Sr. Product Designer - Ad Experience

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Sr. Product Designer - Ad Experience

Company: Warner Bros. Discovery

Location: New York, NY; Atlanta, GA; Washington, DC

Job Type: Full time

Category: Product Design / User Experience

Date Posted: 2026-09-16

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the design and evolution of CNN's digital advertisement experiences across desktop web, mobile web, mobile app, and video surfaces, balancing user engagement with monetization objectives.

• Conceptualize and develop user flows, mockups, and interactive prototypes for new digital advertisement features, ensuring seamless integration and optimal user experience.

• Drive user research and usability testing initiatives to gain deep insights into consumer behavior and inform design decisions for ad products.

• Contribute to and maintain components within a robust design system, ensuring consistency, scalability, and adherence to brand guidelines across all platforms.

• Act as a strategic design advocate, championing design principles, the product roadmap, and the needs of editorial and business stakeholders to shape the future of CNN's monetization strategies.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned within the Ad Experience team, a critical intersection of user experience and revenue generation for CNN. The emphasis on "reconciling ad revenue considerations, site performance, user subscriptions, and user engagement" indicates a need for a designer who can navigate complex business requirements while prioritizing user satisfaction. The role requires a strategic thinker who can act as the "tip of the spear" for new initiatives, bridging design with product management, engineering, research, and data science.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Evolve CNN's advertising products and digital footprints across desktop web, mobile web, mobile app, and video surfaces by creating user flows, mockups, and interactive prototypes.

• Conceptualize and validate new ad products and footprints through collaboration with stakeholders, product managers, engineers, designers, researchers, and data scientists.

• Drive user research sessions and usability tests to understand consumer needs and behaviors, translating insights into actionable design improvements for ad experiences.

• Create, contribute to, and maintain components for CNN's design system, ensuring scalability, consistency, and a delightful user experience.

• Champion design principles, the design system, and the product roadmap, while effectively serving the needs of editorial teams and other internal stakeholders.

• Foster cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder alignment to successfully manage complex design challenges and drive product innovation in the ad tech space.

• Contribute to the monetization strategy of CNN by envisioning and validating new ad products and formats that are relevant, timely, and respectful of the user.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of tactical design execution (user flows, prototypes, design system contribution) and strategic product thinking. The emphasis on "evolving" products and "shaping the future of CNN's monetization" suggests a proactive and influential role. Collaboration is key, with specific mention of working with product managers, engineers, designers, researchers, and data scientists, underscoring the need for strong communication and teamwork skills within a complex digital media environment.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), or equivalent professional experience.

Experience: 5+ years as a product designer, with a minimum of 2 years specifically in ad tech, marketing tech, or growth design. Experience working on consumer-facing products within large-scale organizations is highly valued, with bonus points for experience in news/media.

Required Skills:

• 5+ years of experience in product design.

• Minimum 2 years of experience in ad tech, marketing tech, or growth design.

• Strong proficiency in Figma, including advanced use of variables, components, styles, and shared libraries.

• Demonstrated product thinking ability, understanding and prioritizing user problems within the design effort.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Proficiency in utilizing, creating, and modifying design system components for scalable and delightful user experiences.

• Demonstrated ability to manage complex design challenges.

• Strength in best practices of user experience design, including usability principles, user research methodology, testing techniques (A/B, Multi-Variant), design theory, and interaction design. Preferred Skills:

• Experience in the news/media industry.

• Experience fostering cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder alignment.

• Experience working on consumer-facing products within large-scale organizations.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for 2 years in "ad tech, marketing tech, or growth design" is a crucial differentiator, indicating a need for domain-specific knowledge beyond general product design. Figma proficiency is explicitly stated as strong, emphasizing hands-on tool expertise. The emphasis on "product thinking" and managing "complex design challenges" points to a senior-level expectation for strategic contribution and problem-solving.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a strong foundation in product thinking, demonstrating how you've identified and prioritized user problems to drive design solutions.

• Present case studies that highlight your experience in ad tech, marketing tech, or growth design, detailing your specific contributions and the impact of your work.

• Include examples of user flows, wireframes, high-fidelity mockups, and interactive prototypes created using Figma, illustrating your design process and visual capabilities.

• Demonstrate your ability to work with and contribute to design systems, providing examples of component creation, modification, or utilization to ensure scalability and consistency.

• Highlight your experience with user research methodologies and usability testing, showing how you've incorporated user feedback into design iterations.

