Principal Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Principal Product Designer

Company: Gen Digital Inc.

Location: New York, New York, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / User Experience

Date Posted: 2026-05-05

Experience Level: 8+ Years (Principal Level)

Remote Status: Hybrid (Onsite 3 days per week)

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the definition and delivery of exceptional user experiences for Gen Digital's suite of consumer products, with a strong emphasis on AI-driven features and intelligent systems.

• Drive product strategy through thoughtful design, translating complex user needs and business objectives into elegant, usable, and cohesive solutions across mobile, desktop, and web platforms.

• Elevate the craft of design within the organization by establishing and evolving design systems, patterns, and principles to ensure consistency and quality at scale.

• Collaborate closely with cross-functional partners in Product, Research, and Engineering to champion user-centered design and influence product direction, particularly in the evolving landscape of AI integration.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is designated as Principal level, indicating a need for significant strategic input, leadership in design initiatives, and the ability to mentor other designers. The focus on "AI-first" and "reimagining how people connect with and protect what matters most" suggests a role that is forward-looking and instrumental in shaping future product offerings, particularly within cybersecurity and financial wellness domains.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Strategic Design Leadership: Translate complex problems and abstract ideas into simple, usable, and delightful solutions grounded in user needs, business goals, and AI capabilities.

• Experience Quality Ownership: Own the end-to-end user experience, from initial concept and information architecture to detailed interaction design, visual polish, and ensuring a cohesive, confident, and human-centered feel across all touchpoints.

• AI-Powered Experience Design: Design intuitive and trustworthy interactions for AI-driven products, ensuring clarity, transparency, and ease of use for features such as personalization, recommendations, and automation.

• Systematic Design Thinking: Develop and champion scalable design patterns, frameworks, and design systems that elevate design quality and create efficiency across multiple product surfaces and teams.

• User-Centric Innovation: Drive product innovation through discovery, rapid prototyping, and user testing, with a particular focus on exploring how AI can simplify tasks and personalize user experiences.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Influence: Partner effectively with product managers, researchers, engineers, and other stakeholders to align design outcomes with user needs, business objectives, and technical feasibility.

• Design Quality Advocacy: Ensure all design outputs are accessible, human-centered, visually appealing, and meet a high bar for craft, providing and soliciting constructive feedback to foster continuous improvement.

• Data-Informed Iteration: Leverage qualitative insights, analytics data, and A/B testing results to inform design decisions and iterate on user experiences for maximum impact.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a blend of strategic thinking ("Shape strategy through design," "systems thinker") and hands-on execution ("Raise the bar for craft," "sweating the craft details"). The specific mention of "AI-powered products" and "AI-driven features" indicates a critical need for designers who can make complex AI concepts accessible and trustworthy for consumers.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

Experience:

• 8+ years of progressive product design experience, with a significant portion dedicated to shipping mobile-first B2C products at scale.

• Demonstrated experience in creating, documenting, and evolving comprehensive design systems, standards, and principles.

Required Skills:

• Exceptional Interaction Design: Mastery of interaction design principles for mobile and responsive web, including complex user flows, intuitive navigation, and sophisticated micro-interactions.

• Superior Visual Design Craft: A refined aesthetic with expertise in typography, color theory, composition, and layout, tailored for impactful consumer brands.

• Advanced Design Systems Proficiency: Expertise in building, maintaining, and scaling design systems, component libraries, and reusable patterns across diverse product portfolios.

• Prototyping & Tool Proficiency: Proficiency with modern design and prototyping tools (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite) to effectively express motion, states, and end-to-end user experiences.

• Strategic Problem Solving: Ability to dissect ambiguous and complex problem spaces, break them down into actionable steps, and develop elegant, user-centered solutions.

• Systems Thinking: Capacity to design solutions that are scalable, consistent, and integrate seamlessly across multiple platforms and user journeys.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Proven ability to partner effectively with Product Management, Engineering, and Research teams to influence product strategy and drive successful outcomes.

• Storytelling & Communication: Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate design rationale, present trade-offs, and persuade stakeholders.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in cybersecurity or financial services industries.

• Experience designing AI-driven features, including personalization, recommendations, and automation, with a focus on user trust and transparency.

• Familiarity with user research methodologies and a strong intuition for usability.

• Experience with data analysis, experimentation (qualitative insights, analytics, A/B tests) to inform design iteration.

• Experience with motion design and expressive UI animations.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Principal" title strongly implies a need for candidates who can operate with a high degree of autonomy, mentor junior designers, and contribute to the strategic direction of design within the company. The emphasis on "maker's mindset" alongside strategic capabilities suggests a hands-on role that still values profound craft.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• End-to-End Case Studies: Showcase 3-5 comprehensive case studies demonstrating mastery of the entire product design lifecycle, from initial problem definition and user research through to detailed UI design, prototyping, and implementation.

