Senior Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer

Company: Athennian

Location: Canada / United States (Remote)

Job Type: Full-Time, Salaried

Category: Product Design / UX/UI

Date Posted: 2026-08-26

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the end-to-end product design process for Athennian's B2B SaaS platform, focusing on transforming complex workflows into intuitive and modern user experiences.

• Lead product discovery initiatives, collaborating closely with Product Managers to understand customer needs, test assumptions, and define clear product direction, with a specific emphasis on integrating new AI-powered capabilities.

• Champion user-centric design principles, balancing customer needs with product strategy, business objectives, and technical constraints to create differentiated and impactful product experiences.

• Set a high standard for interaction and visual design, contributing to and evolving the company's design systems and patterns to ensure consistency and quality across all product touchpoints.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role requires a senior-level product designer with a strong track record in B2B SaaS and a proactive approach to exploring and integrating emerging AI technologies. The emphasis on "pushing beyond traditional enterprise software patterns" and "shaping AI experiences" suggests a need for innovation and a willingness to challenge established norms in enterprise UX.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead comprehensive product discovery efforts, including user research, needs analysis, and concept validation, to inform product strategy and design solutions.

• Translate complex business requirements and user needs into detailed user flows, wireframes, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity visual designs.

• Collaborate daily with Product Managers and Engineers to ensure design feasibility, iterative refinement, and seamless implementation of designs.

• Explore and prototype innovative AI interaction patterns, ensuring these capabilities are integrated seamlessly into the user experience to enhance utility and trust.

• Drive the evolution and adoption of Athennian's design system, ensuring consistency, scalability, and efficiency in design output.

• Conduct user testing and gather feedback on prototypes and implemented features to validate design decisions and identify areas for improvement.

• Present design concepts and rationale clearly and persuasively to cross-functional teams, including executive leadership, to gain alignment and buy-in.

• Stay abreast of industry trends in B2B SaaS, AI, and product design to continuously inform and elevate the design practice at Athennian.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic thinking (leading discovery, shaping AI experiences) and tactical execution (prototyping, driving design quality). The role demands a designer who can operate autonomously, influence product direction, and effectively communicate complex ideas to diverse stakeholders, including executives.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, or a related field is often preferred for senior roles, demonstrating a foundational understanding of design principles and user-centered methodologies.

Experience: 5+ years of progressive experience in Product Design, UX/UI design, or similar roles, with a proven track record of owning and delivering complex, high-quality product experiences. Experience in a fast-paced, outcomes-driven startup environment is highly valued.

Required Skills:

• Product Design & UX/UI Expertise: Deep understanding of user-centered design principles, interaction design, visual design, and information architecture.

• Portfolio of Complex Experiences: A strong portfolio showcasing ownership of intricate, high-quality product experiences, particularly in B2B SaaS environments.

• Product Discovery & Strategy: Demonstrated ability to lead customer discovery, validate assumptions, and translate insights into actionable product direction.

• Figma & FigJam Proficiency: Advanced skills in Figma for wireframing, prototyping, and UI design, and FigJam for collaboration and ideation.

• User Research & Validation: Strong experience with modern research methods (e.g., user interviews, usability testing) to uncover and validate user needs.

• B2B SaaS & AI Design: Experience designing for complex B2B or enterprise software, with a strong curiosity and ideally hands-on experience with AI-powered features or workflows.

• Prototyping & Workflow Design: Ability to rapidly create prototypes and translate concepts into detailed workflows and designs.

• Collaboration & Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders, challenge assumptions constructively, and work effectively with Product and Engineering teams.

Preferred Skills:

• Pendo Experience: Familiarity with Pendo for user analytics, in-app messaging, or product adoption tracking.

• AI Tools Fluency: Hands-on experience with AI tools like Claude and Cursor for rapid exploration, prototyping, and testing.

• Design Systems Development: Experience contributing to or leading the development and maintenance of design systems.

• Agile Methodologies: Familiarity with agile development processes and how design integrates into sprints.

