Senior Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer

Company: AthenaHQ

Location: San Francisco, California, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / GTM Operations

Date Posted: May 01, 2026

Experience Level: 5+ Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Spearhead end-to-end product design for a nascent AI-powered search visibility platform, encompassing user research, complex user flows, UI design, and high-fidelity prototyping.

• Drive product strategy and prioritization by collaborating directly with founders, engineers, and customers to translate insights into impactful product decisions.

• Establish and evolve the company's foundational design system and product design patterns, ensuring a cohesive and scalable user experience across the AthenaHQ platform.

• Design intuitive and elegant solutions for data-dense interfaces, transforming complex analytics and reporting surfaces into clear, actionable insights for marketers.

• Play a pivotal role in defining and scaling the design function within a fast-growing B2B SaaS startup, influencing product quality and user experience from the ground up.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the role is explicitly "Senior Product Designer," its emphasis on GTM strategy (marketing visibility, AI search engines) and the need to define design processes from scratch positions it within the broader GTM operations sphere, particularly for a company offering B2B SaaS solutions. The role requires a blend of strategic product thinking, user-centric design execution, and foundational system-building, common in early-stage operations roles that define how product and go-to-market functions operate.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• End-to-End Product Design: Lead the design process from initial user research and concept ideation through to high-fidelity UI design, prototyping, and final polish for new product features and enhancements.

• Customer & Stakeholder Collaboration: Engage directly with customers to gather qualitative feedback, validate design concepts, and understand user pain points, while working closely with founders and engineering to align on product strategy and technical feasibility.

• Design System Development: Architect and implement the company's initial design system, defining core components, typography, color palettes, and established design patterns to ensure consistency and scalability across the product.

• Data-Dense Interface Design: Create clear, intuitive, and visually appealing user interfaces for complex data visualization, dashboards, analytics, and reporting features, enabling marketers to easily understand and act on AI search engine performance data.

• Workflow Optimization: Design and refine user workflows to create a cohesive and integrated platform experience, moving beyond a collection of features to a unified solution for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).

• Product Strategy Contribution: Actively participate in product strategy and prioritization discussions, providing design perspective, challenging assumptions, and advocating for user needs to shape the product roadmap.

• Cross-functional Partnership: Foster a strong collaborative relationship with engineering to ensure design feasibility and high-quality implementation, and with marketing/GTM teams to deeply understand user needs and market positioning.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibility of "Billing" is listed under "What you'll do." In a product design context, this likely implies designing the user experience for billing and subscription management within the platform, ensuring clarity, ease of use, and a positive customer experience for financial transactions.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience: 5+ years of progressive experience in product design, with a strong emphasis on B2B SaaS or enterprise software environments.

Required Skills:

• Product Design Expertise: Proven ability to manage the full product design lifecycle, from discovery to delivery, across multiple projects.

• User Research & Insights: Demonstrated skill in conducting user research, synthesizing findings, and translating them into actionable product requirements and design solutions.

• UI/UX Design: Mastery of UI design principles, interaction design, and user flow mapping, with a keen eye for visual aesthetics and usability.

• Prototyping Proficiency: Expertise in creating interactive prototypes using industry-standard tools (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD) for user testing and stakeholder communication.

• Data-Dense Interface Design: Significant experience designing complex, information-rich interfaces such as dashboards, analytics suites, and reporting tools.

• Design System Development: Experience in building, documenting, and maintaining design systems or component libraries to ensure product consistency and design efficiency.

• B2B SaaS/Enterprise Software: Prior experience designing solutions for business users within a Software-as-a-Service or enterprise software context.

• Product Strategy Acumen: Strong product judgment, with a strategic mindset and the ability to ask probing questions to understand underlying problems before proposing solutions.

• Complexity Simplification: Ability to distill complex information and multi-step workflows into clear, elegant, and user-friendly designs.

• Ownership & Ambiguity: Proven track record of thriving in ambiguous environments, taking initiative, and driving projects forward with a high degree of autonomy and accountability.

• Collaborative Spirit: Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with a strong ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and a commitment to exceptional product quality and detail.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with AI-native applications or workflow automation products.

• Background in designing for marketing, growth, or SEO-focused teams.

• Direct experience building a design system from the ground up.

• Basic understanding of frontend development technologies (e.g., HTML, CSS, JavaScript) to facilitate close collaboration with engineers.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "5+ years" experience level, coupled with the "first designer" and "founding-level seat" aspects, strongly indicates that this role requires a candidate capable of not just executing design but also defining and establishing design processes and infrastructure. This implies a need for strategic thinking and leadership potential beyond typical senior individual contributor roles.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Deep Dive Case Studies: Present 1-2 comprehensive case studies that meticulously detail the problem statement, the user's pain points, the design process undertaken, the constraints and tradeoffs considered, and the ultimate impact and outcome of the solution.

