Sr. Product Designer, Lakebase

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Sr. Product Designer, Lakebase Company: Databricks Location: Seattle, Washington, United States Job Type: Full-time Category: Product Design / User Experience Date Posted: September 10, 2025 Experience Level: Senior (5+ years) Remote Status: Remote OK

🚀 Role Summary

• Design and launch innovative database service features for the Lakebase team, focusing on developer workflows for searching, navigating, querying, branching, and managing compute.
• Create scalable design patterns to integrate UX between Databricks' Neon and Lakebase product lines, ensuring consistent interaction models and a high-quality user experience across the platform.
• Conduct usability tests and synthesize findings to drive iterative improvements on at least 3 major feature launches, directly impacting user adoption and platform engagement.
• Partner with Product Management and Engineering teams to define, prototype, validate, and deliver new Lakebase capabilities, contributing to quarterly OKRs and strategic product initiatives.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the core request is for a "Product Designer," the specific mention of "Lakebase," "developer workflows," and "data and AI infrastructure platform" strongly suggests a focus on designing for technical users (developers, data engineers, data scientists) within a complex B2B SaaS environment. This implies a need for deep understanding of developer toolchains, data management concepts, and the intricacies of cloud-based data platforms, which are critical for success in this role. The emphasis on "technical fluency" and "familiarity with Git processes and modern databases" further reinforces this specialized UX domain.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Define, prototype, validate, and launch new Lakebase capabilities in collaboration with Product Management and Engineering, ensuring successful go-to-market strategies.
• Develop and maintain scalable design systems and patterns that harmonize user experiences between Databricks' Neon and Lakebase products, promoting consistency and efficiency.
• Plan, execute, and synthesize user research studies, including usability testing, to gather feedback and inform iterative design improvements for key features.
• Collaborate closely with Product Managers and Engineers to scope, design, and deliver features on schedule, aligning with team OKRs and business objectives.
• Apply systems thinking to ensure design consistency and scalability across multiple product surfaces and user workflows within the Databricks platform.
• Present design rationale clearly, influence product decisions, and align diverse stakeholders through strong communication and collaboration in a fast-paced environment.
• Define success metrics for new features and iterate on designs to achieve target outcomes and drive key performance indicators.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities listed focus on the end-to-end product design lifecycle within a B2B SaaS context. The emphasis is on translating complex technical requirements into intuitive user experiences for a developer audience, requiring close collaboration with technical teams and a data-driven approach to validation and iteration.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, ideally in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design, Graphic Design, Computer Science, or a related technical or design field.

Experience: Minimum of 5 years of professional product design experience, with a proven track record of shipping digital products and influencing their entire lifecycle from ideation to general availability (GA).

Required Skills:

• Demonstrated expertise in end-to-end product design, from framing problems and conceptualizing solutions to final implementation and shipped outcomes.
• Strong capability in executing high-quality visual and interaction design, grounded in a data-driven and well-researched user experience process.
• Technical fluency to effectively discuss trade-offs with engineering teams and understand the constraints of cloud services and data platforms.
• Proficiency in user research methodologies, including planning and conducting studies, synthesizing feedback, and making data-informed decisions.
• Systems thinking ability to apply and extend design systems for consistency and scalability across various product surfaces.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to present design rationale clearly and influence diverse stakeholders.
• Outcome orientation with the ability to define success metrics and iterate designs to achieve them.
• Familiarity with Git processes and modern databases such as PostgreSQL.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing for developer tools, data platforms, or complex B2B SaaS applications.
• Expertise in designing for data exploration, querying, and management workflows.
• Experience with UI frameworks and component libraries common in enterprise software development.
• Familiarity with data visualization principles and their application in user interfaces.
• Experience working in an Agile development environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirements emphasize a blend of strong core UX/UI design skills with a critical need for technical understanding and experience in complex, data-intensive environments. The "familiarity with Git processes and modern databases" is a key indicator of the target user and the technical depth expected from the designer.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase end-to-end problem-solving across at least 3 distinct projects, demonstrating impact from initial problem framing through to shipped outcomes and measurable results.
• Highlight projects that involve complex user workflows, ideally within a technical or data-centric domain, illustrating your process for understanding and improving user efficiency.
• Include examples of how you've applied or extended design systems for consistency and scalability across multiple product surfaces or features.
• Present case studies that clearly articulate the user problem, your design process, the technical constraints considered, and the impact achieved (e.g., adoption, efficiency gains, task completion rates).
• Demonstrate your ability to integrate UX between different product lines or platforms, showcasing how you ensure a cohesive and consistent user experience.

