Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer

Company: Beacon AI

Location: San Carlos, California, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / UX/UI Design

Date Posted: June 27, 2026

Experience Level: 2-5 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the end-to-end product design lifecycle for a cutting-edge AI-powered pilot assistant, focusing on user research, wireframing, prototyping, and detailed engineering specifications.

• Translate complex, AI-generated data and alerts into intuitive, actionable user interfaces critical for high-pressure cockpit environments, directly impacting flight safety and efficiency.

• Develop and maintain a robust, scalable design system to ensure product consistency, accelerate development cycles, and foster efficient collaboration between design and engineering teams.

• Conduct in-depth user research and usability testing with pilots and aviation professionals to deeply understand their workflows, mental models, and safety-critical requirements, ensuring user-centric design solutions.

• Act as a foundational designer within a fast-moving, agile team, taking ownership of product vision and execution from concept to launch, with opportunities to influence brand and visual identity.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a foundational Product Designer, likely the sole or primary design resource initially, requiring a "0 to 1" product development mindset. The emphasis on safety-critical applications within aviation necessitates a rigorous approach to user research and interface design, where user experience directly correlates with operational safety and effectiveness.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the complete product design process, encompassing user discovery, in-depth research, wireframing, interactive prototyping, and the creation of precise design specifications for engineering handover.

• Execute comprehensive user research and usability testing with pilots and aviation experts to gain profound insights into their operational workflows, cognitive models, and critical safety needs.

• Design intuitive and instantly actionable interfaces that effectively communicate complex AI-driven data and alerts within the demanding context of an aircraft cockpit.

• Build, manage, and evolve a scalable design system, ensuring visual and interactive consistency across the product and enabling rapid iteration.

• Collaborate closely with engineering and product management to deliver high-quality, well-considered user experiences through iterative development cycles.

• Contribute to the company's broader visual identity and brand guidelines, supporting marketing collateral and web presence as needed.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a significant degree of autonomy and ownership, typical for early-stage product design roles. The explicit mention of translating "complex AI-driven data and alerts" into "instantly clear and actionable interfaces" underscores the critical nature of this role in a safety-sensitive domain. The expectation to "partner closely with engineering and strong product sense" indicates a collaborative but also opinionated approach to design execution.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: A Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience, is generally expected for product design roles of this nature.

Experience:

• Demonstrated experience as a sole or founding designer, leading end-to-end product design processes for new products or features.

• Proven ability to move quickly from concept to execution, driving product development from inception (0 to 1) without the extensive structure of a large design team.

• Experience in designing complex, data-heavy, or safety-critical products is highly valued. Required Skills:

• Expertise in the complete product design process, from user research and strategy to high-fidelity execution and final specifications.

• Strong product design instincts and the ability to define and execute user experiences that are both intuitive and effective.

• Fluency in Figma (or similar modern design tools) and proven experience in building and maintaining comprehensive design systems.

• Excellent problem-solving skills, with a proactive approach to understanding underlying issues before defining solutions ("asking 'why'").

• Ability to thrive in complex and ambiguous environments, demonstrating resilience and adaptability.

• Genuine curiosity and interest in aviation, aerospace, or other safety-critical industries. Preferred Skills:

• 3+ years of professional product design experience, with a focus on complex, data-intensive, or safety-critical domains such as aviation, aerospace, defense, medical devices, or sophisticated enterprise software.

• Proficiency in motion design, micro-interactions, and an understanding of how they can enhance user experience in critical interfaces.

• Basic understanding of HTML and CSS, enabling better collaboration with engineering and a deeper appreciation for implementation constraints.

• Experience designing for AI-powered products, with a focus on building user trust and intuitive interaction with machine-generated insights.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "What Will Make You Successful" section strongly implies the need for a self-starter with a proven track record in early-stage product development. The preference for experience in "safety-critical industries" and with "AI-powered products" points to specific domain knowledge being a significant advantage, rather than just general UX/UI skills.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase end-to-end product design work, detailing your role and contributions from initial problem definition through to final implementation and iteration.

• Include case studies that demonstrate your ability to conduct user research, synthesize findings, and translate them into effective design solutions.

• Present examples of complex data visualization or AI-driven interfaces, explaining your design decisions and how you ensured clarity and actionability.

• Highlight your experience with building and maintaining design systems, including examples of components, style guides, and their impact on product consistency and development speed.

• Detail your process for user testing and iterating on designs based on feedback, especially in high-stakes environments. Process Documentation:

• Demonstrate a clear methodology for user research, including methods for recruiting participants (pilots, aviation professionals) and conducting effective interviews and usability tests.

