Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer

Company: Decoda Health

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Product Design / UX/UI Design

Date Posted: 2026-06-04

Experience Level: Mid-Level (3+ years)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• A versatile Product Designer role focused on rethinking and building modern healthcare software.

• Opportunity to blend design, product management, and consulting responsibilities in a fast-paced, YC-backed startup environment.

• Key involvement in developing the operating system for medical practices, automating high-friction tasks like scheduling, payments, and charting.

• Significant contribution to building and refining a design system from the ground up, with a focus on craft and detail.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Product Designer," the description clearly indicates a hybrid role with responsibilities akin to a Product Manager and Design System Owner. This suggests a need for strong ownership, strategic thinking, and the ability to influence product direction beyond traditional UI/UX tasks. The emphasis on "first principles" and "rethinking how modern healthcare software is built" points to a role that requires deep problem-solving and innovation, rather than just executing predefined design briefs.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end design processes for complex healthcare software features, from initial ideation and customer consultation to final UI implementation and documentation.

• Collaborate closely with engineers and product teams to consult on layout, typography, information architecture, and user flows, fostering a shared understanding of design principles.

• Conduct customer interviews, partner with Go-To-Market teams, and leverage data to develop well-supported design proposals and influence product strategy.

• Utilize Figma to create compelling visual artifacts, wireframes, and prototypes to align stakeholders and communicate design intent effectively.

• Write detailed design specifications that articulate proposals, serving as a core component of team alignment and decision-making for significant product initiatives.

• Take ownership of larger features, considering the full spectrum of user needs, jobs-to-be-done, navigation, information architecture, layout, and interaction design.

• Proactively gather and analyze customer feedback, applying heuristic evaluation to identify usability issues and propose projects for engineering implementation.

• Consolidate, refine, and champion the company's design system to ensure it is functional, aesthetically cohesive, and best-in-class, promoting consistency and efficiency across the product.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a departure from traditional design workflows. The emphasis on "owning larger features," "writing specs," and "consulting for engineers" suggests a need for a designer who can operate with significant autonomy and influence, similar to a Product Manager. The requirement to "talk to customers" and "partner with go-to-market" also implies a strong user-centric and business-aware approach is expected.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent knowledge and experience in design principles, user-centered design, and product development is expected.

Experience:

• Minimum of 3 years of dedicated product design experience, specifically within desktop or web-based SaaS environments.

• Demonstrated experience in a fast-paced, early-stage startup environment, or experience as a solo designer where a broad range of responsibilities were managed.

• Experience in health tech or other complex, regulated domains is considered a significant advantage. Required Skills:

• First Principles Thinking: Ability to deconstruct problems and devise solutions without solely relying on standard UX methodologies or established patterns.

• Problem Decomposition: Skill in breaking down complex user challenges by asking insightful questions to define and narrow the solution space.

• Intuitive Usability: Sufficient experience to resolve many usability issues based on intuition, without exclusive reliance on data, metrics, or formal research.

• Creative Problem-Solving: Resourcefulness and curiosity to generate innovative solutions and effectively de-risk them.

• Information Architecture: Strong skills in structuring content and navigation to ensure clarity and usability.

• UI Design & Visual Design: Excellent command of visual design principles, layout, typography, color, and an obsession with craft and detail.

• Interaction Design: Proficiency in designing intuitive and effective user interactions.

• SaaS Design Principles: Understanding of user needs and design patterns specific to Software-as-a-Service products.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in building or significantly contributing to a design system from its early stages.

• Familiarity with healthcare workflows, regulations, or the specific challenges within the health tech industry.

• Experience in a solo designer role, demonstrating broad responsibility and self-direction.

• Proficiency in translating complex requirements into user-friendly interfaces for both novice and power users.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "first principles thinking," "intuition," and "breaking down complex user problems" suggests that Decoda Health is looking for a designer who can think critically and innovatively, rather than just apply established design processes. The "bonus" qualifications indicate a strong preference for candidates who can hit the ground running with minimal oversight in a complex domain.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Case Studies for Impact: Showcase 2-3 detailed case studies demonstrating end-to-end product design ownership. Each case study should clearly articulate the problem, your process, the challenges encountered, and the measurable impact of your solutions.

• Process Innovation: Highlight instances where you moved beyond standard UX processes, applied first principles thinking, or creatively solved complex user problems in SaaS environments.

• Design System Contributions: If applicable, include examples of your work on design systems, illustrating your approach to component design, documentation, and adoption strategies.

• Visual Craft & Detail: Ensure your portfolio visually communicates a high standard of craft, attention to detail in UI, layout, and interaction design, and a strong visual aesthetic.

• Problem-Solving Artifacts: Include examples of design specifications, detailed wireframes, or user flow diagrams that demonstrate your ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and precisely.