Process Documentation:

• Provide detailed documentation of your design process for key projects, including initial research, ideation, wireframing, prototyping, user testing, and iteration cycles.
• Illustrate how you gather and synthesize user feedback, particularly from technical users, and how this feedback translates into actionable design improvements.
• Detail your approach to collaborating with Product Management and Engineering, including how you manage design handoffs and ensure successful implementation of your designs.
• Explain your methodology for defining and tracking success metrics related to user engagement, task completion, and overall product adoption.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are geared towards demonstrating a structured, rigorous design process, with a strong emphasis on technical understanding, user empathy for developers, and quantifiable impact. The expectation is to see how a designer tackles complex problems within a technical product ecosystem and drives measurable improvements.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $124,300 - $173,950 USD per year.

Benefits:

• Eligibility for annual performance bonus.
• Equity (stock options or grants).
• Comprehensive benefits package as detailed on the company's benefits portal (specifics typically include health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, etc.).

Working Hours: Standard full-time working hours are expected, likely around 40 hours per week. While specific flexibility is not detailed, the "Remote OK" status suggests some flexibility in daily scheduling for remote employees, provided all responsibilities and collaborations are met effectively.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is specific to "Zone 2" in the US, as per Databricks' pay zone mapping. This indicates a structured approach to compensation based on location. The inclusion of annual bonus and equity signifies a performance-driven compensation model common in tech companies.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Data and AI Infrastructure Platform / Cloud Computing / Big Data. Databricks is a leader in the rapidly evolving data and AI landscape, providing a unified platform that enables organizations to democratize data, analytics, and AI. Company Size: Databricks is a large, well-established tech company with a significant global presence, indicating a structured yet dynamic work environment. The company "leap[s] at every opportunity to tackle technical challenges," suggesting an innovative and forward-thinking culture. Founded: Databricks was founded by the original creators of Lakehouse, Apache Spark™, Delta Lake, and MLflow, highlighting a strong technical foundation and a history of pioneering open-source technologies.

Team Structure:

• The Lakebase team is a strategic product area focusing on core developer workflows within the Databricks platform.
• Designers likely work within or closely with Product Management and Engineering pods, requiring close collaboration and alignment.
• The role involves cross-functional partnership, suggesting a collaborative environment where designers contribute to OKRs and product strategy alongside other functions.

Methodology:

• Databricks emphasizes a data-driven approach to product development, encouraging designers to use metrics and user research to inform decisions and iterate on solutions.
• The company is committed to tackling technical challenges, suggesting an environment that values innovation, problem-solving, and pushing the boundaries of what's possible in data and AI.
• A focus on "scalable design patterns" and "systems thinking" points to a methodology that prioritizes maintainability, consistency, and long-term product health.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Databricks has a reputation for being a technically deep, fast-paced, and innovative company, attracting top talent in data and AI. The culture likely values intellectual curiosity, collaboration, and a strong sense of ownership over product outcomes. The "Lakebase" product area suggests a focus on foundational data management and developer experience, which are critical for platform adoption.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a "Sr. Product Designer," indicating a senior individual contributor level. This implies a high degree of autonomy, ownership, and the expectation to lead design efforts for significant product areas. Reporting Structure: While not explicitly stated, a Sr. Product Designer typically reports into a Design Lead, Head of Design, or a Product Management lead within their specific product group. They will collaborate closely with Product Managers and Engineering leads within the Lakebase team. Operations Impact: The designer's work will have a direct and significant impact on how developers interact with and adopt the Databricks platform. By improving developer workflows for searching, navigating, querying, and managing compute, the designer will influence user acquisition, retention, and overall platform usability, thereby contributing to Databricks' business growth and market leadership.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Specialization: Opportunity to deepen expertise in designing for complex data platforms, developer tools, and cloud-native applications.
• Leadership: Potential to mentor junior designers, lead design initiatives for major product launches, and influence the broader design strategy at Databricks.
• Cross-functional Influence: Chance to shape product direction and strategy by effectively collaborating with and influencing Product Management and Engineering teams.
• Industry Impact: Contribute to the evolution of data and AI platforms, working on cutting-edge technologies and impacting a large user base of data professionals.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Sr." title implies a need for a candidate who can operate independently, mentor others, and contribute strategically to the product vision, not just execute design tasks. The growth opportunities are tied to increasing scope, influence, and technical specialization within the data and AI domain.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Seattle, Washington is listed as the location, but the "Remote OK" status suggests that while the company has a physical presence, this role can be performed remotely from within the United States. Office Location(s): Databricks has offices globally, with a significant presence in the US, including Seattle. The specific office for this role would be Databricks' Seattle location if working on-site, but remote work is an option.

