Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer, AI

Company: Podium

Location: Lehi, Utah, United States

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Product Design / AI / UX

Date Posted: April 20, 2026

Experience Level: Mid-Level (2-5 years)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Design innovative AI agent experiences that seamlessly integrate with human workflows, focusing on natural language interaction and graceful handoffs.

• Define novel interaction models for AI-first business processes, ensuring users understand AI actions and can intervene effectively for optimal outcomes.

• Develop intuitive core business workflows, including data management, queues, and operational dashboards, for users who may not be technically inclined.

• Lead customer research initiatives, including on-site observation and direct interviews, to gather insights that will shape product direction and user experience.

• Drive product strategy and alignment across Product Management, Engineering, and Go-To-Market teams, fostering collaboration in an ambiguous and rapidly evolving AI landscape.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is specifically focused on the design of AI-driven products for local businesses. The emphasis on "AI Employees" and designing human-AI interaction patterns indicates a unique UX challenge requiring expertise in complex system simplification and potentially novel interaction paradigms beyond traditional SaaS. The requirement for prototyping in code suggests a hands-on, technically adept designer is sought.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design the user experience for AI agents, including their presence, communication protocols, and seamless transitions to human operators.

• Develop interaction paradigms for AI-driven workflows, focusing on user comprehension of AI activities and intervention strategies.

• Create user-centric designs for core business operations tools, such as record management, task queues, and performance dashboards.

• Translate complex AI functionalities into simple, intuitive user interfaces for non-technical business operators.

• Establish and elevate design standards for the AI product team and across the broader product surface.

• Conduct primary user research, including field studies and customer interviews, to inform design decisions and product roadmap development.

• Foster alignment and collaboration among Product, Engineering, and Go-To-Market teams to ensure cohesive product development and execution.

• Design user experiences that span across multiple product surfaces and interaction channels, ensuring consistency and efficacy.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a significant focus on defining new interaction patterns for AI, which is a frontier in UX design. The expectation to "lead with customers" and "drive alignment without needing a defined process" suggests a need for strong initiative, research acumen, and influencing skills beyond standard design tasks.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Design, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience: 2-3 years of experience designing complex, user-facing software applications, particularly in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment. Demonstrated experience in defining and establishing new interaction paradigms.

Required Skills:

• Proven ability to design complex software systems with a focus on user simplicity.

• Expertise in defining novel interaction patterns and user experience paradigms.

• Strong capability in conducting user research, including qualitative methods and direct customer engagement.

• Proficiency in translating research insights into actionable product strategies and design specifications.

• Experience designing for core SaaS workflows and operational dashboards.

• Ability to prototype designs, ideally with code (e.g., Cursor, Claude Code, or similar tools).

• Skill in designing across multiple product surfaces and mediums.

• Understanding of AI concepts and their application in product design.

• Excellent collaboration and communication skills to drive alignment across cross-functional teams (PM, Engineering, GTM).

Preferred Skills:

• Background in designing for industries such as home services, health/wellness, or automotive.

• Experience with AI agent interaction design.

• Familiarity with AI development tools and concepts.

• Ability to understand and articulate technical constraints and possibilities with engineering teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "CS degree or equivalent builder experience" and "Prototypes in code as a default" strongly suggests that candidates with a technical background or a strong understanding of how software is built are highly valued. This goes beyond typical UX design qualifications and points to a role that bridges design and technical feasibility.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase case studies demonstrating the design of complex software systems where user experience was significantly simplified.

• Highlight examples of creating novel interaction paradigms or defining new patterns that did not previously exist.

• Include projects where user research was a primary driver of product direction and design outcomes.

• Present work that illustrates the ability to design for both high-ambiguity AI interaction problems and core SaaS workflows.

• Demonstrate experience in prototyping, ideally with code, to convey design intent effectively.

Process Documentation:

• Detail the user research process undertaken for key projects, including methodologies and key findings.

• Explain the design process from problem definition through to solution implementation, emphasizing iterative improvements.

• Illustrate how collaboration with product management and engineering influenced the design and development lifecycle.

• Showcase examples of how design decisions were validated with customers and how feedback was incorporated.

• Provide evidence of designing across diverse product surfaces and mediums.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio should clearly articulate the candidate's ability to not just execute designs, but to invent and define new interaction models, especially within the context of AI. Demonstrating a "builder experience" through code prototyping is crucial.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for Product Designers with 2-5 years of experience in the Lehi, Utah area, and considering the specialized nature of AI product design, a competitive salary range is estimated to be between $100,000 - $140,000 annually. This range can vary based on the candidate's specific experience, skills, and interview performance.

