Sonar Mental Health - Senior Product Designer ( Part-time)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer (Part-time)

Company: Sonar Mental Health (via JobRack)

Location: Romania

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / UX/UI Design

Date Posted: April 09, 2026

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead end-to-end product design initiatives for a mission-driven mental health tech company focused on youth.

• Drive product strategy and roadmap prioritization through close collaboration with Product Management and Engineering.

• Develop and maintain a scalable design system to ensure consistency, accessibility, and efficiency across product surfaces.

• Conduct user research, prototyping, and usability testing to validate design concepts and inform product direction.

• Design complex, multi-sided platforms including student-facing chat experiences, administrator dashboards, and internal care workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is designated as part-time, equivalent to 3 days per week, with a requirement for 2-4 hours of overlap with Pacific Time. The compensation is a monthly retainer. While listed as FULL_TIME employment type, the practical application is part-time work. The company is a startup in the behavioral health sector, requiring a candidate comfortable with ambiguity and building foundational design processes.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the complete product design lifecycle for new features and initiatives, from initial discovery and concept validation through to launch and ongoing iteration.

• Translate complex user needs and business requirements into intuitive and effective user interfaces and experiences for diverse user groups (students, administrators, internal coaches).

• Conduct qualitative and quantitative user research, including user interviews, surveys, and usability testing, to gather insights and validate design decisions.

• Rapidly prototype and test design concepts using various tools to gather feedback and de-risk engineering investments.

• Collaborate closely with Product Managers and Engineers to define product strategy, shape the roadmap, and ensure successful, high-quality product delivery.

• Own, evolve, and advocate for the company's design system, ensuring it supports scalability, accessibility, and rapid development cycles.

• Champion user empathy and raise the overall standard of design craft, systems thinking, and user-centered practices within the company.

• Design intuitive experiences for AI-assisted systems and complex clinical or operational workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "0→1 product design" indicates a significant opportunity for the candidate to shape new product areas and establish design processes from the ground up. This requires a proactive, self-starting individual comfortable with ambiguity, rather than a role focused on maintaining established systems.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, or a related field is often preferred for senior design roles. Equivalent practical experience will also be strongly considered.

Experience: Minimum of 5 years of professional product design experience, with a demonstrated track record of working on complex, multi-sided platforms. Experience in a startup environment is highly valued.

Required Skills:

• Portfolio: A strong portfolio showcasing exceptional UX, UI, and interaction design skills, with case studies demonstrating end-to-end product design ownership.

• Systems Thinking: Proven ability to design complex systems, including workflows, dashboards, and AI-assisted tools, understanding interdependencies and user flows across multiple user types.

• UX Research: Proficiency in conducting lightweight, independent user research, including discovery interviews and usability testing, to inform design decisions.

• Platform Design: Demonstrated experience designing for complex, multi-sided platforms with diverse user needs and interaction models.

• Accessibility & Inclusive Design: Deep understanding and practical application of accessibility (WCAG) and inclusive design principles to ensure products are usable by everyone.

• Ambiguity Navigation: Comfort and eagerness to work in ambiguous environments with limited structure, contributing to the foundational development of the design function.

• Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate and present design decisions effectively to cross-functional teams and stakeholders.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in the behavioral health sector, digital therapeutics, or designing products for youth.

• Experience designing chat-based or conversational user interfaces.

• Prior experience working in a startup environment.

• Familiarity with AI-driven product features and their design implications.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "5+ years" requirement, combined with the emphasis on building from scratch, suggests this role is for a seasoned designer capable of strategic thinking and execution, not just tactical implementation. The preference for startup and behavioral health experience highlights the specific context of this role.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• End-to-End Case Studies: Detailed case studies that walk through the entire design process, from problem definition and user research to ideation, prototyping, testing, and final implementation.

• Platform Complexity: Showcase examples of designing for complex, multi-sided platforms, illustrating how you managed diverse user needs and intricate workflows.

• Systemic Design: Include examples of designing scalable systems, such as design systems, component libraries, or interconnected dashboards and workflows.

