Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer

Company: Adaption

Location: New York, New York, United States (Remote OK)

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / UX/UI / GTM Operations

Date Posted: May 01, 2026

Experience Level: Mid-Level (4+ years)

Remote Status: Remote OK

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the visual design and product direction for AI products, focusing on creating functional, differentiated, and impactful interfaces.

• Drive the end-to-end design process, from concept and prototyping to user experience definition and final launch, with significant ownership.

• Invent and define new interaction paradigms for human-AI interaction, pushing beyond current conventions to create intuitive and natural user experiences.

• Collaborate closely with a tight-knit design team, researchers, and engineers to explore innovative interactions and bring them to life through rapid prototyping and iteration.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Product Designer," the emphasis on "bridging the gap between design vision and technical implementation," "owning end-to-end impact," and "collaborating closely with researchers and engineers" suggests a role that requires strong operational understanding of the product development lifecycle, making it relevant to GTM operations through its impact on product adoption and user engagement. The company's focus on "efficient intelligence that evolves in real-time" also implies a need for design that supports scalable and adaptable systems, a key GTM consideration.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Spearhead the visual design and product direction for AI interfaces, ensuring they are not only user-friendly but also distinctive and impactful.

• Partner closely with UX researchers and engineers to explore and develop innovative interaction models that redefine how users engage with AI and our products.

• Take full ownership of the design lifecycle, actively contributing to design decisions, shaping user experience, and driving execution from initial concept to successful product launch.

• Invent and champion novel human-AI interaction paradigms that challenge existing norms and establish new standards for intuitive and natural AI system usage.

• Rapidly design, refine, and ship user interfaces, leveraging prototyping and iterative development to test and validate design concepts.

• Contribute to the development and maintenance of design systems, ensuring consistency and scalability across the product suite.

• Actively participate in cross-functional team meetings, providing design insights and advocating for user-centric solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a significant degree of autonomy and ownership, common in mid-level to senior operations roles where individuals are expected to drive initiatives and influence strategic decisions. The emphasis on "shaping user experience" and "driving execution" points to a need for strong project management and stakeholder alignment skills, typical of operations professionals.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong academic foundation in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Computer Science, or a related field is beneficial.

Experience: A minimum of 4+ years of professional experience as a Product Designer, with a demonstrable track record of shipping successful digital products.

Required Skills:

• Strong portfolio showcasing comprehensive UX, UI, and interaction design expertise.

• Proficient in core design principles, including typography, layout, color theory, and motion design.

• Proven experience working effectively across the design-engineering boundary, including building interactive prototypes and contributing to design systems.

• Excellent problem-solving capabilities, with the ability to dissect complex user needs and translate them into elegant design solutions.

• Exceptional communication skills, adept at articulating complex design ideas and rationale clearly to diverse stakeholders.

• Demonstrated ability to thrive in fast-paced, high-ownership environments, adapting quickly to evolving project requirements.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with design systems and component libraries for scalable product development.

• Familiarity with user research methodologies and the ability to translate research findings into actionable design improvements.

• Experience designing for AI-powered applications or complex data visualization tools.

• Proficiency in animation and micro-interaction design to enhance user engagement.

• Understanding of front-end development principles (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) to better collaborate with engineering teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for 4+ years of experience and the emphasis on "ownership" and "driving execution" suggest a role that expects a candidate to operate with a degree of independence similar to that of a Senior Operations Analyst or Manager, focusing on delivering tangible outcomes and process improvements within the product design domain.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A curated selection of case studies that clearly demonstrate your end-to-end product design process, from problem identification to solution implementation and impact.

• Visual examples of UI design, showcasing strong typography, layout, and attention to detail in crafting user interfaces.

• Interaction design examples that illustrate your ability to create intuitive and engaging user flows and micro-interactions.

• Prototypes (e.g., Figma, InVision, Adobe XD) that effectively communicate design concepts and user journeys.

Process Documentation:

• Showcase how you approach user research and translate findings into design decisions.

• Detail your iterative design process, including how you use feedback from stakeholders and users to refine designs.

• Provide examples of how you have contributed to or managed design systems to ensure consistency and scalability.