• Illustrate your approach to translating complex requirements and AI outputs into user flows, wireframes, and interactive prototypes.

• Provide examples of how you collaborate with engineering teams, including your process for delivering design specifications and iterating based on technical feedback.

• Showcase your system for documenting and maintaining design systems, ensuring scalability and ease of use for other team members.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the safety-critical nature of the product and the "0 to 1" aspect of the role, the portfolio should strongly emphasize the candidate's process for tackling ambiguity, conducting rigorous user research, and iterating on designs based on direct user feedback from relevant domain experts. Demonstrating the ability to manage a design system independently is also crucial.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: The provided salary range is $156,000 - $250,000 USD annually. This range is competitive for a Product Designer role with 2-5 years of experience in the San Francisco Bay Area, especially for a role with significant ownership and impact in a fast-growing tech company.

Benefits:

• Healthcare: 100% coverage for employee medical premiums, with 25% coverage for dependents.

• Time Off: 3 weeks of Paid Time Off (PTO) annually, in addition to 13+ paid company holidays.

• Stipends: Monthly stipends for phone usage and wellness expenses.

• Retirement: 401(k) plan offered; employer match is not currently available but is planned for future enhancement.

• Equity: Implied through the startup environment and competitive compensation, though not explicitly detailed in the provided benefits.

Working Hours: Standard full-time working hours are assumed to be approximately 40 hours per week. The hybrid work arrangement allows for flexibility, with 3+ days per week onsite in San Carlos, CA.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is on the higher end for the specified experience level, reflecting the demand for specialized design skills in AI and safety-critical domains, as well as the competitive San Francisco Bay Area market. The benefits package is typical for a growth-stage startup, with strong health coverage and PTO, while the 401(k) match is a common area for future improvement.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Aerospace & Defense / Aviation Technology. Beacon AI operates at the intersection of cutting-edge AI development and the highly regulated, safety-conscious aviation sector. This dual focus brings unique challenges and opportunities for innovation.

Company Size: As a fast-moving, venture-backed startup, Beacon AI is likely in a growth phase, with a team size that allows for agility and direct impact. The description implies a lean structure without "heavy processes" or "silos," fostering an environment where small, focused teams own their work. This suggests a culture that values speed, ownership, and rapid learning.

Founded: While the founding date is not provided, the company's mention of securing "a dozen Department of Defense contracts" and partnering with "major airlines" indicates a level of maturity and established traction, suggesting it has been operational for a sufficient period to secure significant partnerships and contracts.

Team Structure:

• The operations team is described as "small, focused teams" that "own what they build." This points to a flat or highly collaborative structure where individuals have significant autonomy.

• The Product Designer will likely be part of a core product and engineering team, working closely with engineers and product managers.

• Cross-functional collaboration is emphasized, with the designer partnering closely with engineering and product sense. Methodology:

• Data Analysis & Insights: The company's core business is an AI platform, implying a strong reliance on data analysis and deriving actionable insights from complex datasets.

• Workflow Planning & Optimization: The goal is to make flying "safer, more efficient, and more capable," directly pointing to a focus on optimizing aviation workflows through AI.

• Automation & Efficiency: The AI platform itself is a form of automation designed to enhance capabilities and efficiency in aviation operations.

Company Website: https://beaconai.co

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is characterized by agility, rapid iteration, and direct ownership, typical of well-funded startups in technically demanding fields. The "no silos or heavy processes" mantra suggests an environment where individual contribution and quick decision-making are highly valued, which can be both empowering and demanding for team members.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned at a mid-level to senior-level Product Designer capacity, particularly given the "founding designer" and "0 to 1" product development experience requirements. The designer will be instrumental in shaping the core user experience of a critical product.

Reporting Structure: While not explicitly stated, in a startup environment with small teams, the Product Designer would likely report to a Head of Product, CTO, or a Founder. The emphasis is on close collaboration with engineering and product management rather than a hierarchical design structure.

Operations Impact: The Product Designer's work will have a direct and significant impact on the safety, efficiency, and capability of aviation operations. Designing interfaces for pilots interacting with AI in the cockpit is a mission-critical function where design failures can have severe consequences. The success of the AI platform hinges on its usability and trustworthiness, making this role pivotal to Beacon AI's overall mission and commercial success.

Growth Opportunities:

• Operations Skill Advancement: Opportunity to deepen expertise in designing for AI-driven products, safety-critical systems, and the unique challenges of aviation interfaces. This can lead to specialization as a Senior Product Designer or Lead Product Designer in these niche areas.

• Leadership Potential: As the company grows, there will be opportunities to build and lead a design team, define the design vision, and establish design processes. The experience gained in a founding design role is invaluable for future leadership positions.

