Senior Product Designer

Heidi
Full-time$190k-235k/year (USD)San Francisco, United States

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer

Company: Heidi

Location: New York, New York, United States / San Francisco, California, United States

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / GTM Operations

Date Posted: March 02, 2026

Experience Level: Mid-Senior (5-10 years)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

  • This role requires a Senior Product Designer to own the end-to-end design quality across a rapidly growing AI healthcare platform, ensuring consistency and precision in user experience.

  • The position emphasizes a hands-on approach, expecting the designer to not only craft user interfaces but also to contribute directly to the codebase through CSS fixes and code PRs, embodying a "ship without handoffs" philosophy.

  • The Senior Product Designer will be instrumental in defining the aesthetic and functional future of AI-powered clinical software, pushing beyond current paradigms to create intuitive and delightful user experiences.

  • This role is crucial for contributing to and evolving a design system that serves as a foundational element for consistent product development, acting as a floor rather than a ceiling for innovation.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Senior Product Designer," the responsibilities heavily lean into aspects of GTM (Go-To-Market) operations through their impact on user adoption, product quality, and the clinician experience. The emphasis on shipping code, direct engineering collaboration, and owning the "connective tissue" of the product suggests a role that bridges design and operational efficiency for product success. This role is not a typical Sales Operations or Revenue Operations role but requires a strong operational mindset for product delivery.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

  • Own and champion design quality across all product surfaces, proactively identifying and rectifying inconsistencies before they reach users.

  • Collaborate directly with engineering teams to design, prototype, and ship new features, minimizing traditional handoff processes for accelerated development cycles.

  • Explore and define the future of AI-powered clinical software, focusing on innovative design solutions that enhance the clinician experience and improve patient care.

  • Contribute to the development and maintenance of a robust design system, ensuring components, tokens, and patterns promote consistency and scalability.

  • Directly contribute to the codebase by pushing CSS fixes and opening pull requests for polish, ensuring a high level of visual and functional refinement.

  • Actively participate in design critiques, offering and receiving honest feedback to elevate the team's overall craft and quality standards.

  • Analyze and improve the information architecture of the product to ensure intuitive navigation and efficient user workflows.

  • Develop prototypes using tools like Cursor or Claude to rapidly iterate on design concepts and validate solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a highly integrated role where design, engineering, and product quality are intertwined. The expectation to "push code" and "fix CSS" directly indicates a need for operational efficiency in the design process, ensuring rapid iteration and high-quality output. This is a key differentiator for candidates applying to this role.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong understanding of design principles, human-computer interaction, and software development lifecycles is expected, often gained through formal education or equivalent practical experience.

Experience: 5-10 years of experience in product design, with a proven track record of designing, prototyping, and shipping user-centric software products, particularly in fast-paced tech environments.

Required Skills:

  • Portfolio Craftsmanship: A portfolio showcasing exceptional design craft, with work that evokes emotional response and demonstrates a deep understanding of user experience beyond mere flow.

  • Figma Proficiency: Advanced skills in Figma for designing complex interfaces and user flows.

  • Code Contribution: Demonstrated ability to design and ship in code, with experience using tools like Cursor or Claude to push direct fixes and contribute to production codebases.

  • Design System Expertise: Experience contributing to or building design systems, including components, design tokens, and reusable patterns.

  • Critical Design Thinking: Strong, well-defended opinions on design quality, with the ability to articulate the difference between considered and lazy software design at a component level.

  • Problem-Solving: Proven ability to identify and fix production issues directly, rather than relying solely on traditional ticketing systems.

  • Attention to Detail: A keen eye for detail, including preferences for easing curves, optical vs. mathematical alignment, and rigorous stress-testing of components at their edge cases.

Preferred Skills:

  • Experience in the healthcare technology sector or with AI-powered products.

  • Familiarity with front-end development frameworks and best practices.

  • Experience working in a scale-up environment with distributed teams.

  • Understanding of information architecture principles for complex applications.

