Lead UX Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Lead UX Product Designer Company: Yes Energy Location: Glendora, CA; Boulder, CO (preferred); Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Richmond, VA; Remote - US Job Type: Full-time Category: Product Design / UX/UI Operations Date Posted: November 04, 2025 Experience Level: 8+ years (Senior/Lead) Remote Status: Hybrid (with remote options)

🚀 Role Summary

• This is a critical, singular role responsible for establishing and leading UX/UI design strategy and execution for Yes Energy's suite of B2B SaaS products.
• The position requires end-to-end ownership of the design process, from user research and conceptualization to high-fidelity design and implementation oversight, with a strong emphasis on data visualization for complex power markets.
• The Lead UX Product Designer will be instrumental in building a scalable design system, defining design best practices, and fostering a user-centered design culture across the organization.
• This role demands a blend of strategic thinking, hands-on design execution, and cross-functional collaboration to ensure intuitive, efficient, and impactful user experiences that drive business value in the energy trading sector.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Lead UX Product Designer," the role's emphasis on establishing design practices, creating a design system, and influencing design culture, coupled with an 8+ year experience requirement, positions it as a senior or lead individual contributor role. The "Product Operations" category is inferred due to the direct reporting line to the Director of Product Operations and the focus on product design processes, system implementation (design system), and data-driven iteration, which are core to operationalizing product development.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• End-to-End Design Leadership: Spearhead the entire UX/UI design lifecycle for new and existing B2B SaaS products, encompassing user research, wireframing, prototyping, high-fidelity visual design, and usability testing.
• User Research & Insights: Conduct comprehensive user research, including in-depth interviews, surveys, and rigorous usability testing, to deeply understand user needs, pain points, and workflows within the complex energy trading domain.
• Design System Development & Management: Create, document, and maintain a scalable and reusable design system to ensure consistency in user experience and visual identity across all Yes Energy products.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with Product Managers, Engineers, and key stakeholders to translate business requirements into intuitive, user-centered design solutions, ensuring seamless implementation and alignment with product roadmaps.
• Design Advocacy & Best Practices: Champion user-centered design principles throughout the organization, establishing and promoting UX/UI design best practices and contributing to the development of a robust design culture.
• Data-Driven Iteration: Analyze product usage metrics, user feedback, and market trends to inform design decisions, facilitating continuous improvement and optimization of the user experience.
• High-Fidelity Design & Prototyping: Produce detailed wireframes, interactive prototypes, and polished high-fidelity UI designs using industry-standard tools like Figma.
• Domain Expertise Development: Cultivate a strong understanding of power markets, ISO participation, and the specific needs of electric power traders and analysts to inform design solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities are detailed based on the explicit requirements in the input, with an emphasis on the "lead" aspect of the role and the specific context of B2B SaaS, data visualization, and the energy market. The mention of "Product Operations" in the reporting structure supports inferring responsibilities related to process optimization and system implementation (design system).

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Graphic Design, or a closely related field.

Experience:

• A minimum of eight (8) years of progressive experience in UX/UI design.
• Demonstrated experience in building and scaling a design function or establishing design best practices within an organization.
• Proven track record of designing B2B web-based Single Page Application (SaaS) products, with a significant focus on complex data visualization.

Required Skills:

• UX/UI Design Proficiency: Expertise in the full spectrum of UX/UI design, including user research methodologies, information architecture, interaction design, wireframing, prototyping, and visual design.
• Design Tools: Advanced proficiency in Figma or comparable design and prototyping tools (e.g., Sketch, Adobe XD).
• Design System Management: Hands-on experience creating, documenting, and maintaining comprehensive design systems.
• User Research Expertise: Strong ability to plan, conduct, and synthesize findings from various user research methods (interviews, surveys, usability testing).
• Collaboration & Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions, present concepts effectively, and collaborate seamlessly with product managers, engineers, and stakeholders.
• Analytical & Problem-Solving Skills: Robust analytical thinking and problem-solving capabilities, with a user-first mindset and the ability to tackle complex design challenges.
• Data Literacy for Design: Demonstrated ability to understand, interpret, and leverage data insights to inform and validate design decisions, particularly within data-intensive applications.

Preferred Skills:

• Coding Familiarity: Basic understanding or experience with front-end development technologies such as HTML and CSS, to better inform design feasibility and collaboration with engineers.
• Energy Market Knowledge: Familiarity with the energy market, power trading, ISOs, and the specific data nuances of the electric power industry.
• Autonomous Work Ethic: Ability to work independently, take initiative, and drive design projects from conception through to successful delivery.
• Positive & Collaborative Attitude: A proactive and self-driven approach, with a strong capacity for teamwork and contributing positively to a collaborative environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The experience requirement is detailed as "8+ years" based on the "minimum of eight years" and the "Lead" title, suggesting a senior-level individual contributor. The skills are categorized into required and preferred, drawing directly from the input while adding relevant operations-adjacent keywords like "User-Centered Design," "Data Visualization," "Design System Management," and "Data Literacy for Design."