• Problem Framing & Solution Design: Clearly articulate the user and business problems addressed in each case study, detailing the design process, methodologies employed, and the rationale behind key design decisions.

• Systemic Thinking & Scalability: Highlight instances where design systems, reusable patterns, or scalable frameworks were developed or leveraged to ensure consistency and efficiency across products.

• AI Feature Design Examples: Include specific examples of designing AI-powered features, explaining how clarity, trust, and user control were prioritized within these complex interactions.

• Visual & Interaction Craft: Demonstrate exceptional visual design polish, sophisticated interaction design, and attention to detail in all presented work.

• Impact & Outcomes: Quantify the impact of your design contributions whenever possible, using metrics, user feedback, or business results to illustrate the value created.

Process Documentation:

• Expect to discuss your personal design process in detail, including how you approach ambiguity, conduct user research, collaborate with engineering, and iterate based on feedback and data.

• Be prepared to discuss your experience in creating and maintaining design systems, including how you ensure adoption and evolution across different product teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Principal Product Designer role, the portfolio is critical. It should not only showcase polished final products but also the strategic thinking, problem-solving methodology, and collaborative approach that led to those outcomes. Emphasis on AI design and systems thinking will be particularly important for this role.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• The annual base salary for this position is expected to be between $150,000 and $180,000 USD.

• 📝 Enhancement Note: This range is competitive for a Principal Product Designer in a major metropolitan area like New York City, especially for a company of Gen Digital's size and industry presence. Factors influencing placement within this range will include the candidate's specific experience, demonstrated impact, and alignment with the company's strategic needs, particularly in AI and consumer product design.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Includes health insurance options, disability coverage, and life insurance.

• Retirement Savings: 401(k) plan with a company match for long-term financial planning.

• Flexible Time Off: Unlimited paid time off, promoting work-life balance and autonomy.

• Well-being Programs: Support for employee well-being is implied through the company's general description.

Working Hours:

• Standard full-time position, likely around 40 hours per week.

• 📝 Enhancement Note: While a standard workweek is implied, the hybrid nature and emphasis on autonomy suggest flexibility in how and when work is accomplished, provided objectives are met and collaboration needs are satisfied.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology (Cybersecurity, Digital Privacy, Financial Wellness)

Company Size: Gen Digital Inc. is a large, global organization, formed by the merger of NortonLifeLock and Avast, indicating a substantial employee base and significant market presence.

Founded: Gen Digital's heritage spans decades, with Norton and Avast having long-established histories in their respective domains. This blend of mature brands with a forward-looking AI strategy creates a dynamic environment.

Team Structure:

• Product Design Team: The Principal Product Designer will likely join a dedicated product design team, potentially within a broader Product or Engineering organization.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: This role requires close partnership with Product Managers, User Researchers, Engineers (front-end and potentially AI/ML specialists), and Marketing.

• Reporting: The Principal Designer will likely report to a Design Lead, Director of Design, or Head of Product Design, with direct influence on product initiatives.

Methodology:

• AI-First Approach: The company is actively integrating AI into its strategy and product development, meaning design will play a crucial role in making these technologies accessible and trustworthy.

• Customer-Centricity: A strong emphasis on user needs and customer-driven innovation is evident.

• Data-Informed Decisions: Design choices are expected to be informed by user research, analytics, and A/B testing.

• Agile & Iterative Development: The nature of tech product development suggests an agile methodology, with continuous learning and adaptation.

Company Website: https://www.gendigital.com/us/en/

📝 Enhancement Note: Gen Digital represents a significant player in the consumer technology space, combining established brands with a bold vision for AI integration. The culture is described as entrepreneurial within an established framework, valuing customer obsession, healthy debate, and leveraging differences as strengths. This suggests an environment where experienced designers can have substantial impact.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Principal Product Designer (Level 9)

Reporting Structure:

Operations Impact:

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Opportunity to grow into formal leadership roles (e.g., Design Manager, Director of Design) or to become a recognized expert and thought leader within the organization.

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in AI-driven design, cybersecurity UX, or financial wellness UX, becoming a go-to subject matter expert.

• Cross-Product Influence: Expand influence across multiple Gen Digital brands and product lines, driving cohesive user experiences and design system adoption.

• Mentorship: Guide and mentor junior and mid-level designers, fostering design talent within the team.

• Strategic Contribution: Play a key role in shaping the company's AI strategy and its manifestation in user-facing products.

