Senior Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer

Company: Cherub

Location: United States (Remote)

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design

Date Posted: May 19, 2026

Experience Level: Mid-Level (2-5 years)

Remote Status: Remote Solely

🚀 Role Summary

• Spearhead the end-to-end visual experience, encompassing product design, brand identity, and physical touchpoints, for a growing AI-powered relationship infrastructure company.

• Drive the evolution and refinement of Cherub's Figma component library and design system, ensuring scalability and consistency across all product offerings.

• Directly collaborate with co-founders and the engineering team to conceptualize, design, and ship new product features from ideation to production with a high degree of autonomy.

• Proactively contribute to the product roadmap by identifying and proposing innovative design solutions that align with Cherub's mission and market position.

• Own and execute brand storytelling through the product interface, ensuring a premium, considered, and distinctly non-generic user experience.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as the sole design function within a small, scrappy startup. The emphasis on "owning the outcome, not just the task" and "adding to the roadmap" indicates a high degree of strategic influence for the Senior Product Designer, requiring strong initiative and a proactive approach to design leadership.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the comprehensive design strategy for Cherub's visual identity, spanning digital product interfaces, brand collateral, and physical elements such as event materials and merchandise.

• Develop, maintain, and expand the existing Figma component library and design system, ensuring robust documentation and adherence to best practices for efficient scaling.

• Partner closely with the founding team, specifically product and engineering, to translate concepts into high-fidelity designs and iterate rapidly based on feedback and production realities.

• Drive the complete design lifecycle for new product features, from initial concept exploration and user flow mapping to detailed UI design and final asset delivery.

• Proactively identify opportunities for design innovation, contributing strategic insights and creative solutions to the product roadmap that align with business objectives and user needs in the private capital, creator, and finance sectors.

• Collaborate with the co-founder to weave Cherub's brand narrative seamlessly into the product experience, enhancing user engagement and brand loyalty.

• Contribute to the expansion and consistent application of the Cherub brand identity across various communication channels and contextual touchpoints as the company scales.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a hands-on, "wear many hats" approach typical of early-stage startups. The expectation to "own the look and feel" and "extend the identity across channels" suggests a blend of product design, UI/UX, and brand design responsibilities, requiring a versatile designer.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong foundation in design principles, visual communication, and user-centered design methodologies is essential. This could be demonstrated through a formal degree, extensive self-study, or a proven track record of impactful design work.

Experience: A minimum of 3 years of professional experience in designing consumer-facing products is required. This experience can be gained through various paths, including freelance work with a notable client roster, an early-stage design role at a startup, or significant contributions within a larger organization where direct product impact was achieved. The emphasis is on the quality and relevance of the work presented in the portfolio.

Required Skills:

• Product Design: Proven ability to design intuitive, engaging, and effective consumer-facing products from concept to launch.

• Visual Design Craft: Exceptional eye for detail, aesthetics, and visual hierarchy, with a demonstrated ability to create premium and distinctive visual experiences.

• Systems Thinking: Strong capability in conceptualizing and building scalable design systems, including component libraries and design tokens, for consistent and efficient design execution.

• Figma Proficiency: Advanced user of Figma for all aspects of the design process, including prototyping, component management, and collaboration.

• Brand Storytelling: Ability to translate brand identity and narrative into compelling product experiences.

• AI Workflow Integration: Experience and a clear point of view on leveraging AI tools within the design workflow to enhance creativity and efficiency, with an understanding of their current limitations and potential.

• Startup Agility: Demonstrated ability to thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous startup environments, taking high ownership and driving outcomes with minimal direction.

Preferred Skills:

• Front-end Development Understanding: Familiarity with front-end development principles (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) to facilitate better collaboration with engineers and inform design decisions.

• Consumer Fintech/Creator Platform Design: Experience designing for platforms within the consumer fintech, creator economy, or social product spaces.

• Experiential/Physical Design: Experience extending brand presence across physical touchpoints, such as events, merchandise, or other experiential activations.