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• End-to-End Case Studies: Showcase at least 2-3 comprehensive case studies demonstrating ownership of the entire design process, from initial problem definition and user research to final UI design and implementation considerations.
• Data Visualization Examples: Highlight specific examples of designing complex data visualizations for web-based applications, showcasing clarity, usability, and effectiveness in presenting intricate information.
• Design System Contribution: Include examples of contributions to or creation of design systems, demonstrating an understanding of component-based design, style guides, and their role in ensuring product consistency.
• Problem-Solving & Impact: Clearly articulate the design challenges faced, the solutions implemented, and the quantifiable impact of your designs on user experience and business objectives (e.g., improved task completion rates, reduced error rates, enhanced user satisfaction).

Process Documentation:

• User Research Synthesis: Demonstrate the ability to document and present user research findings clearly, linking insights directly to design decisions and iterations.
• Design Workflow Articulation: Be prepared to explain your typical design workflow, including how you approach problem definition, ideation, prototyping, testing, and collaboration with engineering and product teams.
• Design System Governance: Provide insights into how you would approach the governance, maintenance, and evolution of a design system to ensure its continued relevance and adoption.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section is built around the explicit need for UX/UI design experience and the mention of creating a design system and conducting user research. The emphasis is on demonstrating process and impact through portfolio artifacts and the ability to articulate workflows, which are critical for senior/lead design roles, especially those focused on establishing practices.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $130,000 - $180,000 Annually

• Methodology: This range is explicitly provided in the job description. It is considered competitive for a Lead UX Product Designer role with 8+ years of experience in a high-cost-of-living area or a remote US position, especially for a specialized B2B SaaS company in the energy sector. The range reflects the senior level, specialized skills in data visualization, and the strategic impact expected from this pivotal role.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Medical insurance plans.
• Retirement Savings: 401(k) Plan with employer matching contributions.
• Work-Life Balance: Flexible vacation policy allowing for ample personal time off.
• Flexible Work Scheduling: Options for flexible work schedules to accommodate personal needs and optimize productivity.
• Professional Development: Encouragement and funding for both formal and informal professional development, including training, conferences, and certifications.

Working Hours:

• Standard full-time hours are expected, likely around 40 hours per week.
• The role offers flexibility in scheduling, allowing for optimization of personal productivity and work-life integration.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary and benefits information is directly extracted from the provided text. The salary range is confirmed as competitive for the specified role and experience level. The benefits are listed with a focus on aspects relevant to attracting and retaining senior talent in tech/operations roles.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Energy Technology / Data Analytics / Financial Technology (FinTech)

• Yes Energy operates at the intersection of the energy sector and financial technology, providing critical data and analytics solutions that inform trading and investment decisions in the North American electrical grid. This unique positioning means the company is at the forefront of supporting the energy transition, optimizing grid stability, and influencing utility pricing. The industry demands high accuracy, real-time data processing, and robust analytical capabilities.

Company Size: Over 350 Employees

• A company of this size offers a dynamic environment. It's large enough to have established processes and resources, including a dedicated Product Operations team, but small enough for individual contributions to have a significant and visible impact. This size often fosters a culture where individuals can influence direction and build new functions, such as a formalized design practice.

Founded: 2008

• Founded in 2008, Yes Energy has over a decade of experience and has established itself as a market leader. This maturity suggests a stable business with proven products and a solid customer base, while still being innovative and growing, as indicated by its international expansion and focus on transformation.

Team Structure:

• Reporting: The Lead UX Product Designer reports directly to the Director of Product Operations. This indicates a focus on operationalizing product development, ensuring efficient processes, and integrating design as a core component of product delivery.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: The role emphasizes close collaboration with Product Managers and Engineers, a standard and essential practice in product development. This suggests a team environment where design is viewed as an integral part of the product lifecycle, not an isolated function.
• Design Team: As the "only Product UX/UI Designer," the role is currently a singular function within the product organization. This presents an opportunity to build out a design team or practice over time, influencing hiring and team structure.

