Senior Product Designer | US

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer | US

Company: Degreed

Location: US Based | Remote

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / UX/UI Design

Date Posted: 2026-08-11T21:35:33

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead end-to-end product design for features within Degreed's enterprise learning and skills platform, encompassing both traditional UI and AI-driven experiences.

• Drive AI-first design thinking, determining the appropriate balance between visible UI and invisible AI automation for optimal user workflows and auditable outcomes.

• Extend and maintain a robust design system, ensuring consistency and scalability across a complex product suite serving both administrators and individual learners.

• Collaborate directly with Product Managers and Engineers in a remote-first, agile environment, fostering a cohesive product development lifecycle.

• Leverage prompt engineering and a deep understanding of AI capabilities to design innovative conversational agents and AI-integrated features.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is highly focused on the intersection of traditional product design and emerging AI capabilities. The emphasis on "AI-native design judgment" and deciding "what should disappear into automation" suggests a strategic role that influences the fundamental architecture of user interactions, not just their visual representation. The "Senior" title and the expectation of owning features end-to-end, including problem framing and impact measurement, indicate a significant level of autonomy and strategic input.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• End-to-End Feature Ownership: Take full ownership of the design process for new features, from initial problem identification and discovery through detailed specification, development support, launch, and post-launch impact analysis.

• AI Workflow Design: Critically assess each new workflow to determine if a visible user interface (UI) is necessary, or if AI can effectively handle the task invisibly while ensuring the outcome remains observable and auditable for the user.

• Design System Evolution: Actively contribute to the growth and maintenance of Degreed's component-based design system, making informed decisions on when to reuse existing patterns and when to introduce new ones based on strategic product needs.

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Collaborate closely with Product Managers and Engineering Leads to define project scope, refine requirements, and ensure design feasibility throughout the development cycle.

• Customer-Centric Discovery: Conduct customer calls and direct user research to gather insights, validate design hypotheses, and deeply understand user needs and business objectives, translating these into actionable design solutions.

• AI Interaction Design: Design and integrate conversational experiences and agent-facing interactions, extending the design system to accommodate emerging AI interaction patterns and best practices.

• Design Audits & Refinement: Regularly audit existing product surfaces, including administrative tools and learner-facing workflows, to identify and address inconsistencies, aiming to reduce complexity and improve overall user experience.

• Presentation & Feedback Integration: Present design work effectively in reviews, incorporating constructive feedback from cross-functional teams while safeguarding the integrity of the core interaction model.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of deep craft, strategic thinking, and collaborative execution. The emphasis on auditing existing surfaces and reworking them suggests a focus on improving technical debt and user experience in mature product areas. The direct involvement in customer calls and research underscores the importance of user advocacy within the product team.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), or a related field is often preferred for senior roles, demonstrating a foundational understanding of design principles and methodologies. Equivalent practical experience will also be considered.

Experience: 5-10 years of professional experience in product design, with a strong track record of shipping complex features in a SaaS or enterprise software environment.

Required Skills:

• Product Design Craft: Proven ability to translate ambiguous or conflicting requirements from enterprise clients and internal stakeholders into well-defined, buildable specifications, with a strong grasp of both interaction models and visual execution.

• AI-Native Design Judgment: Demonstrated capacity to evaluate workflows for AI suitability, discerning when an outcome is observable, reversible, and auditable before delegating to automation.

• Prototyping for Validation: Proficiency in creating interactive, near-functional prototypes (using code, AI-assisted tools, or advanced prototyping software) to test design directions and gather early feedback.

• Prompt Engineering & AI Technical Acumen: Experience in prompt engineering for conversational agents and a working understanding of AI capabilities and limitations (accuracy, latency, context) to assess feasibility of AI-driven product features.

• Design Systems Fluency: Extensive experience in extending, maintaining, and contributing to component-based design systems, with the judgment to apply existing patterns judiciously or justify new ones.

• Customer Understanding & Research: Strong ability to conduct discovery research, usability testing, and user interviews, effectively synthesizing insights to inform design decisions and advocate for user needs.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Proven ability to partner effectively with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders, presenting work clearly and incorporating feedback constructively.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing for both dense administrative interfaces and more fluid learner-facing experiences within a single platform.

