Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer

Company: Treeswift Inc

Location: New York, New York, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / UX/UI

Date Posted: 2026-06-18

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid (2 days in office)

🚀 Role Summary

• Spearhead end-to-end product design for a cutting-edge platform leveraging LiDAR and imagery data for utility field operations.

• Define and establish the company's design systems, interaction patterns, and visual language from inception.

• Translate complex geospatial, imagery, and LiDAR data into intuitive and actionable user interfaces for diverse operational teams.

• Collaborate closely with product, engineering, and customer-facing teams to deliver high-quality, scalable product experiences.

• Shape the nascent design culture and set the bar for craft and repeatable design processes within an early-stage, mission-driven company.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as the first full-time design hire, indicating a significant opportunity for the candidate to build and influence the design function from the ground up, with a strong emphasis on establishing foundational design systems and processes for a rapidly scaling B2B enterprise software product.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the entire product design lifecycle, from initial user research and workflow mapping to creating polished designs, interactive prototypes, and detailed implementation specifications.

• Design intuitive interfaces for visualizing and interacting with complex, multidimensional data for users such as arborists, storm responders, and utility operations teams.

• Develop, maintain, and evolve the company's design system, including component libraries, interaction patterns, and visual style guides, to ensure product coherence and scalability.

• Actively engage with stakeholders across product management, engineering, forward-deployed engineers, customer success, and sales to gather requirements and ensure design alignment.

• Champion design thinking and best practices within the organization, fostering a culture of curiosity, ownership, and continuous learning.

• Conduct user research and usability testing to gather insights and validate design decisions, ensuring products meet the needs of real-world operational challenges.

• Contribute to product strategy by identifying opportunities for design innovation and process improvement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "complex, real-world operational decisions" and "dense, multidimensional data" suggests a need for strong information architecture and data visualization skills, particularly for B2B enterprise software users. The responsibility to "turn customer-specific workflows into reusable primitives" highlights the importance of scalable design systems.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong foundation in design principles, human-computer interaction, or a related field is implied through the experience requirements.

Experience: 5+ years of professional product design experience, with a significant focus on shipping complex B2B enterprise software.

Required Skills:

• Proven expertise in end-to-end product design, encompassing discovery, UX/UI design, prototyping, and implementation support.

• Demonstrated strength in interaction design, information design, and visual design, with a portfolio showcasing experience with data-dense interfaces.

• Proficiency in designing and maintaining production-ready design systems and component libraries.

• Strong ability to operate effectively as both a senior individual contributor and a nascent design leader.

• Experience in user research, workflow mapping, and translating complex user needs into elegant design solutions.

• Demonstrated comfort with ambiguity and a proactive approach to problem-solving in an early-stage, high-growth environment.

• Fluency with design and prototyping tools, particularly Figma. Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing for geospatial, 3D, or map-heavy interfaces.

• Prior experience within industries such as utilities, energy, infrastructure, construction, or logistics, particularly those involving significant field or industrial operations.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "meaningful time shipping complex B2B, enterprise software" is critical. Candidates should highlight their experience with the unique challenges and user needs inherent in these environments, such as long-term usability, scalability, and integration with existing operational workflows, rather than consumer-facing applications.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a strong command of interaction design, information design, and visual design principles, with specific examples of complex, data-dense interfaces.

• Include case studies demonstrating the end-to-end design process, from problem definition and user research to final design solutions and their impact.

• Highlight experience in building, maintaining, or contributing to design systems, including examples of component libraries, style guides, and pattern documentation.

• Demonstrate proficiency in prototyping tools (e.g., Figma) and the ability to create interactive prototypes that effectively communicate user flows and design intent.

• Projects should ideally reflect experience with B2B enterprise software, showcasing an understanding of user workflows, operational efficiency, and scalability. Process Documentation:

• Provide examples of how you have mapped complex user workflows and translated them into intuitive digital experiences.

• Illustrate your approach to establishing repeatable design processes and setting standards for design quality and craft within a team.

