Product Designer/Sr. Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer/Sr. Product Designer

Company: Matterworks, Inc.

Location: United States

Job Type: PART_TIME

Category: Product Design / UX/UI Design

Date Posted: 2026-05-07

Experience Level: 3+ years (Product Designer), 6+ years (Sr. Product Designer)

Remote Status: Fully Remote (within the United States)

🚀 Role Summary

• Shape the user experience and interaction patterns for Pyxis, Matterworks' AI-native application layer for biochemical data foundation models.

• Drive end-to-end product design, from concept and rapid iteration to high-fidelity, polished final designs for the core web application.

• Invent and define new interaction conventions for scientists working with AI-driven tools in complex biological domains.

• Develop and maintain a robust library of reusable design components to ensure consistency across web, MCP connector, and emerging agentic interfaces.

• Collaborate closely with product management, engineering, and scientific stakeholders to translate user needs and technical constraints into elegant design solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned within a cutting-edge biotech startup focused on leveraging AI for biological discovery. The core of the role involves not just designing interfaces but actively defining novel user interaction paradigms for AI-powered scientific tools, requiring a blend of strong UX/UI skills, systems thinking, and a deep curiosity for scientific domains. The part-time, contract nature suggests a need for high autonomy and rapid, impactful contributions.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Execute rapid design explorations through sketching, wireframing, and creating interactive prototypes using tools such as Figma, Claude, v0, or Cursor.

• Deliver final designs with exceptional attention to detail in typography, visual hierarchy, layout, and interaction design to achieve a high bar of polish.

• Design and document reusable UI components and design patterns that can be leveraged across the Pyxis web application and other interfaces like the MCP connector and agentic surfaces.

• Conduct user research activities, including user interviews, customer calls, and analyzing session replay data, to deeply understand the needs and workflows of scientists.

• Partner with product managers to define user stories, requirements, and product strategy, and collaborate with engineers to ensure accurate and efficient implementation of designs.

• Actively participate in cross-functional team meetings and discussions, contributing design perspectives to technical and product trade-offs.

• Stay abreast of emerging AI technologies and their application in scientific research, translating these insights into innovative design solutions.

• Advocate for user-centered design principles throughout the product development lifecycle, ensuring that the designed solutions meet scientific user needs effectively.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "dozens of design explorations" and "shipping end-to-end product work" highlights a fast-paced, iterative design process. The responsibility to "invent the patterns" indicates a significant opportunity for creative problem-solving and establishing new design standards within the AI-in-science domain.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While formal education requirements are not specified, a strong portfolio demonstrating practical application of design principles is paramount.

Experience:

• Product Designer: Typically 3+ years of experience in product design, with a focus on end-to-end product ownership.

• Sr. Product Designer: Typically 6+ years of experience, with demonstrated experience in senior Individual Contributor (IC) roles and systems thinking.

Required Skills:

• A comprehensive portfolio showcasing end-to-end ownership of complex product surfaces and evidence of systems thinking (e.g., reusable patterns, component libraries, design primitives).

• Mastery of design and prototyping tools, with specific mention of Figma, and familiarity with rapid prototyping tools like Claude, v0, or Cursor.

• Proficient in crafting aesthetically pleasing and functional user interfaces, with a strong understanding of typography, visual hierarchy, and interaction design.

• Ability to conduct and synthesize user research, translating insights into actionable design decisions.

• Experience designing for data-dense interfaces, including tables, plots, and dashboards.

• Strong self-direction and the ability to independently manage projects from brief to completion with minimal supervision.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate design decisions and rationale.

• Comfort and experience in collaborating closely with engineers through the implementation phase, not just at the handoff stage.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing AI-powered, agentic, or model-driven products.

• Experience designing for products that span multiple surfaces or modalities.

• Curiosity and willingness to learn about scientific domains such as mass spectrometry and omics.

• Familiarity with scientific workflows and the challenges faced by lab scientists.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit statement that "We care more about portfolio depth than years of experience" signifies that practical demonstration of design capabilities and problem-solving is the primary hiring criterion, outweighing traditional tenure metrics. The emphasis on "systems thinking" suggests a need for designers who can build scalable and maintainable design systems.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase end-to-end product design ownership for complex application surfaces, demonstrating ownership from initial concept through to final implementation.

• Include examples of systems thinking, such as the creation or contribution to design systems, reusable component libraries, or design primitives that ensure consistency and scalability.

• Present case studies that highlight your approach to understanding user needs, particularly for data-intensive scientific applications.

