Vice President, Product Designer, AI Hub

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Vice President, Product Designer, AI Hub

Company: BNY

Location: New York, NY, United States

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Product Design / AI / Financial Services

Date Posted: March 20, 2026

Experience Level: 5+ Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the design of complex, AI-driven financial products and experiences, focusing on simplifying intricate systems for millions of users.

• Drive end-to-end product design, from initial research and concept development to high-fidelity prototyping and implementation, leveraging AI-assisted tools.

• Contribute to the evolution of a machine-readable design system that serves as a single source of truth for design, product, and engineering teams.

• Collaborate closely with product managers and engineers in a co-creative environment, utilizing shared repositories and real-time feedback loops.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a Vice President, indicating a significant leadership and strategic contribution beyond typical senior designer responsibilities. The focus on an "AI Hub" and "Digital Channels" suggests a forward-thinking team tasked with integrating advanced AI capabilities into financial services offerings. The emphasis on co-creation and shared repos points to a highly collaborative and agile product development methodology.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Synthesize user research and business requirements to define problems and design solutions for complex financial systems, including multi-step workflows, cross-platform journeys, and enterprise-scale data.

• Rapidly develop concepts from research insights and strategic outcomes into testable prototypes, utilizing AI-assisted tools to accelerate the design-to-prototype pipeline.

• Own the design of end-to-end user experiences, mapping journeys across various user segments, internal teams, and technical systems to identify friction points and areas for improvement.

• Contribute to and evolve a sophisticated design system, ensuring its structure as machine-readable infrastructure with semantic tokens and patterns that encode reasoning for AI agents and human developers.

• Articulate design rationale, tradeoffs, and strategic recommendations clearly to cross-functional stakeholders, including product managers, engineers, and business leaders.

• Mentor and elevate the design practice within the team through constructive critique, collaborative problem-solving, and demonstrating best practices in design execution and strategy.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic design leadership and hands-on execution. The expectation to "Make complexity clear" and "Drive concept development from day one" suggests a proactive role in defining product direction rather than solely executing on defined requirements. The emphasis on contributing to a "machine-readable design system" points to a highly technical and forward-thinking approach to design operations.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While not explicitly stated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, HCI, Computer Science, or a related field is typically expected for a Vice President level role, or equivalent demonstrated experience.

Experience: Typically 5 or more years of experience in product design, with a significant portion focused on complex systems and AI-influenced product development.

Required Skills:

• Strong product design fundamentals: expertise in research synthesis, interaction design, systems thinking, and visual craft.

• Proven experience designing complex systems, including enterprise software, multi-step workflows, and data-heavy interfaces.

• Demonstrated ability to thrive in ambiguous, fast-moving environments, proactively defining problems and solutions.

• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to articulate design rationale to mixed audiences (product, engineering, business) and maintain perspective under pressure.

Preferred Skills:

• Hands-on experience with AI-assisted design and prototyping tools, integrating them into the design and building process.

• Experience working within shared codebases or repositories with cross-functional teams, embodying a co-creation methodology.

• A demonstrable instance where AI fundamentally changed the approach to a design problem, leading to different outcomes rather than just faster execution.

• Prior contributions to a design system at the pattern or systems level, influencing its architecture and semantic meaning.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Preferred Skills" section strongly emphasizes forward-thinking designers who are already embracing AI in their workflows and contributing to sophisticated design systems. The ability to articulate how AI has "changed" their design approach is a key differentiator, suggesting a need for innovation and adaptability.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Evidence of real-time product creation alongside product managers and engineers, demonstrating a full lifecycle from research to shippable product.

• Examples of direct contributions to a shared codebase or repository, showcasing collaborative development with cross-functional partners.

• Case studies illustrating the use of AI tools to accelerate the journey from insight to working experience.

Process Documentation:

• Showcasing a clear process for problem definition, ideation, prototyping, and iteration within a collaborative team structure.

• Evidence of how design decisions are informed by user research, data analysis, and strategic objectives.

• Examples of contributing to or leveraging a design system's infrastructure, including how patterns and tokens are defined and utilized.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are highly specific and lean towards demonstrating practical, collaborative, and AI-integrated design processes rather than traditional polished deliverables. The emphasis is on the "how" and "why" of the design process, particularly in a modern, agile, and tech-forward environment.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $68,000 - $203,000 per year.

Explanation of Range: This range reflects market data for Vice President-level Product Design roles in New York City, considering the specialized nature of AI and financial services. Base salary will be determined based on individual experience, market location, and other factors.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.

• Retirement savings plans (e.g., 401(k) with company match).

• Paid time off, including vacation, sick leave, and holidays.

• Discretionary bonuses and short/long-term incentive packages.

• Access to professional development and learning resources.

• Opportunities for career advancement within BNY.

Working Hours: 40 hours per week, with potential for flexibility depending on project needs and team collaboration schedules.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is quite broad, typical for senior leadership roles where compensation is highly individualized. The note about "commission earnings, discretionary bonuses, short and long-term incentive packages" indicates a significant variable compensation component in addition to the base salary, common for VP-level positions. The "at-will" employment clause is standard.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Financial Services, specifically focusing on global financial infrastructure and asset management. BNY is a significant player, influencing a substantial portion of the world's investible assets.