• Showcase how you have documented design decisions, system components, and interaction patterns for engineering and cross-functional teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: For this role, the portfolio should strongly emphasize the ability to design for complex data and operational workflows, rather than purely aesthetic or consumer-focused design. Case studies demonstrating how design improvements led to tangible business outcomes or increased user efficiency in a B2B context will be highly valued.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $140,000 - $170,000 per year (New York City-based applicants).

Benefits:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance plans.

• Life insurance package and disability coverage.

• Stock options, providing an opportunity for long-term equity participation.

• Paid leave for new parents, supporting work-life balance during significant life events.

• Unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO), encouraging flexibility and personal well-being.

• 401K retirement savings plan.

Working Hours: Standard full-time hours (approximately 40 hours per week), with a hybrid work arrangement requiring 2 days per week in the Lower Manhattan, NYC office.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is specific to New York City. For candidates in other locations, the base compensation may vary. The benefits package is robust, with a strong emphasis on health, financial well-being, and work-life balance, which are attractive to senior-level professionals. The inclusion of stock options is significant for an early-stage company.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Energy, Utilities, Infrastructure Technology, Robotics, AI, Enterprise Software. Treeswift operates at the intersection of these sectors, providing innovative solutions for modernizing field operations in critical infrastructure.

Company Size: Early-stage startup, rapidly growing. This implies a dynamic, fast-paced environment where individuals can have a significant impact.

Founded: June 2024. This indicates a company with recent product-market validation and significant growth potential, having secured funding from notable investors.

Team Structure:

• The Product Design function is nascent, with this role being the first full-time hire. The design team will likely grow under this individual's leadership.

• Close collaboration is expected with Product Management, Engineering, Forward Deployed Engineers, Customer Success, and Sales teams.

• The company is composed of experienced professionals from top institutions and technology companies, suggesting a high-caliber, driven team. Methodology:

• Data-driven decision-making is core, with a focus on processing LiDAR and imagery data through AI models for actionable analytics.

• Emphasis on understanding real-world operational challenges faced by utilities and infrastructure sectors.

• A culture of curiosity, continuous learning, and high ownership is explicitly stated.

Company Website: https://www.treeswift.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on modernizing utility field operations with advanced technology like LiDAR and AI presents a unique design challenge. The "early-stage" nature means the design leader will be instrumental in shaping processes and culture, requiring adaptability and a strong sense of initiative.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Senior Individual Contributor (IC) and early-stage Design Leader. This role requires the ability to both execute high-quality design work independently and to establish and guide the design function as the company scales. The candidate will set the "bar for craft" and develop "repeatable design processes."

Reporting Structure: While not explicitly stated, this role would likely report to a Head of Product, CTO, or CEO in an early-stage startup.

Operations Impact: The Product Designer will have a direct and significant impact on the company's success by shaping the user experience of its core platform, which is critical for customer adoption, retention, and operational efficiency for utilities. The design choices will influence how customers derive value from the product and how effectively Treeswift can scale its offerings.

Growth Opportunities:

• Opportunity to build and lead a design team from its inception, defining its structure, processes, and culture.

• Potential for significant career advancement within a high-growth startup, moving into leadership roles as the company expands.

• Deepen expertise in designing for specialized domains like geospatial data, 3D interfaces, and industrial B2B applications.

• Contribute to defining a new category of software and hardware for utility field operations.

• Gain experience in establishing design systems and product patterns that support rapid scaling across diverse customers and use cases.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a rare opportunity for a designer to build a function from scratch. Candidates should be prepared to articulate their vision for a design team and processes, and demonstrate leadership potential alongside strong individual contribution skills.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid role based in a Lower Manhattan, NYC office. This indicates a professional office setting with opportunities for in-person collaboration.

Office Location(s): Lower Manhattan, NYC, with an expectation of 2 days per week in person (Tuesdays and Wednesdays are currently pinned). Treeswift also has an office in Philadelphia and some customer-facing teams in the Bay Area.

Workspace Context:

• The hybrid model allows for focused individual work at home and collaborative sessions, team meetings, and brainstorming in the office.