• Illustrate your approach to defining and measuring the success of design initiatives, linking them to product or business objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a "strong portfolio showcasing UX, UI, and interaction design skills" and "experience working across the design-engineering boundary" suggests that candidates will need to present a portfolio that not only displays aesthetic quality but also demonstrates a rigorous, process-driven approach to design, akin to how operations professionals showcase process optimization and project success. This includes demonstrating problem-solving methodologies and quantifiable impact.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for Product Designers with 4+ years of experience in New York City, a competitive salary range is estimated between $120,000 to $170,000 annually. This estimate considers the company's focus on frontier AI, the remote-friendly nature of the role, and the high cost of living in major tech hubs.

Benefits:

• Flexible Work: Options for in-person collaboration in the Bay Area, a global remote team structure, and periodic company-wide offsites.

• Adaption Passport: An annual travel stipend to encourage personal exploration and broaden horizons, fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth.

• Lunch Stipend: A weekly allowance for meal delivery or groceries, supporting employee well-being and convenience.

• Well-Being: Comprehensive medical benefits package covering health, dental, and vision, alongside a generous paid time off policy for rest and rejuvenation.

Working Hours: A standard full-time commitment, typically around 40 hours per week, with flexibility to accommodate remote work arrangements and project-specific demands. The emphasis on "high ownership" suggests a focus on results rather than strict adherence to hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is an estimate based on Glassdoor, LinkedIn Salary, and industry reports for Product Designers in New York City with 4+ years of experience. The benefits listed are directly from the job description, enhanced with context relevant to operations professionals who value work-life balance and professional development.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Software Development. Adaption operates at the forefront of AI innovation, focusing on creating "efficient intelligence that evolves in real-time." This positions them within a highly dynamic and rapidly advancing sector.

Company Size: The description implies a growing startup environment. Phrases like "tight knit design team," "talented individuals," and a focus on "talent density" suggest a company that values a high-performing, agile team, likely in the range of 20-100 employees, typical for a company seeking to scale innovative products.

Founded: The founding date is not specified, but the company's vision and focus on "continual adaptation" and "next era of intelligence" suggest a relatively young, forward-thinking organization aiming to disrupt existing AI paradigms.

Team Structure:

• The design team is described as "tight knit," indicating close collaboration and mutual support among its members.

• Cross-disciplinary collaboration is a core tenet, with designers working closely with researchers and engineers to bring innovative ideas to fruition.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: While not explicitly stated, the company's focus on "efficient intelligence" and "real-time adaptation" strongly implies a data-informed approach to product development and design.

• Iterative Development: The mention of "prototyping, and iteration" highlights a commitment to agile methodologies and continuous improvement based on feedback and experimentation.

• User-Centric Innovation: The goal is to empower users and redefine human-AI interaction, indicating a strong user-centric philosophy guiding their design and development efforts.

Company Website: https://adaptionlabs.ai

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on "real-time adaptation" and "evolving intelligence" suggests an operations environment that is highly dynamic and requires agility. For a Product Designer, this means being comfortable with ambiguity and rapid change, a characteristic often found in high-growth startups where operations teams must be equally adaptable.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Mid-Level Product Designer (4+ years experience), requiring significant autonomy and the ability to influence product direction. In an operations context, this equates to a role with substantial individual contribution expectations, project leadership, and the potential to shape processes and outcomes.

Reporting Structure: The Product Designer will likely report to a Head of Design, Design Lead, or potentially a Product Lead, working within a collaborative team structure. The emphasis on "tight knit design team" suggests a supportive reporting relationship where mentorship is available, but significant initiative is expected.

Operations Impact: The Product Designer's impact is crucial for the success of Adaption's AI products. By defining intuitive and innovative user experiences, they directly influence product adoption, user satisfaction, and the overall market perception of Adaption's "adaptable intelligence." This role is key to translating complex AI capabilities into accessible and valuable user solutions, a critical component of Go-To-Market success.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Opportunity to grow into a Senior Product Designer role, taking on more complex projects, mentoring junior designers, and contributing more significantly to design strategy.

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in human-AI interaction design, frontier AI product development, or specific areas like motion design and advanced prototyping.

• Cross-Functional Advancement: Potential to move into related roles such as Product Management, UX Research Lead, or even contributing to GTM strategy with a design-centric perspective, leveraging a deep understanding of user needs and product value proposition.