  • Ability to mentor junior designers and contribute to team growth.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "shipping in code" and "fixing CSS" is a critical requirement that differentiates this role from a standard product designer position. Candidates should be prepared to showcase examples of how they've directly impacted production code through design contributions. The requirement to "defend a design decision without referencing user testing" highlights a need for strong intuition, craft, and an understanding of design principles beyond empirical data alone.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

  • Visible Craft: The portfolio must clearly demonstrate the designer's ability to create aesthetically pleasing and emotionally resonant designs, not just functional user flows. Showcase work that makes users feel something positive.

  • Shipping in Code: Include specific examples or case studies where you've directly contributed code (e.g., CSS, component updates) to a live product, detailing the process and impact.

  • Design System Contribution: Showcase contributions to design systems, illustrating how you've built or maintained components, tokens, and patterns to ensure consistency and scalability.

  • Problem-Solving Case Studies: Present case studies detailing how you've identified and resolved complex design challenges, particularly those involving production issues or inconsistencies, and the operational steps taken to implement solutions.

  • Tools & Workflow: Detail your design process, including the tools used (Figma, Cursor, Claude, etc.) and how you integrate coding into your workflow.

Process Documentation:

  • Iterative Design & Code Integration: Document your approach to iterative design, including how you collaborate with engineers and directly implement visual refinements and fixes within development sprints or through direct code contributions.

  • Design System Governance: Explain your understanding of design system maintenance and contribution, including how to ensure components are robust, accessible, and align with the overall product strategy.

  • Quality Assurance through Craft: Demonstrate how you apply your understanding of design principles and craft to proactively ensure product quality, going beyond traditional QA processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are heavily weighted towards demonstrating practical, hands-on design execution and integration with the development process. Candidates should prepare to walk through specific examples of how their design work has directly translated into shipped code and improved product quality, showcasing an operational approach to design delivery.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $190,000 - $235,000 USD per year

Benefits:

  • Generous Equity: Significant stock options or grants, reflecting the company's growth potential and commitment to employee ownership.

  • Annual Development Budget: $500 annual budget for professional development, supporting continuous learning and skill enhancement in design and related fields.

  • Comprehensive Health Insurance: Medical, dental, and vision coverage.

  • Paid Time Off: Generous vacation, sick leave, and holidays.

  • Parental Leave: Supportive policies for new parents.

  • Remote Work Flexibility: While the role is primarily on-site, the company has expressed flexibility for exceptional candidates.

Working Hours: While the standard is typically 40 hours per week, Heidi emphasizes outcomes over inputs and adapts to schedules, valuing mental health and flexibility. The focus is on performance and results rather than strict adherence to hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is competitive for a Senior Product Designer role in major US tech hubs like New York and San Francisco. The equity component is particularly significant for a scale-up company like Heidi, offering substantial upside potential. The professional development budget, though modest, signals a commitment to employee growth. The emphasis on flexible working hours and outcomes aligns with modern tech company culture, but candidates should clarify on-site expectations during the interview process.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Healthcare Technology / Artificial Intelligence. Heidi operates at the intersection of AI and healthcare, aiming to revolutionize clinical documentation and patient care through advanced AI solutions. Their rapid growth ("faster than Canva") highlights significant market traction and innovation in this space.

Company Size: Heidi is a rapidly scaling startup, indicating a dynamic, fast-paced environment with a strong emphasis on innovation and agility. The company is likely to have a lean, collaborative structure where individual contributions have a significant impact.

Founded: Founded approximately 18 months prior to the job posting date, suggesting a relatively young but extremely fast-growing company that has achieved significant product-market fit and global reach quickly.

Team Structure:

  • The design team is likely small and integrated directly within product development squads.

  • Designers work closely with engineers and product managers, often without dedicated product managers or separate design systems teams, requiring a high degree of autonomy and cross-functional collaboration.

Methodology:

  • Data-Driven Decisions: While emphasizing craft, the company's AI focus suggests a strong reliance on data to inform product development and measure impact.

  • Outcome-Oriented: Heidi prioritizes results and impact over process theatre, encouraging efficient workflows and direct problem-solving.