• Familiarity with AI interaction patterns beyond basic chatbots, such as agent-facing interfaces and AI-assisted workflows.

• Experience with data visualization and dashboard design for enterprise analytics.

• Understanding of learning and development (L&D) technology landscapes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" level implies a need for strategic thinking and the ability to mentor junior designers. The emphasis on distinguishing stated requests from underlying needs is a critical skill for senior product roles in enterprise software, where client requests can sometimes be superficial.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• End-to-End Case Studies: Showcase 2-3 comprehensive case studies demonstrating ownership from problem framing and discovery through to final design and impact. Clearly articulate the problem, your role, the design process, key decisions, and measurable outcomes.

• AI Integration Examples: Include specific examples of how you've designed for or considered AI capabilities, demonstrating your judgment on UI vs. automation, and any experience with conversational interfaces or prompt engineering.

• Design System Contributions: Highlight your experience with design systems, whether it's extending, maintaining, or contributing new components. Show how you ensure consistency and scalability.

• Prototyping & Interaction Design: Provide examples of interactive prototypes that were used for validation or user testing, showcasing your ability to communicate complex interactions effectively.

• User Research Synthesis: Demonstrate how you've incorporated user research and customer feedback into your design process, showing the impact of these insights on the final solution.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Optimization: Detail processes where you have identified inefficiencies in user workflows and designed solutions to streamline them, ideally with a focus on how AI could be leveraged.

• Design System Governance: Explain your approach to maintaining design system integrity, including how you handle requests for new components and ensure adherence to established patterns.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration Framework: Illustrate how you typically collaborate with Product Managers and Engineers, detailing your process for scoping, feedback, and handoff.

• AI Design Decision Framework: Articulate your thought process for deciding when to use UI versus AI, including criteria for observability, reversibility, and auditability.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Senior Product Designer role with an AI focus, a portfolio needs to go beyond just polished UI mockups. It must demonstrate strategic thinking about user flows, a deep understanding of AI's potential and limitations, and the ability to integrate these into a cohesive design system and product strategy. Case studies should explicitly address the "AI-native design judgment" required.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: The total pay range for this role is $140,000 - $160,000 USD per year.

• Methodology: This range is provided directly by the company. As a Senior Product Designer in the US, with 5-10 years of experience, this compensation aligns with industry benchmarks for remote roles in established tech companies, especially those focused on enterprise SaaS and AI. Factors influencing the specific offer include the depth of the candidate's experience in AI-native design, design systems, and enterprise product development, as well as their specific location within the US and its cost of living.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Medical, dental, and vision insurance plans.

• Retirement Savings: 401(k) plan, potentially with company match.

• Paid Time Off: Generous vacation, sick leave, and paid holidays.

• Professional Development: Opportunities for continued learning, training, and conference attendance.

• Remote Work Stipend: Potential support for home office setup and ongoing remote work expenses.

• Wellness Programs: Initiatives focused on employee well-being.

• Parental Leave: Supportive policies for new parents.

• Equity/Stock Options: Potential for stock grants as part of the compensation package.

Working Hours: Standard full-time hours are expected, typically around 40 hours per week. The role is remote-first, offering flexibility in how the workday is structured, but requiring availability for core collaboration hours and team meetings.

📝 Enhancement Note: The provided salary range is specific and aligns with senior-level product design roles in the US tech market, particularly for remote positions. The benefits are standard for a company of Degreed's profile and are designed to support a remote workforce.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Education Technology (EdTech) / Workforce Transformation / Enterprise Software. Degreed operates at the forefront of professional development, providing a platform that integrates diverse learning resources and skill development tools for large organizations. The company's focus on AI and workforce readiness places it in a dynamic and rapidly evolving sector.

Company Size: Degreed is a well-established company, indicated by its recognition as one of Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies. While the exact number of employees isn't provided, its scale suggests a robust product organization with dedicated teams for engineering, product, and design.

Founded: Degreed was founded with the mission to transform how people learn and advance in their careers, focusing on building the infrastructure for a learning culture that attracts, develops, and retains talent. This founding principle continues to drive its product innovation, particularly in its AI-driven approach.

Team Structure:

• Product Design Team: The design team is responsible for shaping user experiences across Degreed's learning platform, skills data layer, and AI coach (Maestro). It's a distributed, remote-first team.

