Product Designer, Partnerships

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer, Partnerships
Company: Thumbtack
Location: Remote, Ontario, Canada
Job Type: Full-Time
Category: Product Design / GTM Operations Support
Date Posted: 2025-10-23
Experience Level: 3-5 Years
Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• This role focuses on accelerating Go-to-Market (GTM) efforts and unlocking new growth opportunities within Thumbtack's Partnerships team.
• The Product Designer will be instrumental in visualizing future-state partner experiences through high-polish pitch decks, interactive demos, and motion-rich prototypes.
• It requires a unique blend of core product design skills with a strong emphasis on visual storytelling, prototyping, animation, and production design to support strategic business development and sales initiatives.
• The position involves close collaboration with Business Development, Sales, Go-to-Market Operations, and Product teams to translate complex partnership concepts into tangible, engaging user experiences.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Product Designer," the core responsibilities heavily lean into GTM enablement, partnership visualization, and sales enablement through design. This role bridges product design with strategic business development and sales operations support, requiring a designer who can effectively communicate value propositions and potential product integrations to external partners. The emphasis on "pitch decks," "demo decks," and "launch experiences" highlights a strong GTM operations support component.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end design and delivery of high-polish pitch decks, partner demo decks, and interactive launch experiences, ensuring alignment with business strategy, partner narratives, and go-to-market messaging.
• Develop engaging, interactive prototypes incorporating motion and animation to vividly illustrate future-state partner experiences and potential product integrations.
• Create high-fidelity interactive demos and compelling partner assets designed to help external stakeholders grasp and experience the full potential of Thumbtack's platform through partnerships.
• Design, build, and maintain a library of reusable visual and motion assets that can be effectively scaled across Business Development, Sales, and Marketing materials to ensure brand consistency and efficiency.
• Actively contribute to launch planning and broader go-to-market execution by delivering refined visual designs and ensuring polish and cohesion across all customer-facing touchpoints.
• Collaborate effectively with fellow product designers, engineers, and other cross-functional teams to continuously improve the craft, execution, and user experience of live partner integrations.
• Translate diverse partner needs and complex business requirements into clear user journeys, detailed product requirements, and persuasive visual narratives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize the creation of external-facing design assets that directly support sales and business development efforts, a key function within GTM Operations. The focus on "pitch decks," "demo decks," and "interactive launch experiences" indicates a need for designers who understand sales cycles and partner engagement.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating relevant skills and experience is paramount. Candidates with degrees in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or related fields may have a foundational understanding.

Experience:

• 3-5 years of progressive product design experience, with a significant portion ideally spent in roles that involved external-facing collateral, sales enablement, or partnership visualization. A blend of agency and in-house experience is highly valued.

Required Skills:

• Product Design: Comprehensive understanding of design principles, user-centered design methodologies, and the full product development lifecycle.
• Prototyping: Advanced proficiency in prototyping tools such as Figma, with the ability to transition seamlessly from low-fidelity flows to high-fidelity, interactive prototypes.
• Motion Design & Animation: Demonstrated skill in creating UI micro-interactions, transitions, and animations that enhance user understanding, engagement, and delight. Experience with animation tools is a plus.
• Visual Design & Storytelling: Exceptional visual design acumen with a keen eye for craft, meticulous attention to detail in motion timing, and a strong ability to translate complex ideas into compelling visual narratives and high-polish assets.
• Collaboration: Proven ability to work effectively within cross-functional teams, including Business Development, Sales, Product Management, and Engineering, fostering strong working relationships.
• Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to articulate design decisions, gather feedback, and align diverse stakeholders through clear storytelling.
• Technical Feasibility: A solid understanding of technical constraints and possibilities, enabling effective collaboration with engineering teams to ensure designs are practical and implementable.

Preferred Skills:

• Figma Expertise: Deep mastery of Figma, including its advanced features for interactive prototyping and team collaboration.
• AI-Driven Prototyping: Hands-on experience or a strong, demonstrated curiosity in leveraging AI tools and workflows for prototyping and design ideation.
• Go-to-Market (GTM) Operations Understanding: Familiarity with GTM strategies, sales enablement processes, and the role design plays in supporting these functions.
• User Journey Mapping: Experience in defining and visualizing user journeys, particularly for partner or B2B2C scenarios.
• Asset Management: Ability to design and maintain organized libraries of reusable design assets.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "3-5 years of overall product design experience" combined with a portfolio showcasing "interactive prototyping, motion/animation, and visual storytelling" suggests a role that requires a strong hands-on designer capable of producing polished, external-facing materials. The "bonus" of AI-driven prototyping hints at a forward-thinking approach to design tools and processes.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Interactive Prototyping: Showcase examples of interactive prototypes, ideally built in Figma, demonstrating user flows, micro-interactions, and dynamic elements.
• Motion and Animation: Include case studies or specific examples of UI micro-interactions, transitions, and animations that illustrate clarity, engagement, and aesthetic polish.
• Visual Storytelling: Present projects where design was used to communicate a narrative, explain a complex concept, or support a business objective (e.g., pitch decks, demo flows).
• Production Design: Demonstrate experience in delivering high-fidelity, production-ready designs with a strong attention to detail, consistency, and execution.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: If possible, highlight projects where collaboration with engineering, product management, or sales was critical to success.