• Data-Dense Interface Examples: Showcase specific projects where you designed complex dashboards, analytics platforms, or reporting interfaces, highlighting your approach to presenting large volumes of data clearly and effectively.

• Workflow Design: Include examples that demonstrate your ability to map out, simplify, and optimize multi-step user workflows, illustrating how you’ve improved efficiency and user comprehension.

• Design System Contributions: If available, provide examples of your involvement in creating, contributing to, or utilizing design systems, showcasing your understanding of component-based design and pattern standardization.

Process Documentation:

• User-Centered Design Process: Articulate your methodology for user research, persona development, journey mapping, and how these inputs inform your design decisions.

• Iterative Design & Testing: Describe your approach to iterative design, including how you conduct user testing, gather feedback, and incorporate it into design refinements.

• Collaboration & Handoff: Detail your process for collaborating with engineering and product management, including best practices for design handoff and ensuring accurate implementation.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given this is the "first designer" role, the portfolio is critical for demonstrating not just execution skills but also the ability to establish design processes and standards. Expect to discuss how you would approach building a design system and defining workflows from scratch.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• Estimated Range: $150,000 - $200,000 USD per year (Base Salary)

• Explanation: This estimate is based on market research for Senior Product Designer roles in San Francisco, California, for B2B SaaS companies with a strong emphasis on AI and data-dense interfaces. Factors considered include the company's early-stage but well-backed nature, the "founding-level seat" aspect, and the high degree of ownership. The range accounts for the seniority and strategic impact expected. Equity will be a significant component of the total compensation package.

Benefits:

• Competitive Salary: A strong base salary benchmarked against industry standards.

• Meaningful Equity: Significant stock options or grants, reflecting a founding-level contribution.

• Health Insurance: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and potentially dependents.

• Founding-Level Seat: Opportunity to be the first designer and significantly influence the product and company culture.

• High-Impact Work: Direct involvement in product strategy, customer interactions, and shaping the future of AI-powered search optimization.

• Team Culture: Work with a dedicated team that values craft, quality, and shipping impactful products.

• Perks: Includes food, drinks, and potentially other office-related amenities.

• Fulfillment: A focus on enabling employees to find fulfillment in their work and life.

Working Hours:

• Standard: Approximately 40 hours per week, with flexibility expected for a fast-paced startup environment.

• Flexibility: While on-site, there may be flexibility in daily start/end times, with the expectation of availability for key meetings and collaborative sessions.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary for San Francisco is generally higher than national averages. The "founding-level seat" and "meaningful equity" suggest that total compensation can be significantly higher than base salary alone. The "Competitive work environment" and "Fulfillment with your life" are noted benefits, indicating a balance of high performance and employee well-being focus.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, specifically focusing on AI, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and B2B SaaS. AthenaHQ operates at the intersection of Generative AI and digital marketing, a rapidly evolving and innovative space.

Company Size: Early-stage startup. While the exact employee count isn't specified, being "hiring our first designer" and having "founders and engineers" suggests a lean, agile team likely under 50 employees. This means high impact and direct influence for every team member.

Founded: AthenaHQ is backed by notable investors and has a founding team with strong Google and AI industry connections, indicating a foundation built on deep expertise and ambitious vision.

Team Structure:

• Lean & Agile: Expect a flat hierarchy with direct access to founders and key decision-makers.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: High degree of interaction between design, engineering, and founders, with a shared responsibility for product success.

• Customer-Centric: A strong emphasis on understanding and serving customer needs, with designers expected to engage directly with users.

• Execution-Focused: A culture that values shipping product, iterating quickly, and learning from real-world application.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: Leveraging customer data and market insights to inform design decisions.

• Iterative Product Development: Employing agile methodologies to build, test, and refine the product based on feedback and performance metrics.

• Generative AI Focus: Deep integration of AI principles and technologies into the product's core functionality and user experience.

• Design as a Strategic Function: Positioning design not just as an execution function but as a critical partner in product strategy and business growth.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) places it at the forefront of how brands will achieve visibility in the new AI-driven search landscape. This implies a need for designers who can grasp complex technical concepts and translate them into intuitive user experiences.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role represents a "Founding Designer" or "Lead Product Designer" level. It's an opportunity to establish the design discipline within a company, setting standards, processes, and culture. The individual will have significant autonomy and influence over the product's direction and user experience.

Reporting Structure: You will report directly to one of the founders, likely the CEO or CTO, given the early stage and the direct involvement in product strategy.

