Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer

Company: Planning Center

Location: Remote (USA)

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / UX Design

Date Posted: March 26, 2026

Experience Level: Mid-Level (4+ years)

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Design and own user experiences for the Church Center product, from initial problem framing through to shipped product, ensuring simplicity and intuitiveness for users.

• Collaborate closely with Product Managers, Engineers, QA, Support Specialists, and fellow UX Designers to deliver high-quality, user-centric solutions.

• Lead the evolution and maintenance of Doxy, Planning Center's design system for Church Center, ensuring consistency and scalability across the product suite.

• Advocate for design strategy and best practices within cross-functional teams, driving a user-focused approach to product development.

• Actively leverage AI tools to enhance the design process while applying critical judgment to ensure effective and appropriate application.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is specifically focused on UX/UI design for a SaaS product serving churches, with a strong emphasis on design systems and collaborative product development. The "Product Designer" title, combined with responsibilities like "problem framing," "advocating for design strategy," and "contributing to our design system," clearly places this within the Product Design domain, requiring a blend of user experience expertise and system-level thinking. The explicit mention of "Church Center product" and "Doxy, our design system" provides crucial context for potential applicants.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Partner with Product Managers and Engineering Managers to define product strategy, user journeys, and feature requirements, ensuring alignment with business objectives and user needs.

• Conduct user research, usability testing, and competitive analysis to gather insights that inform design decisions and validate design solutions.

• Create wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups using design tools like Figma to effectively communicate design concepts and user flows.

• Develop and maintain comprehensive documentation for the Doxy design system, including component specifications, usage guidelines, and accessibility standards.

• Facilitate design critiques and workshops, providing constructive feedback and incorporating insights from peers and stakeholders to elevate design quality.

• Champion accessibility standards throughout the design process, ensuring that all products are usable by individuals of all abilities.

• Contribute to the continuous improvement of design processes and workflows, identifying opportunities for increased efficiency and effectiveness within the UX team.

• Translate complex problems into elegant, user-friendly solutions that enhance engagement and satisfaction for church administrators and congregants.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities listed are inferred based on the standard expectations for a Product Designer with 4+ years of experience in a SaaS environment, particularly one with a strong design system focus. The emphasis on "problem framing," "craft depth," and "systems thinking" from the original description directly translates into responsibilities involving user research, ideation, prototyping, and design system contribution. Collaboration with PMs and Engineers is a critical component of product design roles, as is the advocacy for design strategy.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience, is strongly preferred.

Experience: Minimum of 4 years of professional UX/UI design experience, with a demonstrated track record of successfully shipping digital products.

Required Skills:

• Proven experience in UX/UI design, showcasing both craft depth and systems thinking.

• Ability to take ownership of design projects from conception to completion and drive them forward independently.

• Strong collaborative skills, with a history of building effective working relationships with Product Managers, Engineers, and fellow designers.

• Experience in exploring products, asking insightful questions, and conducting thorough research prior to design discussions.

• Comfort and proficiency in navigating ambiguity and moving forward with incomplete information.

• Active and effective utilization of AI tools within the design process, with sound judgment on when and how to apply them.

• Demonstrated ability to communicate design vision and language through design systems.

• Genuine curiosity about users and a commitment to understanding their needs and behaviors.

• Proficiency in industry-standard design and prototyping tools, such as Figma.

• Experience designing for native mobile applications.

• Familiarity with design systems and their implementation through Figma libraries.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in the non-profit or faith-based sector, understanding the unique needs of church organizations.

• Familiarity with web product design principles and best practices.

• Experience with user research methodologies and usability testing.

• Knowledge of accessibility best practices (WCAG).

