Product Designer - Contractor

Convr
Full_time•$40-100/hour (USD)•Schaumburg, United States

šŸ“ Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer - Contractor Company: Convr Location: Schaumburg, Illinois, United States Job Type: CONTRACTOR Category: Product Design / UX/UI Date Posted: 2025-10-24 Experience Level: Mid-Level (2-5 years) Remote Status: Hybrid (Requires travel to Schaumburg office as needed)

šŸš€ Role Summary

  • Design and deliver intuitive, data-driven user interfaces for Convr's AI Underwriting Workbench platform, focusing on complex workflows and sophisticated dashboards.
  • Collaborate closely with Product Managers and Engineers to translate business requirements into exceptional user experiences that drive efficiency and improve customer engagement within the commercial P&C insurance industry.
  • Develop and maintain comprehensive design systems and high-fidelity interactive prototypes using Figma, ensuring consistency and usability across the platform.
  • Conduct user research and usability testing to validate design decisions and iterate on solutions based on user feedback and product analytics, directly influencing product strategy and roadmap planning.

šŸ“ Enhancement Note: This role is framed as a contractor position with the potential for full-time conversion, indicating a need for candidates who can quickly integrate and deliver impactful design solutions within a defined project scope. The focus on "data-driven interfaces," "complex workflows," and "sophisticated dashboards" within the insurance domain suggests a need for designers experienced in B2B SaaS environments with a strong analytical and information architecture skillset. The requirement to reside in the Greater Chicagoland area and travel to the office indicates a hybrid work arrangement.

šŸ“ˆ Primary Responsibilities

  • Design intuitive and user-friendly interfaces for data-heavy views, complex underwriting workflows, and advanced data visualization tools within the Convr Underwriting Workbench.
  • Develop and maintain a robust design system, ensuring consistency, scalability, and adherence to both functionality and usability best practices.
  • Create high-fidelity mockups, interactive prototypes, and detailed design specifications in Figma for engineer handoff.
  • Plan and execute user research initiatives, including interviews and usability testing sessions, to gather insights and validate design decisions.
  • Partner with Product Managers to clearly define user problems, establish success metrics, and contribute to product strategy and roadmap development.
  • Work collaboratively with Engineering teams throughout the agile development lifecycle to ensure design feasibility, provide clarifications, and uphold design quality during implementation.
  • Iterate on existing designs based on qualitative user feedback, quantitative analytics data, and evolving business requirements.
  • Contribute to the overall product vision by identifying user needs and proposing innovative design solutions that align with Convr's mission to transform commercial insurance.

šŸ“ Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a blend of strategic product thinking and tactical design execution. The inclusion of "contribute to product strategy and roadmap planning" and "define problems and success metrics" indicates that this role requires more than just visual design; it demands a deep understanding of user needs and business objectives, common in senior or lead product design roles, even for a contractor.

šŸŽ“ Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), or a related field is typically expected for roles of this nature, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience: A minimum of 3 years of professional product design experience is required, with a demonstrated focus on designing for data visualization, complex interfaces, or sophisticated B2B SaaS applications.

Required Skills:

  • Advanced proficiency in Figma for creating detailed designs, comprehensive prototypes, and managing design systems.
  • Proven experience in designing data dashboards, analytics tools, or information-rich interfaces that present complex data clearly.
  • A strong portfolio showcasing exceptional information architecture, system design thinking, and the ability to simplify complex workflows into intuitive user experiences.
  • Deep understanding of data visualization principles, best practices, and their application in user interfaces.
  • Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with product managers to define problems and success metrics.
  • Experience working closely with engineers in an agile development environment, ensuring design feasibility and quality implementation.
  • Excellent communication, presentation, and storytelling skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions and rationale to cross-functional teams and stakeholders.
  • Familiarity with accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG) and inclusive design principles to ensure products are usable by all.
  • Experience building and maintaining design systems and component libraries.

Preferred Skills:

  • Experience with user research methodologies beyond usability testing, such as user interviews, surveys, and contextual inquiries.
  • A foundational understanding of front-end development principles (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) or web technologies to better inform design feasibility.
  • Experience within the commercial P&C insurance industry or related FinTech/InsurTech sectors.
  • Knowledge of A/B testing and experimentation frameworks to optimize user interfaces.