• Demonstrate proficiency in rapid prototyping and iterative design processes, illustrating how you've used these methods to gather feedback and refine designs.

Process Documentation:

• Provide examples of how you've documented design processes, from user research methodologies to component specifications.

• Illustrate your approach to turning recurring design patterns into documented, reusable components that can be integrated across different product surfaces.

• Show how you've used tools like Figma to maintain design systems and ensure consistency in visual language and interaction patterns.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "systems thinking" in the portfolio is critical. Applicants should prepare to present how they have contributed to or built scalable design systems, component libraries, or design primitives that ensure consistency and efficiency across a product suite. This demonstrates an understanding of how design scales within a growing organization.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: As a part-time contract role (approximately 20 hours per week) with an initial 3-month engagement, compensation will likely be structured as an hourly rate or a fixed project fee. Based on industry standards for experienced Product Designers in the US, especially those with specialized AI/biotech experience and a strong portfolio, rates can range from $50 - $100+ per hour. Senior-level candidates with extensive experience and a strong track record in complex product development could command rates at the higher end of this spectrum.

Benefits:

• For Full-Time Employees (as a benchmark):

  • Competitive base salary
  • Stock options
  • Health & Dental insurance
  • Vision insurance
  • Long-term and Short-term disability insurance
  • Life insurance
  • 401k with company match
  • Flexible work & unlimited time away policy
  • Commuter benefits and parking (for office-based roles)
  • Regular team meals and outings
  • Support for continued education/coursework and conference participation

• For Part-Time Contract: Specific benefits will depend on the contract terms and duration, but may include access to certain professional development resources or project-based bonuses if milestones are met.

Working Hours: Approximately 20 hours per week. The role offers flexibility in scheduling, allowing for remote work and self-direction within the contracted hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary for contract roles is typically negotiated based on experience, skill set, and the specific scope of work. Given the US-based remote requirement and the specialized nature of AI and biotech design, focusing on demonstrating high value and impact through the portfolio will be key to negotiating a competitive hourly rate. The listed benefits are for full-time employees, so contract benefits should be clarified.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Biotechnology / AI / Life Sciences. Matterworks is at the forefront of applying AI (specifically Large Spectral Models) to interpret complex biochemical data, aiming to unlock "biology's dark matter" and accelerate R&D. This industry context implies a culture that values scientific rigor, innovation, data-driven decision-making, and cutting-edge technology.

Company Size: Early-stage startup. The description suggests a lean, agile team where individuals have significant impact and autonomy. This environment often fosters a culture of rapid iteration, close collaboration, and shared ownership.

Founded: Not explicitly stated, but the company's focus on "foundation models" and "AI-native tools" suggests a relatively recent establishment, likely driven by advancements in AI and computational biology.

Team Structure:

• The role involves collaboration across Product Management, Engineering, and Scientific teams.

• As a designer, you'll likely work closely with a Product Manager who defines strategy and requirements, and with engineers who build the product.

• Interaction with scientists is crucial for understanding user needs and validating designs.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven: Leveraging "foundation models" and interpreting "mass spectrometer" data implies a strong emphasis on data analysis and scientific validation.

• Iterative Design: The emphasis on "dozens of design explorations" and "bias for shipping" points to an agile, iterative product development methodology.

• User-Centric: "Understand users deeply" through interviews and session replays indicates a commitment to user feedback in the design process.

• Collaborative: "Collaborate across the team" highlights the importance of cross-functional teamwork.

Company Website: https://www.matterworks.ai/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's mission to make "biology's dark matter legible" through AI suggests a culture that embraces complex challenges and scientific exploration. Designers will need to be comfortable working with abstract concepts and translating them into intuitive user experiences for a highly technical audience.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This position is for a Product Designer or Senior Product Designer, focusing on UX/UI within a product development context, rather than traditional "Operations" roles (Sales Ops, Rev Ops). The role offers a unique opportunity to influence the design of novel AI tools in the biotech space.

Reporting Structure: While not explicitly detailed, the designer will likely report to a Head of Product or a Design Lead, working closely with Product Managers and Engineering leads. The part-time nature suggests a degree of autonomy in day-to-day task management.

Operations Impact: The designer's impact will be directly on the usability and adoption of Matterworks' core product, Pyxis, and its related interfaces. By shaping how scientists interact with AI-driven biochemical data analysis tools, the designer will play a critical role in accelerating scientific discovery and the company's overall success in a rapidly evolving field.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Development: Deepen expertise in designing for AI-powered products, complex data visualization, and scientific applications. Gain exposure to novel AI architectures like "Large Spectral Models."