• Cross-Functional Pods: Designers work in close collaboration with Product Managers and Engineers, likely organized into agile pods or feature teams, allowing for direct partnership rather than a traditional hand-off process.

• Reporting: Senior Product Designers typically report to a Design Lead, Director of Product Design, or Head of Design, who oversees the overall design strategy and team development.

Methodology:

• Agile Development: The product development process is likely agile, emphasizing iterative development, continuous feedback, and close collaboration between design, product, and engineering.

• AI-First Design Thinking: A core methodology is to question the necessity of UI, prioritizing automation where possible while ensuring user control and oversight for critical functions.

• Design System Centricity: The design system is a foundational element, ensuring consistency and efficiency across a broad product surface.

• Data-Driven Iteration: Insights from user research, product analytics, and customer feedback are used to inform design decisions and iterate on features.

Company Website: https://degreed.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's emphasis on innovation, AI, and workforce transformation suggests a culture that values forward-thinking design and a proactive approach to problem-solving. The remote-first nature of the team is a significant cultural aspect for potential applicants.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior Product Designer role, indicating a mid-to-senior level position. It requires a high degree of autonomy, strategic thinking, and the ability to lead design initiatives from conception to launch. Senior designers are expected to not only execute design but also to influence product strategy and mentor junior team members.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Product Designer will likely report to a Design Manager or Director of Product Design. They will work closely within cross-functional product teams (pods) alongside Product Managers and Software Engineers, acting as the primary design representative for their assigned product areas.

Operations Impact: The impact of this role is significant, directly shaping how millions of users within large enterprises learn, develop skills, and engage with AI-powered coaching. Decisions made by this designer will influence user adoption, skill development outcomes, and ultimately, the workforce transformation capabilities of Degreed's clients. The integration of AI aims to enhance efficiency and effectiveness at scale.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Development: Potential to grow into a Lead Product Designer role, managing a small team or a specific product area, and taking on more strategic design leadership responsibilities.

• Specialization in AI Design: Deepen expertise in designing for AI and conversational interfaces, becoming a subject matter expert within the company and the broader industry.

• Product Strategy Influence: Contribute more significantly to product strategy, roadmap planning, and the overall design vision for Degreed's platform.

• Mentorship: Opportunity to mentor and guide junior designers, fostering their growth and development within the team.

• Cross-Functional Mobility: Potential to move into related roles such as Product Management or UX Research leadership roles, leveraging a deep understanding of the product and user needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The growth trajectory for a Senior Product Designer at a company like Degreed is typically focused on deepening expertise in AI design, taking on more strategic product leadership, or moving into management. The emphasis on AI indicates a forward-looking career path with high demand for these skills.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Degreed operates as a remote-first company. While they may have physical office spaces, the primary mode of work for this role is remote, offering significant flexibility.

Office Location(s): The role is listed as "US Based | Remote," indicating that while the company likely has offices, the position is open to candidates located anywhere within the United States. Specific office locations are not detailed, but the focus is on remote work capability.

Workspace Context:

• Virtual Collaboration: The primary workspace will be digital, utilizing tools like Slack for communication, Zoom for video conferencing, and Degreed's own platform for design collaboration and project management.

• Tools & Technology: Access to a robust suite of design tools, prototyping software, and potentially AI-assisted design tools will be provided or expected. Collaboration with engineers will involve shared platforms for specifications and QA.

• Flexibility & Autonomy: The remote-first environment allows for flexibility in structuring the workday, but requires strong self-discipline, time management, and proactive communication to maintain effective collaboration with distributed teams.

Work Schedule: Standard full-time work hours (approximately 40 hours per week) are expected. While the specific timing can be flexible to accommodate different time zones within the US, candidates must be available for scheduled meetings, design reviews, and collaborative sessions with their product teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote-first nature of the environment is a key characteristic. Applicants should be comfortable with virtual collaboration and possess strong self-management skills. The mention of "prolonged computer use and stationary work" is standard for design roles but confirms the nature of the tasks.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will review applications and portfolios, likely followed by a brief screening call to assess basic qualifications and cultural fit.

