Intermediate Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Intermediate Product Designer

Company: Journal Technologies

Location: Los Angeles, CA; Remote (United States); Victoria, Canada

Job Type: Full-Time, Salaried

Category: Product Design / User Experience

Date Posted: April 14, 2026

Experience Level: Intermediate (3-5 years)

Remote Status: Hybrid/Remote-Friendly (North America)

🚀 Role Summary

• This role is centered on solving complex user problems within the justice and public safety sectors, emphasizing the practical application of design over mere aesthetics.

• The Intermediate Product Designer will be responsible for the end-to-end design execution of features and smaller product initiatives, translating user needs and product strategy into tangible design solutions.

• Collaboration is key, with a strong emphasis on working closely with Product Managers, Product Owners, and Engineers to ensure designs are user-centered, technically feasible, and effectively implemented.

• The position requires a strong understanding of UX/UI principles, interaction design, and a proactive approach to incorporating user feedback and data into design iterations, with a keen interest in emerging AI-assisted design tools.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the role is titled "Product Designer," the description strongly emphasizes UX thinking and problem-solving, positioning it within the broader UX/Product Design spectrum. The focus on "solving real problems for real people" and working with complex workflows in justice and public safety indicates a need for designers who can handle intricate requirements and deliver impactful, user-centric solutions.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design Ownership: Take full ownership of design execution for specific features or smaller product initiatives, from concept to implementation.

• User-Centered Design: Translate product requirements, user research findings, and technical constraints into intuitive UX flows, detailed wireframes, and polished UI designs.

• Design System Adherence: Consistently apply established design patterns, components, and accessibility standards to ensure a cohesive and inclusive user experience.

• Usability Testing & Research Synthesis: Plan and conduct usability testing sessions (with support), analyze findings, and synthesize research data into actionable design improvements.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with Product Managers to clarify requirements and explore design options, and collaborate effectively with Engineers to ensure design feasibility and accurate implementation.

• Iterative Design Process: Iterate on designs based on user feedback, data analytics, stakeholder input, and evolving product requirements.

• Process Improvement: Contribute to enhancing the overall design quality, consistency, and usability across the Journal Technologies product suite.

• Domain Knowledge Acquisition: Actively build domain expertise in the justice and public safety sectors through hands-on work and continuous learning.

• AI Tool Exploration: Demonstrate curiosity and willingness to experiment with AI-assisted design tools and new workflows to enhance design efficiency and creativity.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of execution and strategic thinking. "Own the design execution" suggests a need for self-starters who can manage their own projects. The emphasis on usability testing, research synthesis, and iteration indicates a data-informed design approach. Collaboration with Product Managers and Engineers is a core expectation, requiring strong communication and teamwork skills.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

Experience:

• 3-5 years of dedicated product design experience within a professional product development environment.

• Proven experience working within or closely alongside cross-functional product development teams.

Required Skills:

• Portfolio: A robust portfolio showcasing your design process, problem-solving approach, and the rationale behind your design decisions. Applications without a portfolio will not be reviewed.

• UX/UI Proficiency: Solid understanding of user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) principles, interaction design, and established design best practices.

• Figma Mastery: Demonstrated proficiency in Figma for both design creation and interactive prototyping.

• Communication: Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate, present, and defend design decisions to diverse stakeholders.

• Process Management: Comfort managing multiple design workstreams simultaneously, maintaining organization, and prioritizing tasks effectively.

• Research Acumen: A growing understanding of usability testing methodologies and user research techniques, with the ability to synthesize findings.

• Design System Contribution: Experience working with and contributing to design systems.

Preferred Skills:

• Accessibility Expertise: Familiarity with WCAG accessibility standards and practical experience designing accessible solutions.

• Complex Industry Experience: Exposure to complex, regulated, or sensitive industries where design decisions have significant real-world consequences.

• Enterprise Design: Experience designing for enterprise-level applications or workflow-heavy software platforms.

• Agile/Scrum: Experience working within Agile development teams or formal training in Scrum or Agile methodologies.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirement is critical and non-negotiable. The emphasis on Figma highlights a specific tool requirement. The distinction between required and preferred skills helps candidates understand where to focus their application. The "Nice to Have" section points towards areas where the company is actively looking to grow its capabilities.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Process Demonstration: Clearly articulate your end-to-end design process for at least 2-3 distinct projects, showcasing how you move from problem identification to final solution.