  • Agile Development: Expect rapid iteration cycles, continuous deployment, and a focus on shipping features quickly to gather user feedback.

  • User-Centricity: Despite the emphasis on code and craft, the core mission is to improve the clinician and patient experience, meaning user needs remain central.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Heidi's culture is characterized by rapid growth, a mission-driven approach to solving critical healthcare issues, and a strong emphasis on individual initiative and high-quality execution. The "AI startup growing faster than Canva" descriptor suggests an ambitious, fast-paced, and highly innovative environment. The company's focus on "strengthening the human connection" despite using AI highlights a human-centric approach to technology.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Senior Product Designer, indicating a mid-to-senior level where individuals are expected to take significant ownership and operate with a high degree of autonomy. The responsibilities suggest a role that could lead to Principal Designer or Design Lead positions within a growing organization.

Reporting Structure: The designer will likely report directly to a Head of Design or a senior product leader. They will work in close collaboration with engineering teams, product managers (if present), and potentially directly with founders in a smaller startup environment.

Operations Impact: The Senior Product Designer's impact is critical to Heidi's GTM strategy by ensuring the product is not only functional but also delightful and intuitive for clinicians. High-quality design directly influences user adoption, retention, and positive word-of-mouth, which are key operational metrics for a rapidly scaling freemium product. The designer's ability to "ship without handoffs" and "push code" contributes to operational efficiency by accelerating development timelines and reducing friction between design and engineering.

Growth Opportunities:

  • Leadership Path: Opportunity to grow into a Design Lead or Head of Design role as the company scales and the design team expands.

  • Skill Specialization: Deepen expertise in AI product design, design systems, and front-end development integration.

  • Impactful Projects: Work on products with immense global distribution (millions of patient sessions weekly) and solve significant real-world problems in healthcare.

  • Rapid Advancement: True A-players are expected to progress extremely fast in a scale-up environment like Heidi.

📝 Enhancement Note: The growth trajectory for a Senior Product Designer at Heidi is steep, tied directly to the company's aggressive scaling. The operational aspect of this role, particularly the direct contribution to code and the "ship without handoffs" model, provides a unique opportunity to develop skills highly valued in fast-moving tech companies, potentially fast-tracking career progression.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is primarily on-site, with specific locations in New York and San Francisco. This suggests a collaborative office environment designed to foster direct interaction and rapid ideation.

Office Location(s):

  • New York, New York, United States

Workspace Context:

  • Collaborative Spaces: Expect an office environment that encourages spontaneous collaboration, whiteboarding sessions, and direct communication between designers, engineers, and other team members.

  • Technology Stack: Access to industry-standard design tools (Figma) and development environments (Cursor, Claude, code editors) will be provided.

  • Team Interaction: High degree of daily interaction with cross-functional teams, emphasizing a team-first approach and shared responsibility for product success.

Work Schedule: While typical office hours may apply, Heidi emphasizes outcomes over inputs. This means flexibility is encouraged, and the focus is on delivering high-quality work rather than clocking specific hours. However, the on-site nature implies a need for regular in-office presence for collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement in major tech hubs indicates a traditional startup environment where in-person collaboration is valued for speed and team cohesion. While flexibility is mentioned, candidates should anticipate a need for regular office attendance to effectively collaborate with engineering teams and participate in the company's culture of rapid iteration.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

  • Initial Screening: Review of resume and portfolio to assess craft, experience, and alignment with role requirements.

  • Portfolio Presentation: A deep dive into your portfolio, focusing on specific projects that demonstrate your design process, problem-solving skills, and ability to ship code. Be prepared to discuss your design decisions and their impact.

  • Design Challenge/Take-Home: Potentially a practical exercise to assess your design skills, problem-solving abilities, and understanding of the company's domain. This might involve a design critique, a small feature design, or a code-based polish task.

  • Engineering/Product Collaboration Interview: An interview focused on how you collaborate with engineers, your understanding of technical constraints, and your ability to contribute to code.