Process Documentation:

• Demonstrate your ability to document design decisions and processes clearly, including detailed written specifications that align stakeholders.

• Provide examples of how you have used heuristics or customer feedback to inform design decisions and build actionable backlogs.

• Showcase instances where you have worked with engineers to ensure design integrity and effective implementation of complex flows and layouts.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the role's emphasis on autonomy and "rethinking" design processes, a portfolio that showcases innovative problem-solving, ownership, and the ability to articulate design rationale is crucial. The requirement for "written documentation" and "specs" means the portfolio should include examples of these artifacts, not just visual mockups.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: CA$140,000 – CA$180,000 per year

Benefits:

• Equity: Stock options in a YC-backed startup, offering potential for significant long-term financial upside.

• High Impact Role: Opportunity to shape a vast product surface area and directly influence patient care through innovative software solutions.

• Design System Ownership: Chance to build and refine a best-in-class design system from near the ground up.

• Collaborative Team: Work alongside a high-talent, zero-ego team in a fast-moving, on-site environment in Toronto.

• Comprehensive Health Benefits: (Implicit, standard for full-time roles, though not explicitly listed in the provided text).

Working Hours: Full-time, typically around 40 hours per week. The emphasis on autonomy suggests flexibility may be available, but the on-site requirement necessitates consistent presence.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is competitive for a mid-level Product Designer in Toronto, especially for a role with significant ownership and equity in a high-growth startup. The inclusion of equity is a key component of the compensation package, signaling the company's intent to reward long-term commitment and contribution. The absence of explicit details on standard benefits like health insurance, paid time off, etc., is common in early-stage startup descriptions but would be a crucial point to clarify during the interview process.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Health Tech / Healthcare Software

Company Size: Early-stage startup (YC-backed), likely between 11-50 employees based on typical YC cohort progression. This size offers a dynamic environment with direct impact opportunities.

Founded: Decoda Health is a relatively new company, likely founded within the last 5 years, given its YC backing and focus on modernizing healthcare software.

Team Structure:

• Product Teams: Small, agile product teams are implied, where designers, engineers, and potentially product managers work very closely.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: The role emphasizes strong collaboration across design, engineering, product management, and go-to-market functions. Design is seen as a team-wide responsibility, not siloed.

• Reporting Structure: The designer will report into a product lead or potentially a Head of Product/Design, with direct interaction with engineers and potentially founders.

Methodology:

• Principled Design: Focus on solving problems from first principles rather than adhering rigidly to standard processes.

• High Ownership & Autonomy: Team members are empowered to take significant ownership of projects and drive initiatives.

• Data-Informed & Customer-Centric: Decisions are informed by customer feedback, data, and heuristic analysis, with a strong emphasis on understanding user needs.

• Documentation-Driven Alignment: Written specifications and documentation are key tools for aligning the team on complex decisions.

• Iterative Development: The fast-paced environment suggests an agile and iterative approach to product development.

Company Website: https://decodahealth.com

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is characterized by autonomy, a focus on first principles, and a collaborative, "zero-ego" environment. This is typical of successful YC-backed startups aiming for rapid innovation. The "on-site" requirement in Toronto suggests a preference for in-person collaboration and team building, which can foster a strong sense of shared mission.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role represents a Mid-Level to Senior Product Designer position, offering significant scope for growth. The "Product Designer" title encompasses responsibilities typically found in senior roles, including strategic input, ownership of large features, and design system development.

Reporting Structure: The designer will likely report to a Head of Product, VP of Product, or a senior product leader. They will work embedded within cross-functional product teams, collaborating daily with engineers and potentially product managers.

Operations Impact: The designer's work will have a direct and substantial impact on Decoda Health's core offering: the "operating system for medical practices." By automating high-friction tasks and improving usability, the designer will directly contribute to the company's mission of enabling providers to focus on patients and running profitable practices. This role offers the opportunity to influence product direction and shape the user experience for a critical industry.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: As the company grows, there will be opportunities to take on more leadership responsibilities within the design function, potentially leading design initiatives or mentoring junior designers.

• Specialization or Broadening: The vast product surface area allows for specialization in specific areas (e.g., complex workflows, design systems) or continued broadening of expertise across different product domains and user types.

• Product Strategy Influence: The role's blend of design and product management responsibilities provides a clear path to influencing product strategy and roadmap decisions more deeply.

• Design System Ownership: The opportunity to build a design system from the ground up offers significant growth in system thinking, architecture, and governance.

• Startup Growth Trajectory: Growth within a YC-backed startup can be rapid, with opportunities to advance quickly as the company scales and new roles emerge.