• Research & Validation: Demonstrate your approach to user research and how you used insights from usability testing or other validation methods to iterate on designs.

• Impact & Metrics: Where possible, quantify the impact of your design contributions, using metrics related to user engagement, task completion, efficiency, or problem resolution.

Process Documentation:

• Discovery & Ideation: Present documentation of your methods for user discovery, problem framing, and idea generation.

• Prototyping & Testing: Show evidence of rapid prototyping and how you conducted usability testing to gather feedback and validate concepts.

• Design System Development: If applicable, include examples of contributions to or creation of design systems, outlining their structure and benefits.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Illustrate how you documented and communicated design decisions and processes to engineering and product teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the emphasis on "building the design function from the ground up" and "0→1 product design," the portfolio should highlight the candidate's ability to establish processes, not just execute within them. Demonstrating strategic thinking and the ability to create order from ambiguity will be key.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $2,100 - $2,400 USD per month (Gross)

Benefits:

• Paid Time Off: 12 days of Paid Time Off (PTO) per year, in addition to local public holidays.

• Home Office Support: Stipend or support for setting up a functional home office environment.

• Professional Development: Opportunities for continuous learning, skill development, and professional growth.

• Mission-Driven Work: The intrinsic reward of contributing to a meaningful cause focused on improving youth mental health.

Working Hours: Part-time, approximately 3 days per week. Requires 2-4 hours of daily overlap with Pacific Time (PT) working hours. This is a remote, independent contractor role.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary is a fixed monthly retainer for part-time work, not an hourly rate or an annual salary. Candidates should be aware of their responsibility for managing their own taxes in Romania. The "FULL_TIME" employment type is a platform classification; the role is functionally part-time (3 days/week).

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Healthcare Technology (specifically Youth Mental Health & Digital Therapeutics)

Company Size: Startup (specific employee count not detailed, but implied to be small and growing, with a core team focused on product development).

Founded: 2023, indicating a relatively new company with a dynamic, evolving culture.

Team Structure:

• The design team is likely small, with this Senior Product Designer being a key early member or potentially the sole dedicated designer.

• The role reports to Tatyana Gruver, Head of Product, suggesting a flat or lean management structure typical of startups.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Decisions: Emphasis on research, prototyping, and testing to inform product direction and validate concepts before significant engineering investment.

• Agile & Iterative: The nature of startup product development suggests an agile approach, with rapid iterations and continuous improvement.

• Impact-Focused: A strong emphasis on making a tangible difference in the lives of young people, driving the company's mission.

• Remote-First: The team operates as a fully remote entity, fostering clear communication and asynchronous work practices.

Company Website: https://www.sonar.us/ (Inferred from context about youth mental health support and AI/coaches)

📝 Enhancement Note: As a young startup, Sonar likely fosters a culture of innovation, ownership, and direct impact. Candidates should be prepared for a fast-paced environment where they can significantly influence product direction and processes. The "fully remote" aspect means communication tools and practices are critical.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Senior Individual Contributor. This role is for an experienced designer who will operate with significant autonomy, defining processes and strategies rather than executing within established frameworks.

Reporting Structure: Reports directly to the Head of Product. This provides visibility to leadership and opportunities to influence product strategy at a high level.

Operations Impact: The Senior Product Designer will have a direct and substantial impact on the core product offering, influencing user engagement, the accessibility of mental health support, and the company's ability to scale its services safely and effectively. Their work directly contributes to the company's mission and market differentiation.

Growth Opportunities:

• Foundational Role: Opportunity to build and shape the product design function from its early stages, establishing best practices, processes, and potentially growing a design team in the future.

• Strategic Influence: Direct involvement in product strategy and roadmap planning, offering significant influence over the company's direction.

• Skill Specialization: Potential to deepen expertise in areas like conversational UI, AI-assisted design, or behavioral health tech.

• Startup Experience: Gaining invaluable experience in a fast-growing startup environment, understanding rapid scaling, product-market fit, and cross-functional collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers significant growth potential, not necessarily through traditional hierarchical promotion, but through increased scope of influence, strategic impact, and the opportunity to build foundational design capabilities within a growing company.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully Remote. The team operates without a central physical office.

Office Location(s): Candidates can be located anywhere in Romania, with the specific requirement being overlap with Pacific Time business hours.

Workspace Context:

• Remote Collaboration: The environment necessitates strong digital collaboration tools and practices for communication, design reviews, and project management.

• Autonomy & Self-Management: Expectation of self-direction, time management, and proactive communication in a remote setting.

• Technology Focus: Access to necessary design software, prototyping tools, and communication platforms will be essential.

Work Schedule: Flexible part-time schedule (3 days/week) with a mandatory 2-4 hour overlap with Pacific Time. This allows for significant flexibility while ensuring real-time collaboration is possible.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote nature requires excellent self-discipline and communication skills. Candidates should be comfortable working independently and actively participating in virtual team interactions.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening (JobRack): Application review, potentially followed by a brief screening call to assess basic qualifications, remote work suitability, and understanding of the role.

• Portfolio Review & Interview: In-depth discussion of your portfolio, focusing on case studies demonstrating your process, problem-solving skills, and impact. This stage will likely involve the Head of Product and potentially other key team members.

• Design Challenge/Exercise: You may be asked to complete a small design exercise or case study relevant to Sonar's product challenges to assess your design thinking and execution skills.

• Founder/Leadership Interview: A final interview, potentially with one of the company founders, to assess cultural fit, strategic thinking, and alignment with Sonar's mission.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Storytelling: Clearly articulate the problem, your role, the constraints, your process, the solution, and the impact of your work for each case study.

• Process Focus: Detail your design process, highlighting research methodologies, ideation techniques, and how you iterated based on feedback.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, include metrics or qualitative outcomes that demonstrate the success of your designs.

• Systemic Thinking: Showcase examples where you designed scalable systems or considered the broader ecosystem of the product.

• Tailor to Role: Emphasize projects that demonstrate experience with complex platforms, workflows, dashboards, or conversational interfaces, and highlight any behavioral health or youth-focused work.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Familiarize yourself with youth mental health challenges, digital therapeutics, and the unique aspects of AI-assisted coaching platforms.

• Focus on Process: If given a challenge, demonstrate your structured approach to problem-solving and design.

• Consider Trade-offs: Be prepared to discuss design decisions and the trade-offs you made, especially concerning speed vs. craft, or different user needs.

• Communicate Clearly: Practice articulating your thought process and design rationale concisely.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the startup context and the emphasis on building, interviewers will likely probe deeply into your ability to handle ambiguity, initiate projects, and establish processes. Your portfolio should reflect these capabilities.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (highly probable for modern design teams), Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop).

• User Research & Testing: Tools like UserTesting.com, Lookback, Maze, or internal methods for conducting remote research.

• Collaboration & Project Management: Slack, Jira, Asana, Trello, Notion.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics: Tools like Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics (or similar) for tracking user behavior and feature adoption.

• Data Visualization: Tools like Tableau, Looker, or built-in dashboarding features within analytics platforms for reporting.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly a design tool, understanding CRM (like Salesforce, HubSpot) and automation platforms is beneficial for context, especially for designing administrator dashboards and internal workflows.

• AI/ML Platforms: Familiarity with how AI is integrated into products will be advantageous for designing AI-assisted features.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency with modern design and prototyping tools, particularly Figma, is almost certainly expected. The ability to leverage analytics and research tools to inform design decisions is crucial for this role.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Mission-Driven: A strong commitment to improving youth mental health and making support accessible.

• User Empathy: Deep understanding and consideration for the needs and experiences of young people, caregivers, and clinicians.

• Clarity & Thoughtfulness: Striving for clear communication, well-considered design solutions, and responsible product development.

• Impact & Meaningful Work: Focus on creating work that has a real, positive impact, rather than just completing tasks.