• Visual Design Acumen: A keen eye for aesthetics, typography, and layout that enhances usability and brand perception.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for AI tool fluency (Claude, Cursor) alongside Figma and FigJam signifies a forward-thinking approach to design tooling and a desire for candidates who can leverage AI to accelerate the design process. Pendo is a common tool in SaaS for user insights and product engagement, making it a valuable, though not strictly required, skill.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrate Ownership: Showcase projects where you led the design process from initial concept through to successful product launch, highlighting your specific contributions and decision-making.

• Complex Workflow Design: Include case studies that clearly illustrate your ability to tackle and simplify complex B2B workflows, detailing the problem, your approach, and the user impact.

• AI Integration Examples: If possible, present examples of how you've explored or designed AI-powered features or interactions, emphasizing the user benefits and technical considerations.

• Visual & Interaction Design Quality: Ensure your portfolio exhibits strong visual polish and sophisticated interaction design that aligns with modern SaaS expectations.

• Problem-Solving Narrative: For each project, articulate the problem, your design process, the challenges faced, and the measurable outcomes or learnings.

Process Documentation:

• Discovery to Delivery: Showcase projects that map the full design lifecycle, from initial user research and problem definition through to detailed design, prototyping, and collaboration with engineering for implementation.

• Iterative Design & Feedback: Provide examples of how you've incorporated user feedback and iterated on designs based on testing and stakeholder input.

• Design System Contribution: If applicable, include examples of how you've contributed to or utilized design systems, demonstrating an understanding of consistency and scalability.

• Metrics & Impact: Where possible, quantify the impact of your designs through relevant metrics (e.g., user satisfaction, task completion rates, adoption of new features).

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a "strong portfolio demonstrating ownership of complex, high-quality product experiences" and the need to "translate complex B2B workflows into intuitive, modern experiences" means candidates should prioritize case studies that showcase their problem-solving skills for challenging enterprise scenarios, rather than just visual design execution.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: For a Senior Product Designer role in Canada or the US, with 5-10 years of experience and remote work flexibility, a competitive salary range would typically fall between $100,000 - $160,000 USD annually. This range can vary significantly based on specific location within Canada or the US, the candidate's exact experience level, and the company's compensation philosophy.

Benefits:

• Competitive Compensation: Includes salary, equity, and performance-based bonus structure, reflecting a commitment to rewarding employee contributions.

• Generous Time Off: A minimum of 3 weeks vacation, 5 sick days, and 5 personal/flex days annually, plus a company-wide winter holiday shutdown period to promote work-life balance.

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Health, dental, and vision insurance, alongside long-term disability coverage, ensuring employee well-being.

• Health Spending Account (HSA): An additional allowance to cover supplementary health and wellness expenses.

• Family Support: Flexible parental leave policies, including potential top-ups, to support employees during significant life events.

• Remote Work Support: A work-from-home allowance to help establish a productive and comfortable remote workspace.

Working Hours: The role is based on a standard 40-hour work week, typical for full-time salaried positions. However, the remote and startup nature of Athennian suggests a degree of flexibility in scheduling, with an emphasis on outcomes and collaboration rather than strict adherence to hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is estimated based on industry benchmarks for senior product designers in North America, considering the remote nature of the role and the company's growth-stage profile. Benefits are detailed based on the provided list, highlighting a strong package focused on well-being, flexibility, and financial reward.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Athennian operates within the Technology sector, specifically focusing on B2B SaaS solutions. Their product likely serves businesses requiring sophisticated workflow management, data handling, and potentially financial or legal operations. The mention of "AI-powered capabilities" suggests a company that is investing in cutting-edge technology to enhance its offerings.

Company Size: While not explicitly stated, the job posting implies a growth-stage startup environment. This typically means a company size ranging from 50-250 employees, where individuals have a significant impact, roles can be broad, and processes are still evolving.

Founded: The company was founded in 2015, indicating a mature startup that has moved beyond its initial ideation phase and is likely focused on scaling its product, customer base, and operations. This history suggests a degree of stability while retaining a dynamic, growth-oriented culture.

Team Structure:

• The Senior Product Designer will report to the Manager of Product & Design, indicating a structured design leadership within the product organization.

