Lead Product Designer, Discover

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Lead Product Designer, Discover

Company: Circle.so

Location: Remote (Worldwide)

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / Marketplace Design

Date Posted: 2026-04-02

Experience Level: 5+ years

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the end-to-end design strategy and execution for Circle's "Discover" platform, focusing on AI-driven marketplace experiences.

• Drive product direction and craft high-fidelity designs for a two-sided marketplace, balancing the needs of creators and consumers.

• Leverage AI-assisted prototyping tools to rapidly iterate and test innovative discovery and engagement models.

• Mentor and elevate the design team's craft, fostering a culture of high standards and proactive communication within a fully remote, async environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is specifically for experienced product designers with a proven track record in consumer marketplace or two-sided platform products. The emphasis on AI as a core interaction model and the requirement for AI-assisted prototyping skills are critical differentiators for this position.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the complete design lifecycle for the Discover platform, from identifying strategic opportunities and framing complex problems to setting design direction and shipping impactful user experiences.

• Develop and design AI-driven discovery interfaces and curation experiences that build trust and feel relational, moving beyond traditional algorithmic recommendations.

• Serve both sides of the marketplace by understanding and designing for creator visibility needs and consumer trust signals, ensuring a balanced and effective ecosystem.

• Utilize AI-assisted prototyping tools (e.g., Cursor, Claude Code, v0, Lovable) to rapidly test hypotheses, stress-test ideas, and close the gap between concept and shipped product.

• Collaborate closely with founder-led product teams and engineers, maintaining proactive communication and alignment across time zones in an asynchronous work environment.

• Mentor and guide fellow designers, raising the overall craft standard and design quality on the Discover product area through constructive feedback and setting high expectations.

• Translate complex systems thinking into clear design decisions, understanding how various product components feed into the discovery experience and making this understanding visible.

• Design for ambiguity, building conviction through iterative design processes and rapid prototyping rather than waiting for fully defined requirements.

📝 Enhancement Note: The core responsibilities highlight a strong emphasis on systems thinking, AI integration, and marketplace dynamics, pushing beyond standard UX design to address novel challenges in AI-driven discovery and trust-building within a consumer marketplace context.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent experience and expertise in product design, particularly within marketplace contexts, is essential.

Experience: 5+ years of dedicated product design experience, with a significant portion involving shipped 0→1 work, complex multi-user flows, and demonstrable leadership in driving product direction.

Required Skills:

• Marketplace or Two-Sided Platform Design: Proven experience designing for both sides of a market, with a deep understanding of what builds trust and drives outcomes. Portfolio must demonstrate this.

• AI-Assisted Prototyping Fluency: Genuine proficiency and hands-on experience with tools like Cursor, Claude Code, v0, or Lovable for rapid, realistic prototyping. This is a core methodological requirement.

• Figma Proficiency: Advanced skills in Figma for high-fidelity design, prototyping, and seamless cross-functional collaboration.

• Design Leadership & Ownership: Experience acting as the most senior designer on a product area, capable of setting direction, making critical tradeoffs, and owning outcomes with minimal oversight.

• Systems Thinking: Ability to understand and design within complex systems, connecting dots across different product areas and understanding compounding effects.

• Proactive Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to share thinking early, surface decisions proactively, and maintain clear communication in an async, remote setting.

• Ambiguity Tolerance: Comfort and effectiveness in designing within uncertain environments, building conviction through iteration and experimentation.

• English Proficiency: CEFR Level C2 / ILR Level 5 (spoken, written, and reading).

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with user research methodologies to inform marketplace design strategies.

• Familiarity with community platforms or creator economy tools.

• Understanding of AI model behavior and its implications for user experience design.

• Experience in designing for global, diverse user bases.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "hard requirement" for marketplace experience and the specific mention of AI-assisted prototyping tools are highly specific. Candidates without this background are explicitly directed to other roles, emphasizing the niche nature of this position.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Marketplace Case Studies: A minimum of 2-3 detailed case studies showcasing end-to-end ownership of marketplace or two-sided platform features, focusing on both consumer and creator experiences.

• AI-Driven Design Examples: Demonstrations of how AI was integrated into the design process or final product, explaining the rationale and impact.

• Systems Thinking Illustration: Examples of how you considered and designed for interconnectedness within a product ecosystem, not just isolated features.