• Systems Design: Contribute to building and scaling a design system for a cutting-edge AI platform, which can be valuable experience for future roles.

• Domain Expertise: Develop a strong understanding of biological data, mass spectrometry, and omics, becoming a valuable asset in the intersection of AI and life sciences.

• Potential for Full-Time Conversion: The contract has the potential to extend or convert to a full-time role, offering long-term career growth within a promising startup.

• Defining New Paradigms: Opportunity to be a pioneer in defining interaction patterns for AI tools in scientific research, a niche with significant future growth.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a designer, this role offers a chance to be at the forefront of a new wave of scientific tools. The growth lies not only in refining design skills but in developing specialized knowledge at the intersection of AI, biology, and user experience. The potential for full-time conversion is a significant growth pathway.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Matterworks operates a flexible hybrid model. While they have an office in Somerville, MA, many roles can be performed remotely. This position is explicitly listed as remote within the United States.

Office Location(s): Somerville, MA (primary office), with a distributed remote team across the United States.

Workspace Context:

• Remote Collaboration: Expect a digital-first work environment, relying heavily on tools for communication, collaboration, and design sharing.

• Agile Team Interaction: Close daily collaboration with PM and Engineering through digital channels.

• Tools & Technology: Access to and proficiency with modern design and prototyping software is essential. The company also uses AI tools for development, suggesting an environment that embraces technological advancement.

• Scientific Context: While remote, the work is deeply embedded in scientific challenges, requiring focus and an ability to translate complex technical concepts.

Work Schedule: Approximately 20 hours per week, with flexibility. This part-time arrangement requires strong time management and the ability to deliver results efficiently within the allocated hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote nature of the role within the US means candidates must be self-motivated and adept at asynchronous communication. While there's an office, the primary expectation for this role is remote contribution, emphasizing digital collaboration and independent work management.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of application, resume, and portfolio link.

• Portfolio Review & Design Exercise: A deep dive into your portfolio, discussing past projects, your design process, and your systems thinking. This may be followed by a design challenge or take-home exercise focused on a relevant problem.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers, Engineers, and potentially scientists to assess collaboration skills, technical understanding, and cultural fit.

• Final Interview: Discussion with leadership to finalize the decision.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight End-to-End Ownership: Clearly articulate your role and contributions in each project, from problem definition to final design and (if possible) impact.

• Showcase Systems Thinking: Dedicate specific case studies or sections to demonstrate your experience with design systems, component libraries, or creating scalable design patterns.

• Emphasize Data-Dense Interfaces: For this role, specifically call out projects involving complex data visualization, tables, or dashboards.

• Detail Your Process: Explain your iterative approach, user research methods, and how you collaborated with stakeholders, especially engineers.

• Quantify Impact: Where possible, include metrics or qualitative feedback that demonstrate the success or impact of your designs.

• Tailor to AI/Science: If you have experience with AI products or scientific domains, make this prominent. If not, express your curiosity and willingness to learn.

Challenge Preparation:

• Be prepared to discuss how you would approach designing for complex, novel AI-powered scientific tools.

• Think about how to handle ambiguity and rapidly evolving requirements.

• Practice articulating your design decisions and trade-offs clearly and concisely.

• Familiarize yourself with basic concepts in mass spectrometry or omics if possible, to show genuine interest and understanding of the domain.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "dozens of design explorations" and "systems thinking" means candidates should be ready to discuss not just polished final products but also their process of rapid ideation, iteration, and how they build scalable design components. The interview will likely probe how you handle ambiguity and define new interaction patterns.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential for UI design, prototyping, and collaboration.

• Rapid Prototyping Tools: Claude, v0, Cursor, or similar tools for quick iteration and testing of AI-generated or complex interactions.

• User Research Tools: Tools for session replay analysis and user interview platforms.

• Communication & Collaboration Tools: Slack, Zoom, or similar platforms for remote team interaction.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not directly a designer's primary tool, understanding how design impacts user behavior tracked by analytics (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel) is beneficial.

CRM & Automation:

• Not directly applicable to the designer's core tools, but understanding how customer feedback might be managed (e.g., through CRM systems) could be indirectly relevant.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma is a must. The mention of "Claude and v0" suggests an interest in AI-assisted design tools or tools that facilitate rapid prototyping of complex AI-driven interfaces. Candidates should be prepared to discuss their experience or willingness to explore these types of tools.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Scientific Rigor & Curiosity: A deep respect for scientific accuracy and a drive to explore and understand complex biological phenomena.

