Product Designer (Staff)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer (Staff)

Company: Function Health

Location: Austin, Texas, United States (Remote OK)

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / UX/UI Design

Date Posted: 2025-07-25T22:14:39

Experience Level: 10+ years (Staff/Principal Level)

Remote Status: Remote OK (United States)

🚀 Role Summary

• Spearhead the design of user-centric digital products, focusing on creating intuitive and engaging experiences for members accessing real-time health data.

• Lead cross-functional teams through the entire design lifecycle, ensuring seamless implementation of features across web and mobile platforms.

• Drive innovation in complex data visualization and user interface design, directly impacting user health outcomes and company growth.

• Champion a robust design system, ensuring consistency, scalability, and adherence to best practices across all product touchpoints.

• Contribute to strategic product decisions by integrating user insights from research into actionable design solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Staff" level designation, combined with the "10+ years" experience requirement and emphasis on leadership, cross-functional guidance, and shaping the future of member experience, indicates a principal-level individual contributor role. This role is expected to operate with significant autonomy, mentor junior designers (if any), and influence product strategy and design direction. The remote nature, combined with the US-based requirement, suggests a focus on candidates within a specific time zone or with a demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively across distances.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Product Strategy & User Problem Solving: Deeply understand product objectives, identify core user pain points, and translate them into innovative design solutions that deliver both significant member value and strategic business benefits.

• Cross-Functional Design Leadership: Proactively guide and collaborate with product managers, engineers, and operations teams to ensure the successful conceptualization, design, and implementation of new features and enhancements across various platforms (web, iOS, Android).

• Creative Solution Presentation & Communication: Develop and articulate compelling design concepts, user flows, wireframes, and high-fidelity mockups. Effectively communicate design rationale, trade-offs, and user-centric arguments to diverse stakeholders, including executive leadership.

• User Experience Research & Integration: Actively support and contribute to user experience research initiatives, synthesize findings, and translate research insights into concrete design improvements and feature developments that enhance user engagement and satisfaction.

• Design System Management & Evolution: Own, expand, and maintain a comprehensive, efficient, and scalable design system. Ensure its consistent application across the product suite, driving alignment and quality in all design outputs and fostering a unified brand experience.

• Data Visualization Design: Design clear, insightful, and actionable data visualizations that empower members to understand and act upon their health data effectively, translating complex information into easily digestible interfaces.

• Ambiguity Navigation & Problem Solving: Tackle complex design challenges with a proactive, analytical approach, demonstrating resourcefulness and a strong bias toward action in ambiguous situations.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a senior-level individual contributor role with significant leadership and strategic impact. The emphasis on "comprehend product goals," "address user problems," and "optimize both member impact and company benefits" points to a designer who is business-savvy and understands the connection between user experience and commercial outcomes. The "Cross-Functional Leadership" and "Solution Presentation" responsibilities indicate a need for strong communication and influencing skills, essential for driving consensus and adoption of designs. The inclusion of "Data Visualization" and "Design System Management" points to specific technical and strategic design competencies.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Industrial Design, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience, is generally expected for this level.

Experience: 8+ years of dedicated UI/UX and product design experience, with a proven track record of delivering exceptional digital products. A minimum of 10 years of overall relevant experience is implied by the "Staff" level.

Required Skills:

• UI/UX & Product Design Mastery: Deep expertise in UI/UX principles, user-centered design methodologies, and end-to-end product design processes.

• Data Visualization Design: Proven ability to design clear, effective, and engaging data visualizations for complex health metrics.

• Design System Expertise: Experience in building, expanding, and maintaining comprehensive design systems, ensuring consistency and scalability.

• User Experience Research Acumen: Ability to support, conduct, and synthesize user research findings to inform design decisions and product strategy.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Demonstrated ability to work effectively with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

• Strong Communication & Presentation Skills: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate design rationale and solutions clearly and persuasively to both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Critical Thinking & Problem Solving: A strong capacity for analytical thinking, challenging assumptions, and developing creative solutions to complex design problems.

• Bias Toward Action & Initiative: Proactive self-starter with a demonstrated ability to take ownership, make decisions, and drive projects forward independently.

• Adaptability & Entrepreneurial Spirit: Ability to thrive in a dynamic startup environment, adapt to changing business needs, and contribute to process optimization.

• Remote Work Proficiency: Proven ability to work effectively and productively in a remote setting, maintaining strong communication and collaboration with distributed teams.

