Senior Product Designer - Costa Rica | Contractor

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer - Costa Rica | Contractor

Company: Very LLC

Location: Costa Rica

Job Type: CONTRACTOR

Category: Product Design / UX/UI Design

Date Posted: 2026-06-02

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Remote Solely

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the end-to-end product design process, from initial client engagement in undefined problem spaces through to successful product launch and quality assurance.

• Drive product strategy and execution by working closely with clients and engineering teams to deliver impactful, scalable solutions.

• Integrate AI thoughtfully into design workflows to enhance pattern exploration and tool development, while maintaining human judgment at the core.

• Own the full design lifecycle, encompassing UX/UI design, interactive prototyping, user research, data visualization, and design systems development.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is for a Senior Product Designer operating as an independent contractor, focusing on client-facing projects within Very LLC's technology consulting domain. The emphasis is on delivering tangible, launched products rather than theoretical artifacts, requiring a strong blend of strategic thinking, design craft, and client management skills. The role actively encourages the integration of AI tools into the design process.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Spearhead product design initiatives by conducting discovery workshops, alignment sessions, and user feedback loops with clients and end-users.

• Develop comprehensive UX and UI designs, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups that effectively communicate design intent and user flows.

• Conduct thorough user research to gather insights that inform design decisions and validate solutions with target audiences.

• Design clear and actionable data visualizations for complex, data-heavy products, making intricate information accessible and understandable.

• Contribute to and maintain design systems, ensuring consistency, scalability, and efficiency across product offerings.

• Partner closely with engineering teams throughout the development lifecycle, ensuring design integrity and providing clear specifications for implementation.

• Perform design quality assurance (QA) to guarantee that shipped products align with the intended craft and user experience goals.

• Adapt to evolving project requirements and business needs, demonstrating comfort with ambiguity and a strong focus on achieving measurable outcomes.

• Integrate AI-powered tools and methodologies into the design workflow to explore new patterns, build specialized tools, and increase design fluidity between design and code.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a proactive, client-facing role that demands end-to-end ownership. The expectation is for a designer who can navigate ambiguity, drive strategy, and deliver concrete results, especially in complex, data-driven, and AI-integrated product environments. Strong emphasis on collaboration with clients and engineering is evident.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a strong portfolio and demonstrated experience in product design are paramount. Continuous learning and adaptation to new technologies like AI are implicitly required.

Experience:

• Minimum of 5-7 years of professional experience in product design, UX/UI, or a related field.

• Proven track record of successfully launching real-world products, encompassing both greenfield (zero-to-one) and iterative development projects.

• Demonstrated ability to manage projects independently, scope work effectively, and make sound decisions regarding project direction and resource allocation. Required Skills:

• Client Obsessed: Consistently prioritize client success, measuring technical and design choices by their business impact.

• Clear Communicator: Articulate design thinking, technical concepts, and project status effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders through written and verbal communication.

• Quality-Driven: Maintain exceptionally high standards for design quality, user experience, and product reliability.

• Ownership Mindset: Take full responsibility for delivering robust, real-world solutions from conception to deployment.

• Problem Solver: Thrive in complex environments, adept at finding effective solutions even when requirements are ambiguous or evolving.

• Design Systems Thinking: Core competency in developing, utilizing, and advocating for design systems to ensure consistency and scalability.

• AI Integration: Experience or demonstrated eagerness to integrate AI tools and methodologies into design practice for enhanced efficiency and exploration.

• Comfort with Ambiguity: Ability to operate effectively in situations with unclear requirements or shifting objectives.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in designing for the Internet of Things (IoT) and connected products.

• Familiarity with React, HTML, and CSS, with a willingness to learn and collaborate with developers on these technologies.

• Expertise in designing analytical products or interfaces for complex data visualization, making sophisticated information clear and actionable.

• Experience designing for agentic or AI-driven products, understanding how to create interfaces for systems that exhibit proactive behavior.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Skills" section is framed around core values that translate into practical competencies. The emphasis on "Client Obsessed," "Clear Communicator," "Quality-Driven," "Ownership Mindset," and "Problem Solver" indicates a need for a designer who is not only technically proficient but also a strong business partner and team player. The "Nice to Have" section provides clear areas for candidates to differentiate themselves.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a minimum of 5-7 years of design work, with a clear emphasis on projects that successfully launched into the market.

• Include case studies detailing the entire design lifecycle, from initial problem definition and discovery through to final product launch and post-launch iterations.

• Demonstrate experience in handling ambiguous project briefs and evolving client requirements, highlighting how you navigated uncertainty to achieve outcomes.

• Present examples of work involving design systems, illustrating your understanding of their application for consistency and scalability.

• Showcase projects where AI was integrated into the design process, explaining the tools used and the impact on efficiency or outcomes. Process Documentation:

• Illustrate your approach to conducting discovery workshops and client alignment sessions, detailing methodologies for problem framing and strategy development.

• Provide examples of how you facilitate user research and feedback, including methods for synthesizing insights and translating them into design decisions.

• Document your process for collaborating with engineering teams, demonstrating how you ensure design fidelity and effective implementation.

• Detail your approach to design QA, explaining how you ensure the final product meets quality standards and design intent.

• Showcase your understanding of designing for complex data or AI-driven systems, explaining the unique challenges and your strategic approach.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are heavily geared towards demonstrating practical impact and end-to-end ownership. Candidates must showcase launched products, client interaction, and adaptability. The inclusion of AI integration and design systems is a critical differentiator.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• USD $40 - $50 per hour. Benefits:

• As an independent contractor, standard employee benefits are not typically provided. This role offers the flexibility and autonomy associated with contract work. Working Hours:

• This is an ad-hoc hourly engagement. While specific hours are not defined, successful candidates are expected to dedicate the necessary time to fulfill project requirements and client needs. The role is suitable for individuals who can manage their own schedule effectively to meet deadlines and client demands, implying a typical full-time commitment (approx. 40 hours/week) is expected for project success.

📝 Enhancement Note: The compensation is clearly stated as an hourly rate for an independent contractor. The absence of traditional benefits is typical for this employment type. The working hours are project-dependent but implicitly suggest a commitment equivalent to full-time work for successful project delivery.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology Consulting, focused on creating efficient, scalable solutions for commercial, industrial, and consumer products, often involving connected devices and AI.

Company Size: Very LLC is a technology firm that operates as a fully distributed entity. While the exact number of employees isn't specified, the emphasis on a "tight-knit culture" and "collaborative, fully distributed" nature suggests a structured yet agile organization.

Founded: The founding date is not explicitly stated, but the company's history includes winning workplace awards and recognition, indicating a well-established presence.

Team Structure:

• The design team likely operates within client-specific project pods, collaborating closely with project managers, engineers, and directly with client stakeholders.

• As a contractor, you may not be part of a permanent internal design hierarchy but will integrate into project teams on an as-needed basis.

• Cross-functional collaboration is paramount, involving seamless interaction with clients, engineering, and potentially other design consultants or internal Very LLC leads. Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: Emphasis on using data and client needs to inform design decisions and measure business impact.

• Agile & Iterative: