Senior Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer

Company: PactFi

Location: New York, New York, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / FinTech Operations

Date Posted: 2026-07-24

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead end-to-end product design for critical platform surfaces, driving strategy and execution from problem framing to polished detail.

• Pioneer the development of the platform's first AI-native interaction patterns, shaping the future of user engagement with AI agents and modalities.

• Design complex, data-dense interfaces for sophisticated financial workflows, managing structured data at scale and intricate multi-party permissioning.

• Collaborate intimately with Product Management and Engineering to define product strategy, ensuring design decisions are rooted in clear rationale and business impact.

• Contribute to and evolve a robust design system, ensuring its extensibility and adaptability across diverse, evolving workflows and asset structures.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned within a rapidly evolving FinTech space, focusing on private asset markets. The emphasis on AI-native interaction patterns and complex financial data design suggests a need for a designer who can bridge innovative AI concepts with the rigorous demands of institutional finance. The "Hybrid" work arrangement in New York implies a need for strong remote collaboration skills alongside in-office presence for key team interactions.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the complete design lifecycle for one or two major product surfaces, from initial problem definition and user research to final implementation and iteration.

• Conceptualize, design, and deliver novel AI-native interaction patterns that integrate AI agents and new interaction modalities into a previously deterministic product.

• Develop intuitive and efficient user interfaces for managing dense, structured financial data, supporting long-running, multi-party workflows with complex, layered permission structures.

• Partner closely with Product Managers and Engineers to co-develop product strategy, articulating design rationale and contributing to strategic decision-making.

• Actively contribute to the growth and refinement of the company's design system, ensuring it supports future scalability and adaptability for new workflows and asset types.

• Champion design excellence through active participation in critiques and daily work, setting a high standard for design craft, product thinking, and collaborative process.

• Translate complex financial concepts and regulatory requirements into clear, usable, and elegant design solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities heavily lean into innovation at the intersection of AI and finance. The expectation to "design for dense, structured financial data at scale" and "multi-party, long-running workflows with layered permissions" indicates a need for a designer comfortable with complexity akin to enterprise-level financial systems, rather than consumer-facing applications.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

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

Experience: 5-10 years of professional experience in product design, with a strong track record of shipping complex software products.

Required Skills:

• Proven experience in end-to-end product design, from problem framing to polished execution, working collaboratively with cross-functional teams.

• Demonstrable, hands-on experience designing AI-native interaction patterns, with specific case studies or explored concepts showcasing fluency.

• Expertise in designing for dense, data-heavy interfaces, moving beyond typical consumer-style layouts to accommodate complex information architecture.

• Exceptional portfolio showcasing typography, interaction design, and visual design craft, alongside strong product sense and creative problem-solving abilities.

• Comprehensive experience with prototyping tools to effectively explore, test, and communicate design solutions.

• Excellent written, verbal communication, and storytelling skills, essential for articulating design rationale and collaborating with stakeholders.

• Deep understanding of user experience (UX) principles and information architecture. Preferred Skills:

• Experience within the FinTech industry, particularly in areas like private credit, private equity, or venture capital.

• Familiarity with AI agents, machine learning, and their application in user interfaces.

• Experience contributing to or building design systems for complex applications.

• Understanding of financial instruments, transaction workflows, and regulatory compliance in private markets.

• A strong point of view on how AI is reshaping the definition of a "product" and user interface design.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "AI-native interaction patterns" and "designing for dense, data-heavy interfaces" differentiates this role from standard UI/UX positions. Candidates must provide concrete evidence of their experience in these specific areas, not just general design capabilities. The "5-10 Years" experience level suggests a senior individual contributor role with significant autonomy.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Case studies demonstrating ownership of major product surfaces from conception to launch, highlighting strategic contributions.

• Detailed examples of designing AI-native interaction patterns and their impact on user workflow and efficiency.

• Visualizations and case studies showcasing expertise in designing dense, data-heavy financial interfaces, with explanations of information architecture choices.

• Prototypes and user flows illustrating complex multi-party workflows and permissioning systems.

• Evidence of contributions to or development of design systems, with examples of extensibility and consistency.

• Clear articulation of product sense, problem-solving approach, and how design decisions align with business objectives. Process Documentation:

• Case studies should detail the problem-solving process, including user research, ideation, iteration, and validation phases.

• Demonstrations of how prototyping was used to explore and refine design solutions for complex interactions.

• Examples of collaboration with engineering and product teams, showcasing the journey from concept to shipped product.

