Senior Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer

Company: Gradial

Location: Seattle, WA

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / UX/UI Design

Date Posted: 2026-06-07T22:56:41

Experience Level: 5-10 years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the product design vision and strategy for an innovative generative AI platform, focusing on user-centric, intuitive, and scalable solutions.

• Translate complex AI functionalities and workflows into elegant user experiences for marketers and creative professionals, ensuring brand integrity.

• Own the end-to-end design process, from user research and journey mapping to high-fidelity prototyping and visual design, in a fast-paced startup environment.

• Contribute significantly to the development and evolution of a comprehensive design system, establishing patterns and guidelines for product-wide consistency.

• Collaborate closely with product managers, engineers, and AI researchers to rapidly prototype, test, and iterate on design concepts, leveraging user feedback and data insights.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the job title is "Senior Product Designer," the context of Gradial's platform (AI-native content operations, automating website updates, design system migrations) strongly suggests this role will intersect with operational efficiency, workflow automation, and the practical application of AI in content creation and management. Therefore, candidates should highlight experience in B2B SaaS, enterprise solutions, and understanding complex workflows, aligning with the broader "operations" theme of this role.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Define and champion the design vision and strategic direction for Gradial's AI-powered platform, ensuring a cohesive and intuitive user experience across all features.

• Conduct thorough user research, journey mapping, and usability testing to deeply understand user needs and validate design solutions for marketers and creative professionals.

• Develop and craft polished visual and interaction designs that simplify complex AI processes, build user trust, and effectively showcase the capabilities of generative AI.

• Establish, maintain, and evolve the product's design system, creating reusable components, patterns, and comprehensive guidelines to ensure scalability and consistency.

• Rapidly create interactive prototypes using industry-standard design tools (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD) and potentially front-end code (HTML/CSS/JS) to effectively communicate design concepts and gather feedback.

• Act as a strong advocate for the end-user, ensuring their needs are consistently represented and considered throughout the product development lifecycle, balancing user requirements with business objectives.

• Foster a culture of design excellence within the company through active participation in design reviews, providing constructive feedback, and sharing knowledge and best practices.

• Collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, including product management, engineering, and AI research, to align on product strategy, technical feasibility, and execution timelines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities clearly indicate a need for strong end-to-end design ownership in a complex B2B SaaS environment, particularly one leveraging AI. Emphasis on "scalability," "design systems," and "automating website updates" points towards a need for a designer who understands operational efficiency and robust product architecture.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

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

Experience: 5+ years of professional product design experience, with a significant focus on user-centric and data-informed design workflows, preferably within B2B SaaS or AI/ML product environments.

Required Skills:

• Proven expertise in end-to-end product design, from initial concept and user research to final delivery and iteration.

• Strong portfolio showcasing exceptional UI craftsmanship, sophisticated interaction design, and innovative solutions for complex problems.

• Demonstrated ability to lead design vision and strategy in ambiguous, fast-paced environments, characteristic of startup settings.

• Excellent command of user research methodologies, including user interviews, surveys, and usability testing, to inform design decisions.

• Proficiency in creating detailed journey maps, wireframes, and high-fidelity interactive prototypes using industry-standard design software (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD).

• Deep understanding and practical experience with design systems, including establishing patterns, components, and style guides for scalable product development.

• Strong collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to effectively articulate design rationale and build consensus with cross-functional teams (product managers, engineers, AI researchers).

• A genuine passion for AI and emerging technologies, with a desire to build user-friendly solutions that empower users to leverage generative AI capabilities. Preferred Skills:

• Experience specifically within enterprise B2B SaaS product design.

• Prior experience designing for AI/ML platforms or products involving generative models.

• Technical comfort with front-end development languages (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) to facilitate rapid prototyping and better collaboration with engineering.

• Familiarity with LLMs (Large Language Models) and a technical understanding of AI concepts.

• A "builder mindset" with a proactive approach to identifying and solving problems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "AI Literacy" requirement and preference for technical understanding of LLMs/AI are critical. Candidates should be prepared to discuss how they approach designing for AI, its potential pitfalls, and how they ensure user trust and control when interacting with generative technologies. Experience with front-end code is highly valued for rapid prototyping and efficient collaboration.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a minimum of 3-5 end-to-end product design case studies, detailing your role, process, and impact.

• For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your design process (research, ideation, prototyping, testing), key design decisions, and the final outcome.