📝 Enhancement Note: A Principal role at Gen Digital offers substantial opportunity for impact and career advancement, particularly given the company's focus on AI and its broad consumer reach. The ability to shape strategy and mentor others are key indicators of growth potential.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid - requiring 3 days per week in the New York City office. This suggests a blend of focused individual work and collaborative in-person interaction.

Office Location(s): New York, New York. This location provides access to a vibrant tech and design community.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hub: The office environment is designed to facilitate collaboration, brainstorming, and team synergy, essential for design sprints and cross-functional alignment.

• Technology & Tools: Access to industry-standard design and prototyping software, as well as company-specific tools and platforms.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for spontaneous discussions, formal design critiques, and team-building activities with colleagues in New York and potentially globally.

Work Schedule:

• Standard full-time hours (approximately 40 hours/week) with a hybrid arrangement.

• 📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model allows for dedicated focus time at home while leveraging the office for essential collaboration, feedback sessions, and team bonding. This structure is common in the tech industry for senior roles requiring both deep work and strong interpersonal collaboration.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Intro Call: An initial screening call to discuss your background, motivations, and fit with Gen Digital's mission and culture.

• Portfolio Review (Hiring Manager): A 45-minute session where you'll present your portfolio to the hiring manager, highlighting key projects and your design philosophy. Be prepared to articulate your process and impact.

• Design Exercise (Live Whiteboarding): A 60-minute session with a few designers to assess your collaborative problem-solving skills, ability to think on your feet, and how you approach breaking down complex problems and articulating solutions visually.

• Final Round (Team Meet & Greet): A 60-minute session to meet more team members, discuss your portfolio in more depth, and assess cultural fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Tell a Story: For each case study, focus on the narrative: the problem, your approach, your specific contributions, the challenges faced, and the outcomes achieved.

• Highlight Principal-Level Thinking: Emphasize strategic contributions, system design, leadership in craft, and impact on business goals, not just execution.

• Showcase AI Design: If you have relevant AI design work, be prepared to discuss the unique considerations, challenges, and solutions involved.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about your process, decision-making, trade-offs, and how you handle feedback.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use data (user metrics, conversion rates, engagement) to demonstrate the success of your designs.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Context: Gen Digital operates in cybersecurity and financial wellness, with an AI-first strategy. Frame your problem-solving approach within these domains.

• Practice Whiteboarding: Rehearse sketching flows, user journeys, and UI elements quickly and clearly. Focus on communication and collaboration over perfect visuals.

• Articulate Trade-offs: Be prepared to discuss why certain design choices were made over others, considering user needs, business goals, and technical constraints.

• Demonstrate Empathy: Show how you would approach understanding user needs in a new problem space.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is structured to evaluate a range of skills, from strategic thinking and collaboration to craft and communication. The live whiteboarding exercise is key for assessing problem-solving and teamwork in real-time. The portfolio review will be a critical opportunity to showcase strategic impact and senior-level contributions.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Design Tools:

• Figma: Highly likely to be the primary tool for UI design, prototyping, and collaboration, given its industry prevalence.

• Sketch: May also be used, especially if migrating from older workflows or for specific integrations.

• Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator): For asset creation, image manipulation, and specialized graphic design tasks.

Prototyping & Animation:

• Figma/Sketch Plugins: For advanced prototyping and micro-interactions.

• Principle/After Effects: For more complex motion design and animation exploration.

Design Systems:

• Storybook or similar: Potential tools for documenting and managing component libraries.

• Figma Libraries: Central to design system management and collaboration.

Collaboration & Project Management:

• Jira/Confluence: For tracking development tasks, documentation, and project workflows.

• Slack/Microsoft Teams: For real-time communication and team collaboration.

Analytics & Experimentation:

• Google Analytics, Amplitude, Mixpanel: For understanding user behavior and product usage.

• Optimizely or similar A/B testing platforms: For data-informed iteration and validation.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma is almost a given for a role of this nature. Experience with design systems, prototyping tools, and an understanding of how to leverage analytics for design decisions are essential. Given the "AI-first" strategy, any familiarity with tools or methodologies related to AI product development would be a significant plus.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Obsession: A relentless focus on understanding and serving user needs to deliver genuine value in digital security and financial wellness.

• AI as a Teammate: Embracing artificial intelligence as a tool to augment human capabilities, drive innovation, and deliver more personalized and efficient experiences.

• Scrappy & Entrepreneurial: A proactive, results-oriented approach that encourages experimentation, adaptability, and finding creative solutions.

• Healthy Debate & Continuous Learning: Creating an environment where diverse perspectives are welcomed, ideas are challenged constructively, and ongoing skill development is encouraged.