• Impact on Frontier Technology: Directly contribute to shaping the future of AI interaction, gaining invaluable experience in a cutting-edge field.

📝 Enhancement Note: The growth opportunities emphasize not just career progression within design but also the potential for broader impact within a tech company, aligning with how operations professionals often develop diverse skill sets and move into strategic roles across different departments.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: While the role is "Remote OK" and mentions a "distributed global-first team," the company also mentions "in-person collaboration in the Bay Area" and "quarterly offsites." This suggests a hybrid or flexible model where remote work is the norm, but intentional in-person gatherings are prioritized for team building and intensive collaboration.

Office Location(s): While specific office locations are not detailed, the mention of "Bay Area" implies a potential physical hub for those opting for in-person work. The company also lists "United States," "United Kingdom," and "Europe" as potential remote work locations, indicating a geographically distributed team.

Workspace Context:

• Remote Flexibility: The primary work environment for most will be remote, offering autonomy and flexibility in managing one's workspace and schedule.

• Collaborative Tools: Expect to utilize digital collaboration tools (e.g., Slack, Figma, Miro) extensively to maintain connection and workflow with a distributed team.

• Intentional Collaboration: The emphasis on "quarterly offsites" and "in-person collaboration" suggests a deliberate approach to fostering team cohesion and driving innovation through focused, in-person sessions.

Work Schedule: The role is full-time (40 hours/week) but offers flexibility. The "high ownership" aspect means the focus is on delivering results and meeting project deadlines, rather than strict adherence to a 9-to-5 schedule, which is common for remote and operations-oriented roles.

📝 Enhancement Note: The blend of remote work with intentional in-person collaboration is a modern work environment trend that operations professionals often navigate, requiring strong self-management skills and the ability to engage effectively in both digital and physical collaborative settings.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess foundational skills and experience. Be prepared to articulate your design philosophy and key project contributions concisely.

• Portfolio Presentation & Design Challenge: A deeper dive into your portfolio, likely involving presenting 1-2 case studies in detail. You may also be given a design challenge, either pre-interview or during a live session, to assess your problem-solving and design thinking applied to AI interaction.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with engineers, researchers, and potentially product managers to evaluate your collaboration style, technical understanding, and ability to communicate complex ideas.

• Team/Culture Fit Interview: A conversation to assess alignment with Adaption's values, particularly adaptability, ownership, and a passion for frontier AI.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Process: For each case study, clearly outline the problem, your role, the design process you followed, the challenges encountered, and the final solution. Use visuals to support your narrative.

• Quantify Impact: Where possible, include metrics or outcomes that demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., user engagement improvements, task completion rates, reduction in user errors).

• Highlight Collaboration: Showcase instances where you worked effectively with engineers and researchers, demonstrating your ability to navigate the design-engineering boundary.

• Tailor to AI: Emphasize any experience or interest in designing for AI, human-computer interaction, or complex systems. Clearly articulate your vision for the future of human-AI interaction.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand AI Interaction: Research current trends and challenges in human-AI interaction. Think about how to make AI intuitive, trustworthy, and adaptable.

• Define Scope: If given a broad challenge, clearly define the scope and constraints you are working within.

• Rapid Prototyping: Be prepared to quickly sketch or create low-fidelity prototypes to communicate your ideas effectively.

• Articulate Rationale: Be ready to explain the "why" behind your design decisions, linking them back to user needs and business objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes demonstrating not just design skills but also operational competencies like problem-solving, collaboration, and impact measurement, which are critical for success in operations roles. Preparing a portfolio that clearly articulates process and impact is key.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (highly probable given industry trends and collaboration needs), Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop), InVision, Principle, ProtoPie.

• Collaboration & Communication: Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides).

• Project Management: Jira, Asana, Trello (or similar tools used by engineering and product teams).

Analytics & Reporting:

CRM & Automation:

• Familiarity with how CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) and marketing automation platforms (e.g., Marketo, Pardot) store and use customer data can provide valuable context for designing user experiences that align with broader GTM strategies.

📝 Enhancement Note: The expectation for a Product Designer to be familiar with tools beyond pure design software, touching on project management and analytics, is common and reflects how operations professionals often need to be proficient across a range of technologies to drive efficiency and data-informed decisions.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Adaptability: A core company value, essential for navigating the rapidly evolving AI landscape and for team members to adjust to new challenges and technologies.