• Problem/Solution Framing: For each project, clearly define the user problem or business objective and how your design directly addressed it.

• UX Flow & Wireframing: Include examples of user flows, information architecture, and low-fidelity wireframes to illustrate your conceptual thinking.

• UI Design & Prototyping: Showcase high-fidelity UI designs and interactive prototypes, demonstrating your visual design skills and ability to create engaging user interfaces.

• Iteration & Rationale: Explain the iterations made throughout the design process, including the user feedback, data, or stakeholder input that drove those changes.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Mapping: Be prepared to discuss how you map out complex user workflows and identify opportunities for simplification and improvement.

• Design System Application: Demonstrate how you leverage and contribute to design systems to ensure consistency and efficiency in your work.

• Usability Testing Insights: Be ready to share examples of how you've used usability testing to inform design decisions and validate solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio is paramount for this role. Candidates should focus on demonstrating their ability to solve problems, their design process, and their proficiency with tools like Figma. Showing how they handle constraints, iterate, and collaborate will be key. The emphasis on "real problems" and "complex workflows" means case studies should reflect a deep understanding of user needs and business context.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• United States: $75,000 - $85,000 USD per year

• British Columbia, Canada: $70,000 - $85,000 CAD per year

• Note: This range is a good-faith estimate. Actual compensation will depend on factors such as qualifications, experience, geographic location, and internal equity.

Benefits:

• Quality medical, dental, and vision coverage.

• Competitive paid time off (PTO) and paid holiday time.

• Retirement savings programs: 401(k) for US employees and GRRSP for Canadian employees.

• Annual professional development fund: $1,500 USD per employee for learning and growth.

• Access to an extensive library of books for personal and professional development.

• Flexible working hours, to be coordinated with your supervisor.

• Ability to work from a remote location or office.

• Regular personal meetings with direct managers (every 4-6 weeks) to discuss career growth, advancement, and other important matters.

Working Hours:

• Standard full-time hours are expected, approximately 40 hours per week.

• Flexible working hours are available and can be coordinated with your supervisor to balance operational needs with personal schedules.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary ranges provided are specific to location and currency, which is a significant advantage for candidates. The benefits package is comprehensive, with a notable emphasis on professional development and work-life balance, including flexible hours and regular manager check-ins.

🏢 Company Context

🏠 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, specifically focused on software solutions for the justice and public safety sectors.

Company Size: Journal Technologies is a medium-sized company, indicated by the presence of multiple offices and a structured benefits program. This size typically allows for a balance between established processes and agile decision-making.

Founded: Information not directly provided, but the company's focus on established technologies and its growth suggest a company with a solid operational history.

Team Structure:

• Reporting: The Intermediate Product Designer reports to the Product Design Lead.

• Collaboration: Close collaboration is expected with Product Managers, Product Owners, and Engineers across multiple initiatives.

• Geographic Distribution: The team operates across North America and Australia, requiring effective remote collaboration practices.

Methodology:

• User-Centric Approach: A strong emphasis on understanding and solving real user problems.

• Data-Informed Design: Iteration based on user feedback, usability testing, and data analytics.

• Agile Development: Experience with Agile/Scrum is a strong asset, suggesting a development process that values flexibility and iterative progress.

• Design Systems: Use of established design systems promotes consistency and efficiency.

Company Website: http://www.journaltech.com/careers

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on the justice and public safety sectors is a defining characteristic. This implies a need for designers who are not only skilled but also empathetic and aware of the critical nature of their work. The remote-first culture with some office hubs suggests a modern, flexible work environment.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Intermediate Product Designer. This level signifies a designer capable of owning significant aspects of feature design, working semi-autonomously, and contributing to design system improvements, while still benefiting from guidance from senior designers.

Reporting Structure: Reports to the Product Design Lead, indicating a clear line of mentorship and feedback. Collaboration extends across product and engineering teams.

Operations Impact: The work directly impacts how justice and public safety professionals manage complex, high-stakes workflows. This means design decisions have tangible consequences, offering a high degree of impact and purpose.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Advancement: Opportunities to deepen expertise in UX/UI, interaction design, accessibility, and potentially AI-assisted design tools.

• Domain Expertise: Growing knowledge in the complex justice and public safety sectors, which can be a valuable specialization.