  • Founder/Senior Leadership Interview: A final discussion to assess cultural fit, strategic thinking, and alignment with Heidi's mission and values.

Portfolio Review Tips:

  • Show, Don't Just Tell: Highlight projects that clearly demonstrate your "craftsmanship" and ability to evoke feeling.

  • Emphasize Shipping Code: Include specific examples of when and how you've contributed code (CSS, components, etc.) to live products. Detail the process and the outcome.

  • Design System Contribution: Showcase your role in building or maintaining design systems, focusing on reusable components and patterns.

  • Problem-Solving Framework: For each project, clearly outline the problem, your approach, your specific contributions, the challenges faced, and the measurable results.

  • Connect to Heidi's Mission: Frame your work in the context of solving real healthcare problems and improving the clinician experience.

Challenge Preparation:

  • Understand Heidi's Product: Familiarize yourself with Heidi's existing product and target users (clinicians).

  • Focus on Craft and Code: Be ready to discuss design details (easing curves, alignment) and technical contributions (CSS, PRs).

  • Articulate Design Decisions: Prepare to defend your design choices based on principles, intuition, and understanding of the problem, not solely on user testing data.

  • Demonstrate Operational Efficiency: Highlight how your approach to design speeds up development and improves product quality.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is geared towards assessing a candidate's practical design skills, their ability to collaborate closely with engineering, and their operational mindset for delivering high-quality product experiences. Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate tangible contributions and a deep understanding of both design craft and code.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

  • Figma: The core design tool for UI design, prototyping, and component creation. Proficiency is a must.

  • Cursor/Claude (or similar AI-powered IDEs/tools): Expected for direct code contributions, rapid prototyping, and pushing fixes. Experience with AI-assisted coding tools is highly valued.

  • Version Control (e.g., Git): Essential for collaborating with engineers and managing code contributions through pull requests.

Analytics & Reporting:

  • While not directly specified for designers, understanding how to interpret product analytics (e.g., from Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics) to inform design decisions is beneficial.

CRM & Automation:

  • Not directly relevant for this design role, but understanding the broader product ecosystem and how design impacts user engagement and adoption is important.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on Cursor/Claude and the ability to "push code" indicates a modern, integrated workflow where design and development are closely intertwined. Candidates should be comfortable with tools that bridge design and engineering, demonstrating an understanding of the technical implementation of their designs.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

  • Craftsmanship: A deep appreciation for the details that make software feel polished, precise, and delightful. This extends from visual design to code quality.

  • Impact-Driven: Focus on solving real problems in healthcare, with a mission to improve clinician lives and patient care. Success is measured by tangible outcomes.

  • Ownership & Accountability: Taking initiative to identify and fix issues, shipping without waiting for explicit direction, and owning the success of your work.

  • Collaboration & Directness: Working closely with engineers and other team members, providing honest critique, and fostering a culture of shared responsibility.

  • Efficiency & Pragmatism: Prioritizing speed and effectiveness over process theatre; getting things done well and quickly.

Collaboration Style:

  • Integrated Teams: Designers work as part of cross-functional teams, embedded with engineers and product leads.

  • "Ship Without Handoffs": Encourages direct collaboration and shared responsibility, with designers contributing code and engineers understanding design intent deeply.

  • Open Critique: A culture of giving and receiving honest, constructive feedback to continuously improve product quality and team standards.

  • Outcome-Focused: Collaboration is geared towards achieving specific product goals and delivering value to users rapidly.

📝 Enhancement Note: Heidi's culture values individuals who are not only skilled designers but also proactive, technically adept, and mission-aligned. The emphasis on "getting things done" and "shipping code" points to a culture that appreciates operational efficiency and a hands-on approach to problem-solving.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

  • Balancing Craft and Speed: The primary challenge will be maintaining a high standard of design craft while operating in a fast-paced, scale-up environment that demands rapid iteration and shipping.

  • Defining Future AI Experiences: Exploring and designing for the next generation of AI-powered clinical software requires foresight, innovation, and the ability to translate complex AI capabilities into intuitive user experiences.