📝 Enhancement Note: The growth trajectory here is less about climbing a traditional corporate ladder and more about expanding scope, ownership, and influence within a growing startup. The "design system owner" aspect is a particularly strong growth opportunity for someone interested in platform design and scalable design solutions.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is explicitly "on-site" in Toronto, suggesting a dedicated office space designed for collaborative work. This environment is likely modern and dynamic, typical of tech startups.

Office Location(s): Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Specific neighborhood details are not provided, but being in Toronto suggests access to a vibrant tech hub.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hub: The office environment is designed for close collaboration, facilitating spontaneous discussions, whiteboarding sessions, and team alignment.

• Tooling: Access to industry-standard design tools like Figma is expected, along with other necessary software for product development and communication.

• Team Interaction: Frequent interaction with a high-talent, zero-ego team, including engineers, product managers, and potentially founders, is a core aspect of the daily work.

Work Schedule: While full-time (40 hours/week) is standard, the emphasis on autonomy and ownership suggests that individuals may have some flexibility in structuring their workday, provided they are on-site and meet project deadlines. The fast-paced nature of a startup may also involve periods of intense work.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "on-site" requirement is a key differentiator, signaling a preference for in-person collaboration and team cohesion, which can be crucial for early-stage startups. This environment is ideal for individuals who thrive on direct interaction and a shared physical workspace.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A conversation to assess foundational fit, experience, and interest in the role and Decoda Health's mission.

• Portfolio Review: A deep dive into your past work. Be prepared to walk through 2-3 key case studies, discussing your role, process, challenges, and outcomes. Focus on how you approached problems from first principles and the impact of your design decisions.

• Design Exercise: A practical exercise designed to simulate real-world problem-solving at Decoda Health. This might involve analyzing a problem, sketching solutions, and articulating your thought process, potentially within a time constraint. Expect it to be "practical" and "simulate what it's like to work together."

• Team Meet & Greet: Opportunities to meet members of the product and engineering teams to assess cultural fit, collaboration style, and answer your questions.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Show, Don't Just Tell: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem space, your specific contributions, the design process (including any deviations from standard methods), and quantifiable results.

• Highlight "First Principles" Thinking: Be ready to discuss projects where you questioned assumptions, explored novel solutions, and weren't afraid to challenge the status quo.

• Demonstrate Ownership: Emphasize your end-to-end involvement, from understanding user needs and defining problems to creating detailed specifications and collaborating with engineers for implementation.

• Craftsmanship: Ensure your portfolio visually represents your strong UI and visual design skills, attention to detail, and understanding of interaction design.

• Documentation Examples: Include samples of design specifications or detailed process documentation if possible, as this is a key aspect of their workflow.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Familiarize yourself with the challenges in healthcare software and the specific problems Decoda Health aims to solve (scheduling, payments, charting, patient communication).

• Think Systemically: Consider how your design solutions would fit into a larger system and potentially impact a design system.

• Articulate Trade-offs: Be prepared to discuss the trade-offs involved in your design decisions and how you would prioritize features or solutions.

• Focus on Impact: Frame your solutions in terms of business value and user benefit, demonstrating how your design work drives positive outcomes for clinics and patients.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to be practical and collaborative, mirroring the company's work style. Candidates should prepare to demonstrate not only their design skills but also their strategic thinking, problem-solving abilities, and cultural fit within a fast-paced, autonomous environment. The emphasis on "first principles" and "written documentation" means these aspects should be clearly visible in both the portfolio and during the interview.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Explicitly mentioned as the primary tool for creating visual artifacts, wireframes, and prototypes. Proficiency is essential.

• Design System Tools: While specific tools aren't named, expect to work with tools for managing, documenting, and versioning design system components (e.g., Storybook, zeroheight, or internal documentation platforms).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Customer Feedback Platforms: Tools for collecting and analyzing customer feedback (e.g., Intercom, Canny, UserVoice).

• Data Analysis Tools: While not explicitly stated, access to product analytics tools (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics) is likely, or the ability to request data from product managers/analysts.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM (Indirect): While not a direct tool for the designer, understanding how user data is managed in a CRM context might be beneficial for understanding user segmentation.

• Collaboration Tools: Expect to use tools like Slack for communication and potentially project management tools (e.g., Jira, Asana) for task tracking and workflow management.

📝 Enhancement Note: The core technical requirement is deep proficiency in Figma. Beyond that, the role demands an ability to work with tools that facilitate customer feedback analysis and potentially product analytics, alongside standard collaboration and project management software. Experience with design system tooling and documentation is also highly relevant.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Impact-Driven: A primary focus on creating significant leverage and impact through design work, directly contributing to the company's mission.

• Craftsmanship & Detail: A strong emphasis on the quality, aesthetic, and usability of the final product, with an obsession for detail.

