Senior Product Designer
π Job Overview
Job Title: Senior Product Designer
Company: FieldAI
Location: Irvine, California, United States
Job Type: Full time
Category: Product Design & UX/UI
Date Posted: April 23, 2026
Experience Level: 5-10 years
Remote Status: On-site
π Role Summary
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Define and own the visual identity and design language for FieldAI's customer interactive experience, ensuring a premium, cohesive, and intentional aesthetic across all surfaces.
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Develop and maintain a comprehensive design system, including design policies, primitives, visual style guides, design tokens, and documented interaction patterns to ensure scalability and consistency.
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Translate complex robotic operations into clear, elegant industrial workflows, focusing on intuitive user interaction with autonomous robots across diverse environments and use cases.
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Design data products that effectively communicate value, enabling users to understand and confidently act upon the rich data generated by FieldAI's systems.
π Primary Responsibilities
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Define and own the visual identity and design language for the company's customer interactive experience, establishing the aesthetic standard that makes every surface of the product feel premium, intentional, and cohesive.
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Create and maintain a comprehensive design system, including design policies and primitives, visual style guide, design tokens, and documented interaction patterns that scale across the platform.
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Bring an intuitive sense to how users work with robots across a variety of sites, environments, and use cases β translating complex robotic operations into clear, elegant industrial workflows.
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Design data products that communicate value β helping users not just see the rich data our systems generate, but understand what it means and act on it with confidence.
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Own design ops end-to-end: establish governance, versioning, and contribution processes for the design system to ensure consistency as the product and team grow.
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Collaborate closely with product, marketing, and engineering teams to bring designs from concept to production β ensuring what ships matches the vision.
π Skills & Qualifications
Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong foundation in design principles, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), or related fields is expected, demonstrated through experience and portfolio.
Experience: 5+ years of experience in systems design with a proven track record of shipping digital products. Experience in building and maintaining design systems from the ground up is a core requirement.
Required Skills:
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Systems design expertise with a focus on complex platforms, interactive tools, or multi-layered applications.
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Proven experience building and maintaining comprehensive design systems, including component libraries, style guides, design tokens, and usage documentation.
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Proficiency in Figma as the primary design tool for creating interfaces, prototypes, and design system assets.
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Strong data visualization skills, with the ability to translate complex information into clear, useful, and aesthetically pleasing formats.
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Systems thinking capability to design individual interactions within the context of a broader platform and design language.
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Excellent written and verbal communication skills for articulating design decisions, providing feedback, and collaborating across disciplines.
Preferred Skills:
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Experience designing for robotics, autonomous systems, IoT, or other hardware-software integrated products.
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Background in platform-level UX, emphasizing information architecture, navigation patterns, and scalability.
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Familiarity with real-time data interfaces, mapping, or geospatial UX design.
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Experience designing for multi-site or multi-environment use cases.
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Comfort with prototyping interactions and micro-animations to convey dynamic behaviors.
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Track record of establishing design culture and evangelizing design system adoption within engineering teams.
π Enhancement Note: The required experience level and emphasis on design systems and complex platforms suggest this role is for a seasoned designer capable of strategic thinking and execution. The preference for robotics and HRI experience indicates a specialized domain focus.
π Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements
Portfolio Essentials:
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A strong portfolio showcasing shipped digital products, with a specific emphasis on complex platforms, interactive tools, or multi-layered applications.
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Demonstrations of your ability to define and own a visual identity and design language for a product or platform.
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Evidence of building and maintaining design systems from the ground up, including examples of component libraries, style guides, design tokens, and usage documentation.
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Case studies illustrating your systems thinking approach, showing how individual designs integrate into a broader platform and design language.
Process Documentation:
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Case studies detailing your end-to-end ownership of design systems, including governance, versioning, and contribution processes.
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Examples of how you translated complex operational workflows (specifically robotic operations) into clear, elegant, and intuitive user interfaces.
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Documentation of your user research methodologies and how user feedback influenced design decisions, particularly for field operators, site managers, or enterprise decision-makers.
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Evidence of collaboration with product, marketing, and engineering teams, demonstrating your ability to bring designs from concept to production.
π Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a "design system from the ground up" and "Design Ops" suggests candidates should prepare to showcase not just their design output, but also their process for creating scalable, maintainable design frameworks and their ability to manage and govern design assets.
π΅ Compensation & Benefits
Salary Range: $125,000 - $185,000 per year.
Benefits:
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Competitive base pay, with final compensation determined by individual background, experience, and role scope.
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Opportunity to work on cutting-edge embodied AI and robotics technology in a field-deployment focused environment.
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Collaboration with a world-class team of experts from leading technology and research organizations.
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Involvement in solving challenging, real-world problems in robotics and autonomous systems.