Methodology:

• Customer-Centric Approach: Yes Energy prioritizes listening to and learning from customers, viewing them as business partners. This customer-centric methodology is fundamental to their success and directly influences product development priorities.
• Innovation & Problem-Solving: The company culture embraces innovation and tackling tough challenges, aligning well with the demands of designing for complex data and high-stakes decision-making environments.
• High Standards & Performance: A culture of "high standards people" combines passion, pride, hard work, and rewards, suggesting a performance-driven yet supportive environment.
• Team-Focused & Flat Hierarchy: Operations are conducted in small teams with a flat hierarchy, promoting direct contribution and accessibility.

Company Website: https://www.yesenergy.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company context is derived from the "ABOUT YES ENERGY" section, highlighting its industry leadership, size, founding date, and core values. The reporting structure to "Director of Product Operations" is a key piece of information used to categorize the role and infer operational aspects of design.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Lead Individual Contributor / Design Strategist

• This role is positioned as a senior or lead individual contributor, responsible for setting the strategic direction for UX/UI design within Yes Energy. It's an opportunity to define and build a design practice from the ground up, establishing processes, standards, and potentially future design team members. The emphasis is on strategic impact, hands-on execution, and influencing the overall product development methodology.

Reporting Structure:

• Direct reporting to the Director of Product Operations places the design function within the operational framework of product development. This means the role will likely be deeply involved in process optimization, system implementation (design system), and ensuring design deliverables seamlessly integrate into the product lifecycle and engineering workflows.

Operations Impact:

• The Lead UX Product Designer's impact will be profound, directly influencing the usability, efficiency, and adoption of Yes Energy's analytics software. By creating intuitive interfaces and effective data visualizations, this role will empower users to make better trading and investment decisions, ultimately contributing to the company's value proposition and market leadership in the competitive energy sector. The success of the product directly correlates with the effectiveness of the user experience.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership Expansion: Potential to grow into a Design Manager or Head of Design role as the company scales and the design function expands. This would involve hiring, mentoring, and leading a team of designers.
• Product Strategy Influence: Opportunity to significantly influence product strategy through user insights and design thinking, becoming a key advisor to product and engineering leadership.
• Domain Specialization: Deepen expertise in the energy markets and power trading domain, becoming a recognized subject matter expert at the intersection of design and energy analytics.
• Process Improvement & Innovation: Lead initiatives to continuously improve product development processes, incorporating advanced design methodologies and technologies.

📝 Enhancement Note: The career growth analysis focuses on the "Lead" aspect of the title and the unique situation of being the "only" designer. It emphasizes the opportunity to build and lead, as well as the strategic impact within an operational context.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid Work Model

• Yes Energy supports a hybrid work environment, allowing for a blend of in-office collaboration and remote work flexibility. This model is designed to offer the best of both worlds: face-to-face interaction for strategic discussions and team building, combined with the autonomy and focus that remote work can provide.

Office Location(s):

• Preferred: Boulder, CO
• Other Hubs: Glendora, CA; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Richmond, VA
• Remote: Remote - US
• This distributed model offers significant flexibility for candidates across the US, with a preference for those able to engage with a specific office hub for in-person collaboration.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: The hybrid model implies the availability of collaborative workspaces within Yes Energy's offices, designed for team meetings, brainstorming sessions, and cross-functional work.
• Technology & Tools: As a tech company, expect access to modern design software, collaboration platforms, and robust IT infrastructure necessary for efficient remote and in-office work. Proficiency in Figma is a must, suggesting a tech-forward design environment.
• Team Interaction: Opportunities for regular interaction with product managers, engineers, and potentially other stakeholders, both virtually and in person, fostering a connected and integrated team dynamic.

Work Schedule:

• The role is full-time, with standard working hours likely aligned with US business times.
• Flexibility in scheduling is a key benefit, allowing individuals to manage their workday effectively, balancing personal commitments with project deadlines and team collaboration needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The work environment details are based on the stated location options (including remote) and the "Hybrid" work arrangement. The emphasis is on how this setup supports collaboration and offers flexibility, which are important considerations for design professionals.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio by a recruiter or hiring manager to assess basic qualifications and alignment with the role.
• Portfolio Review & Discussion: A dedicated session where you will walk through your portfolio, discussing your design process, problem-solving approach, and the impact of your work, particularly focusing on data visualization and B2B SaaS. Be prepared to elaborate on your experience building design systems and conducting user research.
• Hiring Manager Interview: An in-depth discussion with the Director of Product Operations to explore your experience, leadership potential, understanding of design strategy, and cultural fit.
• Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers and Engineers to assess your collaboration skills, ability to communicate design intent, and how you integrate with development workflows.
• Practical Exercise/Case Study: Potentially a design challenge or case study, either take-home or live, designed to evaluate your problem-solving skills, design thinking, and ability to apply UX principles to a specific business problem relevant to Yes Energy's domain.
• Final Interview: May involve higher-level stakeholders to confirm overall fit and strategic alignment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 of your strongest case studies that best showcase your end-to-end UX/UI process, with a clear emphasis on B2B SaaS products and complex data visualization.
• Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the design process you followed, the key decisions you made (and why), and the measurable outcomes or impact of your design.
• Highlight Design System Work: If you have experience creating or contributing to design systems, dedicate specific slides or sections to explain its structure, benefits, and your contribution.
• Showcase Data Visualization Skills: Provide concrete examples of how you designed interfaces to effectively display and interact with complex data sets. Explain your rationale for chart types, information hierarchy, and user interaction patterns.
• Demonstrate User-Centricity: Clearly explain how user research informed your design decisions and how you validated your solutions through testing.
• Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, use data and metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., improved conversion rates, task completion times, user satisfaction scores).