šŸ“ Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "advanced Figma skills," "data visualization," "complex interfaces," and "design systems" points to a need for a designer who can operate at a high level of technical and strategic design competence. The preference for SaaS/B2B experience and insurance industry knowledge suggests the company values candidates who can quickly grasp domain-specific challenges.

šŸ“Š Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

  • A curated portfolio that clearly demonstrates a strong foundation in information architecture and system design thinking, showcasing the ability to structure complex data and user flows.
  • Case studies that highlight the process of simplifying intricate workflows into intuitive and efficient user experiences, with a focus on the problem, your approach, and the outcome.
  • Examples of designing data dashboards, analytics tools, or information-rich interfaces, with an emphasis on data visualization principles and their effective implementation.
  • Demonstrated experience with Figma, including the creation of high-fidelity mockups, interactive prototypes, and contributions to or management of design systems and component libraries.

Process Documentation:

  • Portfolio entries should detail the design process, from initial research and problem definition through ideation, prototyping, user testing, and iteration, emphasizing a data-driven and user-centric approach.
  • Showcase how you've collaborated with product managers and engineers, illustrating your ability to translate requirements and ensure design feasibility and quality implementation.
  • Include examples of how you've used user feedback and analytics to inform design decisions and drive measurable improvements in user experience and business outcomes.

šŸ“ Enhancement Note: For a product designer role, especially one focused on complex data and workflows, the portfolio is paramount. It needs to go beyond aesthetics to demonstrate problem-solving, strategic thinking, and a deep understanding of user-centered design processes within a B2B context. The emphasis on "system design thinking" and "design systems" suggests a need for candidates who can build reusable components and maintain design consistency at scale.

šŸ’µ Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: The hourly rate for this contractor position is estimated to be between $40.00 and $100.00 USD per hour.

šŸ“ Enhancement Note: This hourly range is based on industry benchmarks for experienced Product Designers in the Chicagoland area, considering the contractor status, the specified experience level (3+ years), and the specialized nature of designing for complex B2B SaaS platforms with data visualization requirements. The wide range reflects variations in specific experience, portfolio strength, and negotiation.

Benefits: As a contractor, standard employee benefits may not apply. However, potential benefits could include:

  • Opportunity for contract extension or conversion to full-time employment, which would then include a comprehensive benefits package.
  • Exposure to cutting-edge AI and data processing technology in the commercial insurance sector.
  • Flexible work arrangements within a hybrid model.
  • Potential for professional development through project challenges and collaboration.

Working Hours: This role is anticipated to require approximately 40 hours per week. The hybrid work arrangement allows for flexibility, with the expectation of traveling to the Schaumburg office as needed for collaboration and team meetings.

šŸ“ Enhancement Note: Given the contractor nature, benefits are typically minimal. The primary "benefit" is the potential for conversion and the experience gained. The 40-hour work week is standard, but the hybrid aspect requires clarification on specific in-office days.

šŸŽÆ Team & Company Context

šŸ¢ Company Culture

Industry: Convr operates within the InsurTech and AI/Data Processing sectors, specifically focusing on commercial Property & Casualty (P&C) insurance. This industry is characterized by a need for efficiency, accuracy, and intelligent decision-making, driven by complex data and regulatory environments.

Company Size: Convr is part of the growing startup ecosystem, likely falling into the small to medium-sized business (SMB) category. This size often fosters a dynamic, agile, and collaborative work environment where individual contributions have a significant impact.

Founded: Founded in 2016, Convr is a relatively young company, indicating a culture that is likely innovative, fast-paced, and focused on leveraging modern technology like AI to disrupt established industries.

Team Structure:

  • The Product Design function likely sits within a broader Product or Engineering department. Designers collaborate closely with Product Managers (defining strategy and requirements) and Software Engineers (implementing designs).
  • Reporting structure for a contractor would typically be to a Design Lead, Head of Product, or a direct manager within the Product team.
  • Cross-functional collaboration is essential, requiring close partnerships with Product Management, Engineering, and potentially Data Science or Underwriting subject matter experts to ensure designs meet both user needs and business objectives.