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Potential for growth and impact within a company focused on defining the future of field-ready autonomy.
Working Hours: The standard full-time work week is typically 40 hours, with flexibility expected to meet project deadlines and collaborate effectively within a dynamic technology environment.
π Enhancement Note: The salary range is competitive for a Senior Product Designer role in the Irvine, California market, considering the specialized nature of the company's work in robotics and AI. The explanation provided notes that base pay is influenced by role scope, knowledge, skills, experience, and local market conditions.
π― Team & Company Context
π’ Company Culture
Industry: Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Embodied AI, Autonomous Systems. FieldAI operates at the intersection of advanced AI and practical robotic deployment, pushing the boundaries of real-world AI applications.
Company Size: FieldAI is a growing company, indicated by its need for experienced roles like Senior Product Designer and its emphasis on collaboration across diverse teams. The team structure suggests a dynamic environment where individual contributions are significant.
Founded: While the founding date isn't explicitly stated, the company's focus on "field-ready AI systems" and "Field Foundational Modelsβ’" suggests a mature yet innovative stage of development, likely founded within the last decade to capitalize on recent AI advancements.
Team Structure:
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The product design team is integrated within a larger product and engineering organization, working closely with product managers, marketing, and engineers.
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Collaboration is expected across multiple disciplines including AI, software engineering, robotics engineering, product management, field deployment, and technical communication.
Methodology:
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Data-driven approaches are combined with rigorous engineering and learning systems proven in globally deployed solutions.
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Emphasis on developing "risk-aware, reliable, field-ready AI systems" that improve through real-world deployments.
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Focus on explainability and safety in AI systems, particularly for robotic applications in unstructured environments.
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A culture that values creativity, resilience, and bold thinking, with a focus on shipping tangible results on hardware.
Company Website: http://www.fieldai.com
π Enhancement Note: FieldAI appears to foster a culture of innovation and practical application, deeply rooted in scientific rigor and engineering excellence. The emphasis on "shipping," "real hardware," and "field deployments" suggests an environment where theory meets tangible results, appealing to designers who want to see their work in action.
π Career & Growth Analysis
Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Senior Product Designer, indicating a mid-to-senior level position. It requires significant experience (5+ years) and the ability to take ownership of critical design functions like visual identity, design systems, and Design Ops. The role is not entry-level and expects a high degree of autonomy and strategic contribution.
Reporting Structure: The Senior Product Designer will likely report to a Head of Product, Design Lead, or a similar senior management role within the product organization. They will collaborate closely with Product Managers and Engineering leads on a daily basis.
Operations Impact: The impact of this role is significant, as the Senior Product Designer will shape the customer-facing interface of FieldAI's complex AI and robotics platform. Their work directly influences user adoption, operational efficiency for robot users, and the perceived value and premium nature of the FieldAI brand. By defining the design language and user experience, they enable users to unlock insights and operate autonomous robots effectively at scale.
Growth Opportunities:
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Specialization: Deepen expertise in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), data visualization for complex systems, or platform-level UX design within the robotics domain.
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Leadership: Transition into a Design Lead or Managerial role, overseeing a team of designers, establishing design strategy, and driving design system adoption across the organization.
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Influence: Play a key role in shaping the company's design culture and evangelizing best practices across engineering and product teams.
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Domain Expertise: Become a recognized expert in designing for cutting-edge AI and robotics applications, a rapidly growing and impactful field.
π Enhancement Note: The "Senior" title and responsibilities such as owning the design system and Design Ops suggest this role has significant growth potential into leadership and strategic design influence within a specialized, high-growth industry.
π Work Environment
Office Type: The role is based in FieldAI's Irvine team location, described as the hub where "embodied AI meets real robots, real sensors, and real field deployments." This suggests a hands-on environment, likely incorporating lab or testing facilities alongside traditional office spaces.
Office Location(s): Irvine, California, USA. This location is specifically highlighted as being in the "heart of Southern Californiaβs robotics ecosystem," implying a vibrant community of related technology companies and research institutions.
Workspace Context:
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A collaborative environment where designers work closely with product managers, engineers, and marketing teams.
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Access to real hardware, sensors, and robotic systems for testing and iteration, providing a unique, hands-on design experience.
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A focus on practical application and real-world deployments, meaning the workspace supports the entire product lifecycle from concept to field operation.
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Opportunities to interact with a world-class team possessing deep expertise from leading robotics and AI organizations.
Work Schedule: This is a full-time, on-site position. While a standard 40-hour work week is expected, the dynamic nature of working with physical hardware and cutting-edge AI may require flexibility to accommodate project needs and real-time testing scenarios.
π Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "real robots, real sensors, and real field deployments" in Irvine strongly indicates an on-site work environment that is highly integrated with physical product development and testing, offering a unique experience for product designers.