• Founding Team Collaboration: Prior experience working closely with founding teams in an early-stage startup environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "AI tools as a real part of your workflow" and specific mention of "skills or agents" suggests the company is forward-thinking and expects designers to be adept with emerging AI design technologies. The emphasis on "owning the outcome" and "thriving in small teams" points towards a need for a highly autonomous and results-oriented individual.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Visual Craft & Taste: Showcase a portfolio that clearly demonstrates exceptional visual design skills, a refined aesthetic, and a distinct, non-generic style across multiple projects.

• Systems Design: Include examples of how you've built, refined, or extended design systems, component libraries, or design tokens, illustrating your understanding of scalability and consistency.

• End-to-End Product Design: Present case studies that detail your involvement in the complete product design lifecycle, from user research and ideation through to final implementation and iteration.

• AI Tool Integration: Highlight instances where AI tools were integrated into your workflow to enhance efficiency or creative output, along with your reflections on the process and results.

• Consumer Product Focus: Prioritize projects focused on consumer-facing applications, demonstrating your ability to design for broad user adoption and engagement.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design & Optimization: Be prepared to discuss your systematic approach to designing user flows, wireframing, and creating detailed mockups, emphasizing efficiency and user-centered principles.

• System Implementation & Automation: Detail how you've implemented design system components and leveraged tools (like Figma's auto-layout, components, and variants) to streamline the design and development handoff process.

• Measurement & Performance Analysis: Explain how you consider and measure the impact of your designs, even if indirectly, and how you would approach gathering feedback for iterative improvement in a product context.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the role's emphasis on owning the design function and driving the roadmap, the portfolio should not just showcase finished work but also the designer's strategic thinking, process, and ability to operate autonomously. Demonstrating an understanding of how design systems contribute to business velocity and brand consistency will be key.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for a Senior Product Designer with 3+ years of experience in a remote US-based role, and considering the startup environment with high ownership, the estimated salary range is $105,000 - $125,000 USD per year. This estimate accounts for the role's significant responsibility and the company's focus on attracting top talent for its foundational design function.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health Insurance: Medical, dental, and vision coverage to support employee well-being.

• Stock Options/Equity: Opportunity to share in the company's success through equity grants, aligning personal incentives with company growth.

• Flexible Paid Time Off (PTO): A generous and flexible approach to time off, encouraging work-life balance for a remote team.

• Professional Development Budget: Allocation for courses, conferences, books, or workshops to support continuous learning and skill enhancement in design and related fields.

• Remote Work Stipend: Support for setting up an effective home office environment to enhance productivity and comfort.

Working Hours: The standard working hours are typically 40 hours per week. However, Cherub emphasizes high agency and outcome ownership, suggesting flexibility in how and when work is accomplished, provided deadlines are met and collaborative needs are addressed.

📝 Enhancement Note: The provided salary range is an estimation based on the AI's analysis of similar roles and experience levels in the US market. Actual compensation may vary based on the candidate's specific qualifications, experience, and negotiation. The benefits listed are typical for well-funded startups aiming to attract and retain talent, with a strong emphasis on equity and professional growth.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, FinTech, Creator Economy, Private Capital. Cherub operates at the intersection of these dynamic sectors, building AI-powered infrastructure to facilitate modern dealmaking and relationship management within these ecosystems. This unique positioning requires a deep understanding of diverse user needs and market trends.

Company Size: Small and scrappy startup. This implies a lean team structure where individual contributions have a significant impact, and employees are expected to be highly autonomous, adaptable, and comfortable with ambiguity.

Founded: The founding date is not explicitly provided, but the company's description suggests it is an early-stage venture focused on innovation in relationship infrastructure for private capital.

Team Structure:

• Lean & Collaborative: The team is small, likely consisting of founders and early hires, fostering a close-knit and highly collaborative environment.

• Cross-Functional Integration: Expect close working relationships with product and engineering leadership, particularly the co-founder responsible for product. Design is not siloed but integrated into the core product development process.

