Product Designer, Partnerships

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer, Partnerships Company: Thumbtack Location: Remote, United States Job Type: Full-time Category: Go-to-Market Operations, Product Design Date Posted: October 23, 2025 Experience Level: Mid-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 and crafting high-quality pitches and interactive demos.
• Success in this role hinges on balancing product design sensibility with strong prototyping, motion, and visual design skills.
• The position requires close collaboration with Business Development, Sales, GTM Operations, and Product teams to drive innovation and market expansion.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the primary title is "Product Designer," the context of "Partnerships," "go-to-market efforts," and "Business Development" collaboration strongly suggests a significant overlap with GTM Operations and strategic product positioning. The emphasis on "pitch decks," "demo decks," and "launch experiences" indicates a need for skills that bridge product design with commercial strategy execution, making it highly relevant to individuals with a GTM operations or product marketing mindset.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design and Delivery of GTM Assets: 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 the overall go-to-market strategy.
• Prototyping and Motion Design: Build interactive prototypes with sophisticated motion and animation to vividly bring future-state partner experiences to life, making complex concepts tangible and engaging for potential partners.
• Interactive Demo Creation: Develop high-fidelity interactive demos and compelling partner assets that effectively communicate potential product experiences, enabling partners to understand and "feel" the value proposition.
• Asset Scalability and Maintenance: Design and maintain a library of reusable visual and motion assets that can be scaled across Business Development, Sales, and Marketing efforts, ensuring brand consistency and efficiency.
• Launch Contribution: Contribute significantly to launch planning and go-to-market initiatives through refined visual design, ensuring polish, cohesion, and impact across all customer touchpoints.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate closely with product designers, engineers, and other cross-functional teams to continuously improve the craft, execution, and user experience of live partner integrations and offerings.
• Requirements Translation: Translate partner and business needs into clear user journeys, detailed requirements, and compelling visual narratives that guide product development and GTM strategy.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a unique blend of core product design with a strong focus on GTM execution. The "ownership" of pitch decks and demo decks, along with creating assets for Sales and Marketing, indicates a role that requires not just design skills but also a strategic understanding of how design supports commercial objectives and partner engagement.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's degree in Design, HCI, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience, is generally expected for mid-level design roles.

Experience:

• 3-5 years of overall product design experience, with a significant portion focused on interactive and visual design.
• A blend of agency and in-house experience is desirable, showcasing adaptability and a broad understanding of design challenges.
• Proven experience in designing and delivering high-impact visual and interactive assets for business development, sales, or marketing initiatives.

Required Skills:

• Product Design Proficiency: Strong foundational understanding of product design principles and user-centered design methodologies.
• Interactive Prototyping: Expertise in creating detailed, high-fidelity interactive prototypes using tools like Figma, demonstrating complex user flows and interactions.
• Motion and Animation Design: Demonstrated ability to design and implement UI micro-interactions, transitions, and animations that enhance user understanding, delight, and communicate value effectively.
• Visual Design Acumen: Strong visual design skills with exceptional attention to craft, motion timing, execution detail, and overall aesthetic polish.
• Storytelling and Communication: Excellent communication and storytelling abilities, crucial for aligning diverse cross-functional stakeholders (Business Development, Sales, Product, Engineering) around design vision and GTM strategy.
• Technical Feasibility Awareness: Understanding of technical constraints and feasibility, enabling effective collaboration with engineering teams to ensure designs are implementable.
• Portfolio Demonstration: A robust portfolio showcasing interactive prototyping, motion/animation, and visual storytelling capabilities that directly relate to the role's requirements.

Preferred Skills:

• AI-Driven Prototyping: Hands-on experience or a strong curiosity in leveraging AI tools and workflows for prototyping and design ideation.
• GTM Strategy Understanding: Familiarity with go-to-market strategies, sales enablement, and partner engagement models.
• Cross-Functional Workflow Experience: Experience working within agile development environments and collaborating closely with product managers, engineers, and GTM operations specialists.
• Asset Management: Experience in designing and managing design systems or reusable asset libraries for consistent brand application.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "pitch decks," "demo decks," and "go-to-market narrative" suggests that candidates with experience in sales enablement design, marketing collateral design, or even UI/UX roles with a strong visual and motion emphasis will be highly competitive. The "twist" in the role description implies that traditional product design experience needs to be augmented with a strong output orientation for commercial purposes.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Interactive Prototypes: Showcase a range of interactive prototypes, demonstrating your ability to translate complex concepts into intuitive and engaging user experiences, particularly for partner-facing features or integrations.
• Motion and Animation Examples: Include specific examples of UI micro-interactions, transitions, and animations that highlight your skill in enhancing user understanding, delight, and communicating value through motion.
• Visual Storytelling Case Studies: Present case studies that clearly articulate a problem, your design process, and the resulting visual narrative. Emphasize how your design solutions supported business objectives or partner engagement.
• Production-Ready Assets: Demonstrate experience in creating high-fidelity, polished designs that are ready for implementation or presentation, reflecting strong attention to detail and craft.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Visualization: Provide examples of how you've visualized user journeys, partner flows, or complex processes through diagrams, wireframes, or interactive prototypes, demonstrating clarity in process mapping.
• Design Iteration and Refinement: Showcase examples of design iteration based on feedback from stakeholders (including Business Development, Sales, and Product teams), highlighting your ability to refine designs for optimal impact.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration Documentation: Illustrate how you've documented design decisions, technical considerations, and GTM requirements to ensure seamless collaboration with engineering and GTM operations.