📝 Enhancement Note: The required skills are directly extracted and expanded from the "Who We Look For" and "Requirements" sections of the provided text. The "4+ years of UX/UI design experience" is explicitly stated. The emphasis on "craft depth and systems thinking," "ownership," "collaboration," "ambiguity," "AI utilization," and "design systems" are all key skills highlighted in the source material and have been incorporated. "Familiarity with design systems and Figma libraries" and "experience working in product design, particularly in designing native mobile apps" are also directly stated requirements.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A curated selection of design projects that clearly demonstrate both craft depth and systems thinking.

• Case studies that illustrate your process from initial problem framing and user research through to the final shipped product.

• Examples of your contribution to or creation of design systems, highlighting your understanding of component-based design and scalability.

• Projects that showcase your ability to collaborate effectively with Product Managers and Engineers, detailing your role in cross-functional decision-making.

• Evidence of your ability to work with and within ambiguity, showing how you navigated uncertainty to deliver design solutions.

Process Documentation:

• Detailed explanations of your design process for key projects, including research methodologies, ideation techniques, and iteration strategies.

• Documentation of how you have contributed to or managed design system components, including style guides, pattern libraries, and accessibility considerations.

• Examples of how you advocated for design strategy and user needs within product development cycles.

• Case studies that quantify the impact of your design work, ideally with metrics related to user engagement, task completion, or customer satisfaction.

📝 Enhancement Note: Portfolio requirements are inferred based on the explicit mentions of "Portfolio demonstrating craft depth and systems thinking" and the overall emphasis on design systems, AI utilization, and collaborative product development. The expectation is that applicants will showcase their process, not just the final output, with a focus on how they approach problem-solving and contribute to scalable design solutions.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $132,000 - $168,000 annually.

Benefits:

• Compensation: Competitive pay, 401(k) contribution, charitable giving match (up to $2,000/year), continued education allowance, and a coworking stipend.

• Health & Wellness: Generous paid sick and vacation time, $200/month for physical fitness and mental health, 95% medical premium coverage, and 100% dental premium coverage.

• Work-Life Balance: Paid Fridays year-round, a month-long sabbatical every five years, week off between Christmas and New Year's, a week to serve with a globally focused non-profit, and two weeks of paid vacation (increasing over time).

Working Hours: While not explicitly stated as a fixed number, the company culture emphasizes doing their best work and encourages rest and recharge, suggesting a focus on productivity and outcomes rather than strict hourly adherence. A standard full-time workweek of approximately 40 hours is implied.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range and specific benefits are directly provided in the "Benefits and Compensation" section of the job description. The "working hours" are inferred based on standard full-time employment and the company's emphasis on work-life balance and well-being, suggesting a flexible yet productive approach.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software/Technology, specifically serving the non-profit sector (churches).

Company Size: Established in 2006, supporting over 90,000 churches, indicating a significant and growing user base. The company is independent, debt-free, and has no outside investors, suggesting a stable and mission-driven environment.

Founded: 2006. Planning Center has a long-standing presence in the market, indicating stability and experience in building long-term software solutions for their niche.

Team Structure:

• The UX Design team is integrated within product development, working alongside Product Managers and Engineering Managers.

• Design critiques are held weekly, fostering a collaborative and quality-focused environment.

• Designers are expected to own experiences end-to-end across connected products.

Methodology:

• User-Centricity: A strong focus on "Focus on Customer Impact," advocating for customer interests in decision-making and tracing project goals back to positive customer value.

• Iterative Development: "Think Holistically, Work Iteratively" emphasizes practical steps towards goals with awareness of the broader context, working small and thinking big.

• Collaborative Design: Weekly design critiques and cross-discipline collaboration are core to the UX team's workflow.

• AI Integration: Active use of AI in the design process is encouraged, requiring thoughtful application and judgment.

Company Website: planningcenter.com

📝 Enhancement Note: Company context is derived from the "About Planning Center" section, highlighting their mission, financial stability, and product focus. The "Core Values" are directly used to describe the company's methodology and cultural drivers relevant to operations and design professionals. The team structure is inferred from the description of how designers work within product teams.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a mid-level Product Designer, requiring 4+ years of experience. It offers significant ownership and the opportunity to lead aspects of a core product and its design system. This level is typically characterized by the ability to work independently, take initiative, and contribute strategically to product development.

