Staff Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Staff Product Designer
Company: Yubo
Location: Paris, Ile-de-France, France
Job Type: CONTRACTOR
Category: Product Design / User Experience
Date Posted: August 13, 2025
Experience Level: 7+ Years Professional Experience
Remote Status: Hybrid (2 days in office per month)

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive impactful product design initiatives within a dedicated product squad, focusing on improving user retention and revenue generation.
• Translate key performance indicators (KPIs) into actionable design hypotheses, championing data-informed decision-making for rapid experimentation.
• Mentor and coach fellow designers through structured critiques and ongoing feedback, elevating the overall quality of design output.
• Define and scale the product's design strategy, ensuring a cohesive and robust design system across iOS, Android, and web platforms.
• Proactively identify and resolve inefficiencies within design and product development workflows to enhance team productivity and output.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is a "Staff" level individual contributor, implying a high degree of autonomy, strategic influence, and a mandate to elevate design standards and processes across the organization. The emphasis on mentoring and shaping design strategy suggests a senior individual contributor role with leadership potential, rather than a people management position.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Co-lead a product squad alongside product management and tech leads, guiding the entire product development lifecycle from discovery and hypothesis generation to delivery and impact measurement.
• Champion a data-informed design process, converting quantitative metrics into testable hypotheses that drive rapid iteration and experimentation cycles.
• Provide consistent, constructive, and fair feedback to designers through weekly design critiques and ad-hoc mentoring sessions, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• Develop and articulate the product's design strategy, translating high-level business objectives into clear design principles and ensuring the scalability and integrity of the design system.
• Proactively identify and implement improvements to existing design and product development workflows, streamlining processes for greater efficiency and effectiveness.
• Collaborate closely with product managers and tech leads to define user needs, conduct user research (when appropriate), and translate insights into intuitive and engaging user experiences.
• Contribute to the evolution of Yubo's visual identity and user interface, ensuring brand consistency and a modern, appealing aesthetic across all platforms.
• Explore and define the application of AI in creating novel social discovery experiences and identifying new monetization opportunities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of hands-on design execution, strategic thinking, and leadership through influence. The "co-lead" aspect of the squad indicates a strong partnership with PM and Tech leads, requiring excellent communication and alignment skills. The focus on "fast experiments over long research cycles" suggests an agile product development environment where quick iteration and data validation are paramount.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: A Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field is beneficial, though equivalent professional experience will be strongly considered.

Experience: A minimum of 7 years of professional experience as a Product Designer, with a significant track record of designing and launching features for high-volume consumer applications.

Required Skills:

• Proven expertise in interface design, crafting intuitive and visually appealing user interfaces.
• Deep understanding of usability principles and user-centered design methodologies.
• Strong experience in developing and maintaining design systems for scalability and consistency across multiple platforms (iOS, Android, Web).
• A robust product-oriented mindset, balancing user experience needs with business objectives and data-driven insights.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in fast-paced, collaborative environments, particularly within a squad or agile team structure.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills for effective collaboration with cross-functional teams, including Product Managers, Engineers, and Researchers.
• A strong sense of ownership and autonomy, coupled with the ability to provide and receive constructive feedback.
• Experience in prototyping and user testing to validate design concepts and iterate quickly.
• Ability to coach and mentor junior designers, fostering their growth and improving overall team craft.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with analytics platforms like Amplitude for data-informed design decisions.
• Familiarity with AI/ML concepts and their application in product design.
• Experience in exploring and defining new market growth initiatives and revenue streams.
• A passion for social platforms and understanding the nuances of Gen Z user behavior.
• Experience in translating high-level goals into concrete design principles and ensuring their implementation.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "significant experience designing features for high-volume consumer apps" and "at least 7 years of professional experience" firmly places this role at a senior or staff level. The emphasis on a "product-oriented mindset" and "data-driven decisions" indicates a need for designers who understand the business impact of their work beyond pure aesthetics or usability.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A curated selection of case studies showcasing end-to-end product design processes for high-volume consumer applications.
• Demonstrations of how user needs, business goals, and technical constraints were balanced to achieve successful product outcomes.
• Examples of contributions to or creation of scalable design systems, illustrating their impact on consistency and efficiency.
• Evidence of data-informed decision-making, including how metrics were used to inform hypotheses, guide iteration, and measure design impact.
• Portfolios should clearly articulate the candidate's role, the problem statement, the design process, and the measurable results of their work.