Company Size: Large enterprise, as indicated by "leading global financial services company" and influencing "20% of the world's investible assets." This implies a robust organizational structure with extensive resources and reach.

Founded: While the founding date isn't specified, BNY Mellon has a historical lineage dating back to 1784, suggesting a company with deep roots and a long-standing reputation in finance.

Team Structure:

• The role is within the "Digital Channels" team, part of the "AI Hub." This suggests a specialized, innovation-focused unit within a larger digital transformation initiative.

• The team likely comprises product designers, product managers, AI specialists, and engineers who collaborate closely in a co-creation model.

Methodology:

• Co-creation: Design, product, and engineering teams collaborate in real-time, not through traditional handoffs.

• Shared Repository: A single source of truth for outcomes, strategy, personas, prototypes, and presentations, ensuring alignment and transparency.

• AI Integration: Embracing AI to enhance design processes, from ideation and prototyping to the development of machine-readable design systems.

• Agile & Iterative: Rapid development from research to testable concepts, with a focus on continuous improvement and user-centricity.

Company Website: bnymellon.com

📝 Enhancement Note: BNY's culture is positioned as forward-thinking and innovative, particularly within its AI Hub. The emphasis on co-creation and a shared, living repository is a strong indicator of a modern, agile product development environment. The company's scale provides opportunities for significant impact, while its financial services focus demands high standards of trust, security, and precision.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Vice President, Product Designer. This is a senior leadership role within the design function, responsible for strategic direction, team mentorship, and the quality of AI-driven product experiences. It implies significant autonomy and influence.

Reporting Structure: The VP will likely report to a Director or Senior Vice President overseeing the AI Hub or Digital Channels. They will lead and mentor other designers and collaborate closely with Product Management and Engineering leadership.

Operations Impact: The role has a direct impact on the user experience of critical financial services platforms, influencing how millions of users interact with BNY's AI capabilities. This impact extends to shaping the company's digital transformation strategy and its competitive positioning in the financial technology landscape.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Development: Opportunities to lead design teams, influence product strategy, and develop leadership capabilities within a major financial institution.

• AI Specialization: Deepen expertise in applying AI to product design challenges within the complex domain of financial services.

• Strategic Influence: Contribute to the overarching AI strategy and digital transformation roadmap of BNY.

• Cross-functional Advancement: Potential to move into broader product leadership roles or lead other innovation initiatives within the company.

📝 Enhancement Note: This VP role offers substantial growth potential, not just in design leadership but also in strategic product development and AI innovation within a large, established financial services firm. The emphasis on "mentoring through example" suggests a culture that values developing talent internally.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: On-site, based in New York, NY. This indicates a traditional office setting within BNY's corporate environment.

Office Location(s): New York, NY. This prime location offers access to a vibrant tech and finance ecosystem.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The description emphasizes co-creation, suggesting an open and interactive workspace designed for seamless collaboration between design, product, and engineering teams.

• Technology-Rich: Access to cutting-edge AI tools, design systems, and development infrastructure will be integral to the workspace.

• Cross-Functional Interaction: Frequent opportunities for direct interaction with product managers, engineers, AI specialists, and potentially other business stakeholders.

Work Schedule: Standard 40-hour work week, but the agile and iterative nature of the work implies a dynamic schedule where focus and collaboration may dictate working hours to meet project milestones.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement in New York suggests a desire for high-touch collaboration and integration within the core product development teams. The workspace will likely be equipped with advanced tools to support AI-driven design and development processes.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of resume and portfolio for alignment with required skills and experience, particularly in complex systems design and AI integration.

• Portfolio Presentation: Candidates will likely present their portfolio, focusing on how they create products in a collaborative, real-time environment, showcasing AI usage and contribution to design systems. Expect questions about specific projects, design decisions, and their rationale.

• Technical/Behavioral Interviews: Discussions with design, product, and engineering peers and leadership to assess design fundamentals, systems thinking, problem-solving skills, and cultural fit.

• Case Study/Design Challenge: A potential exercise to assess problem-solving, design thinking, and communication skills in a scenario relevant to complex financial systems or AI applications.

• Final Round: Discussions with senior leadership to evaluate strategic thinking, leadership potential, and alignment with BNY's AI Hub vision.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Process, Not Just Polish: Emphasize the journey from insight to outcome. Show your thought process, how you collaborated, and how you leveraged tools (especially AI) to achieve results.

• Demonstrate Collaboration: Highlight instances of working alongside product managers and engineers. Showcase contributions to shared repos or codebases.

• Showcase AI Impact: Clearly articulate how AI tools influenced your design process or outcomes. Quantify benefits if possible.

• Design System Contribution: If you've contributed to a design system at a foundational level (patterns, tokens, semantics), present this clearly.

• Complex Systems Examples: Prioritize projects that demonstrate your ability to tackle intricate workflows, data-heavy interfaces, or multi-platform experiences.

• Format Flexibility: Use Figma, PDFs, personal websites, or live products – whatever best tells your story.