Workspace Context:

• The work environment is likely fast-paced and collaborative, characteristic of a leading tech company in the AI/Data space.
• Designers will be equipped with standard design tools and technologies. Collaboration will occur through digital platforms, video conferencing, and potentially in-person meetings if choosing a hybrid or on-site arrangement.
• Expect close interaction with Product Managers, Engineers, and potentially other designers and researchers within the Lakebase product group and the broader Design organization.

Work Schedule: Standard full-time hours are expected. Remote work may offer some flexibility in daily scheduling, but consistent availability for team collaboration and meetings is crucial. The emphasis on "outcome orientation" and "defining success with metrics" suggests a focus on results rather than strict adherence to hours, within professional norms.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Remote OK" status is a key differentiator, offering flexibility. However, successful remote collaboration in a senior role at a company like Databricks will require proactive communication and strong self-management skills.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will likely review your resume and portfolio to assess basic qualifications and fit.
• Portfolio Presentation/Design Challenge: You will likely present your portfolio to a panel of designers and/or product managers, discussing your end-to-end process, problem-solving approach, and impact. A design challenge (e.g., a take-home assignment or an in-person/virtual whiteboard exercise) may be included to evaluate your design thinking and execution skills.
• Cross-functional Interviews: Interviews with Product Managers and Engineers to assess technical fluency, collaboration skills, and understanding of the product domain.
• Behavioral Interviews: Questions focused on your experience, teamwork, communication, and how you handle challenges, often using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result).
• Final Round: Potentially an interview with senior leadership to gauge overall fit and strategic alignment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-4 of your strongest projects that best demonstrate your end-to-end product design capabilities, technical understanding, and impact, especially those relevant to data platforms or developer tools.
• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the design process, key decisions and trade-offs, collaboration methods, and the measurable outcomes.
• Highlight Process: Emphasize your research, ideation, prototyping, and iteration techniques. Show how you incorporated user feedback and technical constraints.
• Showcase Technical Empathy: Include examples that demonstrate your ability to work with engineers and understand technical complexities, especially related to data or cloud services.
• Be Prepared for Questions: Anticipate questions about your design choices, challenges faced, how you measure success, and your collaboration style.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Context: If given a take-home challenge, thoroughly understand the problem statement and the target user (developers).
• Structure Your Approach: Outline your process clearly, from research and ideation to proposed solutions and rationale.
• Focus on Trade-offs: Be prepared to discuss the pros and cons of your design decisions and the trade-offs you made.
• Present Clearly: Practice presenting your solution concisely and persuasively, highlighting key aspects of your design thinking.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process for a senior role at Databricks will likely be rigorous, testing not only design skills but also strategic thinking, technical understanding, and collaboration capabilities. A strong portfolio that showcases end-to-end ownership and impact is paramount.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop) are standard. Proficiency in prototyping tools like Figma, InVision, or Principle is expected.
• User Research & Testing: Tools for usability testing (e.g., UserTesting.com, Lookback), survey creation (e.g., SurveyMonkey, Typeform), and participant recruitment.
• Collaboration & Communication: Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace/Microsoft 365.
• Design Systems: Familiarity with building, maintaining, and contributing to design systems.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Understanding of product analytics platforms (e.g., Amplitude, Pendo, Mixpanel) to inform design decisions and measure impact.
• Familiarity with data visualization tools might be beneficial for understanding user data.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly a designer's tool, an understanding of how CRMs and automation platforms (like Salesforce, Marketo) power the business and customer journey can provide valuable context.