Process Documentation:

• Case studies should detail the workflow for turning KPIs into actionable design hypotheses and driving data-informed decisions.
• Examples of how design principles were translated into concrete design solutions and integrated into the product.
• Documentation or discussion of contributions to improving design and product development workflows, highlighting friction points identified and resolved.
• Evidence of experience working within a squad system and collaborating closely with PMs and Tech Leads.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Staff Designer role, the portfolio needs to go beyond just showcasing final UI. It should demonstrate strategic thinking, process improvement, data utilization, and leadership through example, especially in mentoring and system design. The ability to articulate the "why" behind design decisions and their impact on business metrics is critical.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: As a Staff Product Designer in Paris, France, with 7+ years of experience, a competitive salary range is expected. Based on industry benchmarks for senior design roles in major European tech hubs, a gross annual salary could range from €70,000 to €100,000. This range can vary based on the exact experience, specific skills, and the equity component of the compensation package.

Benefits:

• Equity: A significant equity stake in the company, aligning personal success with Yubo's growth.
• Flexible Remote Work Policy: A highly flexible remote policy, with a requirement of only 2 office days per month in Paris.
• Monthly Team Events: Regular team-building activities for Europe-based employees to foster camaraderie and collaboration.
• Professional Development: Fees covered for external professional events and meetups (e.g., Android Makers), supporting continuous learning and networking.
• Comprehensive Health Insurance: Top-tier health insurance coverage provided by Alan, fully paid for by Yubo, for employees and their families.
• Parental Benefits: Enhanced parental leave policies and convenient access to nurseries and daycare facilities in France, supporting employees with family responsibilities.
• Competitive Salary: A highly competitive salary package.

Working Hours: Standard full-time hours are assumed, likely around 35-40 hours per week. The emphasis on flexibility means that while core hours may exist for collaboration, individuals have autonomy in structuring their workday outside of required office days.

📝 Enhancement Note: The provided salary range is an estimation for a Staff Product Designer in Paris, France. This estimation is based on general market data for senior design roles in Western Europe and factors in the company's stage and the role's seniority. The inclusion of equity is a significant component for this level of role.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Social Discovery / Technology / Mobile Applications. Yubo operates in the highly competitive social networking space, specifically targeting Gen Z with a unique approach to social interaction that de-emphasizes traditional metrics like likes and follows. This focus on genuine connection and user safety is a key differentiator.

Company Size: Yubo is a growing company with a significant user base (millions of active users). While the exact employee count isn't specified, its international presence and mission suggest a dynamic, mid-to-large size tech organization that balances startup agility with established operational processes.

Founded: Yubo was founded with the mission to redefine how people connect online, particularly for younger demographics. This founding principle of fostering genuine connections and prioritizing safety underpins its product development and company culture.

Team Structure:

• The Staff Product Designer reports directly to the Chief Design Officer (CDO), indicating a high level of visibility and strategic alignment.
• The role involves co-leading a product squad alongside a Product Manager and Tech Lead, fostering a cross-functional, collaborative team structure.
• Designers are expected to mentor and coach other designers, suggesting a distributed mentorship model rather than a formal hierarchy of direct reports for this role.
• Collaboration extends across Product, Tech, Research, and potentially Marketing and Safety teams.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: A core methodology, emphasized by the use of tools like Amplitude and the requirement to turn KPIs into actionable design hypotheses for rapid experimentation.
• Agile Product Development: The "squad system" and focus on "fast experiments over long research cycles" point to an agile approach, prioritizing iterative development and quick feedback loops.
• Design Systems: A commitment to a scalable design system is crucial for maintaining consistency and efficiency across platforms.
• User-Centricity with Business Acumen: Balancing user needs with business objectives (retention, revenue) is a key operational principle.

Company Website: https://www.yubo.live

📝 Enhancement Note: Yubo's mission to redefine social connections and its strong emphasis on user safety and genuine interaction are critical cultural elements. The company operates in a fast-paced, dynamic tech environment, and the Staff Designer role is positioned to influence both product outcomes and design practices.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is at the Staff level within Product Design. This signifies a senior individual contributor role, recognized for deep expertise, strategic thinking, and the ability to influence product direction and design practices. Staff designers are expected to operate with significant autonomy, tackle complex problems, and often mentor or guide other designers. They are key players in shaping the product's future and the team's capabilities.