• Outcome-Oriented Presentation: Clear articulation of the problems solved, design decisions made, and measurable outcomes achieved (e.g., increased visibility, trust signals, conversion rates, user engagement).

Process Documentation:

• Iterative Design Process: Detailed walkthroughs of your design process, emphasizing rapid prototyping, user feedback loops, and iteration, especially within ambiguous contexts.

• AI Prototyping Workflow: Concrete examples of how you use AI-assisted tools (Cursor, Claude Code, v0, Lovable) in your workflow, including specific techniques and benefits observed.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Documentation or examples of how you collaborate with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders to bring designs to life, particularly in a remote, async environment.

• Design System Contribution (Implied): While not explicitly stated, evidence of designing with consistency or contributing to design systems can be beneficial.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are heavily geared towards demonstrating practical experience in complex marketplace dynamics and cutting-edge AI integration. Candidates should focus on showcasing their ability to navigate ambiguity and drive tangible results in these specific areas.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $140,000 - $170,000 USD per year.

Benefits:

• Fully Remote: Work from anywhere in the world.

• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO): 35 days annually.

• Paid Sabbatical: Offered after 5 years of employment.

• Startup Equity: Generous equity package benchmarked against U.S. standards.

• Comprehensive Medical Coverage: 100% coverage for employees and their families, or medical reimbursement options where applicable.

• Parental Leave: Support for new parents.

• Home Office Stipend: To set up an effective remote workspace.

• Learning & Development Stipend: For professional skill enhancement.

• Annual Bonus Potential: For roles not receiving variable income or commission.

• Company Retreats: Twice-yearly, fully paid retreats in global locations.

Working Hours: While the job description mentions managing for high expectations closely and being highly async, the implicit expectation for a full-time role is around 40 hours per week, with flexibility to accommodate global time zones.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is provided in USD, reflecting the company's U.S. benchmarking for compensation. The benefits are robust, emphasizing flexibility, employee well-being, and professional growth, which are key attractors for a global, remote workforce. The mention of equity is significant for a startup environment.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Online Communities Platform / SaaS

Company Size: Approximately 200+ employees (and growing). This size indicates a dynamic, scaling startup environment where individual impact is significant, but processes are maturing.

Founded: The founding date is not explicitly stated, but the company is described as "growing" and having held multiple global offsites, suggesting it's past the very early seed stage and into a growth phase.

Team Structure:

• Design Team: Described as a place where context is shared openly, ownership is real, and talented people are trusted. This suggests a collaborative yet autonomous environment.

• Reporting Structure: The role reports to a "founder-led product team," indicating direct access to leadership and a high degree of influence. The Lead Designer is expected to mentor other designers.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: High emphasis on working closely with engineers and product teams, operating in a highly asynchronous and documentation-centric manner.

Methodology:

• Async & Documentation-Centric: Collaboration across time zones relies heavily on asynchronous communication and thorough documentation.

• Outcome-Oriented: The company prioritizes results and impact over hours worked.

• High Standards & Craft: A strong emphasis on the quality of work and the craft of design.

• AI Integration: Embracing AI as a core tool for efficiency and innovation, particularly in prototyping.

Company Website: https://careers.circle.so/

📝 Enhancement Note: Circle.so positions itself as a remote-first company with a strong culture of trust, autonomy, and global collaboration. The emphasis on async work and documentation is crucial for candidates to understand. The "founder-led" aspect implies a fast-paced, vision-driven environment.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Lead Product Designer. This signifies a senior individual contributor role with significant ownership and potential mentorship responsibilities. It's a position that requires strategic thinking, end-to-end execution, and the ability to influence product direction independently.

Reporting Structure: Directly collaborates with and reports to a founder-led product team. This offers high visibility and direct impact on product strategy. The role also involves mentoring other designers, indicating a step towards leadership development.

Operations Impact: The "Discover" platform's success is critical for Circle's growth as a two-sided marketplace. This role directly impacts creator acquisition, user engagement, and the overall health and growth of the platform's ecosystem. The design decisions made here will have a direct correlation with revenue generation and user retention.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Potential to grow into a Design Manager or Head of Design role as the company scales, managing larger design teams and broader product initiatives.

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in marketplace design, AI-driven UX, and community platforms, becoming a recognized expert in these niche areas.

• Strategic Influence: Continue to shape product strategy and vision at a foundational level, working closely with founders.