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Research Yes Energy, its products, the energy market, and the challenges faced by traders and analysts in real-time grid data management.
• Focus on Process: Be prepared to articulate your design process clearly and logically. The interviewers will be interested in how you arrive at solutions, not just the final designs.
• Data Visualization Principles: Refresh your knowledge of best practices for data visualization, especially for financial or operational data. Consider how to make complex information digestible and actionable.
• Collaboration Scenarios: Think about how you would collaborate with engineers and product managers. Prepare examples of how you've effectively communicated design intent and resolved design-related conflicts.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section details a typical interview process for a lead design role, with specific advice tailored to the requirements of UX/UI design, data visualization, B2B SaaS, and the energy market context. The portfolio review tips are designed to guide candidates on how to best present their work to meet the expectations of this role.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Design Tools:

• Figma: This is explicitly mentioned as a required tool, indicating it's the primary platform for wireframing, prototyping, high-fidelity design, and likely collaboration within the design team and with engineers.
• Prototyping Tools: While Figma handles prototyping, candidates familiar with other dedicated prototyping tools (e.g., InVision, ProtoPie) might have complementary skills.

User Research & Testing Tools:

• Survey Platforms: Tools like SurveyMonkey, Typeform, or Google Forms for creating and distributing user surveys.
• Usability Testing Platforms: Experience with tools like UserTesting.com, Lookback, or Maze for conducting remote usability tests and gathering session recordings.
• Interviewing Tools: Proficiency in video conferencing tools (e.g., Zoom, Google Meet) for conducting user interviews.

Design System Management:

• Component Libraries: Familiarity with managing and organizing design tokens, components, and style guides within Figma or a dedicated design system platform.
• Documentation Tools: Experience with tools for documenting design system guidelines (e.g., Zeroheight, Storybook – though less common for pure UX/UI designers, understanding their purpose is beneficial).

Collaboration & Project Management:

• Jira: Commonly used by engineering and product teams for task management and bug tracking; designers often use it to track design implementation status.
• Confluence: For documentation, knowledge sharing, and design system documentation.
• Slack/Microsoft Teams: For real-time communication and team collaboration.

Analytics & Reporting (for Design Insights):