• As the first design hire, the individual will have a significant role in shaping the tools and processes used within the design function.

• The environment is described as "early-stage" with "high ambiguity," suggesting a dynamic and potentially less structured, but highly impactful, work setting.

Work Schedule: Full-time, with a hybrid expectation. While specific hours are not detailed, standard professional expectations apply, with flexibility inherent in a modern tech company. The focus is on output and impact rather than strict time adherence, typical for senior roles.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model requires self-discipline for remote work and proactive engagement during in-office days. Candidates should be comfortable with the energy and potential unpredictability of an early-stage startup environment.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess qualifications and alignment with the role's core requirements.

• Portfolio Review & Discussion: A deep dive into your portfolio, focusing on specific projects, design decisions, process, and impact. Expect to discuss your experience with complex B2B software, data-dense interfaces, and design systems.

• Cross-functional Interviews: Meetings with Product, Engineering, and potentially other team members to assess collaboration style, communication skills, and cultural fit.

• Design Challenge/Workshop: Potentially a practical exercise or workshop to evaluate your problem-solving approach, design thinking, and ability to articulate design strategy in real-time.

• Final Interview: Likely with a senior leader (e.g., CEO, CTO) to discuss your vision, leadership potential, and alignment with the company's mission and values.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-5 of your strongest projects that best showcase your experience with complex B2B enterprise software, data visualization, and design systems.

• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the design process followed, key decisions made, challenges overcome, and the measurable impact of your work. Use visuals effectively.

• Highlight Process: Emphasize your workflow mapping, user research, and iterative design process. Show how you think through complex problems.

• Showcase Design Systems: If you have experience building or maintaining design systems, dedicate a section to it, detailing its components, patterns, and how it facilitated scalability.

• Be Ready for Ambiguity: Prepare to discuss how you navigate ambiguity and build foundational processes in early-stage environments.

Challenge Preparation:

• Be prepared to discuss how you would approach designing for complex data sets (e.g., geospatial, LiDAR).

• Think about how to establish a design system from scratch and gain buy-in from engineering and product teams.

• Practice articulating your design rationale clearly and concisely, focusing on user needs and business impact.

• Be ready to discuss your understanding of the utility industry and the operational challenges Treeswift aims to solve.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given this is the first design hire, expect the interview process to heavily scrutinize leadership potential, process-building capabilities, and the ability to influence cross-functional teams, in addition to core design craft. The portfolio review will be critical for demonstrating suitability for complex B2B enterprise design.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Explicitly mentioned as a required tool for design and prototyping. Expect proficiency in creating complex designs, interactive prototypes, and design system components within Figma.

• Prototyping Tools: While Figma is primary, familiarity with other prototyping tools may be beneficial.

• Design System Management: Tools and methodologies for creating and maintaining design systems.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly listed as a required tool for the designer, understanding how design impacts key metrics (e.g., user engagement, task completion rates, adoption) is crucial. Familiarity with analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude) and how to interpret data to inform design decisions would be advantageous. CRM & Automation:

• Not directly relevant to the Product Designer role's core tools, but an understanding of how the product fits into the broader enterprise software ecosystem and interacts with potential CRM or automation workflows could be beneficial.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma is a baseline requirement. The emphasis on design systems implies a need for strong organizational skills in managing design assets and documentation. Experience with tools that facilitate collaboration between design and engineering (e.g., Zeplin, Avocode, or Figma's developer handoff features) would also be valuable.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Mission First: A strong commitment to achieving the best outcomes for customers and the business. This means prioritizing impact and understanding the real-world needs of utility operations.

• Curiosity: A drive for continuous learning, open to new information, and willing to adapt approaches based on new insights. This fosters innovation and problem-solving.

• Owners Mindset: Taking initiative and responsibility for identifying and acting on opportunities for improvement, regardless of role. This promotes proactivity and accountability.