Benefits:

• On-site work in a modern building in Lehi, UT (5 days a week).

• Open and transparent company culture.

• Comprehensive Life Insurance.

• Long and Short-Term Disability Coverage.

• Paid Maternity and Paternity Leave.

• Fertility Benefits.

• Generous Vacation Time.

• Three additional 4-day summer holiday weekends.

• Excellent Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance plans.

• 401k Retirement Savings Plan.

• Bi-annual swag drops with Podium merchandise.

• On-site HQ gym with professional coaches and classes.

• Subsidized on-site childcare center.

Working Hours: Standard full-time workweek, approximately 40 hours, with an emphasis on high performance and impact.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary estimation is based on typical mid-level Product Designer compensation in the Lehi, Utah tech hub, adjusted upwards due to the specialized AI focus and the company's growth trajectory. The benefits package is extensive and includes unique perks like subsidized childcare and an on-site gym, indicating a strong commitment to employee well-being.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, specifically focused on AI-powered solutions for local businesses. Podium operates in the business software and AI sectors, aiming to automate and enhance customer interactions and business operations for small to medium-sized enterprises.

Company Size: Podium has experienced rapid growth, exceeding $100M in ARR and employing a significant team. While the exact current number isn't specified, the company's scale suggests a dynamic, resource-rich environment with ample opportunities for impact.

Founded: Podium was founded with a mission to empower local businesses. Its relatively recent founding, combined with rapid growth, indicates an innovative and agile company culture.

Team Structure:

• The AI Product Design team is likely collaborative and cross-functional, working closely with Product Managers and Engineers.

• Designers are expected to operate with a high degree of autonomy, driving initiatives and influencing product direction.

• There's an emphasis on direct customer engagement and bringing those insights back into the product development cycle.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: Decisions are informed by customer research, user behavior, and business impact metrics.

• Customer Centricity: A core principle is optimizing for the customer's success, with designers directly engaging customers to understand their needs.

• Iterative Development: The culture encourages rapid prototyping, early feedback, and continuous improvement.

• Ownership & Urgency: Teams are empowered to take ownership and operate with a sense of urgency, prioritizing impact and speed.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Podium's culture is described as "hungry for growth" and "high standards," with a focus on "impact over activity." The "bull ride" metaphor suggests an intense, fast-paced environment where hard work and team success are paramount. The operating principles emphasize speed, customer focus, ownership, and scrappiness.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a mid-level Product Designer with a specialization in AI. It offers the opportunity to define new product areas and interaction paradigms, providing significant visibility and influence. The role requires a blend of deep design craft, technical understanding, and strategic product thinking.

Reporting Structure: The Product Designer will likely report to a Design Lead or Head of Product Design, working in close partnership with Product Managers and Engineering Leads for specific AI initiatives. The emphasis on leading alignment suggests a degree of autonomy and influence over peers.

Operations Impact: The Product Designer's work will directly influence how local businesses leverage AI to drive revenue and improve customer interactions. By creating intuitive and effective AI experiences, the designer will enable businesses to scale their operations, enhance customer satisfaction, and ultimately increase profitability. The success of Podium's AI "Employees" hinges on the quality of the user experience, making this role critical to the company's mission and revenue generation.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization in AI UX: Deepen expertise in designing for cutting-edge AI applications, a highly in-demand skill.

• Product Leadership: Grow into a senior or lead designer role, guiding strategy for new AI product features or entire product lines.

• Cross-functional Expertise: Develop stronger product management and technical collaboration skills by working closely with PM and Engineering.

• Industry Impact: Contribute to shaping the future of how local businesses operate with AI, impacting a significant market segment.

• Mentorship: Opportunities to mentor junior designers as the team grows.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of AI product design, allowing for significant career growth in a rapidly evolving field. The impact is tangible, directly affecting the operational success and revenue of thousands of businesses.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Podium's primary office is located in Lehi, Utah, and the company emphasizes a return to the office environment, requiring employees to work on-site 5 days a week. The office is described as a modern and well-equipped space.

Office Location(s): The main office is in Lehi, Utah.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The on-site requirement fosters direct collaboration, spontaneous discussions, and team cohesion, which is crucial for tackling complex design challenges.

• Tools & Technology: While specific tools are detailed later, the environment likely supports the use of modern design software and potentially coding environments for prototyping.

• Team Interaction: Daily interaction with product managers, engineers, and fellow designers is expected, facilitating rapid feedback loops and knowledge sharing.