Reporting Structure: The Staff Product Designer reports directly to the Chief Design Officer (CDO). This direct line of reporting to the head of design provides high visibility and a direct channel for strategic input and alignment with the company's overall design vision.

Operations Impact: The Staff Product Designer is expected to have a substantial impact on key business metrics, specifically:

• Retention: By designing engaging and valuable user experiences that encourage users to return to the platform.
• Revenue: By ideating, prototyping, and launching "premium flows" that boost Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) through increased conversion and retention of paying users.
• Design Excellence: By raising the overall craft and quality of design across the organization through mentorship, setting standards, and improving processes.
• Innovation: By exploring new market growth initiatives and the application of AI for new social discovery and monetization opportunities.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership through Influence: Opportunity to become a recognized design leader within the organization, influencing design strategy and best practices across multiple teams.
• Skill Specialization: Deepen expertise in areas like AI-driven design, new market growth strategies, or advanced design system architecture.
• Mentorship Development: Hone coaching and mentoring skills, potentially leading to future leadership roles or formal management opportunities if desired.
• Strategic Impact: Contribute to high-stakes initiatives that directly impact user growth, engagement, and revenue streams.
• Cross-functional Leadership: Gain experience in co-leading product squads, further developing skills in product strategy and cross-functional collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The Staff level designation is crucial here, indicating a role that is beyond senior but typically not yet managerial. The growth opportunities are geared towards deepening expertise, strategic influence, and leadership by example, aligning with the typical trajectory for Staff-level individual contributors in tech.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Yubo operates a hybrid work model, requiring employees to be in the office for a limited number of days per month. The office environment in Paris is described as "amazing," suggesting a modern, well-equipped, and potentially collaborative workspace designed to facilitate team interaction and specific types of work.

Office Location(s): The primary office location mentioned is Paris, France, serving Europe-based employees. This implies a central hub for collaboration, team events, and in-person working days.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hub: The office serves as a space for focused collaboration, team meetings, and monthly team events, fostering a sense of community and shared purpose.
• Hybrid Flexibility: The dominant aspect is flexibility, allowing individuals to structure their workdays outside of the required office days according to their optimal rhythm.
• Tools and Technology: While not explicitly detailed for the workspace, the company utilizes industry-standard tools like Figma for design, Amplitude for analytics, and Notion for documentation, which are likely accessible and integrated within the work environment.
• Team Interaction: The hybrid model encourages intentional in-person interactions for key collaborative activities, while remote work allows for focused individual work.