Reporting Structure: The Product Designer will work day-to-day alongside their Product PM and Engineering Manager, staying plugged into a UX team that conducts weekly design critiques. While not explicitly stated, they likely report to a UX Design Manager or Director of Design, with collaboration across multiple product teams.

Operations Impact: The Product Designer's impact is measured by the quality and effectiveness of the user experience they craft for the Church Center product, directly influencing how churches communicate, connect, and manage information. Their contributions to the design system (Doxy) also have a broad impact, ensuring consistency and efficiency across Planning Center's suite of products.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Opportunity to take a leading role in evolving the Doxy design system, potentially growing into a Design System specialist or lead role.

• Product Strategy: Deep involvement in problem framing and product strategy for a core product, offering growth in strategic thinking and product ownership.

• Skill Development: Continuous learning through collaboration with experienced peers, weekly critiques, and potential for further education through the company's allowance.

• Cross-Functional Expertise: Gaining experience working closely with Product Management and Engineering, enhancing understanding of the full product development lifecycle.

• Mentorship: Potential to mentor junior designers as they progress in their careers, and to be mentored by senior design leadership.

📝 Enhancement Note: This analysis is based on the stated experience level (4+ years), the responsibilities (owning experiences, leading design system evolution), and the general context of a growing SaaS company. The "Operations Career Level" is interpreted as the "Product Designer" career track within the company's structure.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully Remote, with a requirement for employees to reside in the United States. The company does not have a central office for day-to-day work but convenes its team three times a year at its main office in Carlsbad, CA, for in-person collaboration and team building.

Office Location(s): While the role is remote, the company's main office is located in Carlsbad, CA, where employees are expected to travel three times annually.

Workspace Context:

• Remote Collaboration: Heavy reliance on digital collaboration tools such as Asana, Slack, Notion, and Zoom for daily work and communication.

• In-Person Connection: Scheduled in-person gatherings (three times a year) at the Carlsbad, CA office are designed to foster team relationships and deeper collaboration.

• Supportive Environment: The company provides a coworking stipend, indicating support for employees establishing effective remote workspaces.

• Flexibility: The remote nature of the role allows for flexibility in managing personal work environments.

Work Schedule: The role is full-time, with an implied standard workweek. However, the company culture emphasizes "doing their best work" and provides generous time off, suggesting a focus on results and work-life balance rather than strict adherence to a 9-to-5 schedule.

📝 Enhancement Note: The work environment is described as fully remote with specific requirements for US residency. The information about company gatherings and the use of collaboration tools is directly from the provided text. The "workspace context" is inferred from the tools mentioned and the company's emphasis on collaboration and employee well-being.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Step One: Application Submission: Submit a resume and complete application questions, which are viewed as an opportunity for candidates to express themselves authentically, akin to a cover letter.

• Step Two: Initial Phone Screen: A conversation with the Talent Acquisition team to discuss work, culture, and mutual fit.

• Step Three: Online Design Exercise: An assessment to evaluate the candidate's design approach and skills, likely a take-home exercise or a timed online challenge.

• Step Four: UX Leadership Interviews: Zoom interviews with the UX Design Manager, Director of Design, and another UX Design Manager to assess strategic thinking and design leadership potential.

• Step Five: Team Member Interviews: Zoom interviews with team members who directly support the Church Center product, focusing on day-to-day collaboration and team fit.

• Step Six: Offer Extension: Pending successful completion of all previous steps.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Craft & Systems Focus: Highlight projects demonstrating strong visual craft and a deep understanding of systems thinking. Clearly articulate your role in building or maintaining design systems.

• Process Narrative: For each project, clearly outline your design process: problem identification, research, ideation, prototyping, testing, and iteration. Use storytelling to explain your decisions and the impact of your work.