Process Documentation:

• Candidates are expected to articulate their design process, including how they approach:
  • Requirement Gathering: How they translate partner and business needs into design briefs and user journeys.
  • Ideation & Prototyping: Their iterative process for exploring concepts and developing interactive prototypes.
  • Feedback Integration: How they incorporate feedback from stakeholders (including sales and business development) into their designs.
  • Delivery & Handoff: Their methods for preparing designs and assets for engineering and marketing/sales teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements strongly indicate a need for a designer who can produce tangible outputs that directly support sales and business development. The emphasis on "pitch decks," "demo decks," and "interactive launch experiences" means the portfolio should reflect the ability to create sales enablement tools through design.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• For a Product Designer with 3-5 years of experience in a fully remote role in Ontario, Canada, a competitive salary range would typically fall between CAD $80,000 and CAD $110,000 annually. This estimate considers the specialized skills in motion and prototyping, the remote nature of the role, and the cost of living in Ontario.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health & Wellness: Including medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Retirement Savings Plan: Such as a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) matching program.
• Paid Time Off: Generous vacation days, sick leave, and public holidays.
• Professional Development: Budget for conferences, courses, and skill-building opportunities relevant to design and GTM.
• Remote Work Stipend: Support for home office setup and ongoing remote work expenses.
• Stock Options/Equity: Potential for equity in a high-growth company.
• Parental Leave: Paid leave for new parents.

Working Hours:

• Standard full-time hours, typically around 40 hours per week. Thumbtack generally offers flexibility in how these hours are managed, provided core collaboration times and project deadlines are met.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary is estimated based on industry benchmarks for similar roles in Ontario, Canada, considering the experience level and remote work arrangement. Benefits are typical for tech companies of Thumbtack's size and stage, with a focus on remote work support and professional growth.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Online Marketplace / Home Services Platform
Company Size: Thumbtack operates as a significant player in the home services industry, employing over 1,000 individuals globally, with a substantial presence across the US and growing remote teams. This size indicates a company with established processes but still retaining startup agility, particularly within specialized teams like Partnerships.

Founded: Thumbtack was founded in 2012, establishing a strong track record and market presence. This history suggests a company that has evolved and scaled significantly, offering stability and opportunities for impact within a mature yet growing organization.

Team Structure:

• Design Team: A collaborative unit comprising product designers, researchers, and content designers working in close partnership with engineers and product managers. They foster an environment of regular design critiques, work sessions, and presentations to influence product direction.
• Partnerships Team: Operates with a startup-like mentality within Thumbtack, focusing on identifying high-potential verticals, forming strategic alliances, and driving growth through new business opportunities. This team balances experimentation with execution.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: The role requires extensive collaboration with Business Development, Sales, Go-to-Market Operations, and Product teams, highlighting a highly integrated approach to launching and scaling new initiatives.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: While not explicitly stated, Thumbtack's nature as a tech platform implies a strong reliance on data to inform design decisions and measure impact.
• Iterative Development: The "startup within Thumbtack" approach for Partnerships suggests a methodology that embraces rapid iteration, validation, and scaling of successful initiatives.
• User-Centricity: The core design team's focus on "well-crafted user experiences" ensures that even within partnership-focused design, the end-user (homeowner and service professional) remains central.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on home services and its growth trajectory suggest a dynamic environment. The Partnerships team's "startup within Thumbtack" model implies a fast-paced, experimental, and results-oriented culture, which is crucial for a designer supporting GTM efforts.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level:

• This role sits at an experienced individual contributor level within the Product Design function, with a specialized focus on GTM and Partnerships. It requires a designer who can operate independently, drive initiatives, and produce high-quality, business-impactful design assets. The scope extends beyond typical product feature design to encompass strategic sales enablement and partner engagement.

Reporting Structure:

• The Product Designer will likely report to a Design Lead or Manager within the Product Design organization. However, they will work very closely with leads and managers within the Partnerships, Business Development, and Sales teams, requiring strong stakeholder management and communication skills.