• Amenities: The Utah HQ boasts an impressive gym with professional coaches and classes, along with a subsidized on-site childcare center, underscoring a commitment to employee well-being and work-life integration within the office setting.

Work Schedule: A standard full-time work schedule is expected, likely with flexibility within core working hours, but with an on-site presence being non-negotiable. The culture emphasizes "extreme urgency" and "impact over activity," suggesting a results-oriented environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The strong emphasis on an on-site work arrangement is a key differentiator. This indicates a preference for direct collaboration and team synergy, which may appeal to candidates who thrive in a highly interactive office setting. The extensive on-site amenities suggest a significant investment in creating a positive and supportive workplace for those who are physically present.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess experience and fit with the role's requirements, particularly in AI UX and complex system design.

• Portfolio Presentation & Discussion: A session where you'll present 2-3 key projects from your portfolio, focusing on your process, design decisions, and outcomes. Expect in-depth questions about your research methods, problem-solving approach, and how you handled ambiguity.

• Design Challenge: A practical exercise, potentially involving a design problem related to AI interactions or complex workflows. This may be a take-home assignment or a live working session.

• Cross-functional Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers and Engineers to evaluate collaboration style, technical understanding, and ability to drive alignment.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A final discussion with the hiring manager to assess overall fit, cultural alignment, and strategic thinking.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Showcase AI & Complexity: Prioritize projects that demonstrate your experience with complex systems and, if possible, AI interactions. Highlight how you simplified these complexities.

• Emphasize Process & Research: Clearly articulate your design process, especially your user research methodologies and how insights translated into design decisions.

• Demonstrate Impact: Quantify the impact of your designs whenever possible (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced support tickets, increased user engagement).

• Highlight "Builder" Mentality: If you have code prototypes or examples of understanding engineering constraints, make sure to showcase them.

• Tell a Story: Structure your case studies as narratives: the problem, your approach, the solution, and the results.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Podium's Business: Research Podium's mission, products, and target customers (local businesses).

• Study AI Interaction Patterns: Familiarize yourself with current trends and challenges in human-AI interaction design.

• Practice Simplifying Complexity: Be ready to articulate how you would approach simplifying a complex technical or AI-driven process.

• Prepare for Ambiguity: The role involves high ambiguity; be ready to discuss how you navigate and bring clarity to uncertain design problems.

• Articulate Your Operating Principles: Be prepared to discuss how your work style aligns with Podium's operating principles (e.g., extreme urgency, customer optimization, ownership).

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes a strong portfolio showcasing not just design execution but also strategic thinking, customer empathy, and technical understanding. Candidates should be prepared to defend their design choices with data and research, and to articulate how they would navigate the unique challenges of designing AI-first products.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Likely Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, with a strong emphasis on prototyping in code (e.g., using Cursor, Claude Code, or similar tools). This indicates a need for designers who can create interactive prototypes that closely resemble functional software.

• User Research Tools: Platforms for conducting remote interviews, surveys, and usability testing (e.g., UserTesting.com, Lookback, Hotjar).

• Collaboration Tools: Slack for communication, Jira/Asana for project management, Confluence for documentation.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics: Tools like Amplitude, Mixpanel, or Google Analytics to track user behavior, feature adoption, and conversion funnels.

• Dashboarding: Experience with tools like Tableau, Looker, or internal dashboarding solutions to monitor key product performance indicators.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems: While not directly designing the CRM, understanding how it integrates with user workflows (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) is beneficial, as Podium's product aims to drive revenue and customer engagement.

• Workflow Automation: Familiarity with concepts of workflow automation is essential, given the role's focus on AI agents and business operations.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of "Prototypes in code as a default" is a critical technical requirement. This suggests Podium is looking for designers who can bridge the gap between design and engineering more effectively than typical UX designers, potentially leveraging AI coding assistants or having a strong grasp of front-end development principles.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Extreme Urgency: A driving force, emphasizing speed as a competitive advantage and a commitment to rapid execution.

• Optimize for the Customer: All decisions and designs are centered around ensuring the success and winning outcomes for Podium's local business customers.

• Go to the Source: A principle of deep understanding, encouraging designers to directly observe and experience customer environments to grasp root causes and user needs.

• Extreme Ownership: Proactively identifying challenges, taking responsibility for solutions, and driving initiatives to completion without needing explicit direction.

• Early Input, Better Output: A culture of seeking feedback early and often in the development process to ensure alignment and improve design quality.

• Impact Over Activity: A focus on achieving measurable outcomes that significantly move the business forward, rather than just completing tasks.