• Articulation of how design decisions address specific user needs and business requirements in a financial context.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio is critical for this role, especially for demonstrating experience with AI-native design and complex data interfaces. Candidates should prepare to walk through their case studies, explaining their thought process, design decisions, and the impact of their work with quantitative and qualitative data where possible. The focus is on demonstrating product thinking and strategic design contribution, not just visual execution.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $280,000 - $310,000 USD per year.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary and equity package, reflecting the senior nature of the role and its impact.

• Comprehensive healthcare coverage, including medical, dental, and vision plans.

• 401k retirement savings plan with potential company match.

• Opportunities for professional development and continued learning in emerging areas like AI and FinTech.

Working Hours: Standard 40-hour work week, with flexibility expected for a hybrid role and potential project deadlines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The provided salary range of $280,000 - $310,000 USD for a Senior Product Designer in New York is at the higher end of industry benchmarks, reflecting the specialized skills required (AI-native design, FinTech, data-heavy interfaces) and the senior level of the position. This range is informed by industry salary data for senior product designers in major tech hubs, adjusted for the specific demands of FinTech and advanced AI interaction design.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: FinTech, specifically focused on institutional alternative asset management (Private Credit, PE, VC, Real Estate). PactFi is building critical operational infrastructure for these markets.

Company Size: Likely a growing startup/scale-up, indicated by the need for experienced individuals to "own" product surfaces and shape design systems, moving from a "screen-first" to a more AI-integrated model. The company has achieved SOC 2 Type 2 attestation, signifying a strong commitment to security and operational maturity.

Founded: PactFi was developed in close partnership with industry leaders, suggesting a foundation built on deep domain expertise and market validation. This implies a culture that values pragmatism, deep understanding of user needs, and robust solutions.

Team Structure:

• The design team is likely small but impactful, with senior designers expected to operate with significant autonomy and influence.

• Close collaboration with Product Management and Engineering is a core tenet, suggesting a flat or matrixed structure where cross-functional input is valued.

• The role of a Senior Product Designer implies they will be a key contributor to defining design processes and standards within the company. Methodology:

• Data-driven decision-making is implied through the need to design for structured financial data and measure impact.

• Iterative development and continuous improvement are likely core, especially with the transition to AI-native patterns and evolving asset structures.

• Security and compliance are paramount, given the SOC 2 Type 2 attestation and the sensitive nature of financial transactions.

Company Website: https://pactfi.com

📝 Enhancement Note: PactFi operates in a high-stakes, data-intensive sector. The culture is likely to be professional, detail-oriented, and focused on delivering secure, scalable solutions. The emphasis on partnership with industry giants suggests a culture that respects deep domain knowledge and practical application.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior Individual Contributor role. The expectations are to "own" product surfaces, design AI-native patterns from scratch, and influence the design system. This positions the individual as a key technical leader within the design function, not necessarily a people manager at this stage.

Reporting Structure: The role will likely report to a Head of Product, VP of Product, or potentially a Design Lead/Director if one exists. Close collaboration with Product Managers and Engineering Leads on their specific product surface is expected.

Operations Impact: The Senior Product Designer will have a direct and significant impact on PactFi's core offering: the operational infrastructure for private asset markets. By designing intuitive, AI-enhanced interfaces for complex financial transactions, they will directly influence platform adoption, user efficiency, capital allocation, and ultimately, the company's success in a rapidly growing market. The ability to design for evolving asset structures and AI integration will be crucial for PactFi's competitive edge.

Growth Opportunities:

• Deep Domain Expertise: Opportunity to become a subject matter expert in private credit, PE, VC, and real estate transaction management, a highly valuable niche in FinTech.

• AI Design Leadership: Chance to be a pioneer in designing AI-native interfaces for institutional finance, shaping future product development and industry standards.

• Design System Evolution: Lead contributions to and potentially own the growth and strategic direction of a critical design system, impacting multiple product areas.

• Strategic Influence: Grow from a design executor to a strategic partner, influencing product roadmaps and business direction through design thinking.

• Potential Leadership: As the company scales, there's potential to move into leadership roles, managing a design team or specializing in specific product domains.

📝 Enhancement Note: The growth path for this role is strongly tied to both technical design leadership and deepening expertise in the FinTech domain. The opportunity to shape AI integration in a complex financial product offers significant career development potential.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid. This suggests a blend of remote work and in-office collaboration, likely requiring the designer to be based in or near New York City to facilitate in-person meetings, workshops, and team cohesion.