• High Ownership: Each team member is expected to take significant ownership of their domain, contributing strategically rather than just executing tasks.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Insights: While not explicitly detailed, the use of AI and focus on relationship infrastructure suggests a data-informed approach to product development and user understanding.

• Agile & Iterative Development: The emphasis on shipping designs to production regularly and course-correcting implies an agile development methodology with rapid iteration cycles.

• Proactive Problem-Solving: The culture values initiative and a proactive stance ("move before we're told to"), encouraging team members to identify and solve problems independently.

Company Website: www.investwithcherub.com

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is described as highly proactive, craft-oriented, curious, and integrity-driven. This suggests a demanding yet rewarding environment for individuals who are self-starters, value quality, and are eager to learn and grow within a mission-focused startup.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is designated as "Senior Product Designer," indicating a mid-level to senior position within the design discipline. It implies a significant level of autonomy, strategic input, and ownership over key design outcomes. The designer is expected to be a leader in their domain, shaping the product's aesthetic and user experience.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Product Designer will report directly to one of the co-founders, likely the one overseeing product development. This direct line of communication ensures close alignment with leadership and provides opportunities for significant strategic influence.

Operations Impact: The Senior Product Designer will have a profound impact on Cherub's success by shaping the user experience and brand identity of its AI-powered relationship infrastructure. By owning the visual narrative and driving the design of core product features, this role directly influences user acquisition, engagement, and the overall perception of Cherub as a premium, innovative platform in the private capital and creator economy sectors.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: As the sole design function, there is a significant opportunity to grow into a Design Lead or Head of Design role as the company scales, building and managing a design team.

• Strategic Product Influence: Direct collaboration with founders provides unparalleled exposure to business strategy, allowing for growth in product thinking and strategic decision-making.

• Skill Specialization & Expansion: Opportunity to deepen expertise in specific areas (e.g., design systems, AI-driven design, brand strategy) or expand into adjacent areas like product management or user research as the company evolves.

• Industry Expertise: Deepen knowledge and build a network within the creator economy, fintech, and private capital sectors, becoming a recognized expert in designing for these markets.

📝 Enhancement Note: The growth trajectory in this role is less about climbing a traditional ladder and more about expanding influence and ownership within a dynamic startup. The Senior Product Designer is positioned to be a foundational member whose contributions will directly shape the company's future.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This is a fully remote position, meaning there is no central physical office. Team members work from their own home offices or co-working spaces.

Office Location(s): While the role is remote, the company is US-based and the derived time zone is America/Chicago. This suggests a primary focus on candidates within the United States to facilitate collaboration across common business hours.

Workspace Context:

• Autonomous Work Environment: The remote setup requires self-discipline, effective time management, and proactive communication to ensure seamless collaboration and productivity.

• Digital Collaboration Tools: Expect extensive use of digital tools for communication (e.g., Slack, Zoom), project management (e.g., Asana, Jira), and design collaboration (Figma).

• Startup Pace: The work environment is characterized by a fast pace, a high degree of autonomy, and a culture of initiative, requiring designers to be comfortable with ambiguity and rapid change.

Work Schedule: The role is full-time, typically around 40 hours per week. However, the company culture emphasizes "high agency" and "owning outcomes," suggesting flexibility in scheduling as long as objectives are met and team collaboration is maintained. This allows for a degree of autonomy in structuring the workday.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote-first nature of Cherub means that successful candidates must be adept at asynchronous communication, self-management, and leveraging digital tools to maintain connection and productivity within the team.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Application Review: Screening of resumes and portfolios to assess alignment with required skills, experience, and demonstrated visual craft.

• Portfolio Deep Dive (Video Call): A discussion focused on key projects within the portfolio. Expect to walk through 2-3 significant pieces, explaining your design process, strategic decisions, challenges faced, and outcomes achieved. This is where your systems thinking and AI integration experience will be probed.