• Domain Expertise: Develop deep knowledge of aviation operations, AI integration in complex environments, and Department of Defense (DoD) contracting, which are highly transferable skills.

📝 Enhancement Note: The growth trajectory for this role is strongly tied to the company's expansion. Initially, the focus is on foundational product development and establishing design practices. As Beacon AI scales, opportunities for leadership, team building, and strategic design influence will emerge. The unique domain expertise gained is a significant career asset.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This is a hybrid role, requiring 3+ days per week onsite at the San Carlos, CA office, with the flexibility to work remotely on the remaining days. This suggests a modern office setup designed to facilitate collaboration and focused work.

Office Location(s): The primary office location is San Carlos, California, situated in the San Francisco Bay Area, a hub for technology innovation. This location offers access to a vibrant tech ecosystem and talent pool.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The hybrid model and emphasis on close partnership with engineering and product management suggest a dynamic and communicative workspace. Onsite days are likely dedicated to collaborative sessions, brainstorming, and team alignment.

• Operations Tools & Technology: While specific tools are detailed in a later section, the environment will support modern design software (Figma) and collaboration platforms necessary for remote and in-office team members.

• Team Interaction: Expect frequent interaction with cross-functional teams, including engineers, product managers, and potentially aviation subject matter experts, to ensure designs are robust, feasible, and meet critical requirements.

Work Schedule: While a standard 40-hour work week is assumed, the hybrid arrangement and startup culture may offer some flexibility. However, the critical nature of the product and the need for rapid iteration might necessitate dedicated focus during core working hours, especially on collaborative onsite days.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model at Beacon AI is structured with a minimum onsite requirement, indicating a deliberate strategy to balance flexibility with the benefits of in-person collaboration essential for complex product development. The San Carlos location places the company within a prime tech innovation corridor.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess foundational skills, experience, and relevance to the role's requirements.

• Portfolio Presentation & Discussion: A session where you present your case studies, explaining your design process, decisions, and impact. Expect questions about your experience with "0 to 1" product development, design systems, and handling complex/safety-critical requirements. Be prepared to discuss your research methodologies and how you've incorporated user feedback.

• Technical/Design Challenge: Potentially a take-home assignment or a live design exercise focused on a specific problem relevant to the product (e.g., designing an interface for a specific AI alert). This assesses problem-solving skills, design thinking, and proficiency with Figma.

• Team Interviews: Meetings with engineering and product management to evaluate your collaborative style, communication skills, and cultural fit within the agile team. Discussions will likely revolve around how you partner with engineers and contribute to product strategy.

• Final Interview: A conversation with a founder or senior leader to discuss your overall fit, vision for the role, and alignment with the company's mission.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Process: Clearly articulate your design journey for each project. Highlight the problems you solved, your approach, the trade-offs you made, and the outcomes.

• Demonstrate Domain Relevance: Emphasize any projects involving complex data, AI, or safety-critical applications. Explain how you addressed the unique challenges of these domains.

• Showcase Design System Ownership: Provide clear examples of components, guidelines, and how you managed the design system's evolution.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use metrics to demonstrate the impact of your design decisions (e.g., improved task completion time, reduced error rates, increased user satisfaction).

• Tell a Story: Structure your case studies as compelling narratives that showcase your problem-solving abilities and design thinking.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Research AI in aviation, cockpit interfaces, and general aviation safety principles.

• Practice Figma: Ensure you are highly proficient in Figma for rapid prototyping and design system implementation.

• Think Critically: Be prepared to ask clarifying questions and articulate your assumptions when presented with a design challenge. Focus on user needs and safety implications.

• Communicate Your Rationale: Clearly explain the "why" behind your design choices, linking them back to user research, business goals, and technical constraints.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to assess not only design skills but also the ability to thrive in a lean, high-impact startup environment. A strong portfolio showcasing independent work, design system management, and an understanding of complex/critical systems will be paramount.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core tool for wireframing, prototyping, UI design, and design system management. Proficiency is essential.

• Design System Management Tools: Figma's built-in capabilities or related plugins/workflows for maintaining a scalable design system.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly listed for the designer, an understanding of how product analytics (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel) are used to track user behavior and inform design decisions would be beneficial. The designer will likely collaborate with teams that utilize these tools. CRM & Automation:

• Not directly applicable to the Product Designer's primary toolset, but awareness of how CRM data or automation workflows might influence user interactions or product features could be advantageous.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Figma and design systems indicates these are central to the role's workflow. The expectation to "own a design system end to end" means a deep understanding of its architecture, component libraries, and governance is required.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Impact-Driven: A strong focus on making a tangible difference in aviation safety and efficiency. Designs are expected to have a clear, measurable positive impact.