Operations Impact: The Senior Product Designer will have a direct and substantial impact on AthenaHQ's success by shaping the user experience of a novel product category. This includes driving user adoption, customer satisfaction, and ultimately, revenue growth through an intuitive and effective platform. The design's clarity in data-dense surfaces will be crucial for marketers to achieve their GEO/AEO goals.

Growth Opportunities:

• Foundational Leadership: Opportunity to build and lead the design team as the company scales.

• Strategic Influence: Direct involvement in product strategy, roadmap planning, and business decision-making.

• Skill Expansion: Deepen expertise in AI-native products, data visualization, and B2B SaaS design within a rapidly evolving market.

• System Building: Gain extensive experience in establishing design systems and processes from the ground up.

• Career Advancement: Potential to move into a Head of Design or VP of Product role as the company grows.

📝 Enhancement Note: This is a rare opportunity for a product designer to act as a foundational leader, shaping not just the product but also the operational framework for design within a high-growth tech startup. The growth trajectory is steep and offers significant potential for leadership development.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is described as "On-site" in San Francisco, indicating a physical office presence is required. This suggests a collaborative environment where in-person interaction is valued.

Office Location(s): San Francisco, California, United States. This places AthenaHQ in a major tech hub, offering access to talent and industry networks.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hub: Expect a dynamic workspace designed to foster close collaboration between designers, engineers, and founders.

• Tooling & Technology: Access to modern design and development tools will be provided, supporting efficient workflow and iteration.

• Innovation Focus: The environment will likely encourage experimentation and a forward-thinking approach to product development in the AI space.

• Startup Pace: The workspace will support a fast-paced, iterative development cycle common in early-stage companies.

Work Schedule:

• Standard: While a typical 40-hour work week is implied, the startup environment may require flexibility to meet project deadlines and respond to urgent needs.

• On-site Requirement: The role is not remote, emphasizing the value placed on in-person collaboration and team synergy.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "On-site" requirement in San Francisco suggests a company that values direct team interaction and a shared physical environment for fostering innovation and rapid decision-making, common in early-stage startups aiming for strong cultural cohesion.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A brief call with a recruiter or founder to assess basic qualifications and cultural fit.

• Portfolio Review & Discussion: A deep dive into your portfolio, focusing on 1-2 key projects. Expect to discuss your process, decision-making, challenges, and outcomes in detail. This is where you demonstrate your strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.

• Design Challenge/Case Study: You may be given a design exercise or asked to present a more in-depth case study based on a prompt related to AthenaHQ's product. This will assess your ability to apply your skills to their specific domain.

• Founder/Team Interviews: Meetings with founders and engineers to evaluate your product sense, collaboration style, and alignment with the company's vision and values.

• Reference Checks: Standard background and professional reference checks.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Storytelling: Structure your portfolio presentations as compelling narratives. Clearly articulate the "why" behind your design decisions.

• Process Over Polish: While polished visuals are good, focus on demonstrating your thought process, how you navigated constraints, and how you measured impact.

• Data-Dense Examples: Ensure your portfolio includes strong examples of designing complex dashboards or analytics interfaces, as this is a core requirement.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced task completion time, increased user engagement).

• Tailor to AthenaHQ: Understand AthenaHQ's product (GEO/AEO for AI search) and try to align your portfolio examples or case study discussion to this domain where relevant.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Research Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). Familiarize yourself with how AI search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude work and how brands might optimize for them.

• Data Interpretation: Practice articulating how you would design interfaces to help marketers understand complex data related to AI search visibility.

• User Empathy: Consider the pain points of marketers trying to navigate this new landscape.

• System Thinking: Be prepared to discuss how you would approach building a design system from scratch.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given this is the first design hire, the interview process will heavily scrutinize your ability to operate independently, define processes, and contribute strategically. Your portfolio presentation is your primary tool to showcase these capabilities.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (highly probable given industry standard), Sketch, Adobe XD. Proficiency in at least one is essential.

• User Research Tools: Tools like UserTesting.com, Lookback, or simple survey platforms (e.g., SurveyMonkey, Typeform) for gathering qualitative and quantitative user feedback.

• Collaboration Platforms: Slack, Notion, or similar for team communication and documentation.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Data Visualization Libraries/Components: While not directly used by designers, understanding how data is visualized (e.g., through Chart.js, D3.js components) is beneficial.

• Product Analytics Tools: Familiarity with tools like Amplitude, Mixpanel, or Google Analytics for understanding user behavior and product performance.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems: While not a direct design tool, understanding how CRMs (like Salesforce, HubSpot) are used by B2B sales and marketing teams can provide context for designing integrated workflows.