📝 Enhancement Note: For this role, the portfolio is paramount. It should not only showcase design craft but also the ability to translate business needs into tangible, persuasive visual and interactive assets. Candidates should be prepared to walk through their portfolio, explaining the strategic thinking behind each piece, especially those related to partnerships, sales enablement, or GTM initiatives.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• San Francisco / Bay Area, San Jose, New York City, or Seattle metros: $149,900 - $194,000 USD per year
• Austin, TX or Washington DC metros; California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, or Washington states: $135,000 - $174,700 USD per year
• All other US locations: $127,400 - $164,900 USD per year

Note: Actual offered salaries will vary based on calibrated job level, qualifications, skills, competencies, and proficiency for the role.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health Insurance: Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Retirement Savings Plan: 401(k) with company match.
• Paid Time Off: Generous vacation, sick leave, and company holidays.
• Parental Leave: Paid leave for new parents.
• Professional Development: Opportunities for learning, training, and conference attendance.
• Wellness Programs: Resources and support for employee well-being.
• Equity/Stock Options: Potential for stock options as part of compensation.
• Home Office Stipend: Support for setting up a productive remote workspace.

Working Hours: Standard full-time position, typically 40 hours per week. Flexibility may be available, but core hours will likely align with business needs for cross-functional collaboration, especially with teams across different US time zones.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary ranges are provided with clear geographic tiers, reflecting the company's compensation strategy. Candidates should research current market rates for Product Designers with a GTM/Partnerships focus in their specific location to benchmark the provided ranges. The inclusion of a home office stipend is a common and valuable benefit for remote roles.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Home Services Marketplace / Technology Platform. Thumbtack connects consumers with local service professionals for home improvement and maintenance needs. Company Size: Over 1,000 employees (based on typical Greenhouse ATS job posting context and company growth). Founded: 2012. Thumbtack has grown significantly, evolving from a simple directory to a comprehensive platform for home care.

Team Structure:

• Product Design Team: A close-knit group of product designers, researchers, and content designers who collaborate closely with product managers and engineers. They emphasize design critiques, work sessions, and presentations to influence product direction.
• Partnerships Team: Operates like an internal startup, identifying high-potential verticals, forming strategic relationships, and driving new product initiatives. This team balances experimentation with execution.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: The role requires deep collaboration with Business Development, Sales, Go-to-Market Operations, and Product teams, indicating a highly integrated and collaborative environment.

Methodology:

• User-Centered Design: The design team focuses on creating well-crafted, innovative, and delightful user experiences.
• Data-Informed Decisions: While not explicitly stated for this role, Thumbtack, as a tech company, likely uses data to inform product and GTM strategies.
• Agile Development: Collaboration with engineers suggests an agile or iterative product development process.
• Experimentation and Execution: The Partnerships team specifically balances trying new ideas with efficiently scaling what works.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Thumbtack's culture appears to value craftsmanship, innovation, and cross-functional teamwork. The "startup within Thumbtack" mentality of the Partnerships team suggests an environment that is fast-paced, entrepreneurial, and focused on rapid growth and market validation.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Mid-Level Product Designer role (3-5 years experience). It sits at the intersection of Product Design and Go-to-Market Operations, offering a unique path for growth beyond traditional product design.

Reporting Structure: The role reports into the Product Design team but works very closely with the Partnerships team leadership (likely Business Development or Partnerships Product Management). This dotted-line reporting or strong cross-functional collaboration structure is common for roles supporting strategic initiatives.