• Design Challenge/Portfolio Review: A more in-depth session focusing on your portfolio. This may involve presenting 1-2 key case studies, walking through your design process, and discussing your contributions, particularly those involving AI or design systems. Expect questions about your problem-solving approach and how you handle ambiguity.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Interviews with Product Managers and Engineering Leads you would be collaborating with. These will assess your collaboration style, technical understanding, and ability to work effectively in a pod. Expect questions about how you approach scoping, feedback, and technical constraints.

• Hiring Manager/Team Lead Interview: A final interview with the Design Manager or Director to discuss your overall experience, leadership potential, and alignment with the team's culture and strategic goals. This is also an opportunity to ask in-depth questions about the team, role, and company.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 projects that best showcase your end-to-end design process, your ability to handle complex problems, and your experience with AI, design systems, or enterprise software.

• Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your unique role and contributions, the design process you followed (including research and iteration), key decisions made, and the measurable impact of your work.

• Highlight AI & Design Systems: Explicitly call out any projects where you tackled AI integration challenges or significantly contributed to/leveraged a design system. Explain your decision-making process in these areas.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals effectively – wireframes, user flows, interactive prototypes, and final UI – to illustrate your design solutions. For AI projects, consider how you'd represent conversational flows or AI-driven interactions.

• Be Prepared for Questions: Anticipate questions about your design rationale, how you handle conflicting feedback, your understanding of technical constraints, and your approach to user research and validation.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the "Why": If a design challenge is given, focus on understanding the core business problem and user needs before jumping into solutions.

• Structure Your Approach: Outline your process clearly, whether it's for a take-home challenge or a live exercise. This includes research, ideation, prototyping, and justification of your choices.

• AI Considerations: For any challenge, consider how AI could play a role, even if not explicitly stated. Think about whether UI is necessary or if AI could automate aspects of the workflow.

• Communicate Your Thinking: Clearly articulate your assumptions, design decisions, and rationale, especially regarding AI integration and design system usage.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on AI-native design judgment means interviewers will probe deeply into how candidates approach AI-driven features, not just how they look, but how they function, their limitations, and their integration into broader workflows. Portfolio presentations should explicitly address these aspects.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design Software: Figma is the industry standard for modern product design, likely used extensively for UI design, prototyping, and collaboration. Sketch is another possibility.

• Prototyping Tools: In addition to Figma's built-in capabilities, tools like Principle, ProtoPie, or even custom code might be used for highly interactive prototypes.

• AI Design Tools: Candidates may leverage AI-assisted tools for ideation, component generation, or rapid prototyping. Experience with prompt engineering interfaces is also key.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics: Tools like Amplitude, Mixpanel, or Google Analytics are crucial for understanding user behavior, feature adoption, and impact measurement.

• Data Visualization: Tableau, Power BI, or Looker might be used for deeper data analysis and reporting, especially for enterprise clients.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM: While not directly a designer's primary tool, understanding how CRM data (e.g., Salesforce) might inform user profiles or enterprise needs is beneficial.

• Project Management & Collaboration: Jira, Asana, Trello for task tracking and agile workflows. Slack for real-time communication. Confluence for documentation.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma is almost certainly a requirement. The mention of AI tools and prompt engineering suggests that familiarity with AI-powered design assistants or platforms is highly valued. Experience with product analytics tools is important for measuring design impact.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Growth Mindset: A core value at Degreed, encouraging continuous learning and skill development, which is critical for a role involving cutting-edge AI technology.

• Collaboration: Strong emphasis on teamwork and open communication across product, design, and engineering, essential for a remote-first, cross-functional environment.

• Diversity & Inclusion: Commitment to celebrating diverse perspectives and fostering an inclusive environment where all team members can thrive.

• Impact-Driven: Focus on delivering measurable impact through product design, particularly in driving workforce transformation and learning outcomes.

• AI-First Approach: A proactive culture that embraces innovation and explores how AI can fundamentally improve user experiences and business processes.

Collaboration Style:

• Remote-First & Asynchronous: While real-time collaboration exists, there's an expectation of effective asynchronous communication and documentation to accommodate distributed teams and flexible schedules.

• Direct Partnership: Designers work directly alongside Product Managers and Engineers within agile pods, fostering a highly integrated and collaborative workflow.

• Constructive Feedback: A culture that encourages open design reviews and constructive feedback to elevate the quality of work and protect the integrity of the product.