Work Schedule: Yubo promotes a flexible work schedule. While a standard full-time commitment is expected (likely 35-40 hours/week), the emphasis is on "Trust & Flexibility." This means individuals have autonomy in structuring their work hours, provided they meet collaboration needs and deliver on their responsibilities. The requirement of two office days per month in Paris provides structure for in-person connection.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model with only two office days per month is a significant aspect of the work environment, emphasizing flexibility and trust. The "amazing Parisian office" suggests an attractive physical workspace, intended to be a valuable asset for the limited in-person interactions.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Phone Screen with a TAM (Technical Account Manager/Talent Acquisition Manager): An initial conversation to assess basic qualifications, cultural fit, and interest in the role.
• First Interview with Jérémie (CDO): A strategic discussion with the Chief Design Officer to evaluate design vision, leadership potential, and alignment with Yubo's mission. This is a critical stage for understanding the role's strategic importance.
• Technical Test and Debrief with the Product Design Team: A practical assessment of design skills, problem-solving abilities, and process. This may involve a design challenge or a review of portfolio work, followed by a discussion with the team to gauge collaboration and technical depth.
• Culture Fit Interviews: Conversations with various team members to assess alignment with Yubo's values (You Own the Impact, Unconventionally Smart, Be Bold & Resilient, One Team, One Mission) and working style.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Impact: Showcase how your designs directly contributed to user retention, revenue growth, or other key business metrics. Quantify results wherever possible.
• Demonstrate Process: Clearly articulate your design process, from problem identification and research to ideation, iteration, and final implementation. Highlight your strategic thinking.
• Highlight Collaboration: Provide examples of how you've worked effectively with PMs, Engineers, and other stakeholders, especially within a squad system.
• Showcase Systems Thinking: If applicable, detail your experience with design systems, including their creation, maintenance, and impact on efficiency and consistency.
• Data-Driven Approach: Explain how you leveraged data (e.g., from Amplitude) to inform your design decisions and validate hypotheses.
• Presentation Clarity: Be prepared to walk through your case studies concisely, focusing on the key aspects and your specific contributions.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Yubo's Mission: Be familiar with Yubo's product, target audience (Gen Z), and its unique value proposition (social discovery, genuine connections, safety).
• Prepare for Data-Informed Design Questions: Be ready to discuss how you translate KPIs into design hypotheses and use data to iterate.
• Practice Mentoring Scenarios: Consider how you would provide constructive feedback to a fellow designer or coach a junior team member.
• Articulate Design Strategy: Think about how you would approach defining design principles for a new feature or scaling a design system.
• Address AI & Innovation: Be prepared to discuss potential innovative uses of AI in social discovery and monetization, as mentioned in the role expectations.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is structured to assess a candidate's strategic thinking, design craft, collaborative abilities, and cultural alignment. The portfolio review is a key component, requiring candidates to demonstrate not just design skills but also business impact and process maturity.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core tool for interface design, prototyping, and collaboration. Proficiency in Figma, including its advanced features for design systems and collaboration, is essential.
• Amplitude: A powerful product analytics platform used for understanding user behavior, measuring feature adoption, and informing data-driven design decisions. Experience in leveraging Amplitude to derive actionable insights is highly valued.
• Notion: Used for documentation, knowledge sharing, project management, and potentially design system documentation. Familiarity with Notion for organizing design-related information is beneficial.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Amplitude: As mentioned, this is critical for understanding user behavior, conversion funnels, retention metrics, and feature performance. The ability to translate Amplitude data into design hypotheses is a key requirement.

CRM & Automation: While not explicitly listed, understanding how design impacts user journeys within a CRM context or how automated workflows might be influenced by design decisions can be a plus, though not a primary requirement for this role.

📝 Enhancement Note: The specified tools (Figma, Amplitude, Notion) are standard for modern product design teams, particularly those focused on data-informed iteration and scalable design systems. The emphasis on Amplitude indicates a strong preference for designers who can work with quantitative data to drive product decisions.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values: Yubo's core values are encapsulated in the acronym Y.U.B.O.:

• Y - You own the impact: This value emphasizes accountability, proactivity, and a drive to deliver meaningful results. For a designer, this means taking ownership of design outcomes and their contribution to business goals.
• U - Unconventionally Smart: This encourages creative problem-solving, efficiency, and innovation. Designers are expected to find smart, perhaps non-traditional, ways to solve user problems and improve processes.
• B - Be Bold & Resilient: This promotes a culture of taking calculated risks, pushing boundaries, and persevering through challenges. Designers should be comfortable experimenting and learning from failures.
• O - One team, one mission: This highlights the importance of collaboration, teamwork, and shared goals, transcending individual egos or departmental silos. Designers must work seamlessly with PMs, engineers, and other teams.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Squads: The primary mode of collaboration is within cross-functional squads (Designer, PM, Tech Lead), fostering tight-knit teams focused on specific product areas.
• Data-Informed Dialogue: Collaboration is heavily influenced by data, with discussions often revolving around Amplitude insights and A/B test results.
• Constructive Feedback Culture: A strong emphasis is placed on giving and receiving feedback constructively, both in formal critiques and day-to-day interactions, to elevate design quality and team performance.
• Shared Ownership: The "One team, one mission" value implies a collaborative approach where all team members feel a sense of shared ownership over product success.