Preferred Skills:

• Figma Proficiency: Advanced expertise in Figma for UI design, prototyping, and design system management.

• UX Research Leadership: Experience leading or significantly contributing to user research initiatives, including user interviews, usability testing, and persona development.

• Developer Collaboration: Close working experience with front-end developers, with a foundational understanding of front-end technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) to facilitate smoother implementation.

• Cross-Platform Design: Expertise in designing for multiple platforms (web, iOS, Android) ensuring a cohesive and optimized user experience across each.

• Start-Up Experience: Prior experience in startup environments, particularly as an early hire or former founder, demonstrating versatility and resilience.

• Health Technology Familiarity: Knowledge or experience with popular health tracking technologies (e.g., Oura, Whoop, Apple Watch, CGMs) or a strong personal interest in health and wellness technology.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "8+ years" experience combined with "Staff" title strongly implies a senior or principal level designer. The emphasis on "Critical Thinking," "Bias Toward Action," and "Entrepreneurial Spirit" reflects the needs of a growing startup where individuals must be proactive and resourceful. The preference for "Figma Expertise" and "Developer Collaboration" are crucial for efficient execution and seamless handoffs in a modern tech environment. The "Health Technologies" preference indicates a desire for a candidate who can bring domain-specific insights and passion.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrate End-to-End Product Design: Showcase a minimum of 2-3 comprehensive case studies that illustrate your involvement from initial concept and user research through to final UI implementation and post-launch iteration.

• Highlight Problem-Solving & Impact: Clearly articulate the user problems you addressed, the design decisions you made, and the measurable impact of your solutions on user experience and business objectives (e.g., conversion rates, engagement, task completion success).

• Showcase Data Visualization Projects: Include at least one project specifically focused on designing complex data visualizations, detailing your approach to clarity, insight generation, and user comprehension.

• Illustrate Design System Contributions: If applicable, include examples of your work with design systems, whether it’s contributing to an existing system, expanding its components, or building one from scratch. Detail how it drove consistency and efficiency.

• Present Diverse Project Types: Demonstrate versatility by including projects across different platforms (web, mobile) and complexities, ideally including examples of responsive design.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design & Optimization: Be prepared to discuss your process for mapping user flows, identifying bottlenecks, and iterating on workflows to improve efficiency and user satisfaction within your portfolio projects.

• Research Integration: Detail how you integrated user research findings into your design process, providing specific examples of how research insights influenced critical design decisions and led to improved outcomes.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration Documentation: Be ready to explain how you collaborated with engineering, product management, and other stakeholders, using examples from your portfolio to illustrate communication strategies and handoff processes.

• Design System Implementation: If relevant, describe your process for applying or contributing to a design system, including how you ensured adherence and managed component updates.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Staff-level Product Designer, the portfolio is paramount. It's not just about aesthetics but demonstrating strategic thinking, problem-solving methodologies, and a deep understanding of the design process's impact on business and user outcomes. The emphasis should be on the "why" and "how" behind design decisions, supported by concrete examples and metrics. The ability to articulate a systematic approach is key for a senior role.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for Staff Product Designers in Austin, Texas, with 10+ years of experience, and considering the remote nature and startup environment, a competitive salary range is estimated to be between $160,000 - $220,000 USD annually. This estimate accounts for the senior level of the role, the high demand for experienced product designers, and the cost of living in a major tech hub like Austin, adjusted for remote work flexibility.

Benefits:

• Unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO): Offers flexibility and promotes work-life balance, allowing employees to take time off as needed.

• Paid Holidays: Standard company-recognized holidays are provided.

• Comprehensive Benefits Package: Typically includes health, dental, and vision insurance with robust coverage.

• Equity: Stock options or grants, providing employees with ownership in the company's growth and success.

• Remote Work Stipend/Support: Likely includes support for home office setup and ongoing remote work expenses.

• Professional Development: Opportunities for continuous learning, skill enhancement, and career growth.

Working Hours: While the base expectation is a standard 40-hour work week, the company culture emphasizes autonomy and a "bias toward action" with "flexible working hours." This suggests a focus on results and deliverables rather than strict adherence to a 9-to-5 schedule, with an expectation of availability for key meetings and collaborations.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is an estimation based on industry data for Staff Product Designers in major US tech markets like Austin, considering the company's funding (Andreessen Horowitz) and fast-growing status. The inclusion of equity is standard for early-stage, venture-backed startups. The "Unlimited PTO" and "flexible working hours" align with the company's stated values of empowerment and autonomy.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Healthcare Technology (HealthTech) with a focus on preventative health and empowering individuals with their health data. The company operates at the intersection of technology, wellness, and personal health management.