• Collaboration: Working effectively across disciplines (product, engineering, research) to achieve shared goals.

• Efficiency & Speed (balanced with Craft): As a startup, there's an emphasis on moving quickly and iterating, but balanced with a commitment to quality and thoughtful design.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Partnership: Close working relationships with Product Managers and Engineers are essential for successful product development.

• Open Communication: Expectation of transparent and frequent communication, especially in a remote environment.

• Feedback Culture: An environment where constructive feedback is welcomed and used to improve designs and processes.

• Proactive Contribution: Encouraging team members to proactively identify opportunities and contribute ideas.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company values suggest a team that is passionate about its mission, collaborative, and focused on delivering high-quality, impactful solutions. Candidates who are mission-aligned and thrive in a collaborative, remote setting will fit well.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Ambiguity & Early Stage: Building design processes, systems, and product features from scratch in a fast-paced startup environment.

• Balancing Needs: Designing for multiple user types (students, coaches, administrators) with potentially conflicting needs and priorities.

• Scaling Safely: Ensuring that a rapidly scaling platform maintains quality, safety, and ethical standards in mental health support.

• AI Integration: Designing effective and trustworthy AI-assisted features that augment human coaching without compromising care.

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

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Design System Mastery: Opportunity to architect and evolve a core design system from its foundational stages.

• Behavioral Health Domain Expertise: Deepening knowledge and experience in the digital therapeutics and youth mental health space.

• Product Strategy Influence: Gaining hands-on experience in shaping product roadmaps and influencing business strategy.

• Startup Acumen: Developing skills in adaptability, rapid iteration, and driving impact in a high-growth environment.

• Mentorship: Potential to learn from experienced founders and leaders within the company.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are inherent to early-stage startups and the sensitive nature of mental health tech. These challenges also represent significant opportunities for professional development and impact.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you led the design of a complex, multi-sided platform. What were the key challenges, and how did you address them?" (Focus on your process, systems thinking, and stakeholder management.)

• "How would you approach designing an AI-assisted chat feature for youth mental health support? What ethical considerations would you prioritize?" (Demonstrate your understanding of AI design, user empathy, and responsible innovation.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why are you interested in Sonar's mission, and how does it align with your personal values?" (Connect your passion for mental health or youth support to the company's goals.)

• "How do you approach building design systems or establishing design processes in a startup environment with limited structure?" (Highlight your experience with ambiguity and foundational work.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Narrative Arc: Structure each case study as a compelling story: Problem -> Your Role & Process -> Solution -> Impact.

• Visuals First: Use high-fidelity mockups, prototypes, and process diagrams to illustrate your work effectively.

• Highlight Key Decisions: Explain why you made certain design choices, referencing research, constraints, or strategic goals.

• Quantify Impact: Be ready to discuss metrics or user feedback that demonstrate the success of your solutions.

• Address Ambiguity: For projects where the initial brief was vague, explain how you navigated that uncertainty to define the problem and solution.

📝 Enhancement Note: Prepare to discuss not just what you designed, but how you designed it and why. The interviewers will be assessing your strategic thinking, problem-solving skills, and ability to contribute meaningfully to a growing startup.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit Your Application: Complete the application through the JobRack platform.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest case studies that best represent your experience with complex platforms, end-to-end design, systems thinking, and user research. Tailor your portfolio to highlight any relevant experience in behavioral health, conversational interfaces, or startup environments.

• Optimize Your Resume: Ensure your resume clearly outlines your 5+ years of experience, highlighting achievements related to UX, UI, interaction design, research, and system design. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice articulating your portfolio case studies, focusing on the problem, your process, your solutions, and the impact. Be ready to discuss your approach to ambiguity and building design functions from scratch.

• Research Sonar: Understand Sonar's mission, product (Sonny), target audience, and recent news to demonstrate genuine interest and informed thinking during interviews.

⚠️ 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 (JobRack) before making application decisions. Remember to apply only through JobRack as instructed.