π Application & Portfolio Review Process
Interview Process:
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Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess experience, design craft, and relevant skills.
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Portfolio Presentation: A session where you will present your portfolio, walking through case studies that demonstrate your systems design capabilities, design system development experience, and understanding of complex platforms. Be prepared to discuss your process, decisions, and the impact of your work.
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Design Challenge/Case Study: You may be given a design problem or scenario related to robotic operations or data visualization to solve, demonstrating your problem-solving skills, systems thinking, and ability to translate complex requirements into elegant design solutions.
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Cross-Functional Interviews: Discussions with Product Managers, Engineers, and potentially Marketing stakeholders to assess collaboration skills, communication effectiveness, and cultural fit within FieldAI's innovative environment.
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Final Interview: A meeting with senior leadership to discuss your strategic vision, leadership potential, and alignment with FieldAI's mission.
Portfolio Review Tips:
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Showcase Design Systems: Dedicate a significant portion of your portfolio to your experience building and maintaining design systems. Detail your process, the components you created, how you established design tokens, and how you implemented governance.
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Highlight Systems Thinking: For each project, clearly articulate how your design decisions fit into the broader product ecosystem and design language. Demonstrate your ability to zoom in on individual interactions and zoom out to the platform level.
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Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, use metrics to demonstrate the impact of your design work. For example, mention improvements in user efficiency, task completion rates, or adoption rates resulting from your designs.
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Focus on HRI and Data Viz: If you have experience with Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) or complex data visualization, ensure these projects are prominently featured. Explain the unique challenges and how you addressed them.
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Demonstrate Collaboration: Include examples or descriptions of how you collaborated with engineering, product, and marketing teams, emphasizing your ability to translate vision into production-ready designs.
Challenge Preparation:
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Understand the Domain: Research FieldAI's work in embodied AI, robotics, and autonomous systems. Familiarize yourself with common challenges in HRI, data interpretation for operational use, and industrial workflows.
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Practice Problem Decomposition: For any given challenge, practice breaking down the problem into smaller, manageable parts. Identify key user needs, technical constraints, and business objectives.
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Articulate Your Process: Be ready to clearly explain your design process, from research and ideation to prototyping and iteration. Use a structured approach (e.g., Discover, Define, Design, Deliver) and be prepared to justify your choices.
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Focus on Scalability and Cohesion: Given the emphasis on design systems, consider how your solutions would scale across a platform and maintain visual and interaction consistency.
π Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a robust portfolio showcasing design systems, HRI, and data visualization is critical. Candidates should prepare to articulate their process for building and governing design systems and demonstrating how their designs enable users to effectively interact with complex robotic systems and data.
π Tools & Technology Stack
Primary Tools:
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Figma: Explicitly stated as the primary design tool. Proficiency in creating UI designs, interactive prototypes, design system components, and collaborating within Figma is essential.
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Design System Tools: Familiarity with tools and methodologies for managing design tokens, style guides, and component libraries (often integrated within or alongside Figma).
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Prototyping Tools: Beyond Figma's native capabilities, experience with other advanced prototyping tools for micro-animations or complex interactions may be beneficial.
Analytics & Reporting:
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Data Visualization Tools: While not specified, experience with tools that facilitate the creation of clear and useful data visualizations is required. This could include libraries within design tools or specialized BI/analytics platforms.
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User Feedback Platforms: Tools for collecting and analyzing user feedback, essential for championing the user and iterating on designs.
CRM & Automation:
- While not directly a design tool, an understanding of how designs integrate into larger product platforms, which often involve CRM and automation workflows, is beneficial for context.
π Enhancement Note: Figma is the core tool. The role also implies a need for strong conceptual understanding of how designs integrate with data visualization and user feedback mechanisms, even if specific tools in those areas aren't listed.
π₯ Team Culture & Values
Operations Values:
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User-Centricity: A strong emphasis on championing the user through research, feedback, and advocacy, understanding the needs of field operators, site managers, and enterprise decision-makers.
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Precision and Reliability: Given the domain of robotics and AI for real-world deployment, there's an implicit value placed on meticulous design, accuracy, and creating systems that are reliable and risk-aware.
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Innovation and Bold Thinking: The company culture encourages creativity, tackling tough, uncharted questions, and pushing the boundaries of embodied intelligence.
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Collaboration and Cross-Disciplinary Work: FieldAI values individuals who can work effectively across teams (product, marketing, engineering, AI, robotics) to bring complex solutions to life.
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Impact and Shipping: A core value is ensuring work translates into tangible results that are shipped and deployed in the real world, making a practical difference.
Collaboration Style:
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Close collaboration with Product, Marketing, and Engineering teams is fundamental to bringing designs from concept to production.
