Product Designer 2 - Wearables

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer 2 - Wearables

Company: Garmin International, Inc.

Location: Olathe, Kansas, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / UX/UI Design

Date Posted: 2026-07-21T20:31:00

Experience Level: 0-2 years (Entry to Junior Level)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Design and prototype user experiences for a diverse range of Garmin wearables, focusing on outdoor, fitness, and health applications.

• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including software engineers, graphic artists, product managers, and design leadership, to translate user needs into compelling product designs.

• Apply fundamental usability and user-centered design principles to create intuitive and effective user interfaces.

• Develop and present design solutions through mockups, storyboards, visual presentations, and behavioral documentation to stakeholders.

• Contribute to the continuous improvement of user interface design and behavioral consistency across Garmin's product portfolio.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Product Designer 2" title and the explicit mention of a "design mentor" suggest this role is for an individual with foundational experience, likely 1-3 years, who is ready to take on more responsibility than an entry-level designer but still requires guidance and development. The focus on "Wearables" within "Outdoor and Fitness" strongly indicates a need for designers who understand the unique constraints and opportunities of wearable technology, such as battery life, screen real estate, and context of use (e.g., during exercise, in remote locations).

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Research, design, and prototype user experiences for new features and products within the wearable technology space, ensuring timely and organized delivery.

• Create compelling visual presentations, storyboards, mockups, and behavioral documentation to clearly communicate design concepts and user flows to stakeholders.

• Develop creative, simple, and highly usable solutions that align with human behavior and product functionality for Garmin's wearable devices.

• Produce clear, organized, and understandable design documentation, including flows, functions, and status updates, for software engineers, stakeholders, and unfamiliar parties.

• Actively participate in cross-functional team meetings, collaborating with design leadership, software engineers, graphic artists, and product managers to define and refine design direction.

• Assist in planning and conducting user interface testing and usability studies to gather feedback and iterate on new designs.

• Maintain and ensure consistency in user interface design and behavioral patterns across various product types within the Garmin wearable ecosystem.

• Contribute to advanced design research and concept development for future products through exploration, prototyping, and testing.

• Stay current with emerging user interface design trends, competitor designs, and advancements in prototyping and computer graphics software.

• Proactively communicate work status, potential roadblocks, and provide visibility to design leadership and supervisors.

• Potentially mentor junior designers (Product Designers 1) by sharing knowledge and best practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of creative design work and detailed documentation. The emphasis on "behavioral documentation" and "human behavior" suggests a strong UX focus, requiring designers to think deeply about how users interact with technology in various contexts, particularly during physical activities or in challenging environments. The responsibility to "maintain and ensure user interface design and behavioral consistency across product types" is critical for a large company like Garmin, ensuring a unified brand experience.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Interactive Design, Human Factors, Visual Design, or a related curriculum emphasizing user-centered design principles.

Experience: Minimum of 1 year of relevant work experience in product design, UX/UI design, or a closely related field, or a minimum of 5 years of equivalent education and experience in performing essential design functions.

Required Skills:

• Proficiency and exceptional skills in creating research artifacts, user flows, and interactive prototypes using design tools such as Figma.

• Demonstrated understanding and knowledge of user interface design principles, including consistency, simplicity, and usability.

• Strong and effective verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills, essential for cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder presentations.

• Ability to conduct user research and translate findings into actionable design solutions.

• Experience in creating visual presentations and storyboards to articulate design concepts.

• Understanding of human behavior and its impact on user interface design. Preferred Skills:

• Outstanding academic record (cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher).

• Technical knowledge that facilitates effective communication and collaboration between design and engineering teams.

• Deep curiosity, a proactive learning mindset, and enthusiasm for solving complex design challenges.

• A genuine passion for Garmin products and the active lifestyle experiences they support.

• Experience with other design and prototyping tools beyond Figma.

• Familiarity with usability testing methodologies and data analysis.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for a Bachelor's degree in a design-related field is standard, but the emphasis on "equivalent curriculum that teaches user centered design principles" allows for broader applications. The explicit mention of "Figma" is a key technical requirement. The GPA requirement, particularly the "outstanding academics" preference, suggests Garmin values strong foundational knowledge and academic achievement in design candidates. The "technical knowledge to bridge gaps between engineering and design" indicates a preference for designers who understand technical constraints and possibilities.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a minimum of 1-2 well-documented projects demonstrating the full design process from research to final UI.