• AI & Ambiguity: Be prepared to discuss how you've used AI in your design process and how you navigate ambiguity in projects. Provide specific examples.

• Collaboration Evidence: Showcase how you've worked effectively with Product Managers and Engineers, detailing your contributions to cross-functional decision-making.

• Impact Metrics: Whenever possible, quantify the impact of your designs using relevant metrics (e.g., user satisfaction, task completion rates, engagement improvements).

• Company Alignment: Ensure your portfolio and presentation reflect an understanding of Planning Center's mission and core values, particularly "Focus on Customer Impact" and "Think Holistically, Work Iteratively."

Challenge Preparation:

• Design Exercise: Thoroughly review the company's products (Planning Center, Church Center) and understand their user base. Be prepared to tackle a design problem that requires both creative problem-solving and an understanding of design systems.

• Case Study Presentation: Practice presenting your portfolio case studies concisely and engagingly, focusing on your thought process, collaboration, and the outcomes achieved.

• Behavioral Questions: Prepare to answer questions related to your experience with ambiguity, collaboration, ownership, and the use of AI in design, drawing on specific examples from your past roles.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process steps are directly outlined in the "The Hiring Process" section. The portfolio review and challenge preparation tips are inferred based on the requirements and responsibilities, emphasizing the specific skills and experiences Planning Center is seeking, such as design systems, AI, collaboration, and customer impact.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (explicitly mentioned for design systems and libraries).

• Collaboration & Project Management: Asana, Slack, Notion, Zoom (explicitly mentioned for daily collaboration).

• Design System: Doxy (Planning Center's internal design system for Church Center).

Analytics & Reporting: While not explicitly stated, a Product Designer in this role would likely interact with analytics tools to understand user behavior and product performance. This could include tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, or Amplitude, used to track user engagement, feature adoption, and conversion rates.

CRM & Automation: Not directly relevant to the Product Designer role itself, but awareness of how user data is managed and how features impact customer journeys within a CRM context could be beneficial.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary tools are directly listed in the job description. Analytics and CRM tools are inferred based on standard practices for Product Designers working on SaaS products, where understanding user data and customer journeys is crucial for informed design decisions.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Engage with Humility: Approach all interactions with openness, receptiveness, and a willingness to listen and learn from colleagues at all levels. Speak thoughtfully and kindly.

• Invest in our team: Contribute actively to team success through effective communication, making space for diverse perspectives, sharing knowledge, and asking clarifying questions.

• Do Our Best Work: Strive for continuous improvement in individual output and contribute to the team's overall success and growth. This implies a commitment to quality and excellence in design.

• Focus on Customer Impact: Prioritize customer needs in decision-making, ensuring that every project goal is linked to creating positive value for users.

• Think Holistically, Work Iteratively: Approach challenges with an awareness of the broader context while taking practical, iterative steps towards goals. Embrace a "think big, work small" mentality.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Designers work closely with Product Managers and Engineers as peers, not just executors, indicating a highly integrated and collaborative development process.

• Design Critiques: Weekly design critiques are a formal part of the process, encouraging open feedback, constructive criticism, and shared learning among designers.

• Knowledge Sharing: The value "Invest in our team" suggests a culture where knowledge sharing and mutual support are encouraged, likely through tools like Slack or Notion for documentation and discussion.

• Proactive Engagement: The expectation that candidates "come to conversations already having done their homework" implies a proactive and engaged collaboration style.

📝 Enhancement Note: The core values are directly quoted from the job description and are central to understanding the company's culture and how individuals are expected to operate within the team. The collaboration style is inferred from these values and the description of how the UX team functions.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Ambiguity in Product Evolution: Navigating evolving product requirements and user needs in a dynamic SaaS environment requires adaptability and strong problem-framing skills.

• Balancing Craft and Systems: Effectively balancing the creation of innovative, high-craft user experiences with the need for consistency and scalability through a design system.