Company Size: Function Health is a venture-backed startup, likely in the growth phase, scaling from "thousands of members to millions." This suggests a team size that is growing but still relatively lean, fostering agility and a hands-on approach. The company has received significant investment from Andreessen Horowitz, indicating ambitious growth plans.

Founded: Function was founded with a clear mission to "empower you to live 100 healthy years" and is recognized as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024. This history points to a mission-driven organization focused on innovation and tangible impact.

Team Structure:

• Cross-Functional Design & Product Teams: The Product Designer will work within small, agile, cross-functional teams comprising Product Managers, Engineers (front-end and back-end), and potentially other designers or researchers.

• Reporting Lines: Likely reports to a Head of Product, Design Lead, or a similar senior leadership role within the Product or Engineering departments.

• Collaborative Environment: The culture emphasizes collaboration, innovation, and a "relentless bias toward action." Expect frequent interaction and shared responsibility across departments to drive product development.

Methodology:

• Agile & Iterative Development: Given the startup environment and focus on rapid growth, an agile development methodology is highly probable, involving iterative design and development cycles, frequent feedback loops, and continuous improvement.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: The company's focus on health data and member insights suggests a strong emphasis on using data to inform product decisions, design choices, and strategic planning.

• User-Centric Design: The core mission and emphasis on member experience underscore a commitment to user-centered design principles, where understanding and meeting user needs are paramount.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's recognition by Fast Company and backing by a16z signifies a high-growth, innovative startup with significant potential. The description of the company culture as "collaborative and dynamic" with a "relentless bias toward action" and "growth mindset" is crucial for candidates to understand. The focus on health data and preventative health positions the company in a rapidly expanding market.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is at the Staff level, indicating a senior individual contributor position. Staff designers are expected to operate with a high degree of autonomy, tackle the most complex and ambiguous problems, influence product strategy, mentor other designers, and drive significant improvements across product areas. They are critical to the company's technical and design leadership.

Reporting Structure: The designer will likely report to a Director or VP of Product/Design. They will work closely with Product Managers and Engineering leads, acting as a peer and collaborator at a senior level. The ability to influence and guide without direct authority is key.

Operations Impact: The Product Designer's impact is directly tied to enhancing the user experience for Function Health's members, which is critical for member acquisition, retention, and overall platform adoption. By making complex health data accessible and actionable, they directly contribute to the company's mission of empowering healthier lives and driving business growth through user satisfaction and engagement.

Growth Opportunities:

• Technical & Strategic Leadership: As a Staff Designer, there's an opportunity to become a key design leader within the company, shaping design strategy, defining best practices, and potentially growing into a Principal or Director-level role as the company scales.

• Mentorship & Team Development: Opportunity to mentor junior designers, contribute to building out the design team, and establish design processes and standards for a rapidly growing organization.

• Domain Expertise: Deepen expertise in HealthTech, personal health data, and complex data visualization, becoming a recognized specialist in this domain.

• Impactful Project Ownership: Lead the design for critical new features or product areas that have a direct and measurable impact on millions of users and the company's mission.

• Entrepreneurial Contribution: Contribute to building a foundational product and design culture within a fast-paced, venture-backed startup, offering a unique growth experience compared to larger, more established companies.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Staff" title signifies a senior individual contributor role with significant influence. The growth opportunities focus on leadership, mentorship, and specialization within the HealthTech domain, aligning with the typical career progression for senior designers in growing startups. The emphasis is on strategic impact and shaping the future of the product and its design discipline.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is designated as TELECOMMUTE, meaning it is fully remote. While the company has a headquarters in Austin, Texas, this specific position is open to remote candidates within the United States.

Office Location(s): Function Health's headquarters are in Austin, Texas. However, the remote nature of this role means candidates can be located anywhere within the United States, provided they can effectively collaborate with the team.

Workspace Context:

• Remote Collaboration Tools: Expect to utilize a suite of digital collaboration tools (e.g., Slack, Zoom, Miro, Figma) to stay connected with team members, brainstorm ideas, and conduct design reviews.

• Autonomous Work Environment: The remote setup requires a high degree of self-discipline, time management, and proactive communication to ensure productivity and integration with the team.

• Cross-Functional Interaction: Despite the remote nature, there will be ample opportunity for interaction with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders through virtual meetings and collaborative platforms.