• Include case studies that highlight problem definition, user research methodologies, ideation, wireframing, prototyping, user testing, and final design solutions.

• For each project, clearly articulate the user problem, your role, the design decisions made, and the impact of your solutions.

• Demonstrate proficiency in using design tools, with a strong emphasis on Figma, through examples of interactive prototypes and detailed UI designs.

• Present solutions for wearable devices specifically, if possible, showcasing an understanding of unique design constraints and user contexts. Process Documentation:

• Clearly document the user research conducted, including methodologies used (e.g., interviews, surveys, persona development) and key findings.

• Illustrate user flows and interaction design through detailed diagrams and interactive prototypes.

• Provide examples of behavioral documentation that explain how users will interact with the designed features and the rationale behind these interactions.

• Showcase iterative design processes, including how feedback from usability testing was incorporated to refine designs.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Product Designer role at this level, a portfolio is crucial. The emphasis should be on demonstrating a structured design process, not just final polished screens. Given the role's focus on wearables and the mention of "behavioral documentation," the portfolio should explicitly address how the designer considers user behavior, context of use, and the specific challenges of wearable interfaces.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for a Product Designer 2 role with 0-2 years of experience in the Olathe, Kansas area, the estimated annual salary range is $70,000 - $95,000 USD. This estimate considers the cost of living in the Kansas City metropolitan area and Garmin's standing as a major technology employer.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive health insurance (medical, dental, vision)

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

• Paid time off (vacation, sick leave, holidays)

• Opportunities for professional development and training

• Access to Garmin's employee discount program on products

• Potential for performance-based bonuses

Working Hours: The standard working hours are 40 hours per week, with flexibility typically offered for start and end times, aligning with business needs and team collaboration requirements.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is an estimate based on typical compensation for Product Designer roles with 1-2 years of experience in the US, specifically in a Midwestern tech hub like Kansas City. Garmin, being a large, established company, is likely to offer a competitive benefits package. The provided benefits are standard for full-time employees in the tech industry.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology / Consumer Electronics / GPS & Wearable Devices. Garmin operates in a highly competitive market, known for its innovation in GPS technology across aviation, marine, automotive, outdoor, and fitness sectors. This context means the design team must be agile, responsive to market trends, and focused on delivering reliable, high-performance products.

Company Size: Garmin International, Inc. is a large, global company with thousands of employees worldwide. This scale offers stability and resources but also requires designers to navigate a structured environment with established processes and diverse stakeholders.

Founded: Garmin was founded in 1989. Its long history in GPS technology provides a strong foundation and a culture of engineering excellence and innovation.

Team Structure:

• The Product Designer will join the Outdoor and Fitness Wearable group, suggesting a specialized team focused on a specific product category.

• This team likely consists of product designers, UX researchers, UI designers, and potentially graphic artists, working under design leadership.

• Collaboration is expected with product managers, software engineers, and potentially hardware engineers for the wearable devices. Methodology:

• Garmin's approach to product development is likely rigorous, emphasizing user-centered design, thorough testing, and cross-functional collaboration.

• The design process will involve research, ideation, prototyping, and iterative refinement to ensure product quality and user satisfaction.

• A focus on data-driven design decisions, informed by usability testing and user feedback, is expected.

Company Website: https://careers.garmin.com

📝 Enhancement Note: Garmin's reputation for robust, reliable products in demanding environments (like outdoor adventures or athletic performance) suggests a design culture that values precision, durability, and functional excellence. The "Outdoor and Fitness Wearable group" implies a team that is passionate about active lifestyles and understands the needs of users in these contexts.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is classified as "Product Designer 2," indicating a junior to mid-level position. It signifies an individual who has moved beyond entry-level tasks and can independently manage design projects with mentorship, contributing significantly to feature development and product design direction.

Reporting Structure: The Product Designer will report to Design Leadership within the Outdoor and Fitness Wearable group. They will work closely with Product Managers and Software Engineers, indicating a collaborative, matrixed reporting environment typical in product development.

Operations Impact: The designs created will directly influence the user experience of Garmin's wearable products, impacting user engagement, product adoption, customer satisfaction, and ultimately, sales and market competitiveness within the highly active wearable technology sector.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Specialization: Opportunity to deepen expertise in wearable UX/UI design, user research, interaction design for constrained interfaces, and potentially animation or motion design for wearables.