• Cross-Disciplinary Alignment: Ensuring alignment and effective communication across diverse teams (Product, Engineering, QA, Support) to deliver cohesive product experiences.

• Leveraging AI Judiciously: Integrating AI tools into the design workflow while maintaining critical judgment and ensuring the AI enhances, rather than dictates, the design process.

• Remote Collaboration Dynamics: Maintaining strong team cohesion and effective collaboration in a fully remote setting, relying heavily on digital tools and intentional communication.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Design System Leadership: Opportunity to take a leading role in developing and evolving Doxy, the design system, offering a path to specialize in design systems.

• Product Strategy Acumen: Deep involvement in problem framing and product strategy for a key product, enhancing strategic thinking and product ownership skills.

• Continuous Education: Access to a generous allowance for continued education, supporting professional development through courses, workshops, or conferences.

• Mentorship & Peer Learning: Learning from experienced UX leadership and peers through weekly design critiques and collaborative projects.

• Industry Exposure: Potential to work with a product that serves a large and diverse user base (churches), offering unique insights into user needs and organizational challenges.

📝 Enhancement Note: Challenges are identified based on the stated requirements for handling ambiguity, collaborating across disciplines, and leveraging AI. Growth opportunities are derived from the role's responsibilities, such as leading the design system evolution and the company's explicit offering of a continued education allowance.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to navigate significant ambiguity in a design project. How did you proceed, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on your process, problem-solving, and ability to move forward without complete information).

• "How do you approach collaborating with Product Managers and Engineers? Provide an example of a successful partnership and how you ensured alignment." (Highlight your peer-level collaboration skills and contribution to cross-functional decision-making).

• "Walk us through a project where you significantly contributed to or created a design system. What were the key challenges, and how did you ensure its adoption and effectiveness?" (Focus on your systems thinking, documentation, and advocacy for design standards).

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Based on your research, how do Planning Center's core values resonate with your own work philosophy? Specifically, how would you embody 'Focus on Customer Impact' in this role?" (Showcase your understanding of their mission and how you align with their culture).

• "What are your expectations for collaboration within a remote team environment, and how do you ensure effective communication and engagement?" (Address your preparedness for remote work and your proactive communication strategies).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Storytelling: Structure your case studies as narratives, starting with the problem, detailing your process (research, ideation, iteration), showcasing your design solutions (wireframes, mockups, prototypes), and concluding with the impact and learnings.

• Focus on Process & Rationale: Clearly articulate why you made certain design decisions. Explain your thought process, the research that informed your choices, and how you collaborated with others.

• Highlight Systems Thinking & AI: Explicitly call out your contributions to design systems and any instances where AI was utilized, explaining the benefits and your critical judgment.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, present metrics that demonstrate the success of your designs. If exact metrics aren't available, discuss the intended impact and how you would measure it.

• Conciseness & Clarity: Be prepared to present your most impactful projects within the allotted time, ensuring clarity and avoiding jargon where possible. Be ready to dive deeper into specific aspects upon request.

📝 Enhancement Note: These questions and strategies are tailored to the specific requirements and culture of Planning Center as outlined in the job description, focusing on design systems, AI, remote collaboration, customer impact, and the company's core values.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on greenhouse.io.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your resume and portfolio to highlight your experience in UX/UI design, craft depth, systems thinking, and experience with design systems, specifically mentioning Figma and AI utilization.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly states your 4+ years of relevant experience and details your accomplishments in product design, focusing on demonstrable impact and collaborative work.

• Application Questions: Answer the application questions thoughtfully and in your own words, treating them as an opportunity to showcase your personality, motivations, and alignment with Planning Center's values, similar to a cover letter.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Planning Center's products (Planning Center, Church Center) and their mission. Understand their core values and consider how your design philosophy aligns with them.

• Interview Preparation: Prepare to discuss your design process, your experience with ambiguity, your approach to collaboration, and your use of AI, drawing from specific examples in your portfolio.

⚠️ 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.