Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer

Company: Scope Labs

Location: New York City, New York, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / Design Engineering

Date Posted: 2026-08-24

Experience Level: 2-5 Years

Remote Status: Fully Remote (with preference for proximity to New York City)

🚀 Role Summary

• Bridge the gap between design and development by crafting expressive, performant, and accessible interfaces, acting as a key Design Engineer.

• Own the end-to-end feature lifecycle, from initial functional requirements and ambiguity to polished, production-ready code and implementation.

• Collaborate closely with designers and engineers to prototype, refine, and ship high-quality user interfaces, contributing to the company's design systems and component libraries.

• Shape the user experience through thoughtful decisions on information architecture, workflows, responsive behavior, and delightful micro-interactions.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is explicitly defined as a "Design Engineer," indicating a hybrid function that blends traditional product design responsibilities with hands-on front-end development. The emphasis on "design in Figma and in the browser" and "prototyping fearlessly" highlights the expectation for deep technical involvement beyond static mockups. The "Contract to Hire" aspect suggests an initial evaluation period.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Feature Ownership & Execution: Transform ambiguous functional requirements and business goals into clear, intuitive end-to-end user experiences, defining interaction models and design foundations.

• Dual-Discipline Design: Create polished interfaces and production-ready front-end code using React, TypeScript, and modern CSS frameworks, seamlessly moving between design tools and the browser.

• User Experience Craftsmanship: Make critical decisions regarding information architecture, user workflows, responsive behavior, edge cases, and feedback mechanisms to ensure simple and intentional user interactions.

• Detail-Oriented Experience Design: Focus on micro-interactions, motion, responsiveness, and tactile feedback to create effortless and delightful user experiences, balancing implementation costs with user impact.

• Design System Development: Build and maintain reusable components, UI primitives, patterns, and foundational design system elements to enhance consistency and accelerate delivery across projects.

• Best Practice Advocacy: Champion high-quality front-end architecture, accessibility standards, and thoughtful animation, while actively evolving internal design systems and libraries.

• Rapid Prototyping: Explore, experiment, and test solutions efficiently through building prototypes in React, code, or Figma to achieve clarity quickly.

• Broad Creative Contribution: Contribute to brand identities, landing pages, marketing websites, launch campaigns, pitch decks, sales materials, and visual systems for Scope and its clients.

• Process Improvement: Enhance internal workflows, evolve shared libraries, and identify new tools or processes to elevate the quality and speed of product delivery.

• Client Communication & Presentation: Clearly present work, articulate design and technical decisions, gather feedback, and guide clients toward confident product decisions.

• Independent Operation & Ownership: Manage work independently, proactively surface risks, and ensure projects meet Scope's standards for craft, usability, and execution.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a high degree of autonomy and ownership, typical of a senior or mid-level role, especially in a small, growing team. The "Contract to Hire" model implies that early contributions and adaptability will be crucial for long-term success.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Not explicitly specified, but a Bachelor's degree in Design, Computer Science, or a related field is often preferred for roles requiring a blend of design and development.

Experience: 3+ years of experience in product design, front-end development, or a hybrid Design Engineer/UI Engineer role.

Required Skills:

• Product Design Proficiency: Demonstrated ability to design polished digital products with a strong focus on user experience and interaction patterns.

• Front-End Development Expertise: Proven experience building interfaces with React or React frameworks like Next.js.

• Design Tool Mastery: High proficiency in Figma, including components, variants, auto layout, prototyping, and design system workflows.

• Responsive Design Implementation: Strong command of responsive design principles, cross-browser compatibility, and modern layout systems.

• Interaction & Motion Design: Understanding of motion design principles and the ability to express them using libraries such as Framer Motion, React Spring, or GSAP.

• System Thinking: Experience building and maintaining reusable components and design systems to ensure consistency and efficiency.

• Problem-Solving & Ambiguity Navigation: Ability to take functional requirements and turn them into clear, intuitive end-to-end user experiences.

• Communication & Collaboration: Strong presentation and communication skills for explaining design decisions to diverse stakeholders (designers, engineers, product leaders, clients).

• Ownership & Self-Management: A self-starter mentality with high ownership, attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple projects effectively in a fast-paced environment.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with modern CSS frameworks and advanced layout techniques.

• Familiarity with performance optimization, page speed, and front-end best practices.