• Leadership Development: Potential to advance to Senior Product Designer roles, leading design initiatives, mentoring junior designers, and contributing to design strategy.

• Cross-Functional Exposure: Gain experience working with diverse teams, understanding product management, software engineering, and hardware development processes, which can broaden career horizons.

• Product Portfolio Expansion: Opportunity to contribute to a wide range of innovative wearable products, building a strong and varied design portfolio.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Product Designer 2" level suggests a defined career path within Garmin's design organization. The explicit mention of mentoring junior designers hints at leadership potential for high performers. The focus on wearables means growth opportunities will likely be tied to advancements in this specific technology domain.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is based at Garmin's U.S. headquarters in the Greater Kansas City area, indicating a corporate office environment. This typically means access to professional facilities, meeting rooms, and collaborative workspaces.

Office Location(s): 1200 E 151st STREET, Olathe, Kansas, 66062. This location serves as Garmin's U.S. headquarters, suggesting a hub for product development and corporate functions.

Workspace Context:

• A collaborative office setting is implied, where designers work alongside engineers, product managers, and other design team members.

• Access to standard office technology, including high-performance workstations and design software (like Figma), will be provided.

• Opportunities for informal collaboration, brainstorming sessions, and structured design reviews are expected within the team.

Work Schedule: The role is full-time, with standard working hours of 40 per week. While on-site, Garmin often offers some flexibility in daily start and end times to accommodate work-life balance and team coordination needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: Garmin's headquarters in Olathe is a substantial facility, suggesting a well-equipped and professional work environment. The "on-site" requirement means candidates should be prepared for a traditional office-based role, emphasizing in-person collaboration and team synergy.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio by a recruiter or hiring manager to assess qualifications and design experience.

• Portfolio Presentation & Technical Interview: Candidates will likely present their portfolio, discussing their design process, problem-solving approach, and specific project contributions. This will be followed by technical questions related to UX/UI principles, design tools, and problem-solving scenarios.

• Cross-functional Interviews: Interviews with product managers, software engineers, and potentially design leadership to evaluate collaboration skills, communication, and cultural fit within the team.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A final interview with the hiring manager to discuss role expectations, career aspirations, and confirm overall suitability.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Effectively: Select 3-4 of your strongest projects that best showcase your skills relevant to wearable UX/UI design. Prioritize projects that demonstrate a full design lifecycle.

• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, your process, the decisions you made, and the impact of your design. Use visuals to support your narrative.

• Highlight Figma Proficiency: Showcase interactive prototypes and detailed UI work created in Figma. Be prepared to discuss your workflow and any custom components or libraries you’ve used.

• Emphasize Wearable Context: If you have wearable design experience, highlight it. If not, explain how your existing projects demonstrate an understanding of constrained interfaces, user context, and efficient interaction design.

• Be Ready for Whiteboarding: Prepare for potential live design exercises or whiteboarding sessions where you'll be asked to solve a design problem on the spot.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Wearable Constraints: Be ready to discuss how you would approach designing for small screens, limited input methods, battery life considerations, and the unique contexts of use for wearables (e.g., during intense physical activity).

• Process-Oriented Thinking: Focus on explaining your thought process, not just the final solution. How do you gather requirements? How do you iterate? How do you incorporate feedback?

• Communication Clarity: Practice articulating your design decisions clearly and concisely, as you will need to communicate effectively with both design and non-design stakeholders.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will heavily rely on the candidate's ability to demonstrate their design thinking and process through their portfolio. Specific questions about wearable design constraints and user context are highly probable.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential for all aspects of design, including wireframing, prototyping, UI design, and collaboration. Proficiency is a must.

• Prototyping Tools: Beyond Figma's built-in capabilities, experience with other prototyping tools may be beneficial for specific use cases.

• Design & Graphics Software: Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator) can be helpful for asset creation and manipulation.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not directly a design tool, an understanding of how user behavior data is collected and analyzed (e.g., through analytics platforms) can inform design decisions. Garmin likely uses internal tools for this. CRM & Automation:

• Not directly relevant to the Product Designer role, but an awareness of how user feedback and product usage data flow into broader company systems can be advantageous.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma is explicitly called out as a required tool. Given the nature of wearable design, designers might also benefit from familiarity with tools that handle vector graphics efficiently and allow for rapid iteration.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Innovation: A drive to create novel and improved user experiences for cutting-edge wearable technology.