Operations Impact: The Product Designer's work will have a direct impact on Thumbtack's revenue growth by:

• Unlocking New Revenue Streams: Designing experiences for new partnerships and verticals.
• Accelerating Sales Cycles: Creating compelling pitches and demos that help close deals faster.
• Enhancing Partner Value: Improving the experience for partners, leading to stronger relationships and retention.
• Driving Customer Acquisition: Visualizing new product offerings that attract new homeowners and service professionals.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization in GTM Design: Develop expertise in designing for sales enablement, partnership integrations, and strategic market entry.
• Leadership in Partnerships Design: Potentially grow into a lead design role for the Partnerships team, influencing product strategy and roadmap for new business initiatives.
• Cross-Functional Mobility: Gain deep experience in Business Development, Sales Operations, and Product Management, opening doors to roles in those areas.
• Skill Development: Opportunity to hone advanced prototyping, motion design, and visual storytelling skills in a high-impact context.
• Impactful Projects: Work on high-visibility projects that directly contribute to Thumbtack's strategic growth objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is an excellent opportunity for a Product Designer looking to transition or gain significant experience in a GTM-focused capacity. The "twist" implies a chance to build a unique skill set that is highly valuable at the intersection of design and business development.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully Remote. This role is designed for individuals who can work effectively from a home office or other remote location.

Office Location(s): While the role is remote, salary bands are tied to specific high-cost-of-living US metros (San Francisco, New York City, Seattle, etc.) and other states/regions. This suggests the company has a distributed workforce but may have hubs or a preference for candidates in certain areas to manage time zone alignment.

Workspace Context:

• Autonomous Work: Expect a high degree of autonomy, requiring self-discipline and effective time management to meet deadlines and collaborate remotely.
• Digital Collaboration Tools: Reliance on collaboration platforms (e.g., Slack, Zoom, Figma, Notion) for communication, design reviews, and project management.
• Cross-Functional Interaction: Regular opportunities to interact with diverse teams across Business Development, Sales, GTM Operations, and Product, fostering a dynamic and collaborative remote environment.
• Tools and Technology: Access to industry-standard design and collaboration tools, with potential for AI-assisted design tools.

Work Schedule: While typically 40 hours/week, the remote nature may offer some flexibility. However, candidates should be prepared to align with core business hours for effective collaboration across US time zones, especially with Sales and Business Development teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote nature necessitates strong communication skills and the ability to self-manage. The salary banding based on location indicates the company's awareness of cost-of-living differences and aims to provide competitive compensation accordingly.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Application Screening: Review of resume and portfolio against the outlined requirements.
2. Recruiter Screen: Initial conversation to assess general fit, experience, and interest.
3. Hiring Manager Interview: In-depth discussion about your experience, approach to design, and alignment with the Partnerships team's goals.
4. Portfolio Presentation & Design Challenge: A key stage where you'll present your portfolio, focusing on relevant case studies, and potentially tackle a design challenge related to partner experiences or GTM assets.
5. Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with key stakeholders from Product, Sales, or Business Development to assess collaboration skills and strategic thinking.
6. Final Round/Executive Interview: May involve higher-level discussions on strategy, impact, and cultural fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate for Relevance: Select 3-5 projects that most closely align with the job description – especially those involving interactive demos, pitch materials, partnership integrations, or GTM initiatives.
• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the design process (including challenges and solutions), and the measurable impact or outcome.
• Highlight Motion and Interaction: Clearly showcase your prototyping and animation skills. Use video clips or interactive embeds where possible.
• Explain Strategic Rationale: Be prepared to discuss why you made certain design decisions and how they supported the business or partner objectives.
• Tailor Your Presentation: Practice presenting your portfolio to resonate with a mixed audience of designers, product managers, and business stakeholders.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Business Context: Research Thumbtack, its partnerships strategy, and the competitive landscape.
• Focus on GTM Messaging: If given a design challenge, think about how design can best communicate value to partners and drive adoption.
• Prototype Effectively: Demonstrate your ability to quickly create a functional and visually compelling prototype that addresses the challenge.
• Articulate Your Process: Be ready to explain your thought process, design choices, and how you'd iterate on the solution.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process heavily emphasizes the portfolio and the ability to present design work in a GTM context. Candidates should treat their portfolio presentation as a critical GTM pitch itself, demonstrating their communication and storytelling skills.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential for UI design, prototyping, and collaboration. Proficiency is a must.
• Prototyping Tools: Beyond Figma, familiarity with tools like Principle, After Effects, or similar for advanced motion and animation design.
• Adobe Creative Suite: Photoshop, Illustrator for asset creation and manipulation.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not a primary tool for this role, understanding how design impacts metrics is key. Familiarity with tools like Amplitude, Google Analytics, or Tableau for understanding user behavior and GTM performance would be beneficial.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems (e.g., Salesforce): Understanding how partner and sales data is managed can be helpful for context.
• Presentation Software: Expertise in PowerPoint or Google Slides for creating pitch decks.
• Collaboration Platforms: Slack, Zoom, Notion, Jira for team communication and project management.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on Figma and advanced prototyping/motion tools highlights the core technical skills required. Familiarity with GTM tools and data platforms is a plus, as it demonstrates an understanding of the broader ecosystem the designer will be supporting.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Craftsmanship: A commitment to high-quality, polished, and delightful user experiences and GTM assets.
• Impact-Driven: Focus on delivering tangible business outcomes, accelerating growth, and supporting strategic partnerships.
• Collaboration: Strong emphasis on working effectively with diverse cross-functional teams to achieve shared goals.
• Innovation: Encouraging new ideas and approaches, particularly within the fast-paced Partnerships team.
• User-Centricity: Designing with the needs of homeowners, service professionals, and partners in mind.