• Comfort working across the entire feature lifecycle, from exploration and prototyping through engineering collaboration, QA, and launch.

• Experience designing brand identities, landing pages, and marketing collateral.

• Experience with animation tools or creative coding (e.g., Three.js, Rive, Lottie).

• Familiarity with mobile frameworks (React Native, Expo) and cross-platform interaction design.

• Curiosity about emerging design and development tools, including AI-assisted design workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Preferred Qualifications" section heavily leans towards candidates with a strong coding background, reinforcing the "Design Engineer" title. The emphasis on specific libraries like Framer Motion and frameworks like Next.js indicates the expected technology stack.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrated Dual Expertise: Showcase projects that clearly illustrate both sophisticated UI/UX design capabilities and high-quality front-end implementation.

• End-to-End Case Studies: Present detailed case studies of features or products owned from initial concept through to final production, highlighting problem definition, design process, technical implementation, and outcomes.

• Design System Contributions: Include examples of reusable components, patterns, or design system elements created and implemented, demonstrating an understanding of scalability and consistency.

• Interaction & Motion Examples: Provide clear demonstrations of well-executed micro-interactions, animations, and responsive behaviors, showcasing attention to detail and user delight.

• Code Quality Showcase: Where possible, link to live projects or provide code snippets that highlight clean, efficient, and maintainable front-end code (e.g., React, TypeScript).

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Visualization: Explain how you approach turning ambiguous requirements into defined workflows and user journeys, potentially through diagrams or flowcharts.

• Design-to-Code Handoff: Illustrate your process for collaborating with engineering teams, ensuring smooth transitions and clear communication of design intent and technical specifications.

• Iteration and Feedback Integration: Detail how you incorporate feedback from user testing, stakeholder reviews, and engineering constraints into iterative design and development cycles.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Design Engineer role, the portfolio is critical and must showcase both design acumen and coding capability. Candidates should be prepared to discuss not just the 'what' but the 'how' and 'why' behind their design and code decisions, demonstrating a systematic approach to problem-solving.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $95,000 - $135,000 USD per year.

Benefits:

• Competitive compensation package.

• Potential for conversion to a full-time, permanent role.

• Opportunity to work in a remote-friendly environment.

• Exposure to a passionate, ego-free team valuing detail, craft, and performance.

• Environment that celebrates ownership, curiosity, and creative freedom.

Working Hours: 40 hours per week (standard full-time).

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is an estimate based on the input data. For a highly specialized role like Design Engineer in New York City, this range is competitive for mid-level to senior individual contributors. The "Contract to Hire" nature means benefits might differ during the contract period versus full-time employment.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology / Software Development / Digital Product Services. Scope Labs focuses on delivering high-impact technical products and services across various industries.

Company Size: Small, early-stage team (described as "small team" and "first Design Engineers"). This implies a fast-paced, agile environment with significant individual impact.

Founded: The founding team has experience from prominent tech companies and startups (Google, Tesla, Palantir, MIT, Finary, Scale AI), suggesting a strong foundation in product development and scaling.

Team Structure:

• A core founding team with deep experience in building, designing, and scaling products.

• Hiring for early-stage roles like "Design Engineers" indicates a focus on building out core product capabilities.

• A remote-friendly culture with a majority of the team based in or near New York City. Methodology:

• Design-Development Fusion: Emphasizes a unified approach where design and code are developed in tandem.

• Iterative Development: Focus on moving work from idea → prototype → production quickly.

• Data-Informed Decision Making: Implied by the backgrounds of the founding team and the focus on "measurable success."

• Client-Centric Solutions: Delivering high-impact technical products and services that help clients elevate their offerings.

Company Website: https://scopelabs.com

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is characterized by a lean, experienced team focused on high-quality product execution. The "Design Engineer" role is positioned as foundational, with the opportunity to shape processes and standards.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a "Design Engineer," functioning as a key individual contributor. It bridges product design and front-end development, suggesting a mid-level to senior individual contributor path. The emphasis on "owning features" and "shaping design engineering" points to significant responsibility early on.

Reporting Structure: Likely reports to a Head of Product, CTO, or a senior founding team member involved in product and engineering leadership. The small team size means direct access to leadership is probable.

