Technology

Date Posted: 2026-04-11

Experience Level: 5-10 Years (Mid to Senior Level)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead product design for a novel healthcare platform, focusing on user experience for social workers, nurses, and families navigating complex senior care.

• Translate intricate healthcare workflows and emotionally charged customer needs into intuitive, trustworthy, and "invisible" software experiences.

• Drive human-centered design principles across all product touchpoints to build and reinforce brand promise of "care that would only be great enough for our own parents."

• Collaborate closely with a founding team to define product strategy, establish design systems, and shape the future of a new profession in healthcare.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is for a "Founding Product Designer," indicating a critical, hands-on position within an early-stage startup. The emphasis on "invisible software," "trust," and serving diverse user groups (healthcare professionals and families) suggests a need for a designer adept at complex problem-solving and balancing multiple user needs. The "on-site" requirement in NYC points to a collaborative, in-person team environment.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Spearhead the end-to-end product design process, from initial concept and user research to high-fidelity prototyping and final UI implementation.

• Conduct thorough user research, including interviews, usability testing, and data analysis, to deeply understand the needs and pain points of both healthcare providers (Heroes) and end-users (families).

• Define and maintain a cohesive design system and style guide to ensure consistency and scalability across the Hera platform.

• Collaborate with engineering, product management, and operations teams to translate design concepts into functional, high-quality software features.

• Champion the voice of the user throughout the product development lifecycle, advocating for design solutions that prioritize trust, empathy, and ease of use.

• Develop wireframes, user flows, interactive prototypes, and detailed UI specifications for new features and product enhancements.

• Contribute to product strategy discussions, leveraging design expertise to identify opportunities for innovation and user value.

• Establish and iterate on design processes and best practices within a fast-paced, early-stage startup environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a broad scope, typical for a founding role. This includes not just execution (prototyping, UI) but also strategic input (product strategy), user advocacy (research), and process establishment (design systems, best practices). The specific mention of "invisible software" and "trust" implies a design focus on subtlety and reliability, crucial in healthcare.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

Experience:

• 5-10 years of professional experience in product design, UX/UI design, or interaction design, with a strong portfolio showcasing successful digital product launches.

Required Skills:

• Product Design Expertise: Deep understanding of the full product design lifecycle, from discovery to delivery.

• User Research & Empathy: Ability to conduct user research, synthesize findings, and translate them into actionable design insights, with a particular focus on understanding vulnerable populations and professional caregivers.

• Interaction Design: Skill in designing intuitive and efficient user flows and interactions for complex applications.

• Prototyping Tools: Proficiency with industry-standard design and prototyping tools (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, InVision).

• Visual Design: Strong aesthetic sensibility and ability to create compelling, user-friendly interfaces.

• Human-Centered Design: A demonstrated commitment to designing with the user at the forefront, especially in sensitive contexts like healthcare.

Preferred Skills:

• Healthcare Technology Experience: Familiarity with the healthcare industry, its regulations, and the unique design challenges within this sector.

• Design Systems: Experience in creating, maintaining, and scaling design systems.

• Agile Development: Experience working within Agile/Scrum development methodologies.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Proven ability to work effectively with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders.

• Storytelling & Presentation: Ability to clearly articulate design decisions and rationale to diverse audiences.

📝 Enhancement Note: The experience level is positioned as "Founding Team," implying a need for seasoned professionals who can operate with significant autonomy and shape foundational elements of the product and design practice. The emphasis on "trust" and "invisible software" suggests a preference for designers who can create elegant solutions for complex, sensitive user needs, particularly in healthcare.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Case Studies: Detailed case studies that showcase your design process, from problem definition and user research through to solution design and outcomes. Focus on projects that demonstrate how you tackled complex user needs and translated them into effective digital products.

• Problem-Solving: Examples illustrating your approach to identifying and solving challenging design problems, particularly those involving multiple user types or sensitive data.

• User-Centricity: Evidence of how user research informed your design decisions and led to user-validated solutions.

• Impact & Outcomes: Quantifiable results or qualitative feedback demonstrating the positive impact of your designs on user experience, engagement, or business objectives.

• Design System Contributions: If applicable, examples of contributions to design systems or style guides, showcasing consistency and scalability.

Process Documentation:

• Demonstrate your understanding of establishing and iterating on design processes, including user research methodologies, design sprints, prototyping workflows, and collaboration models with engineering and product teams.

• Showcase how you would approach building a foundational design culture and process within an early-stage startup, emphasizing efficiency and quality.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a founding role, the portfolio is critical. It needs to go beyond just visual output to demonstrate a robust, adaptable design process suitable for an early-stage company. Emphasis should be placed on how the candidate can build the design function, not just execute within an existing one. Demonstrating experience with complex, sensitive user groups is key.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

Benefits:

• Equity: Significant stock options as part of the founding team, offering potential for substantial long-term financial upside.

• Health Insurance: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance plans.

• Paid Time Off: Generous vacation, sick leave, and paid holidays.

• Professional Development: Opportunities for continued learning, workshops, and conference attendance.