• Innovation & Boldness: A willingness to tackle "biology's dark matter" and build "foundation models" that push the boundaries of scientific discovery.

• Bias for Shipping & Iteration: A focus on delivering value quickly and learning through rapid experimentation and user feedback.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Open communication and teamwork across disciplines (design, engineering, science, product).

• Detail-Oriented Craft: A commitment to high-quality design and execution ("sweat the details").

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Expect close teamwork with PMs and Engineers, involving designers in early-stage product strategy and throughout development.

• Remote-First Communication: Emphasis on clear, concise written and verbal communication via digital channels.

• Feedback-Driven: A culture that values constructive feedback to drive iteration and improvement in both product and processes.

• Empowerment: Given the startup environment and the need for self-direction, team members are likely empowered to take initiative and drive projects forward.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company values a blend of deep scientific curiosity and a fast-paced, iterative product development approach. Designers should be prepared to demonstrate how they can balance meticulous craft with the need for rapid deployment and learning in a startup environment.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for Ambiguity: Creating intuitive interfaces for novel AI models and scientific concepts where user interaction paradigms are not yet established.

• Balancing Complexity and Usability: Making highly complex biochemical data and AI model outputs accessible and actionable for scientists.

• Rapid Iteration Cycles: Adapting to a fast-paced startup environment that requires quick turnarounds and continuous iteration.

• Remote Collaboration: Effectively contributing and collaborating within a distributed, remote team.

• Domain Learning Curve: Quickly acquiring a foundational understanding of complex scientific domains like mass spectrometry and omics.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Mastering AI-Driven Design: Gaining hands-on experience designing for cutting-edge AI applications in a specialized field.

• Specialized Domain Knowledge: Developing expertise at the intersection of AI, data science, and life sciences.

• Contribution to Design Systems: Building and scaling design systems for innovative products.

• Defining New UX Paradigms: Becoming a thought leader in how scientists interact with AI in research.

• Potential Full-Time Conversion: Opportunity for long-term career growth within a funded startup.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary challenge is pioneering new interaction models for AI in science. The growth opportunities are significant for designers looking to specialize in this emerging and high-impact field, with the potential to shape future scientific discovery tools.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach designing an interface for scientists to interact with 'biological dark matter' detected by mass spectrometers?" (Focus on translating complex data and AI outputs)

• "Describe your process for inventing new interaction patterns for AI-native tools, especially when existing conventions are limited." (Focus on innovation and defining new paradigms)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Matterworks' mission to make biological data legible with AI?" (Assess curiosity and alignment with company goals)

• "How do you approach learning about new scientific domains to inform your design work?" (Assess learning agility and domain interest)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: Organize your portfolio clearly by project, dedicating significant space to case studies that highlight end-to-end ownership and systems thinking.

• Narrative: Tell a compelling story for each project: the problem, your role, your process, the challenges, your solutions, and the impact.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals (screenshots, mockups, prototypes) extensively. For systems thinking, include examples of components, style guides, or design system structures.

• Quantify: Whenever possible, present metrics demonstrating the success of your designs (e.g., user engagement, task completion rates, efficiency gains).

• AI/Data Focus: Specifically highlight any work related to data-dense interfaces, AI-powered products, or scientific applications, or articulate your learning plan for this domain.

📝 Enhancement Note: Be prepared to discuss your process in detail, especially how you handle ambiguity, iterate rapidly, and build scalable design systems. Demonstrating curiosity about the scientific domain will be a significant advantage.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer/Sr. Product Designer position:

• Submit your application directly through the provided link on Ashby.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight end-to-end product design ownership, systems thinking (design systems, reusable components), and experience with data-dense interfaces. If you have AI or scientific domain experience, make it prominent.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your experience in product design, UX/UI, and any relevant technical skills. Use keywords from the job description, such as "Figma," "rapid prototyping," "systems thinking," and "data-dense interfaces."

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, problem-solving approach, and collaboration style. Prepare to discuss your portfolio in detail and how you would approach designing for novel AI-powered scientific tools.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Matterworks' mission, technology (Large Spectral Models), and the scientific domain they are addressing (mass spectrometry, omics). Understand their product, Pyxis, and the challenges faced by scientists in this field.

⚠️ 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.