• This role is highly collaborative, requiring close partnerships with Product Managers and Engineering teams, suggesting a matrixed or integrated product development structure.

• Cross-functional collaboration extends to customers and executive leadership, emphasizing the influential nature of the design role in shaping company direction. Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: The emphasis on "customer needs," "user research," and "testing assumptions" points to a data-informed approach to product development.

• Agile & Iterative Development: The mention of "moving quickly," "rapidly turn ideas into workflows," and collaboration with Engineering suggests an agile or iterative design and development process.

• Outcome-Focused Innovation: The company values "ambitious goals," "measurable results," and "strategic speed," implying a focus on delivering tangible business value through design.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's founding year (2015) suggests it's past the early-stage startup phase and is likely in a growth or scaling phase, which often means a need for experienced professionals who can bring structure and best practices while maintaining agility. The "AI-powered capabilities" are a key differentiator and indicate a focus on innovation.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior Product Designer role, indicating a mid-to-late career stage. It requires a high degree of autonomy, strategic input, and the ability to lead design initiatives without constant supervision. The role is expected to mentor junior designers (if any) and significantly influence product direction.

Reporting Structure: The designer will report to the Manager of Product & Design. This provides a clear reporting line and access to design leadership for guidance, feedback, and career development. The role will also work closely with Product Managers and Engineering teams, forming key cross-functional relationships.

Operations Impact: As a Senior Product Designer, the individual will have a direct and significant impact on Athennian's product strategy and market differentiation. By creating intuitive and modern user experiences, especially with novel AI capabilities, this role will influence customer adoption, satisfaction, retention, and ultimately, revenue growth. The ability to translate complex B2B workflows into usable designs is critical for Athennian's success in the competitive SaaS market.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership in Design: Opportunity to take on more significant design leadership responsibilities, potentially leading larger projects or mentoring junior team members as the company grows.

• Specialization in AI Design: Deepen expertise in designing for AI-driven products, a rapidly evolving and high-demand field.

• Product Strategy Influence: Grow influence within the product organization, contributing more heavily to strategic decision-making and product roadmap development.

• Cross-Functional Expertise: Develop a deeper understanding of B2B SaaS business models, engineering constraints, and customer success strategies through close collaboration.

• Career Progression: Potential to move into roles such as Lead Product Designer, Head of Product Design, or Product Management, depending on career aspirations and performance.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" title implies a significant level of responsibility and autonomy. The growth opportunities lean towards increased leadership, specialization in emerging tech (AI), and strategic influence, which are typical for senior individual contributor roles in a scaling tech company.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This role is fully remote, meaning there is no central office requirement. Employees work from their chosen locations within Canada or the United States. This fosters flexibility and allows employees to create their ideal work environment.

Office Location(s): While the role is remote, the company is based in Canada, with operations potentially spanning both Canada and the United States. This means candidates must be legally eligible to work in either country.

Workspace Context:

• Flexibility and Trust: The remote setup emphasizes a culture of flexibility and trust, where employees are empowered to manage their work environment and schedules effectively.

• Digital Collaboration Tools: The team relies on digital collaboration tools (Figma, FigJam, Pendo, etc.) to maintain connection and productivity, requiring strong digital communication skills.

• Connected, Collaborative Team: Despite the remote nature, the company strives to maintain a connected and collaborative atmosphere, suggesting regular virtual team interactions, meetings, and potentially occasional virtual or in-person team events.

Work Schedule: The standard expectation is a 40-hour work week. However, the remote and startup environment likely allows for some flexibility in daily scheduling, provided work is completed effectively and collaboration with team members in different time zones is managed. Emphasis is placed on outcomes and meeting deadlines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The fully remote nature within Canada and the US is a significant perk, but it also means candidates must be comfortable with asynchronous communication and rely heavily on digital tools for collaboration. The company's commitment to a "connected, collaborative team" implies that active participation in virtual team activities is expected.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A brief call with a recruiter or hiring manager to assess basic qualifications, cultural fit, and interest.