Methodology:

  • Convr's approach is centered around AI-driven decisioning and intelligent document processing. This implies a strong emphasis on data analysis, machine learning, and creating platforms that can handle and interpret large volumes of complex information.
  • Workflow planning and optimization are critical, as the platform aims to streamline the submission-to-quote process for commercial insurance.
  • Automation and efficiency practices are likely core to their product development philosophy, aiming to reduce manual entry errors and accelerate business operations for their clients.

Company Website: https://convr.com/

šŸ“ Enhancement Note: The company's focus on AI and data in commercial insurance suggests a technical and analytical culture. Designers will need to be comfortable with complex data sets and a B2B audience that prioritizes efficiency and accuracy. The startup environment implies a need for adaptability and a proactive approach to problem-solving.

šŸ“ˆ Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a mid-level Product Designer (2-5 years of experience) on a contract basis. While it's a contract, the responsibilities hint at a senior-level contribution, particularly in influencing product strategy and roadmap. The potential for conversion to full-time indicates a pathway for sustained career growth within Convr.

Reporting Structure: As a contractor, the designer will likely report to a manager within the Product or Design team. This structure provides direct guidance and feedback, crucial for aligning design work with company objectives. Collaboration will extend across Product Management and Engineering, offering exposure to different functional areas.

Operations Impact: The Product Designer's work will have a direct and significant impact on Convr's core offering – the Underwriting Workbench. By creating intuitive and efficient interfaces for complex data and workflows, the designer will directly contribute to:

  • Premium Growth: Enabling insurers to process more submissions faster and make better decisions.
  • Efficiency: Reducing manual effort, minimizing errors, and lowering operational costs for clients.
  • Customer Experience: Delivering a frictionless and insightful experience for insurance professionals.
  • Competitive Advantage: Helping Convr differentiate its AI-powered platform in the market.

Growth Opportunities:

  • Skill Specialization: Deepen expertise in designing for complex data visualization, AI-driven platforms, and the specific challenges of the InsurTech industry.
  • Full-Time Conversion: Potential to transition into a full-time Product Designer role, offering stability, comprehensive benefits, and a more integrated career path within Convr.
  • Product Strategy Influence: Contribute to the strategic direction of the Underwriting Workbench, gaining experience in product roadmap planning and user-centric strategy development.
  • Design System Expansion: Opportunity to play a key role in evolving and expanding Convr's design system, a critical asset for scaling product development.

šŸ“ Enhancement Note: The "contractor" designation might suggest a temporary role, but the responsibilities and potential for conversion indicate a significant opportunity for a designer to make a tangible impact and potentially secure a long-term position. The emphasis on "data-driven interfaces" and "complex workflows" within a specific industry (InsurTech) provides a clear path for specialization.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Convr operates a hybrid work model. This means the office environment in Schaumburg is designed for collaboration, team meetings, and focused work sessions, complementing remote work flexibility.

Office Location(s): The primary office location mentioned is Schaumburg, Illinois. This location is within the Greater Chicagoland area, offering accessibility for local residents.

Workspace Context:

  • The workspace is likely collaborative, encouraging interaction between designers, product managers, and engineers to foster innovation and rapid problem-solving.
  • Expect access to standard design tools and technologies, with Figma being a primary requirement. The environment will support iterative design processes and agile development methodologies.
  • Opportunities for direct interaction with the core product and engineering teams will be frequent, facilitating quick feedback loops and a shared understanding of project goals.

Work Schedule: A standard 40-hour work week is typical. The hybrid arrangement allows for a balance between in-office collaboration and remote work, providing flexibility for operations professionals to manage their schedules effectively while meeting project deadlines and team needs.

šŸ“ Enhancement Note: The hybrid nature of the role requires candidates to be comfortable with a mix of remote and in-office work. The Schaumburg location is key for those applying. This setup aims to balance the benefits of in-person collaboration with the flexibility of remote work, a common model in modern tech companies.