Collaboration Style:

• Deep Partnership: Working closely with Product, Engineering, and customer-facing teams is a core expectation. This requires strong communication and the ability to translate technical and business needs into design solutions.

• Cross-functional Influence: As the first designer, influencing product strategy and setting the tone for design discussions will be key. This demands effective stakeholder management and clear articulation of design value.

• Feedback Culture: An environment where feedback is actively sought and given, contributing to continuous improvement of both the product and team processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate how they embody these values in their work and how they foster a collaborative and curious environment. The "owner's mindset" is particularly important for an early-stage hire who will be instrumental in building out the design function.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Ambiguity and Building from Scratch: Establishing design processes, systems, and culture in an early-stage company with no existing design foundation.

• Designing for Complexity: Translating highly technical, data-dense information (LiDAR, geospatial) into usable interfaces for non-design-expert users in critical operational roles.

• Balancing IC and Leadership: Juggling hands-on design execution with the strategic responsibilities of building a design function and influencing product direction.

• Cross-functional Alignment: Ensuring design vision and execution are well-integrated with product and engineering roadmaps and timelines in a fast-paced environment.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Leadership Development: The opportunity to grow into a Design Lead or Manager role, building and mentoring a team.

• Domain Expertise: Deepening knowledge of the utility sector, field operations, and specialized data types like LiDAR and geospatial information.

• System Design Mastery: Advanced experience in creating and scaling robust design systems for enterprise applications.

• Strategic Impact: Directly influencing the product strategy and overall success of a mission-driven company in a growing market.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should view these challenges as opportunities for significant professional growth and impact. Highlighting past experiences in similar "build from scratch" scenarios or in complex B2B domains will be advantageous.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach establishing a design system for a new B2B enterprise product from scratch?" (Focus on phases, key components, collaboration with engineering, and iteration).

• "Describe a time you had to design for complex, data-dense interfaces. What were the challenges, and how did you make the information actionable for users?" (Highlight user research, information architecture, and visualization techniques).

• "What is your approach to user research and workflow mapping for enterprise software users, especially those in field operations?" (Emphasize qualitative methods, empathy, and understanding operational constraints). Company & Culture Questions:

• "How do you embody our core values of 'Mission First,' 'Curiosity,' and 'Owner's Mindset' in your design work?" (Provide specific examples of how you've demonstrated these).

• "Given our mission to modernize utility field operations, what excites you most about this specific challenge from a design perspective?" (Show genuine interest and understanding of the industry).

• "How would you foster a strong design culture and ensure collaboration with product and engineering teams in an early-stage company?" (Discuss communication strategies, feedback loops, and process establishment). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: For each case study, clearly define: The Problem, Your Role & Responsibilities, The Process (Research, Ideation, Design, Testing), The Solution, and The Impact/Outcome (quantifiable if possible).

• Highlight Design Systems: If applicable, present your design system work as a distinct project or a recurring theme across projects, explaining its purpose and benefits.

• Showcase Data Design: Dedicate time to explaining your approach to visualizing and interacting with complex data, using visual aids effectively.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your design decisions, trade-offs, and how you've handled constraints or ambiguity.

📝 Enhancement Note: Prepare to speak extensively about your experience with B2B enterprise software, design systems, and complex data visualization. Be ready to articulate your vision for building a design function and how you would collaborate effectively with remote and in-office teams.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided Ashby link, ensuring your resume and portfolio are uploaded.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight projects demonstrating your experience with complex B2B enterprise software, data-dense interfaces, design systems, and your end-to-end design process. Prioritize examples that showcase your ability to make complex information actionable.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your 5+ years of experience, emphasizing achievements in product design, B2B/enterprise software, design systems, and any relevant industry experience. Use keywords from the job description.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design philosophy, process, and how you embody the company's values (Mission First, Curiosity, Owner's Mindset). Prepare to walk through your portfolio case studies clearly and concisely.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Treeswift's mission, technology (LiDAR, AI for utilities), and the challenges in the energy/utilities sector. Understand their product and target users to better tailor your responses and demonstrate genuine interest.

⚠️ 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.