• Demonstrate your ability to tackle complex problems and deliver user-centric, scalable solutions, particularly in B2B SaaS or AI-related contexts.

• Highlight your experience with design systems, including examples of components, patterns, and guidelines you've contributed to or established.

• Include examples of user research, journey mapping, and prototyping artifacts that illustrate your user-centered approach. Process Documentation:

• For each case study, provide clear documentation of the design process followed, emphasizing how user feedback and data informed iterative improvements.

• Detail how you collaborated with engineering and product management to ensure successful implementation and alignment with product strategy.

• Showcase your approach to problem-solving and how you navigated ambiguity to achieve design objectives.

• Include evidence of how your designs contributed to measurable business outcomes or improved user efficiency, particularly relevant to operations and workflow automation.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given Gradial's focus on AI and content operations, portfolios should emphasize case studies that demonstrate the ability to design for complex workflows, automate processes, and build trust in AI-driven features. Quantifiable results related to efficiency gains or user adoption are highly desirable.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $125,000 – $160,000 annually.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance.

• 401K Retirement Plan.

• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) and Paid Sick Leave.

• Employee Wellness Programs.

• Meaningful Equity Awards.

• Performance-based Bonuses.

Working Hours: Typically 40 hours per week, with flexibility expected in a startup environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is for the US market, specifically Seattle, WA. Seattle is a high-cost-of-living city with a competitive tech market, and this range aligns with senior-level product design roles in similar locations and industries. The comprehensive benefits package, including equity and performance bonuses, is standard for senior roles in growth-stage tech companies.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software / Artificial Intelligence / Marketing Technology / Content Operations.

Company Size: Gradial is a growth-stage startup, indicating a dynamic, fast-paced environment with a relatively small but rapidly expanding team. This means opportunities for significant impact and direct influence on product direction and company culture.

Founded: While the founding date isn't explicitly stated, the description as a "growth-stage startup backed by leading investors" implies a company that has moved beyond its initial seed funding and is in a phase of scaling operations and product development.

Team Structure:

• The design team is likely part of a larger Product organization, working closely with Product Management, Engineering, and AI Research teams.

• Expect a collaborative, cross-functional structure where designers are embedded within product squads or work on specific platform areas.

• Reporting structure likely involves a Design Lead or Head of Product, with direct collaboration across disciplines. Methodology:

• Data-driven decision-making, informed by user research, analytics, and AI insights.

• Agile and iterative development processes, emphasizing rapid prototyping and feedback loops.

• A focus on building scalable, robust solutions that can adapt to evolving AI technologies and market needs.

• Emphasis on "first principles" problem-solving and challenging the status quo.

Company Website: https://www.gradial.com/ (Assumed based on domain_derived)

📝 Enhancement Note: Gradial positions itself as an "AI-first company" focused on "AI-native content operations." This suggests a culture that embraces AI as a core tool for problem-solving, creativity, and scaling. Candidates should be prepared to discuss their comfort and experience with AI technologies and how they translate complex AI concepts into user-friendly interfaces. The "zero bureaucracy" and "hyper-growth" mentions point to a culture that values speed, ownership, and direct impact.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior Product Designer role, indicating a level of expertise and autonomy. It's a key individual contributor role with the potential to influence product strategy and mentor junior designers. The role is critical in shaping the user experience of a novel AI platform.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Product Designer will likely report to a Head of Product, Director of Design, or a similar leadership role. They will work in close collaboration with Product Managers and Engineering Leads.

Operations Impact: The designer's work will directly impact the efficiency and effectiveness of marketers and creatives using Gradial's platform. By simplifying complex AI workflows and automating tasks, the design will drive user adoption, customer satisfaction, and ultimately, revenue growth for Gradial by making its platform indispensable for content operations.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership: Potential to grow into a Lead Product Designer role, managing a small team or taking ownership of larger product areas.

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in AI product design, user research for AI, or design systems within an AI context.

• Strategic Influence: Contribute to product strategy and roadmap decisions based on design insights and user needs.

• Mentorship: Opportunity to mentor junior designers and contribute to building the design function within Gradial.

• Industry Impact: Be at the forefront of designing AI-native solutions that redefine content operations.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" title implies expectations of independent work, strategic thinking, and potentially mentoring. The rapid growth of a startup like Gradial often presents accelerated career progression opportunities for high performers, especially in critical product roles.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Gradial is an on-site role, suggesting a physical office space in Seattle, WA, designed to foster collaboration and innovation.