📝 Enhancement Note: The Y.U.B.O. values are central to Yubo's culture and directly inform how employees are expected to work and interact. The Staff Product Designer should embody these values, particularly in driving impact, thinking creatively, embracing bold ideas, and fostering strong team collaboration.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Speed and Craft: The need for "fast experiments over long research cycles" presents a challenge in maintaining high design craft while iterating quickly in a fast-paced environment.
• Scaling Design Systems: Ensuring a design system remains robust, scalable, and consistently applied across evolving platforms and new features requires ongoing effort and strategic foresight.
• Driving Data-Informed Design: Effectively translating complex user data and KPIs into actionable design hypotheses and then measuring their impact requires strong analytical and strategic skills.
• Influencing Across Teams: As a Staff Designer, impacting design quality and processes across multiple squads without direct management authority requires strong leadership by example and communication skills.
• Exploring New Frontiers: Identifying and defining innovative opportunities, particularly with AI, for social discovery and monetization is a complex, forward-looking challenge.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Design Strategy: Opportunity to shape product design strategy at a high level, contributing to the company's long-term vision.
• Mentorship and Leadership Development: Gain extensive experience in coaching and mentoring designers, developing leadership capabilities.
• Data Analytics & Experimentation: Deepen expertise in using tools like Amplitude and designing effective A/B tests to drive product decisions.
• Innovation Initiatives: Contribute to exploring new market opportunities and emerging technologies like AI, staying at the forefront of product development.
• Cross-functional Leadership: Enhance skills in collaborating with and influencing Product Management and Engineering teams within a squad structure.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges align with the inherent demands of a Staff Designer role in a fast-growing tech company. They also present significant opportunities for professional growth, particularly in strategic thinking, data utilization, and leadership through influence.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach defining actionable design hypotheses from Yubo's KPIs to drive rapid experimentation?"
  • Preparation: Be ready to discuss your framework for data analysis, hypothesis generation, and how you'd collaborate with PMs and analysts. Use examples from your portfolio where you've used data to inform design.
• "Describe a time you had to mentor or coach a fellow designer. What was the situation, your approach, and the outcome?"
  • Preparation: Prepare a concise STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) story that highlights your ability to provide constructive feedback and foster growth.
• "How would you ensure our design system scales effectively while supporting innovation across iOS, Android, and web?"
  • Preparation: Discuss your philosophy on design systems, their governance, and how to balance consistency with the need for platform-specific innovation. Reference your experience with design systems in your portfolio.

Company & Culture Questions:

• "How do Yubo's values (Y.U.B.O.) resonate with your own working philosophy and how would you embody them in this role?"
  • Preparation: Research the values thoroughly and prepare specific examples of how you've demonstrated each one in your career. Focus on "Own the Impact" and "One Team, One Mission."
• "Given Yubo's mission, what are some potential design opportunities you see for enhancing social discovery or user safety?"
  • Preparation: Think critically about the product and its user base. Prepare 1-2 well-reasoned ideas, focusing on how design can address user needs or business objectives.
• "How do you approach collaboration within a product squad, especially when there might be differing opinions between design, product, and engineering?"
  • Preparation: Emphasize your ability to listen, advocate for user needs, find common ground, and use data to support your recommendations.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: Organize your case studies to clearly show the Problem, your Role & Process, the Solution, and the measurable Impact (KPIs, user feedback).
• Quantify Results: Whenever possible, use numbers and data to demonstrate the success of your designs. This is critical for a data-driven company like Yubo.
• Highlight Strategic Contributions: Emphasize your strategic thinking, how you translated business goals into design, and your influence on product direction, not just UI execution.
• Showcase Data Utilization: Clearly explain how you used tools like Amplitude to inform your decisions and validate your designs.
• Concise Storytelling: Be prepared to present your key projects within the allocated time, focusing on the most impactful aspects and your unique contributions.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic thinking, data-driven problem-solving, collaborative prowess, and a deep understanding of Yubo's mission and values. Highlighting quantifiable impact and process maturity in the portfolio is paramount for this Staff-level role.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Staff Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided Ashby link.
• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your most impactful case studies that best showcase your experience with high-volume consumer apps, data-informed design, and design systems. Ensure each case study clearly details the problem, your role, your process, and quantifiable results.
• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight keywords from the job description, such as "Staff Product Designer," "Consumer Apps," "Interface Design," "Usability Principles," "Design Systems," "Data-Driven Decisions," "Amplitude," and "Mentoring." Quantify achievements wherever possible.
• Prepare for the CDO Interview: Research Yubo's product, mission, and recent developments. Be ready to discuss your design philosophy, strategic approach, and how you embody the Y.U.B.O. values.
• Practice Your Presentation: Rehearse walking through your portfolio case studies concisely, focusing on impact, process, and your collaborative approach. Be prepared to discuss how you'd tackle the challenges mentioned for this role.

⚠️ 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.