• Founder/Team Interview: A conversation with the co-founder(s) to assess cultural fit, alignment with Cherub's mission and values, problem-solving approach, and overall product vision. Questions will likely revolve around your ability to operate autonomously and contribute strategically.

• Design Challenge (Optional/Take-home): A potential exercise to evaluate your approach to a specific design problem relevant to Cherub's product space, testing your systems thinking, visual execution, and ability to incorporate AI tools.

• Final Discussion/Offer: A concluding conversation to discuss role expectations, compensation, and answer any remaining questions before extending an offer.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate for Impact: Select 3-5 of your strongest projects that best showcase your visual craft, systems thinking, and experience with consumer products. Prioritize work that feels premium and distinctly designed.

• Showcase Process, Not Just Pixels: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, your design process (including research, ideation, iteration), the tools used (especially Figma and AI), and the impact of your work. Use visuals to support your narrative.

• Highlight Systems & AI: Explicitly call out how you've applied systems thinking, built or utilized design systems, and integrated AI tools into your workflow. Discuss your rationale and the benefits derived.

• Tell a Story: Frame your portfolio as a narrative of your design journey and capabilities. Emphasize your ability to own outcomes and contribute strategically.

• Tailor to Cherub: While showcasing your best work, subtly highlight projects or aspects that align with Cherub's mission, industry, and emphasis on premium design and AI.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Research Cherub, its mission, the creator economy, private capital, and AI in finance/relationships. Understand the user needs and challenges in these spaces.

• Think Systems First: If presented with a challenge, consider how your solution would integrate into a larger system or design language. How would it be scalable and maintainable?

• Embrace AI: Consider how AI could be a part of the solution, either in terms of user experience or the design process itself.

• Focus on Clarity & Rationale: Be prepared to explain your design choices clearly and logically, justifying them based on user needs, business goals, and design principles.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process heavily emphasizes the portfolio as a primary evaluation tool. Candidates should be prepared to deeply discuss their work, demonstrating not just design skills but also strategic thinking, problem-solving abilities, and a proactive, systems-oriented mindset.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core tool for all product design activities, including wireframing, UI design, prototyping, and collaboration. Mastery is expected, including advanced features like component libraries, variants, auto-layout, and design tokens.

• Design Systems: Experience in building, maintaining, and scaling design systems is critical. This includes understanding component architecture, style guides, and best practices for documentation and implementation.

• AI Design Tools: Proficiency with current AI tools integrated into the design workflow (e.g., AI-powered image generation, content creation assistants, code generation aids) is a significant advantage, with an expectation to have formed opinions on their effective use.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not a primary responsibility, an understanding of how design impacts key metrics is beneficial. Familiarity with analytics platforms (e.g., Mixpanel, Amplitude) and how to interpret data to inform design decisions is a plus.

• Prototyping Tools: Beyond Figma's built-in capabilities, experience with tools like Principle or After Effects for highly specific animation or micro-interaction design might be beneficial.

CRM & Automation:

• Project Management Software: Familiarity with tools like Asana, Jira, or Trello for managing design tasks and collaborating with engineering on sprints.

• Communication Platforms: Proficiency in Slack and Zoom for day-to-day team communication and meetings.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Figma and the expectation to "inherit, refine, and extend our Figma component library and design system" makes proficiency in Figma and design systems foundational requirements. The emphasis on AI tools indicates a forward-looking technology stack.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• High Agency: A core value centered on initiative, proactivity, and taking ownership. Team members are expected to act with conviction and drive outcomes without constant supervision.

• Craftsmanship: A commitment to producing high-quality, well-considered work. "Generic isn't good enough" reflects a dedication to design excellence and attention to detail.

• Curiosity: A continuous drive to learn and stay updated with industry trends, new technologies (especially AI), and evolving market dynamics.

• Integrity: Operating with honesty, transparency, and a strong ethical compass, particularly important given the company's focus on finance and client trust.

• Trust & Accountability: Mutual trust within the team, where individuals are empowered and accountable for their contributions and decisions.