Office Location(s): Seattle, WA. This location is a hub for technology and AI innovation, offering a vibrant ecosystem for tech professionals.

Workspace Context:

• Expect a collaborative office environment designed for teamwork, brainstorming, and cross-functional interaction.

• Access to modern design tools and technology will be standard.

• Opportunities for direct interaction with engineering, product management, and AI research teams to ensure seamless integration of design into the development process.

• The office environment will likely reflect the company's fast-paced, innovative culture, with spaces conducive to both focused work and collaborative sessions.

Work Schedule: The stated working hours are 40 hours per week. However, in a startup environment, especially in a growth phase, there’s often an expectation of flexibility and a willingness to go the extra mile when needed. This schedule is compatible with deep work required for design tasks and iterative prototyping.

📝 Enhancement Note: An on-site role in a startup like Gradial typically implies a highly collaborative and engaged work environment. Candidates should be prepared to discuss their preferences for working in an office setting and how they contribute to a positive team dynamic.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will review your application and portfolio to assess qualifications and alignment with the role.

• Portfolio Review & Discussion: A dedicated session to walk through your portfolio, discussing your design process, problem-solving approach, and impact on previous projects. Expect questions about your experience with complex B2B SaaS, AI, and design systems.

• Cross-functional Interviews: Interviews with Product Managers, Engineers, and potentially AI Researchers to assess collaboration skills, technical understanding, and ability to work within a cross-functional team.

• Design Challenge/Exercise: You may be given a design exercise or case study to complete, either take-home or during an interview, to evaluate your design thinking and problem-solving skills in a realistic scenario.

• Hiring Manager/Leadership Interview: A final interview with the hiring manager or a senior leader to discuss strategic fit, cultural alignment, and career aspirations.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-5 of your strongest case studies that best represent your skills relevant to Gradial's needs (B2B SaaS, AI, complex workflows, design systems).

• Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process you followed, the challenges you faced, your design decisions, and the measurable outcomes. Use visuals effectively.

• Emphasize Process & Impact: Detail your thought process and how you used research, data, and collaboration to arrive at your solutions. Quantify impact where possible (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced task completion time, increased user satisfaction).

• Highlight AI & Complexity: If you have experience designing for AI or complex enterprise systems, make sure these case studies are prominent. Explain how you approached making these complex systems intuitive.

• Design System Expertise: If you have strong design system experience, showcase it clearly.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Product & User: Research Gradial's platform and target users (marketers, creatives). Understand the problems they are trying to solve with AI.

• Focus on Problem-Solving: For any take-home challenge, focus on demonstrating your design process and strategic thinking, not just the final UI.

• Communicate Your Rationale: Be prepared to articulate why you made specific design decisions, referencing user needs, business goals, and design principles.

• AI Considerations: If the challenge involves AI, consider how you'd design for trust, transparency, control, and potential biases.

📝 Enhancement Note: Gradial explicitly states they value AI literacy and want to understand your thinking. Avoid over-reliance on AI-generated responses in interviews. Focus on demonstrating your unique problem-solving abilities and how you'd leverage AI as a tool, not a crutch.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, InVision, Principle (or similar industry-standard tools).

• User Research & Testing: UserTesting.com, Lookback, Maze, Dovetail (or similar qualitative and quantitative UX research platforms).

• Design Systems: Figma (component libraries), Storybook (for code-based documentation), Zeroheight (documentation platforms).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics: Mixpanel, Amplitude, Google Analytics (for understanding user behavior and feature adoption).

• Data Visualization: Tableau, Power BI, Looker (for presenting data insights to stakeholders).

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly a design tool, familiarity with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) and marketing automation platforms can provide context for user workflows in B2B SaaS.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in modern design tools like Figma is essential. Experience with collaborative design systems and user research platforms will be highly valued. Familiarity with front-end code (HTML/CSS/JS) is a significant plus for rapid prototyping and effective collaboration with engineering teams.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Embrace AI: A core value is integrating AI as a primary tool for problem-solving, innovation, and scaling operations. Candidates must demonstrate comfort and curiosity with AI technologies.

• Ownership & Bias for Action: High degree of personal responsibility and a proactive approach to driving projects forward, characteristic of a fast-paced startup environment.

• Clarity & Curiosity: Open, honest, and clear communication, paired with a desire to ask questions and deeply understand problems.