šŸ“„ Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

  • Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess experience, skills, and alignment with the role's requirements.
  • Portfolio Presentation & Design Challenge: Expect to present your portfolio, highlighting relevant case studies. This may be followed by a design challenge, either take-home or live, focusing on a specific problem related to data visualization, complex workflows, or dashboard design within an insurance context.
  • Hiring Manager/Team Interview: A discussion with the hiring manager and potentially key team members (Product Managers, Engineers) to evaluate your collaboration style, problem-solving approach, and cultural fit.
  • Final Interview: Potentially a final interview with senior leadership to assess strategic thinking and overall fit for the company.

Portfolio Review Tips:

  • Focus on Process, Not Just Pixels: Clearly articulate your design process, from problem identification and user research to ideation, iteration, and final solution.
  • Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, include metrics and data that demonstrate the impact of your designs on user behavior, efficiency, or business outcomes.
  • Tailor to Convr: Highlight projects that showcase experience with complex data, B2B SaaS, or insurance-related applications. Demonstrate your understanding of data visualization principles.
  • Showcase Figma Proficiency: Be prepared to discuss your Figma workflows, component usage, and how you leverage its features for prototyping and design systems.
  • Tell a Story: Structure your case studies as compelling narratives that showcase your problem-solving skills and design thinking.

Challenge Preparation:

  • Understand the Domain: Familiarize yourself with the commercial P&C insurance industry, common workflows (submission to quote), and the types of data involved.
  • Embrace Data Visualization: Prepare to think about how to represent complex data clearly and effectively on dashboards and within workflows.
  • Simplify Complexity: Practice breaking down complex problems into smaller, manageable parts and designing intuitive solutions.
  • Communicate Your Rationale: Be ready to explain your design decisions, trade-offs, and how your solution addresses the specified problem and user needs.

šŸ“ Enhancement Note: The interview process for a design role, especially in a tech-focused company like Convr, will heavily rely on the portfolio and the ability to articulate design decisions. The design challenge will likely probe their ability to handle complex, data-intensive problems common in B2B SaaS.

šŸ›  Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

  • Figma: This is the core design tool. Expect to use it extensively for wireframing, high-fidelity mockups, interactive prototyping, and design system management. Mastery of Figma's features, including components, variants, auto layout, and collaboration tools, is essential.
  • Prototyping Tools: While Figma has strong prototyping capabilities, experience with other tools like InVision or Adobe XD might be beneficial, though Figma is the primary stated requirement.

Analytics & Reporting:

  • User Analytics Platforms: Familiarity with tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, or similar platforms used to track user behavior, feature adoption, and conversion rates. Understanding how to interpret this data to inform design iterations is key.
  • Data Visualization Tools: While not explicitly a design tool, an understanding of popular data visualization libraries or principles (e.g., D3.js concepts, Tableau, Power BI) can be helpful when designing dashboards.

CRM & Automation:

  • While not directly used by the designer in their daily tasks, an understanding of how CRM systems (like Salesforce) and business automation tools function can provide context for user workflows and data integration points within a B2B SaaS product.

šŸ“ Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Figma as an "advanced" requirement is a strong signal. Experience with analytics platforms is also crucial, as the role emphasizes "data-driven interfaces" and iterating based on "analytics."

šŸ‘„ Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

  • Data-Driven Innovation: A strong emphasis on leveraging data and advanced AI to drive product innovation and solve complex industry problems.
  • Efficiency & Accuracy: Core values in the insurance industry, reflected in the product's goal to streamline processes and minimize errors.
  • Customer-Centricity: Commitment to understanding and meeting the needs of commercial P&C insurance clients, delivering world-class customer experiences.
  • Collaboration & Agility: A fast-paced, startup environment that values teamwork, quick iteration, and adaptability.
  • Excellence in Design: A commitment to creating intuitive, functional, and visually appealing user experiences, even for complex B2B applications.

Collaboration Style:

  • Cross-functional Integration: Designers work hand-in-hand with Product Managers and Engineers, fostering a highly integrated and communicative environment.
  • Iterative Feedback Loops: Regular design reviews, usability testing, and sprint demos ensure continuous feedback and refinement.
  • Knowledge Sharing: A culture that encourages sharing insights, best practices, and learnings across teams to promote collective growth and problem-solving.