Challenge Preparation:

• Anticipate Complex Scenarios: Prepare for challenges involving financial data, multi-user workflows, or AI-driven decision-making in a regulated environment.

• Articulate Tradeoffs: Be ready to discuss the pros and cons of different design decisions, especially concerning AI implementation and user trust.

• Showcase AI's Role: Consider how AI could be applied to solve the challenge presented, beyond just speeding up design tasks.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is geared towards assessing a candidate's ability to operate in a modern, highly collaborative, AI-integrated product development environment. The portfolio is critical and must demonstrate practical, real-time creation and collaboration.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (implied by "Figma files" and common industry standard), AI-assisted design tools (specifics not mentioned, but candidates are encouraged to showcase their use).

• Collaboration & Version Control: Shared repositories (e.g., Git-based systems like GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket) are explicitly mentioned as central to the workflow.

• Design System Tools: Tools for managing and contributing to machine-readable design systems, potentially including documentation platforms and component libraries.

Analytics & Reporting: While not explicitly listed, expect standard tools for user analytics, A/B testing, and performance monitoring to inform design decisions.

CRM & Automation: Not directly relevant to the product designer role but may be part of the broader ecosystem the designed products interact with.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis is on a modern, integrated toolchain that supports co-creation and AI integration. The "machine-readable infrastructure" for the design system is a key technological aspect that candidates should be prepared to discuss.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Co-creation & Collaboration: A strong emphasis on working together across disciplines, breaking down silos, and fostering a shared sense of ownership.

• User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and serving user needs, especially in the context of complex financial services.

• Innovation & Forward-Thinking: Embracing new technologies like AI to redefine financial experiences and drive transformative solutions.

• Excellence & Craftsmanship: High standards for design quality, attention to detail, and the ability to make complexity clear and intuitive.

• Impact-Driven: Focusing on delivering tangible outcomes that benefit users, clients, and the business.

Collaboration Style:

• Integrated Teams: Design, product, and engineering work as a cohesive unit, sharing a common repository and real-time feedback loops.

• Open Communication: Encouraging open dialogue, constructive critique, and transparent sharing of ideas and rationale.

• Iterative & Experimental: A willingness to experiment, learn from failures, and continuously refine solutions based on feedback and data.

📝 Enhancement Note: The team culture is described as highly collaborative, agile, and innovation-focused, with a strong emphasis on leveraging AI. The "mentoring through example" value suggests a culture of continuous learning and mutual development.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for Complexity: Translating intricate financial systems and AI functionalities into intuitive and trustworthy user experiences.

• Navigating Ambiguity: Thriving in a fast-paced environment where problem definitions may evolve and require proactive definition.

• Integrating AI: Effectively leveraging AI not just for efficiency but for fundamentally different and better design outcomes, while managing user expectations and trust.

• Evolving Design Systems: Contributing to and maintaining a cutting-edge, machine-readable design system that supports both human and AI workflows.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI in Design: Deepen expertise in applying AI tools and methodologies to the product design process.

• Financial Services Domain: Gain in-depth knowledge of the financial services industry, its regulations, and user needs.

• Leadership Skills: Develop strategic leadership capabilities within a large, influential organization.

• System Design: Enhance skills in designing large-scale, interconnected enterprise systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are directly tied to the role's focus on AI and complex financial systems, offering significant opportunities for professional growth and skill development in cutting-edge areas.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a complex financial system you've designed. What were the key challenges, and how did you simplify it for users?"

• "Tell me about a time AI significantly changed how you approached a design problem. What was the outcome?"

• "How would you contribute to a machine-readable design system? What are the benefits and challenges of such a system?"

Company & Culture Questions:

• "How do you see AI transforming product design in financial services?"

• "Describe your ideal collaboration model with product managers and engineers. How do you ensure a shared understanding and ownership?"

• "How do you ensure your design decisions are transparent and legible to non-design stakeholders?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each project, clearly define the problem, your role, the process (emphasizing collaboration and AI use), the solutions, and the impact.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals, prototypes, and examples of your work in action. If possible, show how you've worked with shared code or repos.

• Highlight AI Integration: Be specific about which AI tools you used and how they helped achieve a different or better outcome.

• Focus on Impact: Quantify results whenever possible (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced user error, increased efficiency).

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about your decision-making process, tradeoffs considered, and how you handled challenges.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating a deep understanding of modern product development methodologies, a proactive approach to design challenges, and a genuine excitement for the intersection of AI, design, and financial services.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Vice President, Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the BNY Mellon careers portal.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight projects that showcase your experience with complex systems, AI-assisted design, and collaborative workflows. Emphasize examples of real-time creation and contributions to design systems.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your experience with enterprise software, AI tools, and cross-functional collaboration. Use keywords from the job description, such as "AI Hub," "complex systems," "research synthesis," and "design system contribution."

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design rationale, your approach to problem-solving in ambiguous environments, and your vision for AI in product design. Prepare specific examples for behavioral questions and be ready to present your portfolio with confidence.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with BNY Mellon's AI initiatives, digital transformation efforts, and its position in the global financial market. Understand their stated values and culture to demonstrate alignment.

⚠️ 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.