Operations Impact: The Design Engineer will directly impact the quality, usability, and performance of the digital products Scope Labs builds for itself and its clients. This role is crucial for translating business requirements into tangible, user-friendly interfaces that drive client success and build brand loyalty.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in design engineering, focusing on specific areas like advanced interaction design, performance optimization, or design system architecture.

• Leadership: As the team grows, opportunities may arise to mentor junior designers/developers, lead design initiatives, or influence product strategy.

• Broader Impact: Contribute to the growth of Scope Labs by shaping its design and development methodologies, contributing to brand building, and potentially taking on more strategic product roles.

• Skill Expansion: The role encourages continuous learning across design, development, and potentially new technologies like AI in design.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Design Engineer in an early-stage company, growth is often tied to the company's expansion. The opportunity to define processes and build systems offers significant professional development beyond typical role progression.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Remote-friendly, with a preference for candidates located in or near New York City. This suggests a hybrid model is possible if desired, but the role is fully remote.

Office Location(s): While fully remote, the mention of "majority of us working from warm and sunny New York City" indicates a strong geographical anchor for the team, potentially facilitating occasional in-person meetups or collaborations.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Remote Setup: Expect frequent communication and collaboration through digital tools (Slack, video conferencing, Figma, code repositories).

• Tooling & Technology: Access to modern design and development tools, including Figma, React-based frameworks, and potentially AI-assisted tools.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for close collaboration with designers and engineers, fostering a shared understanding of product goals and execution.

Work Schedule: Standard 40-hour work week, with flexibility inherent in a remote-first environment, though timely communication and responsiveness are key.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote-first nature of the role combined with the NYC anchor implies a culture that values asynchronous work while potentially offering opportunities for in-person connection if based locally.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of resume and portfolio to assess design and development skills, experience, and alignment with the role.

• Portfolio Deep Dive: A detailed discussion with a hiring manager or senior team member focusing on specific projects, design decisions, technical implementation, and problem-solving approaches. Be prepared to walk through your portfolio.

• Design/Coding Challenge: Likely a practical exercise to assess your ability to design and/or code a solution for a given problem, simulating real-world tasks. This might involve Figma mockups, React component development, or a combination.

• Team/Cultural Fit Interview: Conversation with other team members to evaluate collaboration style, communication skills, and alignment with Scope Labs' values.

• Final Interview: Discussion with a founding team member to assess overall fit, strategic thinking, and long-term potential.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Show, Don't Just Tell: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the challenges faced, your design process, the technical solutions implemented, and the measurable outcomes or impact.

• Highlight the "Design Engineer" Aspect: Explicitly demonstrate projects where you designed and coded interfaces. Showcase your ability to move between Figma and the browser.

• Code Samples: If possible, link to live projects or provide well-documented code repositories (e.g., GitHub) that showcase your React, TypeScript, and CSS skills.

• Focus on Process: Explain your decision-making process, how you navigated ambiguity, and how you collaborated with others.

• Detail & Polish: Ensure your portfolio is well-organized, visually appealing, and free of errors. Highlight your attention to detail in both design and code.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Scope: Clarify the requirements and constraints of any design or coding challenge.

• Time Management: Practice working within time limits, prioritizing tasks, and communicating your progress.

• Think Aloud: For coding challenges, articulate your thought process, assumptions, and potential trade-offs.

• Focus on Core Requirements: Ensure you meet the essential functional requirements before adding complex polish.

• Prepare Questions: Have thoughtful questions ready about the challenge, the team's processes, and expectations.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the hybrid nature of the role, expect interviewers to probe deeply into both design rationale and technical implementation details. The portfolio is paramount.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design: Figma (essential for UI design, prototyping, components, variants, auto layout, design systems).

• Front-End Development: React, React frameworks (e.g., Next.js), TypeScript, modern CSS frameworks (e.g., Tailwind CSS, Styled Components), modern JavaScript.

• Prototyping/Animation Libraries: Framer Motion, React Spring, GSAP (for expressive motion and interactions).

• Creative Coding/Animation Tools (Bonus): Three.js, Rive, Lottie, Framer.

• Version Control: Git (likely GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket).

Analytics & Reporting: While not explicitly listed, expect to use analytics tools to understand user behavior and feature performance.

CRM & Automation: Not directly relevant to this role, but understanding how design impacts user journeys within a CRM context might be beneficial.