• Cross-Functional Development: Broaden skills in product strategy, technical understanding, and business acumen through close collaboration with senior leadership and engineering.

📝 Enhancement Note: As a "Lead" role in a growing startup, the opportunities lean towards both deepening specialized expertise and expanding into broader leadership responsibilities. The direct collaboration with founders is a significant growth accelerator.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully Remote. This is a core tenet of the company's operational model, allowing talent acquisition globally.

Office Location(s): Worldwide. The company actively recruits from 30+ countries, fostering a diverse, global perspective.

Workspace Context:

• Async Collaboration: The primary mode of interaction is asynchronous, requiring strong self-management, clear documentation, and effective written communication.

• Technology Stack: Candidates are expected to be proficient with modern design tools (Figma) and embrace AI-assisted tools for rapid prototyping. Access to necessary technology is supported by a home office stipend.

• Team Interaction: While async, the company fosters connection through regular, fully paid global offsites, providing opportunities for in-person collaboration and team building.

Work Schedule: While there are no strict "hours" to track, the expectation is for high performance and availability for critical cross-time zone collaborations. The role requires proactive time management to balance async work with necessary synchronous touchpoints and deliver against high expectations.

📝 Enhancement Note: The fully remote and async nature of the work environment is a defining characteristic. Candidates must be comfortable with this model, prioritizing self-discipline, documentation, and proactive communication over traditional office-based structures.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Application Submission: All applications are processed through Greenhouse (ATS).

• Initial Screening: May involve a short introductory video recording or direct transition to a live interview.

• Live Video Interviews: Conducted via Zoom or Google Meet with Circle team members. Text-only interviews or interviews via chat apps are explicitly NOT used.

• Focus Areas: Expect discussions on marketplace design challenges, AI integration strategies, systems thinking, personal design process, collaboration style, and leadership/mentorship experience.

• Final Evaluation: Assesses cultural alignment, strategic thinking, design craft, and the ability to drive product outcomes.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight Marketplace Expertise: Clearly showcase your experience with two-sided marketplaces. Detail the specific challenges faced, your design solutions, and the resulting impact on both user groups (creators and consumers).

• Demonstrate AI Prototyping: Dedicate space to explaining your process with AI-assisted tools. Show examples of how they accelerated your workflow, improved fidelity, or enabled new design explorations. Be ready to discuss specific tools and techniques.

• Showcase Systems Thinking: Articulate how your designs considered the broader ecosystem. Use diagrams or narratives to illustrate how different components interacted and how your design decisions reinforced or improved the overall system.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use metrics to demonstrate the success of your work. Focus on KPIs relevant to marketplaces, such as engagement, conversion, retention, or creator success.

• Tell a Story: Structure your case studies as narratives: problem, your approach, your role, solutions, and outcomes. Make it engaging and easy to follow.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design Exercise: Be prepared for a design exercise that likely simulates a real-world problem related to marketplace discovery or AI-driven user experiences. Focus on demonstrating your process, strategic thinking, and ability to work with constraints.

• AI Prompting & Design: If an AI-related challenge is presented, be ready to discuss how you would approach prompting AI tools for design generation or ideation within a marketplace context.

• Communication: Practice articulating your design decisions clearly and concisely, especially in a way that addresses the needs of both sides of the marketplace.

📝 Enhancement Note: The process emphasizes direct, video-based communication and transparency. Candidates should prepare to deeply discuss their portfolio, particularly focusing on the unique requirements of marketplace design and AI-assisted workflows.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential for high-fidelity design, prototyping, and collaborative workflows. Proficiency is a must.

• AI-Assisted Prototyping Tools: Cursor, Claude Code, v0, Lovable. Candidates are expected to be genuinely fluent and use these as integral parts of their design process, not just experimental tools.

• Collaboration & Documentation Tools: Likely includes tools like Notion, Slack, or similar platforms for asynchronous communication and knowledge sharing, given the company's emphasis on documentation.

Analytics & Reporting:

CRM & Automation:

• Not directly relevant to the Product Designer role, but understanding the context of how creators use platforms like Circle for community management and payments might be helpful.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of AI-assisted prototyping tools is a key differentiator. Candidates should be prepared to discuss their experience and strategic use of these specific technologies, beyond general design software proficiency.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• High Expectations & Outcomes: Focus on delivering impactful results rather than simply putting in hours.