• Founding Team Perks: High degree of autonomy, direct impact on product strategy and company direction, close collaboration with experienced co-founders.

Working Hours:

• While Hera is a full-time role, the startup environment may require flexibility. Standard working hours are typically 40 hours per week, with potential for extended hours during critical project phases. The emphasis is on impact and results rather than strict adherence to clock-in/clock-out times.

📝 Enhancement Note: As a founding team member, compensation will likely include a substantial equity component, reflecting the high risk and high reward of an early-stage venture. The salary estimate is based on senior-level product design roles in NYC and the company's reported seed funding, suggesting a competitive cash compensation.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Healthcare Technology (HealthTech), Senior Care Services

Company Size: Early-stage startup (Seed-funded, implied small founding team)

Founded: 2024 (Implied, based on funding and launch activities)

Team Structure:

• Founding Team: Close-knit group of co-founders with experience from companies like Headway and Palantir.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: High degree of collaboration expected between Product Design, Engineering, Product Management, Operations (Heroes), and leadership.

• Flat Hierarchy: As an early-stage startup, expect a less formal hierarchy with direct access to leadership.

Methodology:

• Human-Centered Approach: Strong emphasis on understanding and serving the needs of both healthcare professionals and families, particularly in sensitive senior care situations.

• Trust-Based Design: Core principle is building trust through product interactions, aiming for "invisible" and seamless user experiences.

• Data-Informed Iteration: Utilizing customer feedback, GMV growth, and potential future data analytics to iterate and improve the product.

• Agile & Iterative Development: Likely employing agile methodologies to adapt quickly to market feedback and user needs.

Company Website: https://hellohera.com

📝 Enhancement Note: Hera is positioned as a mission-driven company aiming to solve a significant gap in healthcare by creating a new profession ("Hero") to guide families through complex senior care. The culture is likely fast-paced, autonomous, and focused on impact, with a strong emphasis on empathy and building trust.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Founding Product Designer

Reporting Structure:

• Will report directly to one of the co-founders (likely Jenny, given the email contact).

Operations Impact:

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership: Potential to grow into a Head of Design or Product role as the company scales.

• Mentorship: Opportunity to mentor future designers and build out a design team.

• Strategic Influence: Direct input into product roadmap, company strategy, and brand development.

• Skill Expansion: Deepen expertise in healthcare tech, complex systems design, and building products with a strong ethical and emotional component.

• Industry Impact: Play a pivotal role in shaping a new profession and improving the senior care experience nationwide.

📝 Enhancement Note: As a founding role, the growth trajectory is steep and tied directly to the company's success. The opportunity is less about linear promotion and more about expanding scope, influence, and potentially building and leading a function.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: In-person, collaborative startup environment in NYC.

Office Location(s): New York City, NY.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hub: Expect an environment fostering close collaboration with co-founders and team members, essential for rapid iteration and problem-solving.

• Tooling: Access to necessary design software and hardware. The emphasis will be on effective tools for prototyping, user research, and collaboration.

• Team Interaction: Frequent design critiques, brainstorming sessions, and cross-functional syncs to ensure alignment and shared understanding.

Work Schedule:

• Full-time, on-site in NYC. While standard business hours are expected, the nature of a founding role may require flexibility to meet critical deadlines and company objectives. The focus will be on delivering impact.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "in person in NYC" requirement underscores the value placed on close-knit collaboration and spontaneous idea exchange typical of early-stage founding teams.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Initial Screening: A brief conversation with a recruiter or co-founder to assess initial fit, motivation, and alignment with Hera's mission.

2. Portfolio Review & Deep Dive: A session focused on reviewing your portfolio. Expect to walk through 2-3 key case studies, discussing your process, decision-making, and the impact of your work. This is where you'll demonstrate your ability to handle complex problems.

3. Design Challenge/Exercise: You may be given a design problem to solve within a set timeframe (e.g., a take-home assignment or an in-session exercise). This will assess your design thinking, problem-solving skills, and ability to articulate your approach.

4. Founding Team/Co-founder Interviews: Meetings with the co-founders to discuss strategic alignment, cultural fit, and your vision for product design at Hera. This is your chance to ask in-depth questions about the company's direction.

5. Reference Checks: Standard process for verifying your professional background.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Tell a Story: Structure your case studies as narratives – what was the problem, who did you design for, what was your process, what were the key decisions, and what was the outcome?

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals, mockups, prototypes, and user flows to illustrate your process and solutions.

• Highlight Your Process: Emphasize your methodology – how you approach research, ideation, iteration, and collaboration. Demonstrate how you handle ambiguity.

• Focus on Impact: Quantify results where possible (e.g., improved conversion, increased user satisfaction) or clearly articulate the qualitative value and user benefits.

• Address "Trust" and "Invisible Software": Tailor examples to show how you've designed for user trust, empathy, and seamless experiences, especially in sensitive contexts.

• Be Prepared for Ambiguity: As a founding role, expect questions about how you'd establish processes, build a design system from scratch, and make decisions with incomplete information.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Hera's Mission: Deeply familiarize yourself with Hera's business model, target users (Heroes, families), and brand promise.