  • Limited Design System Resources: Contributing to and managing a design system without a dedicated team requires strong organizational skills and the ability to advocate for consistency and best practices.

  • Bridging Design and Code: Successfully integrating code contributions into the design workflow requires strong communication with engineering and a solid understanding of technical constraints.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

  • Deep Dive into AI in Healthcare: Gain unparalleled experience designing for a critical sector with a leading AI product.

  • Accelerated Career Growth: Thrive in a scale-up environment where high performers are recognized and promoted rapidly.

  • Hands-on Coding Experience: Develop practical coding skills and a deeper understanding of front-end development by directly contributing to the product.

  • Design System Evolution: Play a key role in shaping and scaling a design system for a rapidly growing global product.

  • Mentorship: Learn from experienced engineers, product leaders, and potentially founders within a high-impact startup.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are typical of high-growth tech startups, particularly those with a strong emphasis on integrated product development. The opportunities for learning and growth are significant, especially for a designer looking to expand their technical skillset and impact.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

  • Design Process & Craft: "Walk me through a project in your portfolio where you significantly improved the user experience through both design and direct code contributions. What was the problem, your approach, and the measurable outcome?"

  • Design System & Consistency: "How would you approach ensuring design consistency across a rapidly evolving product with limited design resources? Describe your experience contributing to or building design systems."

  • Collaboration & Problem Solving: "Describe a time you disagreed with an engineer or product manager on a design decision. How did you resolve it? What is your strategy for 'shipping without handoffs'?"

  • AI & Future of Design: "How do you see AI impacting the future of product design, and what excites you about designing for AI-powered clinical software specifically?"

Company & Culture Questions:

  • Mission Alignment: "What motivates you about Heidi's mission to strengthen the human connection in healthcare through AI?"

  • Work Style: "Heidi values outcomes over inputs and encourages flexibility. How do you manage your time and ensure high-quality output in a fast-paced environment?"

  • Handling Ambiguity: "How do you approach design challenges when there isn't a clear design system or established process?"

  • Dealing with Inconsistency: "How do you personally react to seeing inconsistent spacing or UI elements in a product? What steps do you take?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

  • Highlight "Shipping Code" Examples: Dedicate specific slides or sections to projects where you contributed code directly. Detail the PR, the CSS changes, and the impact on the live product.

  • Focus on "Feeling" and "Craft": For each project, articulate the emotional intent and the specific design decisions that contribute to the overall craft and user experience.

  • Structure Your Case Studies: Clearly define the problem, your role, your process, the solutions, and the measurable results. Use visuals effectively.

  • Demonstrate Operational Thinking: Explain how your design process leads to efficient development and high-quality product delivery.

  • Be Ready for Live Critiques/Challenges: Prepare to discuss design details on the spot or potentially tackle a small design task related to Heidi's product.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating a blend of strong design craft, practical coding ability, operational efficiency, and a genuine passion for Heidi's mission. Candidates must be ready to showcase concrete examples of their work and their collaborative approach.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

  • Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

  • Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight projects demonstrating exceptional craft, visual appeal, and direct code contributions (e.g., CSS fixes, component updates via PRs). Ensure specific examples of "shipping without handoffs" are prominent.

  • Resume Optimization: Update your resume to emphasize your experience in product design, UI/UX, design systems, and any direct coding experience (Figma, CSS, AI-powered IDEs like Cursor/Claude). Quantify achievements whenever possible.

  • Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, defending your design decisions, and explaining how you collaborate with engineers. Prepare to discuss your approach to design quality and consistency in a fast-paced environment.

  • Company Research: Thoroughly research Heidi Health, its mission, product, and recent news. Understand their focus on AI in healthcare and their commitment to improving clinician experience.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.


Application Requirements

Candidates must demonstrate visible craft in their portfolio, showing work that evokes feeling beyond just UX flow, and must be comfortable designing in Figma while also shipping code by pushing fixes via tools like Cursor or Claude. Strong opinions about design quality and the ability to fix production issues directly without waiting for tickets are essential.