• Fast-Paced, Hyper-Growth: Thriving in dynamic environments where building and iterating quickly is prioritized over maintaining the status quo. A "builder" mindset is key.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Close collaboration with Product Management, Engineering, and AI Research is fundamental to the design process.

• Iterative Feedback: An environment that encourages regular design reviews, constructive feedback exchange, and continuous improvement based on input from various stakeholders.

• Knowledge Sharing: A culture that promotes sharing insights, best practices, and learnings across teams to foster collective growth and efficiency.

📝 Enhancement Note: Gradial's emphasis on "AI Literacy" and "ownership" suggests a culture that values proactive individuals who are comfortable with cutting-edge technology and take initiative. The "zero bureaucracy" comment implies a lean, agile team structure where individuals are empowered.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for Novel AI Capabilities: Translating the power and complexity of generative AI into intuitive, trustworthy, and valuable user experiences.

• Balancing Ambiguity and Structure: Navigating the inherent ambiguity of a startup environment while establishing robust design processes and systems.

• Rapid Iteration and Scalability: Delivering high-quality designs quickly while ensuring they scale effectively as the product and user base grow.

• Cross-functional Alignment: Ensuring seamless collaboration and shared understanding across product, engineering, and AI research teams with diverse technical backgrounds.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Cutting-Edge AI Design: Deep dive into the emerging field of AI product design, user experience for generative models, and AI ethics in design.

• Design System Leadership: Opportunity to significantly shape and scale a design system in a rapidly growing product.

• Product Strategy Influence: Contribute directly to product vision and roadmap decisions, gaining strategic experience.

• Mentorship and Team Building: Potentially mentor junior designers and play a role in building out the design function at Gradial.

• Industry Exposure: Work at the forefront of AI-native content operations, a rapidly evolving and impactful sector.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary challenge and growth opportunity lie in being a pioneer in designing for generative AI in a practical, operational context. This role offers a chance to define best practices in a nascent field.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach designing a feature that allows users to generate website content using AI, ensuring brand consistency and user control?" (Focus on process, user needs, AI considerations).

• "Describe a time you had to balance conflicting feedback from engineering, product, and users. How did you navigate it, and what was the outcome?" (Highlight collaboration, compromise, user advocacy).

• "Imagine a scenario where a new AI model produces unexpected or undesirable outputs. How would your design process account for this, and how would you guide users through such situations?" (Demonstrate proactive design thinking for AI robustness and user support). Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you most about Gradial's mission and the AI-native content operations space?" (Show genuine interest and understanding of the market).

• "How do you approach building trust with users when they are interacting with AI technologies?" (Connect to design principles and user psychology).

• "Describe your ideal collaborative environment. How do you contribute to a positive and productive team dynamic?" (Align with Gradial's emphasis on collaboration and ownership). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: Begin with a high-level overview of the project and your role, then dive into the problem statement and your approach. Use visuals to illustrate key stages.

• Emphasize Your "Why": Clearly articulate the rationale behind your design decisions, connecting them to user needs, business goals, and design principles.

• Showcase Process, Not Just Pixels: Walk through your research, ideation, prototyping, and testing phases. Explain how you iterated based on feedback.

• Quantify Results: Whenever possible, present metrics that demonstrate the success or impact of your designs (e.g., improved user satisfaction, increased efficiency, higher conversion rates).

• Be Ready for AI Deep Dives: Prepare to discuss your thoughts on designing for AI, potential challenges, and your experience with similar technologies.

📝 Enhancement Note: Gradial's specific note on "AI Literacy & Interviewing Tools" is crucial. Focus on your unique thinking and problem-solving skills. Be prepared to discuss how you would leverage AI tools in your own design process, but the interview should showcase your capabilities, not just AI's.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the Gradial careers portal (linked via Greenhouse).

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features 3-5 end-to-end case studies that highlight your experience with B2B SaaS, complex workflows, design systems, and ideally, AI or innovative technologies. Tailor your case study descriptions to resonate with Gradial's mission.

• Resume Optimization: Update your resume to clearly articulate your experience with user-centric design, end-to-end product ownership, cross-functional collaboration, and any relevant AI or generative technology exposure. Use keywords from the job description.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, problem-solving methodologies, and the impact of your work. Prepare to discuss your thoughts on AI in design and your experience with collaborative environments.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Gradial's platform, mission, and values. Understand their target audience and the current landscape of AI-native content operations to demonstrate informed 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.