• Inclusivity & Diversity: Valuing different experiences, identities, and ideas as a competitive advantage, fostering a culture of mutual respect and support.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Design is deeply integrated with Product and Engineering, working collaboratively to define strategy and execute on product roadmaps.

• Feedback-Driven: A culture of giving and receiving candid, constructive feedback to elevate the quality of work and foster professional growth.

• Influence Without Authority: The ability to build trust, communicate effectively, and persuade stakeholders to align around design vision and best practices.

• Global Mindset: Comfort and ability to collaborate effectively across different time zones and cultural nuances.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "AI as a teammate," "scrappy," and "healthy debate" suggests a dynamic and forward-thinking work environment. For a Principal Designer, demonstrating strong collaboration and influencing skills, alongside a commitment to user empathy and continuous learning, will be key to cultural alignment.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Ambiguity: Tackling large, complex, and often ill-defined problem spaces to derive clear design direction and actionable steps.

• Designing for Trust in AI: Making advanced AI functionalities feel accessible, transparent, and trustworthy to a broad consumer base, especially in sensitive areas like security and finance.

• Balancing Craft and Scale: Ensuring high design quality and attention to detail while building scalable design systems and patterns that support rapid product development across multiple brands.

• Cross-Time Zone Collaboration: Effectively partnering with global teams, requiring strong asynchronous communication skills and cultural sensitivity.

• Shaping an AI-First Future: Contributing to the foundational design strategy for Gen Digital's AI-driven products, which requires foresight and adaptability.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI Design Specialization: Deepen expertise in designing for AI, machine learning, and intelligent systems, staying at the forefront of this rapidly evolving field.

• Cross-Brand Experience: Gain exposure and contribute to the design strategy of multiple well-known consumer brands within Gen Digital's portfolio.

• Leadership & Mentorship Development: Opportunities to mentor junior designers, lead design initiatives, and potentially transition into formal leadership roles.

• Industry Trends: Stay abreast of the latest trends in cybersecurity, financial wellness, and consumer technology through internal knowledge sharing and external resources.

• Strategic Impact: Contribute directly to the company's core business objectives and future product vision.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents a significant opportunity for a designer to tackle complex, high-impact challenges at the intersection of AI, consumer security, and financial wellness. The growth potential is substantial, particularly for those interested in shaping the future of AI-driven user experiences.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to design for a complex, ambiguous problem space. How did you approach it, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on your process for defining problems and generating solutions.)

• "How would you approach designing an AI feature that aims to personalize a user's cybersecurity experience? What are the key considerations for trust and transparency?" (Demonstrate your understanding of AI design principles and user empathy.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Gen Digital's mission and its AI-first strategy?" (Show you've researched the company and understand its direction.)

• "Our culture values 'healthy debate' and 'scrappiness.' How do you embody these values in your design work and collaborations?" (Prepare examples of constructive feedback and resourceful problem-solving.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure is Key: For each case study, clearly outline: Problem, Your Role/Contribution, Process, Solution, and Impact/Results.

• Focus on "Why": Explain the rationale behind your design decisions, not just what you designed. Discuss trade-offs considered.

• Showcase Systems Thinking: Highlight how your work contributes to or benefits from a design system or scalable patterns.

• Demonstrate AI Design: If presenting AI features, articulate the specific challenges and your approach to making them user-friendly and trustworthy.

• Prepare for Questions: Anticipate questions about your process, challenges, and how you handle feedback. Be ready to discuss your most impactful projects in detail.

• Practice Your Narrative: Rehearse your presentation to ensure it flows logically and efficiently within the allotted time.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on understanding Gen Digital's specific context (AI, cybersecurity, financial wellness) and demonstrating how your principal-level skills align with their needs. The interview process is designed to assess your strategic thinking, collaborative abilities, and design craft.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Principal Product Designer position:

• Submit your application directly through the provided link on Ashby.

• Customize Your Resume: Tailor your resume to highlight experience relevant to B2C, mobile-first design, AI-driven features, and design systems. Use keywords from the job description, such as "interaction design," "visual design," "design systems," and "AI-powered workflow design."

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select your strongest case studies that best demonstrate your principal-level capabilities, strategic thinking, and impact. Ensure it clearly showcases your end-to-end design process and proficiency in relevant tools and methodologies, with a particular emphasis on AI design if applicable.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice articulating your portfolio projects and design philosophy. Be ready to discuss your contributions, decision-making process, and how you drive impact.

• Research Gen Digital: Familiarize yourself with Gen Digital's brands (Norton, Avast, LifeLock, MoneyLion), their mission, and their stated AI-first strategy. Understand their market position and the challenges within cybersecurity and financial wellness.

⚠️ 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.