• User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and serving the needs of users, particularly those engaged in outdoor activities and fitness.

• Excellence & Quality: A focus on delivering robust, reliable, and high-performing products that meet Garmin's reputation for quality.

• Collaboration: A strong emphasis on teamwork and open communication across departments to achieve common product goals.

• Passion for Active Lifestyles: A shared enthusiasm for the activities that Garmin products enable, fostering a deeper understanding of user motivations and challenges.

Collaboration Style:

• Expect a highly collaborative environment where designers work closely with product managers to define features, software engineers to implement designs, and other designers for feedback and consistency.

• Open communication and constructive feedback are likely encouraged to ensure the best possible product outcomes.

• Designers are expected to be proactive in seeking input and providing design rationale to stakeholders.

📝 Enhancement Note: Garmin's culture often reflects its product focus – driven, active, and focused on performance. The design team will likely embody these traits, with a strong emphasis on practical, user-focused solutions that enhance active lifestyles.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for Wearable Constraints: Balancing rich functionality with limited screen real estate, battery life, and input methods inherent to wearable devices.

• Maintaining Design Consistency: Ensuring a cohesive user experience across a diverse and evolving range of wearable products with varying form factors and functionalities.

• Navigating Cross-Functional Dependencies: Effectively collaborating with product managers, software engineers, and other stakeholders who may have different priorities or technical constraints.

• Keeping Pace with Technology: Staying current with rapidly advancing wearable technology, including new sensors, connectivity options, and display technologies, and translating these into user-friendly designs.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Specialized Wearable Design Training: Opportunities to attend workshops or take courses focused on UX/UI design for wearables, human factors in device interaction, and emerging wearable technologies.

• Mentorship: Guidance from experienced design leaders and potentially senior designers within the wearable group.

• Industry Conferences: Potential to attend relevant design and technology conferences to stay abreast of industry trends and network.

• Internal Knowledge Sharing: Participation in design critiques, brown bag sessions, and other internal forums to learn from colleagues.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary challenges will revolve around the unique design constraints of wearables and the need for seamless integration into users' active lives. Growth opportunities will be tied to developing expertise in this niche and contributing to Garmin's leadership in the wearable market.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to design for a product with significant technical constraints. How did you approach it?" (Focus on your process, problem-solving, and trade-offs.)

• "How would you design a new feature for a smartwatch that helps users track their hydration during a marathon?" (Be ready to outline your research, ideation, and design considerations for a wearable context.)

• "Walk us through a project in your portfolio where you had to collaborate closely with engineers. What were the challenges and how did you overcome them?" (Highlight communication, compromise, and achieving shared goals.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why are you interested in designing for Garmin's wearable products specifically?" (Show genuine interest in their product lines and user base.)

• "How do you stay current with design trends, especially in the wearable technology space?" (Demonstrate continuous learning and passion for the field.)

• "How do you approach incorporating user feedback into your designs?" (Discuss your usability testing and iteration process.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Focus on Process: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, your design process (research, ideation, prototyping, testing), your key decisions, and the outcome/impact.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use data or metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., increased user engagement, improved task completion rates).

• Highlight Figma Skills: Be prepared to demo interactive prototypes and explain your workflow within Figma.

• Address Wearable Nuances: If applicable, discuss how you considered factors like screen size, battery life, haptics, and context of use for wearable devices.

• Be Concise and Engaging: Practice your presentation to ensure it flows well and stays within the allotted time, keeping the audience engaged.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should heavily focus on demonstrating a user-centered design process, problem-solving skills, and an understanding of the specific challenges and opportunities within wearable technology design.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the Garmin Careers portal.

• Tailor your resume: Highlight relevant experience, skills, and academic achievements that align with the job description, especially mentioning Figma proficiency and any wearable design experience.

• Curate your portfolio: Ensure it showcases your strongest work, clearly demonstrates your design process, and includes examples relevant to UX/UI design, ideally for constrained interfaces or wearable products. Be ready to present and discuss your projects in detail.

• Prepare for interviews: Research Garmin's wearable products, understand their target users, and practice articulating your design thinking and problem-solving approach for wearable-specific challenges.

• Research Garmin: Familiarize yourself with Garmin's company culture, values, and their position in the market to articulate your interest and cultural fit.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and industry-standard assumptions. All details, especially regarding compensation and specific interview stages, should be verified directly with Garmin International, Inc. during the application process.