• Ownership & Autonomy: Valuing individuals who take full responsibility for their work and can operate independently with minimal guidance.

• First Principles & Innovation: Encouraging a mindset of questioning the status quo and finding creative, first-principle solutions.

• Collaboration & Zero Ego: Fostering a team environment where high-talent individuals work together constructively, challenging ideas respectfully and prioritizing team success.

• Documentation & Clarity: A commitment to clear, written documentation as a means of alignment and knowledge sharing.

Collaboration Style:

• Integrated Product Teams: Designers are embedded within product teams, working side-by-side with engineers and product managers.

• Consultative Approach: The design function actively consults with engineers and other stakeholders, sharing expertise and guiding decision-making.

• Open Feedback Culture: Decisions and processes are open to challenge from engineering and product, fostering a continuous improvement environment.

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Close collaboration with go-to-market teams and active engagement with customers are encouraged to inform design decisions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture strongly emphasizes individual responsibility, collaborative innovation, and a relentless pursuit of high-quality, impactful design. The "zero-ego" aspect is critical – it implies a team that prioritizes getting the best outcome over individual pride, encouraging constructive debate.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Ambiguity: Working in an early-stage startup means dealing with evolving priorities, rapidly changing requirements, and less defined processes.

• Broad Product Surface Area: The challenge of managing design across a vast product scope, serving multiple user types and complex jobs-to-be-done, requires strong prioritization and strategic thinking.

• Building from Near Scratch: Developing a design system from the ground up presents challenges in establishing standards, ensuring adoption, and iterating rapidly.

• Balancing Autonomy and Collaboration: Effectively leveraging high autonomy while ensuring alignment and integration within a collaborative team structure.

• Healthcare Domain Complexity: Designing for a complex, regulated industry like healthcare requires deep understanding of user needs, workflows, and potential compliance considerations.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Design System Mastery: Deepen expertise in design system architecture, governance, and implementation.

• Product Strategy Acumen: Develop a stronger understanding of product management, market dynamics, and business strategy through hands-on involvement.

• Cross-Functional Skill Development: Gain experience working closely with engineering and GTM, enhancing communication and strategic alignment skills.

• Industry Expertise: Become a subject matter expert in healthcare technology and the operational challenges of medical practices.

• Leadership Potential: Grow into a design leadership role as the company scales, potentially managing a team or leading major product initiatives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are directly tied to the growth and innovation inherent in a startup environment. The opportunities are geared towards building comprehensive product design skills, strategic thinking, and leadership capabilities within a high-impact domain.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Problem Solving & First Principles: "Describe a time you had to solve a complex user problem without relying on standard UX patterns. How did you approach it from first principles?" (Be prepared to discuss your thought process, research, and validation methods.)

• Ownership & Impact: "Walk me through a project where you had end-to-end ownership. What were the biggest challenges, and how did you measure your success?" (Focus on your role, decision-making, and quantifiable outcomes.)

• Design System Strategy: "If you were to build a design system for Decoda Health, what would be your initial priorities and how would you ensure adoption?" (Showcase your understanding of system design, documentation, and collaboration.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why Decoda Health?": Research our mission, product, and the challenges in healthcare software. Be ready to articulate what specifically excites you about this role and company.

• Collaboration Style: "How do you typically collaborate with engineers and product managers? How do you handle disagreements or pushback on your design decisions?" (Emphasize your "zero-ego" and collaborative approach.)

• Startup Fit: "What are your expectations for working in a fast-paced, on-site startup environment? How do you handle ambiguity?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Narrative Arc: Structure your case studies with a clear beginning (problem), middle (process, challenges, solutions), and end (impact, learnings).

• Focus on "Why": For each design decision, explain the rationale behind it, especially how it addresses user needs or business goals.

• Visual Clarity: Ensure your visuals are clean, well-organized, and effectively communicate your design intent.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use data, metrics, or user feedback to demonstrate the positive outcomes of your work.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about your specific role, the tools you used, and the trade-offs you made.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview preparation should focus on demonstrating the candidate's ability to think critically, solve problems innovatively, and collaborate effectively within a startup context. Highlighting experience with design systems and the ability to articulate design rationale and impact will be key.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight your 3+ years of SaaS product design experience, emphasizing skills like Figma, UI/UX design, information architecture, and any experience with design systems or early-stage startups. Quantify achievements where possible.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest case studies that showcase end-to-end ownership, problem-solving from first principles, and strong visual craft. Ensure your portfolio clearly articulates your process and the impact of your work.

• Prepare Your "Why": Be ready to articulate why you are interested in Decoda Health, its mission, and this specific role, and how your skills align with the company's values and approach to design.

• Research Decoda Health: Understand their product, target market (medical practices), and the specific problems they aim to solve in healthcare software.

⚠️ 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.