• Always Above the Bikeshop: A scrappy, resourceful mindset, treating company resources with care and finding efficient solutions.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Designers work hand-in-hand with Product Managers and Engineers, requiring strong communication and the ability to influence without direct authority.

• Feedback-Driven: The culture values constructive feedback at all stages, fostering an environment where design ideas are openly discussed and refined.

• Proactive Communication: Encouraging designers to share their work and insights early and often to ensure alignment and gather diverse perspectives.

• Shared Goal Orientation: Teams are united by the common objective of empowering local businesses through AI, fostering a collaborative spirit towards this mission.

📝 Enhancement Note: Podium's culture is highly performance-oriented and values initiative, speed, and customer focus. Designers are expected to be proactive problem-solvers who can operate effectively in a fast-paced, collaborative, and somewhat scrappy environment.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Defining New AI Interaction Paradigms: The primary challenge is designing novel user experiences for human-AI collaboration in contexts where established patterns don't exist. This requires significant creativity and foresight.

• Simplifying Highly Complex Systems: Making sophisticated AI capabilities and underlying business logic intuitively understandable and usable for non-technical users is a significant design hurdle.

• Balancing Ambiguity and Execution: Navigating high levels of ambiguity in AI product development while still delivering tangible, high-quality designs and driving business impact.

• Integrating AI with Core Workflows: Seamlessly weaving AI agent capabilities into existing, critical business workflows and dashboards without disrupting operations.

• Maintaining Design Standards with Rapid Growth: Ensuring consistent design quality and craft across a rapidly expanding product surface and team.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Cutting-Edge AI Design: Gain unparalleled experience in designing for applied AI, a field with immense future growth potential.

• Product Strategy Influence: Opportunity to shape the strategic direction of new AI products and features.

• Technical Acumen: Enhance understanding of software development, AI capabilities, and technical constraints through close collaboration with engineering.

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Develop strong skills in influencing and aligning diverse teams (Product, Engineering, GTM).

• Mentorship: Potential to mentor emerging designers and contribute to building out the design function.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents a significant opportunity to tackle frontier design problems in AI. Success requires not just design skill but also adaptability, a strong technical curiosity, and a proactive approach to problem-solving in an inherently ambiguous domain.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to design for a completely new interaction paradigm. How did you approach it, and what were the outcomes?" (Focus on your process for defining novelty, research, and validation.)

• "How would you design an experience for a local business owner to understand and trust the AI agent handling their customer calls and appointments?" (Prepare to outline your user research, core interaction principles, and dashboard design considerations.)

• "Podium's operating principle is 'Go to the source.' How would you apply this principle to understand the needs of a home services business owner regarding AI integration?" (Discuss your approach to field research, observation, and identifying root needs.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "How do your personal work principles align with Podium's operating principles like 'Extreme Urgency' and 'Impact Over Activity'?" (Be ready to provide specific examples of how you embody these principles.)

• "What excites you most about Podium's mission to bring AI Employees to local businesses?" (Show genuine interest in the company's impact and target market.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Focus on AI & Complexity: Select case studies that best showcase your ability to design for complex systems and, ideally, AI. Highlight how you simplified intricate problems.

• Detail Your Process: Clearly articulate your user research, ideation, prototyping (especially code-based), and iteration phases. Explain why you made certain decisions.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, present metrics or evidence of how your designs improved user experience, business outcomes, or operational efficiency.

• Tell a Compelling Story: Structure each case study as a narrative – the challenge, your unique approach, the solution, and the measured results.

• Prepare for Technical Questions: Be ready to discuss the technical feasibility of your designs and how you collaborated with engineers.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should heavily lean into demonstrating an understanding of AI UX challenges, a strong research-driven approach, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, ownership-oriented culture. The emphasis on "prototyping in code" means candidates should be ready to discuss their technical design skills.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer, AI position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the Greenhouse platform.

• Tailor your resume: Highlight experience in designing complex software, AI interactions, user research, and technical prototyping. Use keywords from the job description, such as "AI agent design," "interaction modeling," and "complex system simplification."

• Curate your portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest case studies that demonstrate your ability to design novel interaction paradigms, conduct deep user research, and simplify complex systems. Ensure at least one showcases experience with technical prototyping or an understanding of engineering constraints.

• Prepare your presentation: Practice walking through your portfolio case studies, focusing on your process, design decisions, and the impact of your work. Be ready to articulate how your approach aligns with Podium's operating principles and the unique challenges of AI product design.

• Research Podium: Understand Podium's mission, target market (local businesses), and their innovative approach to AI. Familiarize yourself with their operating principles.

⚠️ 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.