Integration Tools: Understanding how front-end components integrate with backend APIs is crucial.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma and React/TypeScript is non-negotiable. Familiarity with animation libraries and modern front-end architecture is highly valued.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Craftsmanship & Detail: A strong emphasis on the quality, polish, and detail of both design and code.

• Ownership & Accountability: Taking responsibility for features from conception to delivery and driving projects to completion.

• Curiosity & Learning: A willingness to explore new tools, technologies, and approaches, particularly in the evolving landscape of design and development.

• Collaboration & Ego-Free: Working effectively with designers, engineers, and clients in an open, constructive manner.

• Efficiency & Speed: The ability to move quickly from idea to production, balancing speed with high-quality execution.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Close collaboration between design and engineering is central to the Design Engineer role.

• Feedback Loops: Openness to receiving and giving constructive feedback to improve work and processes.

• Knowledge Sharing: Encouraging the sharing of best practices, learnings, and reusable assets within the team.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture is described as passionate, ego-free, and focused on tangible results. For a Design Engineer, demonstrating a collaborative spirit and a commitment to high standards will be key.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Design Vision with Technical Constraints: Consistently finding elegant solutions that satisfy both user experience goals and implementation feasibility.

• Navigating Ambiguity: Turning vague requirements into concrete, well-defined product experiences and technical specifications.

• Rapid Iteration Cycles: Adapting to fast-paced project timelines and the need for quick turnarounds on designs and code.

• Scalability of Design Systems: Ensuring that created components and patterns are robust and scalable for future product growth.

• Client Management: Effectively communicating technical and design decisions to clients who may have varying levels of technical understanding.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Skill Deepening: Advanced training or self-study in specific areas of React, TypeScript, animation, or design systems.

• Exposure to Diverse Projects: Working with various clients and industries provides broad experience and exposure to different product challenges.

• Mentorship: Learning from experienced founders and team members with backgrounds in top tech companies.

• Process Definition: The opportunity to help define and refine Scope Labs' design and development processes as the company grows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to working in an early-stage startup environment, offering significant opportunities for personal and professional growth for those who thrive in such settings.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to balance a complex design vision with significant technical limitations. How did you approach it, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on problem-solving, trade-offs, and communication.)

• "Walk us through a feature you owned from initial ambiguity to production. What was your process for defining requirements, designing the experience, and implementing the code?" (Highlight your end-to-end ownership and methodology.)

• "How do you approach building and maintaining reusable components for a design system? What are the key considerations?" (Assess your understanding of scalability, consistency, and component architecture.)

• "Imagine you're given a set of functional requirements for a new feature. What are the first steps you take, both in design and in code?" (Demonstrate your structured approach to tackling new challenges.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you most about Scope Labs and this specific Design Engineer role?" (Show you've researched the company and understand the hybrid nature of the position.)

• "How do you ensure accessibility and performance are integrated into your design and development process?" (Align with their emphasis on quality and best practices.)

• "Describe your ideal collaboration style with designers and engineers." (Emphasize teamwork, communication, and a shared goal.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each key project, clearly define the problem, your specific role and contributions, the design and technical process, key decisions made, challenges overcome, and the final impact or results.

• Showcase the 'Design Engineer' Blend: Explicitly point out where your design work translated directly into code, and where your coding constraints informed your design decisions. Use live examples or code snippets if possible.

• Highlight Key Technologies: Mention your use of Figma, React, TypeScript, and any animation libraries, explaining why you chose them for specific projects.

• Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, use metrics to demonstrate the success of your work (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced load times, increased user engagement).

• Prepare for Technical Questions: Be ready to discuss code structure, component architecture, responsive strategies, and performance optimizations in detail.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating a strong understanding of both design principles and front-end development practices, with concrete examples of how you've applied them in real-world scenarios.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Design Engineer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight projects that best demonstrate your dual expertise in product design and front-end development using React and Figma. Prioritize case studies showing end-to-end ownership and coded implementations.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly outlines your experience with React, TypeScript, Figma, and any relevant design systems or animation libraries. Quantify achievements and emphasize your ability to bridge design and development.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, technical decisions, and problem-solving approaches. Be ready to discuss specific projects in detail and potentially complete a design/coding exercise.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Scope Labs' mission, values, and the types of products/services they offer. Understand the "Design Engineer" role and its significance in an early-stage company.

⚠️ 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.