• Workflow Automation Concepts: Awareness of how automation tools (e.g., Zapier, Integromat) can streamline processes, which might influence design for workflow-centric features.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company operates in AI and B2B SaaS. While specific tools aren't listed, expect a modern tech stack. Figma is the de facto standard for collaborative design. Familiarity with data visualization principles is crucial given the role's focus on data-dense interfaces.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Craftsmanship & Quality: A deep commitment to high-quality design and a meticulous attention to detail.

• Customer Focus: Placing the user's needs and experience at the forefront of all design decisions.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Open communication and a willingness to share ideas, feedback, and progress across the team.

• Data-Informed Decisions: Using data and user research to validate design hypotheses and measure impact.

• Bias for Action & Iteration: A culture that encourages shipping, learning, and iterating rapidly to improve the product.

• Problem Solving: A proactive approach to identifying and solving complex user and business problems.

Collaboration Style:

• Direct & Open: Expect candid conversations and constructive feedback exchanged freely among founders, engineers, and design.

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Design is integrated early and often with engineering and product strategy discussions.

• Shared Ownership: The entire team shares responsibility for product success, fostering a collaborative rather than siloed approach.

• Empirical Learning: A culture that embraces learning from both successes and failures through experimentation and data analysis.

📝 Enhancement Note: As the first designer, you will play a significant role in embodying and shaping these values. Demonstrating alignment with these principles will be key to cultural fit.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Defining a New Category: Designing for GEO/AEO in AI search is a nascent field. You'll need to define user mental models and intuitive interfaces for concepts that are still emerging.

• Data Complexity: Effectively visualizing and making actionable complex, high-volume data for marketers will be a significant design challenge.

• Building from Scratch: Establishing a design system, processes, and design culture as the first designer requires significant initiative and strategic planning.

• Ambiguity & Rapid Change: Operating in an early-stage startup means dealing with evolving priorities and a less defined product roadmap initially.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Industry Leadership: Become a recognized expert in designing for AI-driven search and optimization.

• System Architecture: Gain unparalleled experience in building foundational design systems and operationalizing design processes.

• Strategic Product Development: Deepen your understanding of product strategy, market dynamics, and business growth in the AI SaaS space.

• Mentorship: Opportunity to mentor future design hires and potentially shape a design team.

• Networking: Connect with a strong network of AI and search industry professionals through the company's investor and advisor base.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are directly linked to the growth opportunities. Overcoming the ambiguity and complexity will be key to professional development and establishing a strong reputation in this cutting-edge field.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach designing a dashboard for marketers to understand their visibility across AI search engines like ChatGPT and Gemini, given the potential complexity of the data?" (Focus on identifying key metrics, visualization types, and user segmentation.)

• "Describe your process for building a design system from the ground up for a B2B SaaS product, especially as the first designer." (Discuss component libraries, documentation, adoption strategies, and iteration.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you most about AthenaHQ's mission and the evolving landscape of AI search?" (Showcase your understanding of the market and genuine interest.)

• "How do you see the role of design evolving within a fast-growing AI startup like ours?" (Demonstrate strategic thinking about design's impact.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, follow a clear arc: Problem -> Your Role -> Process -> Constraints/Tradeoffs -> Solution -> Outcome/Impact.

• Highlight Data-Dense Design: Explicitly call out projects where you designed complex interfaces and explain your rationale for layout, data representation, and user interaction.

• Showcase System Thinking: If you can't show a full design system, discuss how your designs adhere to or could contribute to a consistent design language.

• Quantify Everything Possible: Use numbers to show the impact of your work. If exact metrics aren't available, discuss how you would measure success.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Expect to be questioned on every decision. Know your "why" for every element.

📝 Enhancement Note: Prepare to discuss your experience with data-dense interfaces and design systems in detail. The founders will be looking for someone who can not only design but also architect the design function.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Portfolio Customization: Curate your portfolio to prominently feature 1-2 in-depth case studies showcasing your experience with data-dense interfaces, complex workflows, and ideally, any design system contributions. Tailor your presentation to highlight how your skills align with AthenaHQ's mission in AI search optimization.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your 5+ years of B2B SaaS/enterprise design experience, emphasizing achievements in product strategy, user research, UI/UX, and system building. Use keywords like "data-dense interfaces," "design systems," "workflow optimization," and "product strategy."

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process and decision-making for your portfolio projects. Prepare to discuss your approach to building design foundations from scratch and your understanding of the GEO/AEO space.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research AthenaHQ, its product, its investors, and the broader market for AI search optimization. Understand the challenges and opportunities in this nascent field to better align your interview responses.

⚠️ 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.