• Product Analytics Tools: Familiarity with tools like Google Analytics, Amplitude, Mixpanel, or Pendo to understand user behavior, track feature adoption, and identify areas for design improvement.
• Data Visualization Tools: While not designing in them, understanding how data is presented in tools like Tableau, Power BI, or even within Yes Energy's own product can inform design.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section extrapolates from the explicit mention of Figma and the general requirements of a UX/UI role. It includes common tools for research, collaboration, and the operational aspects of design (like analytics for user behavior), which are relevant to a role reporting into Product Operations.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Focus ("Saying Yes"): A core value is prioritizing customer needs and success, viewing them as partners. This means designs should directly address user pain points and contribute to their business objectives.
• Innovation & Problem-Solving: A strong emphasis on tackling tough challenges and seeking innovative solutions is embedded in the culture, encouraging creative approaches to complex design problems.
• High Standards & Excellence: The company values high performance, combining passion and pride with hard work. This translates to an expectation of quality in design deliverables and a commitment to excellence.
• Collaboration & Teamwork: A "team-focused" approach with a flat hierarchy means designers are expected to work collaboratively, share knowledge, and contribute across adjacent areas.
• Continuous Growth & Learning: The culture promotes constant learning and professional development, aligning with the need for designers to stay updated on trends and technologies.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: The role is designed for deep integration with Product Management and Engineering. Collaboration is expected to be direct, communicative, and focused on shared product goals.
• Open Communication: The flat hierarchy and team focus suggest an environment where open communication, feedback exchange, and constructive debate are encouraged.
• Agile Environment: Given the SaaS nature and focus on product operations, it's highly probable that the teams operate within an Agile or iterative development framework, requiring flexible and responsive collaboration.
• Knowledge Sharing: The emphasis on continuous growth implies a culture that values sharing insights, best practices, and lessons learned across teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section is directly synthesized from the "Culture" section of the provided text, focusing on how the stated values and operational methodologies would manifest in the daily work and collaboration of a Lead UX Product Designer.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Establishing Design Practice: As the sole designer, a primary challenge will be building and formalizing the UX/UI function, including processes, standards, and potentially advocating for future team growth.
• Complex Data Visualization: Designing intuitive and effective user interfaces for highly complex, real-time data in the energy market presents a significant technical and design challenge.
• Balancing User Needs with Business Goals: Continuously ensuring that user-centered design principles are balanced with aggressive business objectives and technical constraints within a fast-paced environment.
• Cross-Functional Alignment: Effectively communicating design value and securing buy-in from stakeholders across engineering, product, and business units, especially in a company with a strong engineering-centric background.
• Remote/Hybrid Collaboration: Managing effective design collaboration and maintaining team cohesion across a distributed and hybrid workforce.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Domain Expertise: Opportunity to become a deep subject matter expert in energy markets and power trading analytics, a niche and valuable skill set.
• Design System Leadership: Gain extensive experience in building and scaling a design system, a highly sought-after skill for senior designers.
• Strategic Influence: Play a pivotal role in shaping product strategy and influencing the company's design direction and culture.
• Mentorship & Team Building: Potential to mentor junior designers (if hired) and build a design team from the ground up.
• Industry Exposure: Work with cutting-edge data and analytics in a critical industry sector, contributing to energy transition and market efficiency.

📝 Enhancement Note: Challenges and growth opportunities are derived from the nature of the role (sole designer, complex domain, hybrid work) and the company's stated culture of growth and innovation.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Design Vision & Strategy: "How would you approach building a design system and establishing design best practices from scratch at Yes Energy?" "What are your core principles for designing complex data visualizations for B2B SaaS products?" "How do you balance user needs with business objectives when faced with conflicting priorities?"
• Collaboration & Process: "Describe your process for working with product managers and engineers. How do you ensure design intent is accurately implemented?" "How would you gather and incorporate user feedback into your design iterations in a hybrid/remote environment?"
• Problem-Solving & Impact: "Walk us through a challenging design problem you solved related to data visualization or a complex B2B application. What was your approach, and what was the outcome?" "How do you measure the success of your designs, and what metrics do you prioritize?"

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you most about Yes Energy and the energy analytics industry?" "How do you align with our company values of customer focus, innovation, and high standards?" "How would you contribute to fostering a user-centered design culture within the company?"
• "Given our flat hierarchy and team-focused approach, how do you see yourself collaborating within our existing structure?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Focus on Impact: For each case study, clearly state the problem, your role, the solution, and the tangible results or impact. Use metrics whenever possible.
• Showcase Process: Be prepared to walk through your entire design process for each project, explaining your rationale at each step, especially for user research and data visualization choices.
• Design System Deep Dive: If you have design system experience, be ready to discuss its architecture, components, and how you managed its evolution.
• Data Visualization Clarity: Explain how you made complex data understandable and actionable for users. Discuss your choices in chart types, information hierarchy, and interaction design.
• Conciseness and Clarity: Present your work clearly and concisely, respecting the time allocated. Be ready for in-depth questions but avoid unnecessary jargon.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation questions are crafted to align with the core responsibilities, required skills, and company context, focusing on strategy, process, and impact, which are critical for a lead-level role.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit Your Application: Utilize the provided link to submit your resume and a cover letter (if optional but recommended).
• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest end-to-end case studies that highlight your experience in B2B SaaS, complex data visualization, and design system creation. Ensure your portfolio clearly articulates your process, problem-solving approach, and measurable impact.
• Tailor Your Resume: Optimize your resume to emphasize keywords related to UX/UI design, data visualization, B2B SaaS, Figma, design systems, user research, and any experience with building design functions or working in regulated/data-intensive industries. Quantify your achievements.
• Prepare for the Portfolio Walkthrough: Practice presenting your portfolio, focusing on storytelling, articulating your design decisions, and demonstrating how your work aligns with Yes Energy's mission and the requirements of this role. Be ready to discuss your experience with data literacy for design.
• Research Yes Energy: Familiarize yourself with Yes Energy's products, their market position in energy analytics, and their company culture. Understand their customer base and the challenges they help solve to better tailor your responses and demonstrate genuine interest.

⚠️ 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.