Collaboration Style:

• Direct & Transparent: Communication is expected to be open, honest, and direct, fostering a culture where feedback is freely given and received constructively.

• Cross-Functional Synergy: Close collaboration between design, product, and engineering is paramount to ensure alignment and efficient product development.

• Outcome-Oriented: The focus is on achieving collective goals and delivering impactful results, with collaboration serving as a means to that end.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's values are deeply embedded in its operational philosophy, emphasizing self-starters who are passionate about their craft, continuously learning, and committed to integrity and shared success.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Establishing Design Function: As the sole designer, the primary challenge is to build and mature the design function from the ground up, setting standards, processes, and a cohesive visual identity.

• Balancing Speed and Quality: Navigating the startup imperative to ship quickly while maintaining a high bar for design craft and user experience.

• Defining a Novel Category: Operating at the intersection of consumer, creator, and finance requires defining and designing for a new category of relationship infrastructure, which involves significant user research and strategic product thinking.

• Integrating AI Effectively: Moving beyond basic AI usage to strategically leverage AI tools to create unique product value and enhance the design workflow in meaningful ways.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Design Leadership Track: Potential to grow into a leadership role, defining the design vision and managing a future design team.

• Product Strategy Involvement: Direct exposure to and participation in high-level product strategy discussions with founders.

• Industry Specialization: Deepening expertise in the nuances of the creator economy, private capital markets, and consumer fintech through hands-on product development.

• AI in Design Exploration: Opportunity to be at the forefront of exploring and implementing cutting-edge AI applications within the product design process.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are intrinsically linked to the growth opportunities. Overcoming the hurdles of building a design function and defining a new category will lead to significant professional development and strategic influence.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach building a design system from scratch for a new product in the creator economy space?" (Focus on process, scalability, and core principles.)

• "Describe a time you had to balance a tight deadline with maintaining high design quality. What was your strategy and the outcome?" (Highlight your time management and prioritization skills.)

• "How do you see AI evolving the role of a product designer? Give an example of how you've used AI in your current workflow and its impact." (Demonstrate your forward-thinking approach and practical application of AI.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you most about Cherub's mission and the problem we're solving?" (Show genuine interest and alignment with the company's vision.)

• "How do you approach working in a small, fast-paced startup environment where roles might be fluid?" (Emphasize your adaptability, initiative, and comfort with ambiguity.)

• "Our values include 'High Agency' and 'Craftsmanship'. How do these resonate with your work style and past experiences?" (Provide specific examples of how you embody these values.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your role, your process, the solution, and the impact. Use visual aids effectively.

• Highlight Systems & AI: Dedicate specific time to explaining your approach to design systems and how you've integrated AI tools. Quantify results where possible.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your design decisions, trade-offs made, and how you handled challenges.

• Showcase Your Taste: Let your visual craft shine through your presentation. Ensure your slides are as well-designed as the work they showcase.

• Ask Insightful Questions: Prepare thoughtful questions about the product roadmap, design challenges, team dynamics, and company vision to demonstrate your engagement and strategic thinking.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating a blend of strong visual craft, strategic thinking, systems design expertise, and comfort with AI tools, all within the context of a high-agency startup environment.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided application link on app.dover.com.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 3-5 of your most impactful projects that showcase exceptional visual craft, systems thinking, and consumer product design. Ensure your portfolio clearly demonstrates your experience with Figma and any AI tools you've integrated into your workflow.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight specific achievements and responsibilities that align with the core requirements of this role, emphasizing your experience in consumer-facing products, design systems, and working in fast-paced environments. Use keywords from the job description naturally.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Be ready to articulate your design process, decision-making rationale, and the outcomes of your projects during portfolio review. Practice explaining how you embody Cherub's values of high agency and craftsmanship.

• Research Cherub: Thoroughly understand Cherub's mission, target market, and the unique intersection of FinTech, creator economy, and private capital. This research will inform your interview responses and demonstrate your 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.