• Portfolio Presentation & Design Challenge: Typically involves a presentation of your portfolio, walking through key projects and your design process. This may be followed by a take-home design challenge or a live design exercise, focusing on problem-solving, ideation, and communication.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Interviews with Product Managers and Engineers to assess collaboration skills, technical understanding, and ability to integrate design into the development lifecycle.

• Manager/Executive Interview: A final interview with the Manager of Product & Design and potentially a senior executive (e.g., Head of Product, CEO) to discuss strategic thinking, leadership potential, and overall fit with the company's vision and culture.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Selectively: Choose 3-4 of your strongest, most relevant projects that showcase your experience with complex B2B SaaS, AI, and end-to-end product design.

• Tell a Story: For each project, articulate the problem, your role, the process you followed, key decisions made, challenges overcome, and the impact/outcomes achieved. Use visuals effectively.

• Highlight AI & B2B: Emphasize projects that demonstrate your understanding of B2B workflows and any experience with AI-driven features or explorations.

• Showcase Process: Detail your discovery, research, ideation, prototyping, and iteration methods. Explain why you made certain design choices.

• Be Ready for Questions: Anticipate questions about your design philosophy, how you handle feedback, collaborate with engineers, and approach ambiguity.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Brief: Carefully analyze any design challenge prompt. Identify the core problem, target users, and key constraints.

• Think Out Loud: If it's a live exercise, articulate your thought process, assumptions, and potential solutions.

• Focus on Process: Demonstrate your approach to problem-solving, user research (even if hypothetical), ideation, and justification of your proposed solution.

• Time Management: Allocate time wisely for understanding the problem, ideation, design, and presentation.

• Presentation Skills: Prepare to present your work clearly and concisely, highlighting key design decisions and their rationale.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a "strong portfolio demonstrating ownership of complex, high-quality product experiences" and the need to "translate complex B2B workflows into intuitive, modern experiences" means candidates should prioritize case studies that showcase their problem-solving skills for challenging enterprise scenarios, rather than just visual design execution. The interview process likely values strategic thinking and collaboration as much as design execution.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core tool for wireframing, prototyping, UI design, and collaboration. Expect advanced usage for complex interfaces and design system components.

• FigJam: Used for collaborative brainstorming, user flow mapping, journey mapping, and ideation sessions.

• Pendo: Potential use for user analytics, in-app guides, and product adoption tracking. Familiarity would be beneficial for understanding user behavior and informing design.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While specific tools aren't listed, expect to work with data from user analytics platforms (potentially Pendo or others) to understand user behavior and measure the impact of design changes. CRM & Automation:

• Not directly relevant to the Product Designer role, but understanding how the product integrates with CRM systems or other business automation tools may be beneficial for context. AI & Prototyping Tools:

• Claude / Cursor: Explicitly mentioned as tools to "rapidly explore, prototype, test, and deliver sophisticated SaaS and AI-enabled experiences." Proficiency or a strong willingness to learn and leverage these AI tools is a key requirement.

• Prototyping Tools: Beyond Figma's capabilities, other prototyping tools might be used or expected, though Figma is the primary stated tool.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Claude and Cursor indicates a strong push towards integrating AI into the design workflow. Candidates who can demonstrate how they've used AI tools to accelerate design or discover new interaction patterns will be highly valued. Proficiency in Figma is non-negotiable.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Outcome Driven: A core value emphasizing a focus on achieving measurable results and delivering tangible business value through design solutions. This means designs should be tied to specific business objectives and user success metrics.

• Wide Responsibility: Team members are empowered to take ownership and have broad influence, from identifying problems to implementing solutions. This translates to designers being encouraged to be proactive, contribute to strategy, and see projects through to completion.

• Learning Mindset: A culture that embraces curiosity, continuous learning, and agility. Designers are expected to stay updated on industry trends, explore new technologies (like AI), and adapt their approaches as needed.

• Strategic Speed: A commitment to making fast, effective decisions and acting decisively to seize opportunities. This suggests a preference for efficient processes and a bias for action, balanced with thoughtful design strategy.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Highly collaborative, with designers working hand-in-hand with Product Managers and Engineers. This requires strong communication and the ability to build consensus.