Operations Impact:

• The work of this Product Designer directly impacts Thumbtack's revenue growth by enabling partnerships and sales teams. By creating compelling visualizations and interactive demos, they help close deals, onboard new partners, and validate new market opportunities. Their contributions are critical to translating strategic business goals into tangible product experiences that drive adoption and revenue.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in designing for partnerships, B2B2C models, and GTM enablement within the tech industry.
• Leadership: Potential to lead design initiatives within the Partnerships team or transition into more senior product design roles.
• Skill Expansion: Develop advanced skills in animation, interactive storytelling, and potentially AI-driven design tools.
• Cross-functional Exposure: Gain in-depth understanding of business development, sales strategies, and GTM operations, which can open doors to roles in product marketing or business strategy.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a unique career path for a product designer interested in the intersection of design and business development/sales operations. The growth opportunities are tied to both design craft and strategic business impact.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully Remote
Office Location(s): While the role is remote, it is based in Ontario, Canada, implying adherence to Canadian employment standards and time zones. Thumbtack may have physical offices, but this specific position is designated as fully remote.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Digital Environment: Expect a highly digital and collaborative workspace, relying heavily on tools like Figma, Slack, video conferencing, and project management software.
• Tools and Technology: Access to industry-standard design software (Figma), communication platforms, and potentially internal tools for asset management and workflow automation.
• Team Interaction: Regular virtual interaction with design peers, product managers, engineers, and key stakeholders across Business Development and Sales departments. Opportunities for virtual brainstorming, design critiques, and project reviews.

Work Schedule:

• The standard 40-hour work week is expected, with flexibility in daily scheduling. However, participation in meetings with teams across different time zones and adherence to project deadlines will be critical. The remote nature allows for greater autonomy in managing personal work-life balance.

📝 Enhancement Note: The fully remote nature of the role necessitates strong self-discipline, proactive communication, and comfort with digital collaboration tools. The focus is on output and impact rather than physical presence.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter will likely conduct an initial call to assess general fit, experience, and interest in the role and Thumbtack.
• Portfolio Review & Design Exercise: Candidates will present their portfolio, focusing on relevant projects that demonstrate interactive prototyping, motion design, and visual storytelling skills. A design challenge or case study may be assigned, focusing on visualizing a partnership scenario or creating a pitch element.
• Cross-functional Interviews: Interviews with members of the Partnerships, Business Development, Sales, and Product teams to assess collaboration skills, understanding of business objectives, and ability to translate needs into design solutions.
• Hiring Manager Interview: A final interview with the hiring manager to discuss overall fit, career aspirations, and role expectations.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight Partnership/GTM Relevance: Prioritize projects that showcase your ability to design for external audiences, support sales efforts, or visualize complex integrations.
• Showcase Motion and Interaction: Ensure your prototypes are interactive and that any motion design elements are clearly demonstrated, with explanations of their purpose and impact.
• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your process, your specific contributions, the solutions you designed, and the outcomes or impact achieved. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result).
• Explain Your Tools and Process: Be prepared to discuss your proficiency with Figma and other relevant tools, and to walk through your design process from brief to final delivery.
• Address Technical Feasibility: Be ready to discuss how you considered technical constraints and collaborated with engineering.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Thumbtack's Business: Research Thumbtack's platform, its existing partnerships, and its target market.
• Embrace the "Startup within a Startup": Be prepared to demonstrate adaptability, a bias for action, and an understanding of how design can directly drive business growth in a fast-paced environment.
• Focus on Communication: Practice articulating your design decisions clearly and concisely, especially in the context of business objectives and partner value.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to assess not just design craft but also the candidate's ability to act as a strategic partner to business development and sales teams, emphasizing the GTM operations support aspect of the role.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core design and prototyping tool. Expect extensive use for wireframing, high-fidelity design, interactive prototyping, and collaboration. Proficiency is essential.
• Motion Design Tools: Potentially After Effects, Principle, or similar tools for creating and refining animations and micro-interactions.
• Prototyping Software: Beyond Figma, familiarity with tools that enhance interactivity and animation would be beneficial.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not a direct responsibility, an understanding of how design impacts user behavior and business metrics is valuable. Familiarity with analytics platforms (e.g., Amplitude, Google Analytics) can help inform design decisions.

CRM & Automation:

• Salesforce (or similar CRM): Understanding how partnership and sales processes are managed can provide context for the design needs.
• Presentation Software: PowerPoint, Google Slides, Keynote for creating pitch decks and demo materials.