• Leadership Potential: With demonstrated success, potential to move into Senior Product Designer roles, leading larger initiatives or mentoring junior designers.

• Cross-Functional Experience: Gaining experience working with diverse teams and across different product areas.

• Professional Development: Annual $1,500 fund for courses, conferences, books, or other learning opportunities.

• Mentorship: Regular meetings with direct managers focused on career growth and advancement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Intermediate" title suggests a role that is a step up from entry-level, requiring demonstrated ability to execute independently on defined tasks. The emphasis on domain knowledge and the impact of design in a critical sector offers a unique growth path for designers interested in specialized applications of their craft.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Journal Technologies maintains physical offices in Los Angeles, CA; Logan, UT; and Victoria, BC, but the role is primarily remote within North America. This indicates a hybrid model where remote work is the norm, supported by optional office spaces for collaboration or focused work.

Office Location(s): Los Angeles, CA; Logan, UT; Victoria, BC. Candidates are preferred to be within reasonable distance of these locations, but remote applications are also encouraged.

Workspace Context:

• Remote-First: The environment is set up to support remote collaboration effectively.

• Collaborative Tools: Expect to use digital tools for communication, design, and project management.

• Cross-functional Interaction: Frequent interaction with Product Managers, Product Owners, and Engineers.

• Learning Culture: Access to books and professional development funds fosters a culture of continuous learning.

Work Schedule:

• Standard full-time (approx. 40 hours/week).

• Flexible working hours are supported to facilitate work-life balance, requiring coordination with supervisors.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid/remote nature of the role is a key aspect. While offices exist, the emphasis on remote work suggests a need for strong self-discipline, proactive communication, and proficiency with remote collaboration tools. The flexibility in working hours is a significant perk for managing personal needs alongside project deadlines.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of resume and, critically, the portfolio. Applications without a portfolio will be immediately disqualified.

• Portfolio Review & Discussion: A dedicated session to walk through selected portfolio pieces, focusing on your design process, problem-solving, and decision-making.

• Technical/Skills Interview: May involve design challenges, whiteboard exercises, or scenario-based questions to assess UX/UI skills, Figma proficiency, and understanding of design principles.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers, Product Owners, and potentially Engineers to assess collaboration style, communication skills, and ability to work within an Agile framework.

• Hiring Manager Interview: Discussion with the Product Design Lead focusing on cultural fit, career aspirations, and alignment with the team's vision.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Thoughtfully: Select 2-3 of your strongest projects that best demonstrate your process and ability to solve complex problems relevant to Journal Technologies' domain.

• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, your process, the challenges faced, the solutions developed, and the impact achieved. Use visuals effectively.

• Highlight Process: Emphasize your thinking: "Why" behind design decisions, how you incorporated research, and how you iterated.

• Showcase Figma Skills: Be prepared to discuss your Figma workflow, prototyping techniques, and how you leverage its features.

• Address Constraints: If applicable, discuss how you worked within technical or business constraints.

• Accessibility Focus: If you have relevant experience, highlight your approach to accessibility.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design Thinking: Be ready to break down a hypothetical problem, define user needs, brainstorm solutions, and sketch out potential interfaces.

• Figma Proficiency: Practice common design tasks and prototyping within Figma.

• Communication: Prepare to clearly articulate your thought process and design rationale under pressure.

• Domain Awareness: Research Journal Technologies and the justice/public safety sector to understand the context of their users and challenges.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio is the gatekeeper. Candidates must ensure it is polished, detailed, and directly addresses the requirements of this role. The interview process likely involves multiple stages to assess technical skills, problem-solving ability, and cultural fit.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core design and prototyping tool. Proficiency is essential for creating wireframes, UI designs, and interactive prototypes. Expect to use its collaboration features extensively.

• Design Systems: Experience working with and contributing to design systems is required, implying familiarity with component libraries and style guides.

Analytics & Reporting:

CRM & Automation:

• Not directly relevant to this design role, but awareness of how design impacts user journeys within enterprise software is valuable.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma is the primary tool. Candidates should be comfortable showcasing their mastery of Figma for all aspects of the design process, from ideation to high-fidelity mockups and interactive prototyping. Familiarity with design system principles and practical application is also key.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and solving user problems, especially for professionals in high-stakes environments.