• Agility & Speed: The company emphasizes operating "without silos or heavy processes" and "shipping quickly." This requires a bias for action and efficient execution.

• Curiosity & Learning: A genuine interest in aviation and AI, coupled with a desire to learn and push boundaries, is valued. The role requires continuous learning in a complex domain.

• Ownership & Accountability: Small, focused teams "own what they build," meaning individuals are accountable for the success of their work from start to finish.

• Data-Informed: While a design role, decisions will ideally be informed by user research, usability testing, and potentially product analytics.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Close partnership with engineering and product management is fundamental. This involves proactive communication, shared understanding of goals, and collaborative problem-solving.

• Iterative & Feedback-Oriented: The process involves shipping iteratively and learning fast, implying a culture that embraces feedback, rapid iteration, and continuous improvement.

• Knowledge Sharing: In a lean team, sharing insights, best practices, and lessons learned is crucial for collective growth and efficiency.

📝 Enhancement Note: Beacon AI's culture prioritizes direct impact, rapid execution, and deep collaboration. The values are geared towards individuals who are self-motivated, adaptable, and driven by the mission of improving aviation through AI.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for Safety-Critical Environments: Ensuring absolute clarity, minimizing cognitive load, and preventing errors in high-stakes situations where design flaws can have severe consequences.

• Translating Complex AI: Making sophisticated AI outputs understandable, trustworthy, and actionable for pilots, who may have varying levels of technical expertise.

• "0 to 1" Product Development: Building a product and design system from scratch with limited existing structure or established processes, requiring significant initiative and strategic thinking.

• Balancing Speed and Rigor: The need to ship quickly in a startup environment while maintaining the necessary rigor for safety-critical design.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Specialized Domain Expertise: Deep dive into AI applications in aviation, pilot workflows, flight operations, and the regulatory landscape of aerospace and defense.

• Foundational Design Leadership: Gain experience in establishing design practices, building design systems, and influencing product strategy from the ground up, which is excellent preparation for future leadership roles.

• Cutting-Edge Technology: Work directly with advanced AI technologies and their integration into real-world, high-impact applications.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are significant but offer substantial opportunities for professional growth, particularly for designers seeking to specialize in high-impact, technically complex domains.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your experience leading product design for a product from concept to launch, especially in a '0 to 1' scenario. What were the biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?" (Focus on your process, decision-making, and ability to operate with ambiguity.)

• "How would you approach designing an interface for a pilot assistant that provides AI-driven alerts? What are the key considerations for safety, clarity, and actionability in this context?" (Demonstrate your understanding of the domain and critical design principles.)

• "Walk me through your process for building and maintaining a design system. How do you ensure scalability, consistency, and adoption by engineering teams?" (Highlight your systematic approach and collaboration skills.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Beacon AI's mission and the aviation/AI space specifically?" (Showcase your genuine curiosity and alignment with the company's purpose.)

• "How do you collaborate with engineers and product managers? Describe a time you had to influence a technical decision or resolve a design disagreement." (Illustrate your teamwork and communication skills.)

• "How do you measure the success of your designs, especially in a safety-critical context where traditional metrics might be insufficient?" (Discuss your approach to user research, testing, and outcome-oriented design.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your role, the process you followed, your key design decisions, and the final outcome/impact.

• Highlight Your Process: Emphasize your research methodologies, how you synthesized information, and how you iterated based on feedback.

• Showcase Design System Work: Dedicate time to explaining your design system, its components, and its benefits.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Prepare to answer detailed questions about any aspect of your work, especially regarding trade-offs, challenges, and why you made specific design choices.

• Connect to Beacon AI: Where possible, draw parallels between your past work and the challenges Beacon AI is facing.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating a strong design process, adaptability, problem-solving skills in complex domains, and a proactive, collaborative approach suited to a startup environment.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest case studies that best represent your experience in end-to-end product design, design systems, and ideally, complex or safety-critical applications. Ensure each case study clearly outlines the problem, your process, your contributions, and the impact.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight keywords relevant to product design, UX/UI, Figma, design systems, user research, AI interfaces, and any experience in aviation, aerospace, or safety-critical industries. Quantify your achievements wherever possible.

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice walking through your portfolio case studies concisely and effectively. Be ready to articulate your design decisions, rationale, and the outcomes of your work. Prepare specific examples of how you've handled ambiguity and collaborated with engineering.

• Research Beacon AI: Understand their mission, the problem they are solving, and their position in the market. Consider how your skills and experience can directly contribute to their success in making flying safer and more efficient through AI.

⚠️ 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.

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