Office Location(s): New York, New York, United States. This prime location offers access to a vast talent pool, industry events, and a vibrant ecosystem for FinTech innovation.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The hybrid model necessitates strong digital collaboration tools and practices, alongside planned in-office sessions for intensive teamwork, brainstorming, and design critiques.

• Tools & Technology: Expect access to modern design and prototyping software, robust communication platforms (e.g., Slack, Zoom), and potentially specialized financial data visualization tools.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for close interaction with product managers, engineers, and potentially domain experts from partner institutions, fostering a learning-rich environment.

Work Schedule: While a standard 40-hour work week is implied, the nature of product development, especially with AI integration and complex financial cycles, might require flexibility to meet project milestones and launch deadlines.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a hybrid role in New York, candidates should be prepared for a structured approach to in-office days, likely focused on high-impact collaborative activities. The environment will demand strong self-management and proactive communication.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Application & Portfolio Review: Initial screening based on resume and portfolio, with a strong emphasis on AI-native design and data-heavy interface case studies.

2. Hiring Manager/Design Lead Interview: Discussion about your experience, design philosophy, approach to problem-solving, and cultural fit. This stage will likely delve into your portfolio case studies in detail.

3. Design Challenge/Workshop: A practical exercise, potentially involving a design prompt related to AI integration or complex financial data, to assess your design thinking, problem-solving skills, and execution under time constraints. This could be a take-home assignment or an in-person/virtual workshop.

4. Cross-functional Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers and Engineering Leads to assess collaboration skills, ability to articulate technical design rationale, and understanding of product strategy.

5. Final Interview: Potentially with a senior leader (e.g., Head of Product, CEO) to discuss strategic vision, long-term impact, and final cultural alignment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 case studies that most directly showcase your experience with AI-native design, data-heavy interfaces, complex workflows, and end-to-end ownership.

• Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly articulate: the problem, your role and process, the challenges encountered, your design decisions (and why), the solutions, and the impact (quantified if possible).

• Highlight AI & Data: Explicitly detail your approach to designing AI interactions and visualizing dense financial data. Explain the trade-offs considered.

• Show Craft: Ensure visual and interaction design quality is high, demonstrating attention to detail, typography, and usability.

• Prepare for Questions: Be ready to discuss your design choices, how you collaborated, how you handled feedback, and what you learned.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Research private credit markets, common transaction types, and the challenges PactFi aims to solve.

• Think AI-First: Consider how AI could augment or transform existing financial workflows, not just automate tasks.

• Focus on Data & Permissions: Practice designing for complex data structures and multi-stakeholder access.

• Structure Your Thinking: Prepare to articulate your thought process logically, covering problem definition, ideation, constraints, proposed solutions, and potential trade-offs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will heavily scrutinize the candidate's portfolio for specific, relevant experience. Candidates should be prepared to defend their design decisions with strong rationale and demonstrate an understanding of the FinTech and AI landscape. The "Senior" title implies a high bar for strategic thinking and execution.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop), InVision, Axure RP, or similar advanced prototyping tools.

• AI Interaction Design Tools: Tools or frameworks for conceptualizing and prototyping AI agent interactions and generative AI interfaces may be relevant.

• Data Visualization Tools: Proficiency in tools or libraries for visualizing complex datasets (though this might be more on the engineering side, understanding them is key).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Understanding of how design impacts key metrics (e.g., user engagement, task completion rates, conversion rates, efficiency gains). Familiarity with product analytics platforms (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel) and BI tools is a plus. CRM & Automation:

• While not directly a CRM role, understanding how user data is managed and how automation impacts workflows is beneficial for designing user-centric solutions. Collaboration & Project Management:

• Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace, Asana, Jira, Confluence, or similar tools for seamless team communication and project tracking.

📝 Enhancement Note: While specific tools aren't listed, the role implies proficiency in industry-standard design and prototyping software. The key is not just using the tools, but understanding how they facilitate the design of complex, data-rich, and AI-driven user experiences. Familiarity with tools that support AI development or data visualization would be a significant advantage.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Excellence & Craft: A commitment to high-quality design, attention to detail, and polished execution in every aspect of the product.

• Data-Driven Innovation: Utilizing data and user insights to inform design decisions, particularly in the context of AI and complex financial workflows.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Open communication, active feedback exchange, and a willingness to work closely with cross-functional teams to achieve shared goals.

• Pragmatism & Impact: Focusing on delivering practical, impactful solutions that directly address user needs and business objectives, especially within the demanding FinTech environment.