Collaboration & Project Management:

• Slack: For real-time communication.
• Google Workspace / Microsoft 365: For document creation, spreadsheets, and presentations.
• Jira / Asana (or similar): For tracking design tasks and project progress.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Figma and the emphasis on prototyping and motion design highlight the critical technical skills required. The role also implies a need to use presentation software for GTM collateral.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Craftsmanship: A commitment to high-quality, polished design that reflects Thumbtack's brand and user experience standards.
• Collaboration: A strong emphasis on working effectively with diverse teams to achieve shared goals, especially in cross-functional partnerships.
• Impact-Driven: Focusing design efforts on initiatives that demonstrably contribute to business growth, user acquisition, and partner success.
• Innovation: Embracing new approaches and technologies (like AI) to push the boundaries of design and user experience, particularly in visualizing future possibilities.
• Ownership: Taking responsibility for design outcomes, from initial concept through to polished delivery and integration.

Collaboration Style:

• Proactive and Transparent: Regularly sharing work, seeking feedback, and communicating progress and challenges openly with cross-functional partners.
• Design-Led, Business-Informed: Utilizing design expertise to drive innovative solutions while deeply understanding and responding to business objectives and partner needs.
• Iterative and Agile: Willingness to experiment, learn from feedback, and rapidly iterate on designs to find the most effective solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The values suggest a culture that appreciates both meticulous design execution and a pragmatic, business-oriented approach to problem-solving, especially relevant for a role supporting GTM and partnerships.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Design Craft with Business Urgency: The need to produce high-polish, engaging assets quickly to support sales and partnership cycles can be demanding.
• Visualizing the Unseen: Effectively communicating and prototyping future-state partner experiences that do not yet exist requires strong imagination and communication skills.
• Cross-Functional Alignment: Navigating the needs and priorities of Business Development, Sales, Product, and Engineering requires excellent stakeholder management and negotiation skills.
• Scalability of Assets: Creating reusable design components and templates that can be efficiently adapted for various partnerships and GTM efforts.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Prototyping & Motion: Deepen skills in creating sophisticated interactive experiences and animations.
• GTM & Partnership Strategy: Gain a deeper understanding of how design contributes to business development, sales enablement, and partnership success.
• AI in Design: Explore and implement AI tools for enhancing the design workflow, particularly in prototyping and ideation.
• Cross-functional Expertise: Develop a strong command of business operations, sales cycles, and strategic planning within a growing tech company.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents an opportunity to tackle unique design challenges at the intersection of product, sales, and business development, fostering significant professional growth.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you used interactive prototyping and motion design to influence a business decision or close a deal. What was your process, and what was the outcome?"
• "How would you approach designing a pitch deck and interactive demo for a potential new partnership with a large home improvement retailer?"
• "Imagine we're exploring a new partnership that involves integrating our platform with a third-party service. Walk us through your design process for visualizing this potential integration and its benefits to homeowners and pros."

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What attracts you to Thumbtack and specifically this role supporting our Partnerships team?"
• "How do you approach collaborating with non-design stakeholders, such as sales and business development teams, to ensure design alignment and buy-in?"
• "How do you stay updated on design trends, especially in areas like motion design and AI-assisted design?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: Organize your portfolio presentations logically, starting with a high-level overview of the project and its business context, followed by your specific role, design process, key challenges, solutions, and measurable outcomes.
• Demonstrate Interactivity: If presenting digital prototypes, ensure they are live and easily navigable. For motion design, use clear video examples with explanations of the user benefit.
• Quantify Results: Whenever possible, use data or metrics to demonstrate the impact of your designs. For this role, this might include how your assets contributed to securing partnerships or accelerating sales cycles.
• Showcase Versatility: Select projects that highlight your range, from detailed UI micro-interactions to broader strategic visualizations.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating an understanding of how design directly supports business objectives, particularly in sales and partnership contexts, and showcasing proficiency with interactive and motion design tools.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer, Partnerships position:

• Submit your application through the provided Greenhouse link.
• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest projects that best showcase your interactive prototyping, motion design, and visual storytelling skills. Prioritize projects that demonstrate your ability to support business development, sales, or GTM initiatives. Ensure your portfolio is easily accessible and well-organized.
• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight experience with Figma, prototyping, motion design, and any relevant experience in B2B, partnerships, or sales enablement. Quantify achievements where possible.
• Prepare Your Pitch: Practice articulating your design process and the impact of your work clearly and concisely. Be ready to discuss how your skills align with the specific needs of the Partnerships team.
• Research Thumbtack: Familiarize yourself with Thumbtack's platform, its mission, its current partnerships, and its market position. Understand the value proposition for both homeowners and service professionals.

⚠️ 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.

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