• Efficiency: Central to the company's mission of building "efficient intelligence" and expanding access to AI.

• Ownership: Team members are expected to take initiative, drive projects forward, and be accountable for their outcomes.

• Collaboration: A strong emphasis on working together across disciplines to achieve ambitious goals.

• Innovation: A drive to push boundaries and invent new paradigms, particularly in human-AI interaction.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Designers are expected to work seamlessly with researchers and engineers, fostering a culture of shared problem-solving and mutual respect.

• Open Communication: Given the remote-first nature and focus on innovation, an open and transparent communication style is likely encouraged.

• Feedback-Oriented: The iterative nature of design implies a culture where constructive feedback is regularly exchanged and acted upon.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's values—Adaptability, Efficiency, Ownership, Collaboration, and Innovation—are highly resonant with the core principles of effective Revenue and Sales Operations. A candidate demonstrating these values will likely integrate well into both the design team and the broader company culture.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Defining Frontier AI Interaction: The primary challenge is to move beyond existing UI/UX paradigms and invent truly novel ways for humans to interact with evolving AI systems, requiring significant creative problem-solving.

• Bridging Design and Cutting-Edge Tech: Translating highly complex and rapidly evolving AI capabilities into intuitive, user-friendly interfaces presents a unique technical and design challenge.

• Fast-Paced Environment: Working in a startup environment with "high ownership" means managing multiple priorities, adapting to rapid changes, and delivering under pressure.

• Remote Collaboration: Effectively collaborating and fostering innovation within a distributed, remote-first team requires strong communication and digital collaboration skills.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Cutting-Edge AI Exposure: Unparalleled opportunity to work with and shape the future of AI interaction, gaining expertise in a highly sought-after field.

• Mentorship and Skill Development: Collaboration with experienced designers, researchers, and engineers provides ample opportunities for learning and skill enhancement.

• Cross-Disciplinary Learning: Exposure to AI research and engineering challenges can broaden a designer's technical understanding and strategic thinking.

• Impactful Product Development: Contributing to products that aim to redefine intelligence offers a unique chance to make a significant impact on technology and society.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges and growth opportunities highlight the dynamic nature of working with frontier technology in a startup setting, mirroring the challenges and learning curves often encountered by operations professionals tasked with implementing new technologies and strategies.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to design for a complex, rapidly evolving technology. How did you approach it?" (Focus on adaptability, research, and iterative processes.)

• "How would you approach designing an interface for an AI that learns and changes its behavior over time? What are the key considerations?" (Focus on user trust, transparency, and feedback mechanisms.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Adaption's mission to build 'efficient intelligence that evolves in real-time'?" (Show genuine interest and alignment with the company's vision.)

• "How do you stay adaptable and learn new technologies in a fast-paced environment?" (Highlight your proactive learning and growth mindset.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your role, the solution, and the impact. Use a consistent structure.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use high-quality visuals, mockups, and prototypes to demonstrate your design work. Embed interactive prototypes if possible.

• Highlight Your Process: Explain your decision-making process. Why did you choose certain solutions? What trade-offs did you make?

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about specific design choices, technical constraints, and your collaboration with engineering.

• Articulate Vision: Be prepared to discuss your perspective on the future of human-AI interaction and how your design philosophy contributes to it.

📝 Enhancement Note: These questions are designed to probe for critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and an understanding of the unique challenges of designing for AI, mirroring how operations interviews probe for strategic thinking, process optimization, and data-driven decision-making.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Portfolio Customization: Curate your portfolio to highlight 1-2 strong case studies that best demonstrate your product design process, UX/UI skills, interaction design capabilities, and experience working with engineers. Ensure these case studies show your ability to solve complex problems and drive impact.

• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to emphasize your 4+ years of experience, specific achievements in product design, UI/UX, interaction design, prototyping, and any experience with AI or frontier technologies. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare for Portfolio Presentation: Practice walking through your chosen case studies, focusing on your design process, decision-making rationale, collaborative efforts, and the outcomes achieved. Be ready to discuss your vision for human-AI interaction.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Adaption's mission, vision, and values. Understand their focus on "efficient intelligence" and "continual adaptation," and be prepared to articulate how your skills and approach align with their goals.

⚠️ 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.