Collaboration Style:

• Iterative and Feedback-Oriented: Regular design critiques and work sessions are part of the process.
• Cross-Functional Partnership: Deep integration with Product, Engineering, Sales, and Business Development teams is expected.
• Transparent Communication: Open sharing of ideas, progress, and challenges is encouraged.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture appears to value both the aesthetic quality of design ("craftsmanship") and its practical application in driving business results ("impact-driven"). The collaborative spirit is crucial given the cross-functional nature of the role.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Design Craft with GTM Speed: The need to produce high-polish assets quickly to support rapid business development and sales cycles.
• Navigating Ambiguity: Working within a "startup within a company" environment means dealing with evolving priorities and less defined processes.
• Aligning Diverse Stakeholders: Effectively communicating design vision and rationale to teams with different objectives (e.g., Sales vs. Product vs. Engineering).
• Quantifying Design Impact: Demonstrating the ROI of design work, especially for pitch decks and demo experiences, can be challenging.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deepen GTM Expertise: Gain hands-on experience in developing strategies and creative assets for market entry and partnership launches.
• Advanced Prototyping Skills: Enhance proficiency in cutting-edge prototyping and animation techniques.
• Influence Product Strategy: Contribute directly to the design direction of new business verticals and partnership products.
• Mentorship: Potential to learn from experienced designers, product managers, and business development leaders.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role presents a unique opportunity to tackle challenges that blend creative execution with strategic business objectives, fostering significant professional growth in a niche but highly valuable area.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Tell me about a time you designed a pitch deck or demo that directly influenced a business outcome." (Focus on storytelling, metrics, and strategic rationale.)
• "How do you approach translating complex business needs into simple, compelling visual narratives for partners?" (Highlight your process for understanding requirements and communicating them visually.)
• "Describe a challenging cross-functional collaboration you experienced. How did you navigate disagreements or align different perspectives?" (Emphasize communication, empathy, and problem-solving.)
• "How do you balance speed and polish when creating GTM assets under tight deadlines?" (Discuss your workflow, prioritization strategies, and understanding of 'good enough' vs. 'perfect'.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Thumbtack's mission and the Partnerships team's role in it?" (Research Thumbtack's impact and current initiatives.)
• "How do you see your design skills contributing to a 'startup within a company' environment?" (Showcase adaptability, initiative, and entrepreneurial spirit.)
• "Describe your ideal collaboration style with sales and business development teams." (Emphasize partnership, clear communication, and understanding their goals.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: Begin with a high-level overview of your portfolio, then dive into 2-3 key projects. For each project, clearly state the problem, your role, your process, the solution, and the impact.
• Highlight GTM Relevance: Explicitly call out how your showcased work (prototypes, motion, visuals) supports business objectives, partner engagement, or GTM strategies.
• Interactive Elements: Be ready to demonstrate prototypes live or provide links. If showcasing motion, ensure smooth playback.
• Be Concise and Engaging: Practice your narrative to keep stakeholders engaged. Time your presentation and be prepared for Q&A.
• Showcase Craft AND Strategy: Demonstrate both your design execution skills and your ability to think strategically about how design serves business goals.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on demonstrating how your design skills translate into tangible business value for partners and the company's growth objectives. Think of the interview as a series of pitches where you are selling your design expertise and strategic thinking.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer, Partnerships position:

• Submit your application, ensuring your resume and portfolio are up-to-date and tailored to the role.
• Portfolio Customization: Select and prominently feature projects that demonstrate advanced prototyping, motion design, visual storytelling, and experience creating assets for business development, sales, or partnership initiatives.
• Resume Optimization: Use keywords from the job description (e.g., "Product Design," "Prototyping," "Motion Design," "GTM," "Partnerships," "Storytelling") and quantify achievements where possible.
• Interview Preparation: Practice presenting your portfolio and articulating your design process and strategic thinking, particularly in the context of business growth and partner engagement.
• Company Research: Thoroughly research Thumbtack's mission, product offerings, and any publicly available information about their partnerships and GTM strategies.

⚠️ 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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