šŸ“ Enhancement Note: The company's mission and the nature of its product suggest a culture that values technical expertise, problem-solving, and a results-oriented approach. Designers are expected to be proactive collaborators, not just order-takers.

⚔ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

  • Designing for Complexity: Translating intricate commercial insurance underwriting workflows and vast datasets into intuitive and manageable user experiences.
  • Balancing Data & Usability: Ensuring that data-rich interfaces are both informative and easy for users to navigate and interpret, avoiding information overload.
  • Agile Development Pace: Adapting quickly to evolving product requirements and delivering high-quality designs within fast-paced agile sprints.
  • Stakeholder Alignment: Effectively communicating and advocating for design decisions to diverse stakeholders (Product, Engineering, potentially business leaders) with varying technical and business perspectives.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

  • Domain Expertise: Gaining in-depth knowledge of the commercial P&C insurance industry and its unique operational challenges.
  • Advanced Data Visualization: Enhancing skills in designing effective and impactful data visualizations for complex analytical dashboards.
  • AI Product Integration: Understanding how AI capabilities are integrated into user interfaces and how to design for AI-driven features.
  • Design System Enhancement: Contributing to and potentially leading the growth of a scalable design system for a sophisticated B2B SaaS platform.

šŸ“ Enhancement Note: The primary challenges are inherent to the domain and the nature of the product. Successfully navigating these challenges presents significant growth opportunities in specialized areas of product design.

šŸ’” Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

  • Problem Decomposition: Be prepared to discuss how you would approach designing a new feature for an underwriting workbench, focusing on how you'd break down the problem, identify user needs, and define requirements. (e.g., "How would you design a feature to help underwriters quickly assess risk from submission documents?")
  • Data Interpretation: Expect questions about how you'd visualize specific types of insurance data (e.g., loss ratios, policy details, market trends) on a dashboard to provide actionable insights.
  • Process Optimization: Discuss your experience in simplifying complex workflows. How do you identify bottlenecks and design solutions that improve efficiency and user satisfaction?

Company & Culture Questions:

  • Convr's Mission: Research Convr's AI underwriting platform and its impact on the insurance industry. Be ready to discuss how your design philosophy aligns with their mission to transform commercial insurance.
  • B2B SaaS Design: Articulate your understanding of the differences between B2C and B2B SaaS design, particularly concerning user needs, workflows, and the importance of efficiency and data.
  • Collaboration: Describe how you collaborate with product managers and engineers. Be ready to share examples of successful cross-functional partnerships.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

  • Focus on Impact: For each case study, clearly state the problem, your role, your process, the solution, and the quantifiable results or learnings.
  • Highlight Data Visualization: Dedicate time to showcase projects where you've effectively used data visualization to convey complex information.
  • Demonstrate Figma Skills: Be prepared to walk through your Figma files, explaining your component structure, prototyping methods, and design system approach.
  • Tell a Coherent Story: Ensure your presentation flows logically and tells a compelling story about your problem-solving abilities as a designer.

šŸ“ Enhancement Note: Interviewers will be looking for a designer who can think strategically, solve complex problems, and effectively communicate their design rationale, especially within the context of data-intensive B2B applications.

šŸ“Œ Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer contractor position:

  • Submit your application through the provided BambooHR link: https://convr.bamboohr.com/careers/154
  • Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features case studies demonstrating experience with complex data visualization, intricate workflows, B2B SaaS design, and proficiency in Figma. Tailor your selection to highlight projects most relevant to Convr's domain.
  • Resume Optimization: Update your resume to emphasize your 3+ years of experience in product design, specifically mentioning skills in data-driven interfaces, complex system design, user research, and collaboration within agile environments. Use keywords from the job description.
  • Prepare Your Narrative: Practice articulating your design process, problem-solving approach, and the impact of your work. Be ready to discuss your experience with Figma and how you contribute to design systems.
  • Research Convr: Understand Convr's mission, product, and target market (commercial P&C insurance). Prepare questions that demonstrate your engagement and interest in their specific challenges.

āš ļø 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.


Application Requirements

Candidates should have 3+ years of product design experience, particularly in data visualization or complex interfaces. Advanced skills in Figma and a strong portfolio demonstrating information architecture are essential.