• Feedback-Rich Environment: While not explicitly stated, a culture that values learning and speed likely encourages open feedback loops across teams to refine designs and processes.

• Proactive Contribution: The "Wide Responsibility" value suggests a collaborative style where team members proactively share insights, challenge assumptions, and contribute to collective problem-solving.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is geared towards high-achieving individuals who are comfortable with rapid iteration, ownership, and a results-oriented approach. The values are typical of successful tech startups aiming for significant growth.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Innovation with Usability: Integrating cutting-edge AI capabilities into a B2B SaaS product while ensuring the user experience remains intuitive, trustworthy, and efficient for enterprise users.

• Navigating Ambiguity: Operating in a fast-paced startup environment often means dealing with evolving requirements and priorities, requiring adaptability and strong problem-solving skills.

• Driving Design Adoption: Championing new design patterns and ensuring consistent implementation across the product, especially as the product and team scale.

• Remote Collaboration Effectiveness: Maintaining strong communication, alignment, and a cohesive team culture across dispersed remote team members.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI Design Specialization: Becoming a go-to expert in designing for AI-powered products, a rapidly growing and valuable skill set.

• Strategic Product Input: Gaining deeper experience in product strategy and influencing roadmap decisions based on design insights.

• Leadership Development: Opportunities to mentor junior designers, lead design initiatives, and potentially transition into design leadership roles.

• Industry Exposure: Access to industry best practices, emerging technologies, and potentially conferences or training related to SaaS, AI, and product design.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to a senior role in a growing tech company, particularly one focused on AI. The growth opportunities are strong, offering significant career development in a high-demand field.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to translate a highly complex B2B workflow into a simple, intuitive user experience. What was your process, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on problem framing, user research, iterative design, and quantifiable results.)

• "How do you approach incorporating new AI capabilities into an existing product? What are the key considerations for user trust and utility?" (Highlight your understanding of AI interaction patterns, ethical design, and user education.)

• "Walk me through a project where you significantly influenced product strategy or direction through your design work. How did you build consensus and drive adoption?" (Emphasize your strategic thinking, collaboration, and influence skills.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What attracts you to Athennian and this specific role, given our focus on B2B SaaS and AI?" (Research Athennian's product, market position, and recent news. Connect your skills and interests to their mission.)

• "How do you embody our company values of Outcome Driven, Wide Responsibility, Learning Mindset, and Strategic Speed in your work?" (Provide specific examples from your past roles that demonstrate alignment with these values.)

• "How do you approach collaboration with Product Managers and Engineers, especially in a remote setting?" (Discuss your communication strategies, feedback mechanisms, and experience with agile workflows.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each project, clearly outline the problem, your role, the process, key decisions, challenges, and outcomes. Use a consistent template.

• Highlight AI/B2B Relevance: Explicitly point out how your projects demonstrate experience with B2B complexity and/or AI technologies.

• Showcase Process, Not Just Pixels: Explain your design thinking, user research methods, and how you iterated based on feedback.

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

• Engage and Listen: Be prepared for in-depth questions. Listen carefully, ask clarifying questions, and demonstrate your thought process.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating a strong understanding of B2B SaaS challenges, a proactive and innovative approach to AI design, and the ability to operate autonomously and collaboratively in a remote, fast-paced environment.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided application link on Rippling.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight your 5+ years of experience in Product Design/UX/UI, emphasizing B2B SaaS, complex workflows, and any AI-related design experience. Use keywords from the job description.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 3-4 of your strongest projects that best showcase your skills in complex B2B SaaS design, end-to-end product ownership, and ideally, AI integration. Ensure it clearly articulates your process and impact.

• Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Briefly explain why you are a strong fit for Athennian, referencing their product, culture, and the specific demands of the Senior Product Designer role, particularly regarding AI and B2B challenges.

• Prepare for Interviews: Familiarize yourself with Athennian's product and market. Practice articulating your design process and outcomes for your portfolio projects, and prepare for questions related to B2B SaaS, AI design, and remote collaboration.

⚠️ 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.