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A culture that encourages giving and receiving feedback gracefully across disciplines.
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Team members are expected to be builders who can work across disciplines, contributing to the shared goal of shipping functional robotics systems.
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The role requires evangelizing design system adoption, suggesting a proactive and collaborative approach to driving best practices throughout engineering teams.
π Enhancement Note: The company values a blend of user advocacy, technical rigor, and collaborative innovation, essential for developing complex AI and robotics products that must perform reliably in challenging field conditions.
β‘ Challenges & Growth Opportunities
Challenges:
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Designing for Novelty: Creating intuitive user experiences for a new category of technology (humans operating autonomous robots at scale) requires significant innovation and clear problem-solving.
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Translating Complexity: Simplifying intricate robotic operations and vast datasets into elegant, understandable industrial workflows and data products presents a significant design challenge.
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Human-Robot Interaction (HRI): Designing effective interfaces for collaboration between humans and autonomous systems requires understanding unique HRI challenges, which are still an evolving field.
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Scalability and Consistency: Maintaining a cohesive and premium design language and functional experience across a growing platform and diverse use cases demands robust design systems and strategic thinking.
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Bridging Physical and Digital: Integrating hardware (robots, sensors) with software interfaces requires a holistic design approach that considers the physical environment and real-world constraints.
Learning & Development Opportunities:
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Domain Expertise: Develop deep expertise in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), field robotics, and AI applications in unstructured environments.
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Design System Leadership: Gain extensive experience in building, scaling, and governing design systems, potentially leading to Design Ops responsibilities or management roles.
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Platform Design: Hone skills in information architecture, navigation, and designing for complex, data-rich platforms.
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Cross-Functional Exposure: Work closely with world-class AI researchers, robotics engineers, and product strategists, fostering continuous learning across disciplines.
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Industry Impact: Contribute to defining the future of autonomy and embodied AI, working on products that have tangible real-world impact.
π Enhancement Note: This role offers substantial growth by tackling complex, cutting-edge design problems in a rapidly evolving field, with opportunities for both deep specialization and broader leadership within the product design domain.
π‘ Interview Preparation
Strategy Questions:
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"Describe your process for defining and owning the visual identity and design language for a complex digital product. How do you ensure it feels premium and cohesive?"
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"Walk us through your experience building a design system from the ground up. What were the key challenges, how did you establish governance, and how did you drive adoption?"
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"How would you approach designing an interface that translates complex robotic operations into clear, elegant industrial workflows for field operators?"
Company & Culture Questions:
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"What interests you most about FieldAI's mission to build field-ready AI for robotics?"
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"How do you see your skills in systems design and HRI contributing to a company focused on embodied AI?"
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"Describe a time you had to collaborate closely with engineering and product teams to bring a design from concept to production. What was your role and what was the outcome?"
Portfolio Presentation Strategy:
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Structure is Key: Organize your presentation logically, perhaps by project or by theme (e.g., Design Systems, Complex Platforms, HRI). Start with a brief overview of your experience and then dive into 2-3 in-depth case studies.
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Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the constraints, your process, the solution, and most importantly, the impact and outcomes. Use visuals effectively.
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Emphasize Design Systems & HRI: Dedicate specific slides or sections to your design system work and any relevant HRI or robotics-related projects. Explain your rationale and the results.
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Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about your specific design decisions, trade-offs you made, and how your work aligns with the company's goals. Be prepared to discuss your Figma workflow and design system management.
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Showcase Your Thinking: Beyond just the final visuals, explain why you made certain design choices. Demonstrate your strategic thinking, problem-solving abilities, and understanding of user needs in complex operational contexts.
π Enhancement Note: Candidates should prepare to articulate their expertise in design systems, HRI, and data visualization, backing it up with specific examples from their portfolio and demonstrating how they approach complex problem-solving in a technical domain.
π Application Steps
To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:
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Submit your application through the provided Lever link.
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Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest projects that best showcase your experience in systems design, design systems development, and complex platform design. Ensure these projects clearly demonstrate your ability to translate complex requirements into intuitive user experiences.
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Tailor Your Resume: Highlight your 5+ years of experience in systems design, explicit mention of building design systems, proficiency in Figma, and any experience relevant to robotics, HRI, or complex data visualization. Use keywords from the job description.
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Prepare Your Presentation: Practice walking through your selected portfolio projects, focusing on the problem, your process, your solutions, and the impact. Be ready to discuss your approach to Design Ops and HRI.
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Research FieldAI: Understand their mission, their work in embodied AI and robotics, and their focus on field deployments. This will help you tailor your responses and demonstrate genuine interest.
β οΈ 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
Requires 5+ years of experience in systems design with a strong portfolio of shipped digital products. Expertise in Figma and experience building design systems from the ground up are essential.