• Adaptability & Future-Forward Thinking: Embracing new technologies like AI and adapting design strategies to evolving market demands and asset structures.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Partnership: Design is seen as an integral part of the product development process, working hand-in-hand with PM and Engineering from inception to launch.

• Critique-Oriented: Regular design critiques and feedback sessions are essential for refining ideas and upholding design quality.

• Knowledge Sharing: A culture that encourages sharing best practices, learnings, and insights across the team to foster collective growth and innovation.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company likely values a proactive, collaborative, and results-oriented culture. Designers are expected to be both creative problem-solvers and strategic thinkers who can contribute to the overall product vision. The emphasis on AI and complex financial markets suggests a need for continuous learning and a pragmatic approach to innovation.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for the Unknown: Creating the first AI-native interactions means there's no established playbook; designers must experiment and define new patterns.

• Complexity of Financial Data: Translating intricate financial instruments, long-term workflows, and layered permissions into intuitive user experiences is inherently challenging.

• Balancing Innovation with Stability: Integrating cutting-edge AI while maintaining the bank-grade security and reliability expected in FinTech requires careful design and rigorous testing.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Ensuring buy-in and clear communication across Product, Engineering, and potentially client stakeholders for novel design directions.

• Evolving Asset Structures: Designing a system that can gracefully accommodate new and unforeseen deal/asset structures requires a highly adaptable and extensible design approach.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI Design Specialization: Deep dive into the emerging field of AI-native user interfaces and AI agent interactions.

• FinTech Domain Mastery: Develop profound expertise in the operational complexities of private asset markets.

• System Design Thinking: Enhance skills in designing scalable, extensible design systems that support complex applications.

• Strategic Product Influence: Grow in ability to influence product strategy and roadmap through impactful design leadership.

• Industry Exposure: Potential to engage with industry leaders through partnerships and client interactions, gaining insights into market trends.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents significant challenges that are also its greatest growth opportunities. The candidate will be at the forefront of applying AI to institutional finance, requiring continuous learning and adaptation.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach designing an AI agent that acts as a participant in a private credit transaction, considering its permissions, data access, and interaction with human users?" (Focus on outlining a process for defining AI behavior, user experience, and integration into existing workflows.)

• "Describe a time you had to design for extremely dense, structured financial data. What were the key challenges, and how did you ensure usability and clarity?" (Prepare a case study highlighting information architecture, data visualization, and UI design for complex datasets.)

• "PactFi's platform manages long-running workflows with layered permissions. How would you design a system that provides clarity and control to multiple parties with differing access levels over time?" (Discuss strategies for state management, permission visualization, and user guidance in complex, multi-party environments.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What is your understanding of the private asset markets, and why are you interested in designing operational infrastructure for them?" (Research PactFi's market, competitors, and value proposition.)

• "How do you see AI fundamentally changing the role of product design in financial services?" (Articulate your vision for AI-driven design and its implications.)

• "Describe your ideal collaboration style with product managers and engineers on a complex product initiative." (Emphasize your approach to communication, feedback, and shared ownership.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Start with the "Why": Clearly articulate the business problem and user need for each case study.

• Show Your Process: Walk through your research, ideation, wireframing, prototyping, and testing phases. Explain the rationale behind key decisions.

• Focus on Impact: Quantify results where possible (e.g., improved efficiency, reduced errors, increased user satisfaction). If quantitative data isn't available, focus on qualitative impact and user feedback.

• Highlight AI/Data Expertise: Dedicate specific points in your presentation to your AI-native design concepts and your approach to handling complex financial data.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Expect detailed questions about your design choices, trade-offs, and how you would handle specific scenarios within PactFi's context.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should prepare to speak authoritatively about AI design principles, FinTech operational challenges, and the nuances of designing for institutional clients. The interview will assess not just design skills but strategic thinking and domain interest.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest case studies that best showcase your end-to-end product design experience, with a particular focus on AI-native interactions and dense, data-heavy financial interfaces. Ensure these case studies clearly articulate the problem, your process, your design decisions, and the impact.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight experience in FinTech, AI-driven product design, complex data visualization, and cross-functional collaboration. Use keywords from the job description such as "AI-native interaction patterns," "data-heavy interfaces," and "multi-party workflows."

• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice articulating your design philosophy, your approach to solving complex problems, and your passion for innovation in financial technology. Be ready to discuss your portfolio in detail and answer strategy questions related to AI and financial operations.

• Research PactFi: Understand their mission, target market (private asset management), their technology stack (SOC 2 Type 2), and the specific design challenges they are addressing. This will enable you to tailor your responses and demonstrate 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.

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