📝 Enhancement Note: The technical fluency requirement suggests that while direct coding may not be expected, a deep understanding of how design integrates with development workflows, cloud services, and data platforms is crucial. Familiarity with Git processes and databases hints at the need to understand the technical ecosystem the product operates within.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Obsession: Databricks is "customer-obsessed," meaning designs should be driven by user needs and pain points, especially for developers using the platform.
• Innovation & Problem Solving: The company thrives on tackling complex technical challenges, encouraging a culture of creative problem-solving and pushing boundaries.
• Collaboration: Strong cross-functional teamwork is essential, requiring designers to work effectively with PMs, engineers, and other stakeholders.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Designs should be validated with data and user research, ensuring that decisions are informed and impactful.
• Excellence: A commitment to high-quality design and user experience is expected, reflecting the company's position as a leader in its field.

Collaboration Style:

• Designers are expected to be proactive collaborators, working closely with Product Management to define product strategy and with Engineering to ensure successful implementation.
• Open communication, clear articulation of design rationale, and a willingness to incorporate feedback are key to the collaboration style.
• Expect a culture of constructive critique and shared ownership within product teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company values align with a results-oriented, collaborative, and technically adept team. Designers are expected to be strategic partners, not just executors, contributing to the overall product vision and success.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Complexity of Data Platforms: Designing intuitive workflows for complex data management and AI operations requires deep understanding and careful user research.
• Balancing User Needs and Technical Constraints: Effectively translating user requirements into designs that are feasible within the constraints of cloud services and data infrastructure.
• Cross-Product Integration: Ensuring a seamless and consistent user experience across Databricks' evolving product suite (Neon and Lakebase).
• Fast-Paced Environment: Adapting to rapid iteration cycles and evolving product roadmaps in a high-growth tech company.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Technical Domain Knowledge: Gain in-depth expertise in data engineering, AI/ML workflows, and cloud computing infrastructure.
• Advanced Design Skills: Refine skills in designing for technical users, complex systems, and enterprise-grade SaaS products.
• Mentorship: Potential to learn from experienced designers and engineers within the company.
• Industry Exposure: Work with cutting-edge technologies and contribute to the advancement of the data and AI industry.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to working on sophisticated B2B SaaS products in a rapidly evolving tech sector. The growth opportunities are significant for designers looking to specialize in high-demand areas of technology.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Tell me about a time you designed a complex workflow for technical users." Be prepared to walk through a project from your portfolio, detailing the problem, your process, key design decisions, and the impact. Focus on how you understood the user's technical context.
• "How do you balance user needs with technical constraints and business goals?" Discuss your process for gathering requirements, identifying trade-offs, and collaborating with engineering and product management to find optimal solutions.
• "Describe your experience with data platforms or developer tools. What are the key UX considerations?" Highlight any experience you have designing for similar environments and articulate your understanding of the unique UX challenges and opportunities.
• "How do you ensure consistency and a unified experience across different product lines?" Explain your approach to design systems, pattern libraries, and cross-product collaboration.

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why Databricks and why the Lakebase team?" Research Databricks' mission, products, and recent developments. Connect your skills and interests to the specific challenges and opportunities within Lakebase.
• "How do you approach collaboration with Product Managers and Engineers?" Provide examples of successful cross-functional partnerships and how you contribute to team goals.
• "How do you incorporate user feedback and data into your design process?" Detail your user research methodologies and how you use insights to iterate and improve designs.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: Organize your presentation logically, dedicating sufficient time to each key project. Start with a high-level overview and then dive into details.
• Focus on Process & Rationale: Clearly articulate why you made certain design decisions. Showcase your thought process, not just the final visuals.
• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use metrics and data to demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., increased task completion, reduced error rates, improved user satisfaction).
• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Expect questions about specific design elements, technical considerations, and alternative approaches you might have explored.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview will heavily weigh your ability to demonstrate a thoughtful, user-centric, and technically informed design process, with a clear focus on delivering measurable business impact within a complex technical product.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the Databricks careers portal, ensuring your resume and portfolio are up-to-date and tailored to the role.
• Portfolio Customization: Curate your portfolio to prominently feature projects that showcase your experience with complex user workflows, technical users, and ideally, data-related products or developer tools. Highlight end-to-end problem-solving and quantifiable impact.
• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your 5+ years of product design experience, highlighting key skills such as user research, prototyping, interaction design, and technical fluency. Use keywords from the job description.
• Prepare for Presentation: Practice presenting your portfolio confidently, focusing on your design process, rationale, collaboration, and the impact of your work. Be ready to discuss your approach to designing for developers.
• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Databricks' products, mission, and culture. Understand the role of Lakebase within their broader platform and how your design contributions will support their strategic goals.

⚠️ 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.