• Problem-Solving: Energized by tackling complex challenges and finding elegant, practical solutions.

• Collaboration: Strong emphasis on teamwork and open communication with cross-functional partners.

• Continuous Improvement: A drive to enhance product quality, design consistency, and personal skills.

• Curiosity & Innovation: Openness to exploring new tools and workflows, including AI-assisted design.

• Impact-Driven: A desire to create technology that matters and has a real-world positive impact.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Partnership: Working closely with Product Management and Engineering is integral to the role.

• Iterative Feedback: A culture that encourages sharing work, receiving feedback, and iterating based on input.

• Transparent Communication: Openly discussing design decisions, challenges, and progress with team members and stakeholders.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company values appear to align with modern product development principles, emphasizing user focus, collaboration, and continuous learning. The specific mention of solving "real problems for real people" highlights the importance of empathy and purpose in the team's culture.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Complex Domain: Navigating the intricacies of the justice and public safety sectors, which involve sensitive data, strict regulations, and high-stakes user workflows.

• Balancing Constraints: Designing effective solutions within technical limitations, established design systems, and user needs.

• Remote Collaboration: Maintaining strong, productive working relationships and clear communication across distributed teams.

• AI Integration: Adapting to and effectively utilizing new AI-assisted design tools to enhance workflows and creativity.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Specialized Domain Knowledge: Deepening understanding of the justice and public safety domains, which can be a career differentiator.

• Advanced Design Skills: Enhancing expertise in UX research, interaction design, information architecture, and accessibility.

• AI Design Exploration: Experimenting with and mastering new AI tools relevant to design.

• Career Progression: Potential to advance to Senior Product Designer roles, taking on more complex projects and leadership responsibilities.

• Mentorship & Funding: Regular manager check-ins focused on growth and an annual budget for professional development.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are framed as opportunities for growth. Candidates who are adaptable, curious, and motivated by complex problem-solving will find this role rewarding. The company's investment in professional development signals a commitment to employee growth.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Problem Decomposition: Be prepared to analyze a given problem statement, identify user needs, and outline a design approach. Focus on "why" and "how."

• Design Process Articulation: Clearly explain your approach to a specific project from your portfolio, emphasizing your thought process, iterations, and problem-solving.

• Collaboration Scenarios: Discuss how you would handle disagreements with a Product Manager or Engineer regarding a design decision, focusing on constructive communication and data-driven arguments.

• Design System Usage: Explain how you use design systems and what makes a good design system. If you've contributed, describe that experience.

Company & Culture Questions:

• Domain Interest: Express genuine interest in Journal Technologies' mission and the justice/public safety sector. Research the company's products and mission beforehand.

• Remote Work Philosophy: Discuss your experience and preferences for working in a remote or hybrid environment, highlighting your self-management and communication skills.

• AI Curiosity: Share your thoughts on AI in design and how you envision it impacting your workflow.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure is Key: For each project, use a clear narrative: Problem -> Your Role -> Process -> Solution -> Impact -> Learnings.

• Visual Storytelling: Use high-quality visuals (wireframes, mockups, prototypes) to support your narrative.

• Focus on Thinking: Emphasize the "why" behind your decisions, not just the final output. Discuss trade-offs and challenges.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use data or metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs. If direct metrics aren't available, discuss intended impact or qualitative feedback.

• Figma Demonstration: Be ready to quickly showcase specific aspects of your Figma work if asked, or discuss your workflow and techniques.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should treat their portfolio as the central piece of their interview preparation. They need to be articulate, confident, and able to clearly communicate their design thinking and problem-solving skills, especially in the context of Journal Technologies' specific industry.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Intermediate Product Designer position:

• Submit Your Application: Navigate to the provided application link on rippling.com.

• Portfolio First: Ensure your resume and application clearly link to your online portfolio. Applications without a portfolio will not be considered.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 projects that best showcase your problem-solving process, UX/UI skills, and experience with Figma and design systems. Tailor your project selection to align with the company's mission and industry.

• Highlight Process & Impact: In your portfolio and resume, emphasize your design process, how you tackled complex problems, and the impact of your work. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare for Interview: Familiarize yourself with Journal Technologies' mission, the justice/public safety sector, and practice articulating your design decisions and process for your portfolio projects.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with Journal Technologies before making application decisions.