Work Schedule: The company offers "flexible working hours" and emphasizes "autonomy." While a 40-hour work week is standard, the focus is on delivering results and being available for key team interactions, rather than adhering to a rigid schedule. This allows for greater flexibility in managing one's workday, provided deadlines are met and collaboration is maintained.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Remote OK" status and "United States" location requirement suggest that while the company is based in Austin, they are open to hiring top talent nationwide. This provides flexibility for candidates outside of Austin but requires a strong ability to self-manage and communicate effectively in a distributed team setting. The emphasis on flexibility and autonomy is a key aspect of the work environment.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A brief call with a recruiter to assess basic qualifications, cultural fit, and interest in the role and company mission.

• Portfolio Presentation & Design Deep Dive: A significant portion of the interview process will involve presenting your portfolio. This will likely include walking through 1-2 detailed case studies, explaining your process, design decisions, and the impact of your work. Expect in-depth questions about your approach to problem-solving, data visualization, and design systems.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Interviews with Product Managers and Engineering leads to assess collaboration skills, technical understanding, and ability to work effectively in a team.

• Staff-Level Problem Solving/Whiteboarding: A session may involve a live design exercise or discussion of a hypothetical complex problem, focusing on your thought process, strategic thinking, and ability to articulate solutions under pressure.

• Final Round with Leadership: A meeting with senior leadership (e.g., Head of Product, CEO) to discuss strategic alignment, cultural fit, and overall fit for the Staff-level role.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 of your strongest, most relevant projects that best showcase your skills in UI/UX, product design, data visualization, and design systems. Prioritize projects that demonstrate end-to-end problem-solving and measurable impact.

• Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly outline the problem, your role, the process you followed, your key decisions (and the rationale behind them), and the outcomes achieved. Use visuals effectively to illustrate your points.

• Highlight Impact & Metrics: Quantify your achievements whenever possible. Show how your designs improved user metrics, business KPIs, or solved critical user pain points.

• Demonstrate Design Thinking: Emphasize your thought process, iteration, and how you handled challenges or ambiguity. Show that you are not just a pixel-pusher but a strategic problem-solver.

• Be Prepared for Technical Questions: Anticipate questions about your Figma proficiency, understanding of front-end technologies, and experience with design systems.

Challenge Preparation:

• Practice Live Design Exercises: If a whiteboarding or live design challenge is expected, practice sketching user flows, wireframing solutions, and articulating your ideas quickly and clearly.

• Prepare for Ambiguity: Understand that challenges may be open-ended. Focus on demonstrating your approach to breaking down problems, asking clarifying questions, and exploring potential solutions.

• Articulate Your "Why": Be ready to explain the reasoning behind your design choices, even in a hypothetical scenario. Connect your solutions back to user needs and business goals.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process for a Staff Designer is rigorous and heavily focused on demonstrating strategic thinking and leadership through the portfolio. Candidates must be prepared to not only show their work but also to defend their design decisions and articulate their end-to-end process comprehensively.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The primary design tool for UI/UX design, prototyping, and collaborative design. Proficiency is highly preferred.

• Miro/FigJam: For collaborative whiteboarding, brainstorming, user journey mapping, and ideation sessions.

• Project Management Tools: Likely Jira, Asana, or Trello for task tracking and sprint management.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics Tools: Potentially Amplitude, Mixpanel, or similar for understanding user behavior within the product.

• Data Visualization Tools: While not a primary tool for the designer, an understanding of how data is presented and consumed is crucial. Familiarity with tools like Tableau or Power BI might be beneficial for context.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM System: Likely Salesforce or HubSpot, for understanding customer data and sales/marketing processes, although direct use may be limited for a designer.

• Communication & Collaboration: Slack for real-time team communication, Zoom/Google Meet for video conferencing.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma is explicitly mentioned as a preferred skill, indicating its central role in the design workflow. The other tools listed are common in fast-paced tech environments and support collaboration, project management, and data analysis, which are essential for a designer to understand and interact with.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Mission-Driven: A strong commitment to the mission of empowering users to live healthier lives through technology.

• Bias Toward Action: A proactive, results-oriented approach where individuals take initiative and move forward swiftly.

• Growth Mindset: A dedication to continuous learning, improvement, and embracing challenges as opportunities.

• Collaboration & Innovation: Valuing teamwork, open communication, and the generation of new ideas.

• User-Centricity: Placing the needs and experiences of members at the forefront of all design and product decisions.