• User Advocacy: Designers are expected to be strong advocates for the end-user, bringing customer insights and user-centered perspectives into all discussions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of "AI-First" and "Growth Mindset" as company values directly relates to the nature of this Senior Product Designer role. Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate how they embody these values in their work and approach.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing UI and AI Automation: The primary challenge is determining the optimal balance between visible, controllable UI elements and invisible, automated AI processes, ensuring user trust, audibility, and effectiveness.

• Designing for Diverse Audiences: Creating cohesive experiences that cater to both dense administrative tools for L&D teams and more fluid interfaces for individual learners within the same platform.

• Rapidly Evolving AI Landscape: Keeping pace with advancements in AI technology and integrating new capabilities into the product design strategy effectively and responsibly.

• Maintaining Design System Scalability: Ensuring the design system remains robust and adaptable as the product grows and incorporates new interaction paradigms like conversational AI.

• Remote Collaboration Effectiveness: Maintaining strong team cohesion, communication, and design quality within a fully remote environment.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI Design Specialization: Deep dive into prompt engineering, conversational AI design patterns, and ethical AI considerations, becoming a leader in this emerging field.

• Enterprise SaaS Design: Gain extensive experience designing for complex enterprise workflows and understanding the unique needs of large organizations.

• Design System Mastery: Contribute to the strategic evolution of a mature design system, potentially influencing its adoption and governance.

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Develop skills in product strategy, technical feasibility assessment, and influencing roadmap decisions through close collaboration with PM and Engineering.

• Industry Conferences & Training: Access to resources for attending relevant design and AI conferences, workshops, and online courses to stay ahead of industry trends.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are directly tied to the core responsibilities and the evolving nature of AI in product design. The growth opportunities emphasize specialization in AI and leadership within a product design context.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to decide whether a workflow should be handled by AI or a visible UI. What factors did you consider, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on your AI-native design judgment framework.)

• "How would you approach designing a new feature for Degreed's platform that leverages AI to help users discover relevant learning content? Walk me through your process from problem framing to proposed solution." (Demonstrate end-to-end design thinking and AI integration.)

• "Imagine you're tasked with auditing and improving the consistency of Degreed's admin settings interface. What would be your approach, and what metrics would you use to measure success?" (Showcase your process for auditing and refining existing surfaces.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you most about Degreed's mission and its role in workforce transformation?" (Connect your passion to the company's purpose.)

• "How do you approach collaboration within a remote-first, cross-functional team? Describe your ideal working relationship with Product Managers and Engineers." (Highlight your collaboration style and remote work experience.)

• "How do you stay updated on the latest advancements in AI and how do you think they will impact product design?" (Demonstrate your growth mindset and forward-thinking approach.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, start with the business problem and user need, clearly define your role and scope, detail your design process (research, ideation, prototyping, testing), explain key decisions (especially AI-related ones), and present the impact/outcomes with data.

• Emphasize AI & Design System Impact: Explicitly call out how AI was integrated or considered, and how your work interacted with or evolved the design system. Quantify the benefits where possible (e.g., efficiency gains, improved user satisfaction).

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about your design rationale, alternative solutions considered, trade-offs made, and how you handled ambiguity or conflicting feedback.

• Showcase Interaction & AI Flows: Use interactive prototypes or clear diagrams to explain complex interactions, especially those involving AI or conversational elements.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interviewers will likely probe heavily into your decision-making process regarding AI versus UI, your understanding of prompt engineering, and how you integrate these into a cohesive design system. Be prepared to discuss specific examples and articulate your strategic approach.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided Greenhouse link.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight projects that demonstrate your end-to-end design process, AI-native design judgment, and design system expertise. Prioritize case studies that showcase AI integration or the decision-making process around UI vs. automation.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your years of experience, specific skills (e.g., Figma, prompt engineering, user research), and achievements related to shipping complex features, improving user experiences, and working with AI technologies. Use keywords from the job description.

• Interview Preparation: Practice presenting your portfolio case studies, focusing on storytelling, clear articulation of your design process, and the impact of your work. Prepare to answer strategy questions related to AI design and user workflow optimization. Research Degreed's product and mission thoroughly.

• Company Research: Understand Degreed's position in the EdTech market, their focus on workforce transformation, and their AI strategy. Be ready to discuss how your design philosophy aligns with their values of growth, collaboration, and AI-first innovation.

⚠️ 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.