• Embrace Complexity: Practice thinking through complex, multi-stakeholder problems, especially those with emotional or ethical dimensions.

• Articulate Trade-offs: Be ready to discuss the trade-offs inherent in design decisions and how you prioritize solutions.

• Focus on User Needs: Ensure your solutions are firmly rooted in user research and empathy.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process for a founding role emphasizes deep dives into problem-solving, strategic thinking, and cultural fit. The portfolio review is paramount, serving as the primary vehicle for assessing the candidate's ability to shape the product from its earliest stages.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (highly probable, as it's industry standard for collaborative design), Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop).

• User Research: Tools for conducting interviews, surveys, and usability testing (e.g., UserTesting.com, SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, Lookback).

• Project Management: Tools for task tracking and collaboration (e.g., Asana, Trello, Jira).

Analytics & Reporting:

CRM & Automation:

• Not directly applicable to the Product Designer role, but understanding how CRM (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) and automation tools integrate with user-facing products can be beneficial for a holistic view.

📝 Enhancement Note: As a foundational role, the specific stack might still be evolving. However, proficiency in modern collaborative design tools like Figma is almost a given. The emphasis will be on the candidate's ability to adapt to and potentially help define the team's toolset.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Trust: The cornerstone of Hera's brand promise. Every interaction and design must reinforce trust with users.

• Empathy: Deep understanding and consideration for the emotional and practical needs of vulnerable seniors and their families, as well as the demanding roles of healthcare professionals.

• Simplicity/Invisibility: Striving to make complex processes feel effortless and intuitive for users, removing friction and cognitive load.

• Impact-Driven: A focus on delivering tangible value and making a significant difference in people's lives.

• Autonomy & Ownership: Expectation that founding team members will take initiative, ownership, and drive their areas forward with minimal oversight.

• Collaboration: Working closely and effectively with all team members to achieve shared goals.

Collaboration Style:

• Direct & Open Communication: Essential for a small, fast-moving founding team.

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Design will work hand-in-hand with Product and Engineering from ideation to launch.

• Feedback-Oriented: A culture of constructive feedback to continuously improve designs and processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's values are deeply tied to its mission of providing trustworthy, empathetic care. A Product Designer must embody these values in their work and approach.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for Sensitivity: Creating user experiences for emotionally charged situations (illness, aging, family caregiving) requires a high degree of empathy and careful consideration.

• Balancing User Needs: Designing for two distinct primary user groups (healthcare professionals and families) with potentially conflicting needs and technical aptitudes.

• "Invisible Software": Achieving a truly seamless and intuitive user experience that feels invisible, which is a difficult design target.

• Establishing Design Foundation: Building design systems, processes, and a design culture from scratch in an early-stage company.

• Pace & Ambiguity: Navigating the inherent unpredictability and rapid pace of a seed-stage startup.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Industry Expertise: Gaining deep knowledge in the healthcare technology and senior care sectors.

• Leadership & Team Building: Opportunity to define and build out the design function.

• Strategic Product Development: Direct involvement in shaping the company's product strategy and vision.

• Cross-Disciplinary Learning: Working closely with experienced co-founders from diverse backgrounds (e.g., Palantir, Headway).

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are significant but directly tied to the growth opportunities, offering a chance to make a profound impact and develop critical skills in a high-stakes environment.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach designing a feature that needs to build trust with elderly users who may be less tech-savvy?"

• "Describe your process for creating a design system from scratch for a new product."

• "How do you balance the needs of professional users (like nurses) with those of consumers (like adult children caring for parents)?"

• "What are the key considerations when designing for healthcare, especially concerning sensitive data and emotional states?"

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you most about Hera's mission and our approach to senior care?"

• "How do you see yourself contributing to a founding team environment?"

• "Describe a time you had to navigate significant ambiguity or uncertainty in a project."

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Focus on Process: For each case study, clearly articulate your design thinking, research methods, and decision-making rationale.

• Highlight Impact: Showcase quantifiable results or clear qualitative benefits derived from your designs.

• Demonstrate Adaptability: Show how you iterate based on feedback or changing requirements.

• Emphasize Collaboration: Explain how you worked with stakeholders (engineers, PMs, users) to achieve outcomes.

• Tailor to Hera: When possible, draw parallels between your past work and Hera's challenges, especially regarding trust, empathy, and complex user needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: Expect interview questions to probe your ability to handle complex, emotionally resonant problems, build foundational processes, and align with Hera's mission-driven culture.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided Ashby link.

• Tailor your Resume: Highlight experience in product design, UX/UI, user research, and any relevant work in healthcare or early-stage startups. Quantify achievements where possible.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Ensure your portfolio clearly showcases 2-3 in-depth case studies demonstrating your process, problem-solving skills, and impact. Pay special attention to examples that align with Hera's focus on trust, empathy, and complex user needs.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Be ready to articulate your passion for Hera's mission and how your skills and experience make you an ideal candidate for a founding team role.

• Research Hera: Thoroughly understand Hera's business model, target users, and brand promise from their website and any available press.

⚠️ 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.