• Accountability: Taking ownership of tasks and outcomes, and delivering on commitments.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Expect to work closely and collaboratively with product managers, engineers, and potentially marketing and operations teams.

• Open Communication: A culture that encourages direct and transparent communication, feedback exchange, and constructive debate.

• Agile & Iterative: Collaboration is likely structured around agile methodologies, with regular stand-ups, sprint planning, and retrospectives.

• Remote-First Mindset: Adaptable and effective collaboration techniques tailored for a distributed team environment are essential.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company explicitly states "relentless bias toward action and a growth mindset" and fosters a "collaborative and dynamic environment where, every day, we are building the future." These values are critical for understanding the expected work style and cultural fit.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for Ambiguity: Tackling complex problems with incomplete information, requiring strong analytical skills and the ability to define clear paths forward.

• Balancing User Needs with Business Goals: Effectively advocating for user experience while aligning with business objectives and technical constraints in a fast-paced environment.

• Scaling Design Systems: Evolving and maintaining a comprehensive design system as the product and team rapidly grow.

• Cross-Platform Consistency: Ensuring a seamless and cohesive user experience across web, iOS, and Android platforms.

• Integrating Complex Health Data: Translating intricate health metrics and research findings into user-friendly and actionable interfaces.

• Remote Collaboration Dynamics: Maintaining strong team cohesion and effective communication in a fully remote setting.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Dive into HealthTech: Gain specialized knowledge in the rapidly evolving health technology sector.

• Mastering Data Visualization: Hone skills in designing effective and impactful data visualizations for health-related information.

• Strategic Design Leadership: Develop leadership capabilities by influencing product strategy and mentoring other designers.

• Startup Environment Acumen: Gain invaluable experience in a high-growth, venture-backed startup, understanding the dynamics of rapid scaling and innovation.

• Building Scalable Design Systems: Contribute to the foundational design infrastructure of a growing product.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are directly derived from the role's responsibilities and the startup environment, emphasizing complexity, ambiguity, and growth. The learning opportunities focus on domain expertise, strategic development, and the unique experience of working in a fast-paced startup.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Tell me about a time you designed a complex data visualization. What were the challenges and how did you ensure clarity and impact?" (Prepare a case study from your portfolio that addresses this.)

• "Describe your process for contributing to or building a design system. How do you ensure its adoption and maintain consistency?" (Be ready to discuss your experience with Figma and design system principles.)

• "Walk me through a project where you had to work with significant ambiguity or incomplete requirements. How did you define the problem and proceed?" (Focus on your problem-solving methodology and bias toward action.)

• "How do you collaborate with engineers and product managers? Describe a situation where you had to influence a technical or product decision." (Prepare examples of cross-functional collaboration and communication.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Function Health's mission and our specific approach to health data?" (Show genuine interest and research the company's values and recent news.)

• "How do you approach continuous improvement and challenging assumptions, as mentioned in our company values?" (Provide examples of when you've sought feedback or questioned existing processes.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure is Key: For each case study, follow a clear narrative: Problem -> Your Role -> Process -> Solution -> Outcome/Impact.

• Focus on the "Why": Don't just show what you did, explain why you made those decisions. Connect your choices to user needs, business goals, and design principles.

• Quantify Impact: Use metrics whenever possible to demonstrate the success of your designs.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your process, your specific contributions, and how you handled trade-offs.

• Showcase Figma Skills (if applicable): Be prepared to navigate your Figma files if asked, demonstrating your proficiency.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on aligning your experience with the company's stated values (bias toward action, growth mindset, collaboration) and the specific requirements of a Staff Designer (ambiguity, leadership, complex data visualization, design systems). Demonstrating strategic thinking and a deep understanding of the product design lifecycle is paramount.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on jobs.gem.com.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your most impactful projects that highlight your end-to-end product design process, data visualization skills, and experience with design systems. Ensure each case study clearly articulates the problem, your solution, your process, and measurable outcomes.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight keywords and experiences relevant to Staff Product Design, UI/UX, data visualization, design systems, cross-functional leadership, and startup environments. Quantify your achievements with specific metrics.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Rehearse your portfolio walkthrough, focusing on telling a compelling story about your design journey, problem-solving approach, and ability to drive impact. Practice articulating your rationale clearly and concisely.

• Research Function Health: Understand their mission, values, target audience, and recent innovations. Prepare thoughtful questions for the interviewers to demonstrate your engagement and strategic thinking.

⚠️ 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.