• Trust & Autonomy: Employees are trusted to do their best work, with significant independence.

• Global Collaboration: Embracing diversity and working effectively across different cultures and time zones.

• Documentation: A strong emphasis on documenting processes, decisions, and learnings for clarity and asynchronous work.

• Craftsmanship: A dedication to high-quality design and a pursuit of excellence.

• AI Integration: Openness to and active adoption of AI as a tool for innovation and efficiency.

Collaboration Style:

• Async-First: Communication prioritizes asynchronous methods, requiring clear, concise, and well-documented contributions.

• Proactive & Transparent: Sharing thoughts and decisions early and openly builds trust and facilitates smoother collaboration.

• Direct & Honest Feedback: The team values giving and receiving "real feedback" to foster growth and maintain high standards.

• Founder-Led Vision: Design work is closely aligned with a strong, founder-driven product vision.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture emphasizes independence, clear communication (especially written), and a results-driven mindset, all within a global, remote framework. Understanding and aligning with these values is crucial for success.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for Ambiguity: The Discover platform is still evolving, presenting a challenge in defining clear requirements and navigating uncertainty. This requires strong self-direction and iterative problem-solving.

• AI as a Core Interaction Model: Developing user experiences where AI is the primary interface, and building trust within such a system, is a novel and complex design challenge.

• Balancing Two Audiences: Simultaneously meeting the distinct and sometimes competing needs of creators seeking visibility and consumers seeking relevant experiences in a marketplace.

• Remote & Async Communication: Effectively collaborating and driving consensus in a distributed team without constant face-to-face interaction requires exceptional communication and documentation skills.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Cutting-Edge AI UX: Gaining deep expertise in designing with AI as a core component of a consumer-facing product.

• Marketplace Dynamics: Mastering the intricacies of designing for two-sided marketplaces at scale.

• Community Platform Design: Deepening understanding of the creator economy and online community engagement.

• Leadership & Mentorship: Developing leadership skills through mentoring other designers and influencing product strategy at a senior level.

• Global Product Development: Experience in building products for a diverse, international user base.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are directly tied to the innovative nature of the role—leveraging AI in a marketplace context within a remote, async environment. Growth opportunities focus on mastering these cutting-edge areas and developing leadership capabilities.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you designed for a two-sided marketplace. What were the key challenges, and how did you balance the needs of both user groups?" (Focus on specific examples, your strategic approach, and quantifiable outcomes.)

• "How would you approach designing an AI-driven discovery experience that builds trust? What are the potential pitfalls, and how would you mitigate them?" (Prepare to discuss AI's role beyond recommendations, focusing on user perception and reliability.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Circle's mission and the Discover platform specifically?" (Research Circle's vision for online communities and the importance of discovery.)

• "How do you thrive in a fully remote, asynchronous work environment? What strategies do you use to stay productive and connected?" (Highlight your self-management, documentation habits, and communication style.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: Organize your presentation logically, starting with an overview of Circle and the Discover role, then diving into 2-3 deep dive case studies.

• Focus on Process & Impact: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your specific role and contributions, your design process (especially AI tool usage), trade-offs made, and the measurable outcomes achieved.

• Marketplace & AI Emphasis: Ensure your chosen case studies strongly highlight your marketplace design experience and any use of AI in your workflow or final product.

• Conciseness & Clarity: Be prepared to present your portfolio efficiently, focusing on the most impactful aspects. Practice timing your presentation.

• Engage with Questions: Anticipate questions about your design decisions, process, and how you'd approach future challenges at Circle.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should heavily lean into the specific requirements of marketplace design, AI integration, and remote/async work. Candidates need to be ready to defend their design choices with data and articulate their strategic thinking.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Lead Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the official Greenhouse portal.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to prominently feature your most relevant marketplace and AI-assisted design case studies. Ensure each case study clearly articulates the problem, your role, process, and measurable outcomes.

• Resume Optimization: Highlight your 5+ years of product design experience, specifically mentioning marketplace/two-sided platform work, 0→1 product launches, and proficiency with Figma and AI prototyping tools. Use keywords from the job description.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, especially your use of AI tools and your approach to marketplace challenges. Prepare to discuss your experience in remote, async environments and your mentorship style.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Circle's mission, product, and culture. Understand their approach to community building and the significance of the Discover platform.

⚠️ 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.

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