• Quantify the impact of your design work where possible, using metrics related to user engagement, conversion rates, site performance, or revenue generation. Process Documentation:

• Detail your approach to user research, from planning and recruitment to synthesis and presentation of findings for ad product development.

• Illustrate your process for translating business requirements and user needs into functional user flows and intuitive interface designs.

• Document your methodology for creating and iterating on interactive prototypes to test design concepts and gather stakeholder feedback.

• Explain how you collaborate with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders throughout the design lifecycle, from ideation to implementation.

• Showcase your process for contributing to or managing design system components, including version control, documentation, and team adoption strategies.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Senior Product Designer role, especially in a specialized area like Ad Experience, a portfolio is critical. It needs to go beyond just aesthetics and demonstrate strategic thinking, process, and measurable impact. The emphasis on ad tech, growth, and design systems suggests a need for practical, scalable, and business-aligned design work.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $107,089.00 - $198,879.00 per year

Benefits:

• Comprehensive health insurance coverage.

• Employee wellness program designed to support overall well-being.

• Life and disability insurance for added security.

• Retirement savings plan to support long-term financial goals.

• Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation to promote work-life balance.

• Potential for annual bonuses, short- and long-term incentives, and program-specific awards.

Working Hours: Standard full-time working hours are expected, likely around 40 hours per week, with potential for flexibility given the hybrid work arrangement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The provided salary range is specific to the US market and Warner Bros. Discovery's compensation structure. The benefits listed are standard for a large media organization and cater to employee well-being, financial security, and work-life balance. The mention of "other rewards" suggests a total compensation package beyond base salary.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Media & Entertainment, Digital Advertising, News. Warner Bros. Discovery operates within a dynamic and rapidly evolving digital media landscape, where content creation, distribution, and monetization are key drivers. The Ad Experience team specifically sits at the nexus of content consumption and advertising technology.

Company Size: Large enterprise (implied by Warner Bros. Discovery's global presence and workforce size). This size suggests established processes, opportunities for specialization, and the potential for significant cross-functional collaboration.

Founded: Warner Bros. Discovery was formed in 2022 through the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. This relatively new entity combines the legacies of two major media players, bringing together diverse cultures and extensive content portfolios.

Team Structure:

• The Ad Experience team is a specialized unit within CNN, focusing on the intersection of user experience and advertising.

• It likely comprises product managers, designers, researchers, data scientists, and engineers, working collaboratively.

• The Senior Product Designer will report into a design leadership role, likely within the broader CNN product or technology organization.

• Cross-functional collaboration is essential, with strong partnerships expected with editorial teams, advertising sales, and other product development groups. Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: The team emphasizes using data and insights (from user research and analytics) to inform design decisions and measure impact.

• User-Centricity: While balancing revenue needs, the core focus is on creating a premium user experience that is relevant, timely, and respectful.

• Agile Development: It's highly probable that the team operates within an agile or iterative development framework, allowing for rapid prototyping, testing, and deployment of new features.

• Design Systems: A strong reliance on design systems is evident, promoting efficiency, consistency, and scalability across platforms.

Company Website: https://www.wbd.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: Understanding the context of CNN as a premium news product and WBD as a large media conglomerate is crucial. The Ad Experience team's role is pivotal, impacting both user satisfaction and the company's financial health. The emphasis on data, user research, and design systems points to a modern, professional approach to product development.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Senior Product Designer. This level signifies a highly experienced individual contributor with a strong track record in product design, capable of leading projects, mentoring junior designers, and contributing strategically to product direction. The focus on Ad Experience suggests a specialization within digital product design.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Product Designer will likely report to a Design Lead, Director of Product Design, or a similar leadership role within the CNN Ad Experience or Product organization. They will collaborate closely with Product Managers, Engineering Leads, and potentially researchers and data scientists.

Operations Impact: This role has a direct and significant impact on CNN's primary financial engine – advertising revenue. By designing optimal ad experiences, the designer can influence user engagement, subscription rates, ad performance, and ultimately, the overall profitability and perception of CNN's digital platforms. The role bridges the gap between user experience and business objectives, making it highly strategic.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership in Design: Opportunity to lead design initiatives for critical ad products, potentially influencing product strategy and roadmap.

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in ad tech, monetization strategies, and user experience within the media industry.

• Mentorship: Guide and mentor junior designers, contributing to the growth of the design team.

• Cross-functional Influence: Expand influence across product, engineering, research, and business teams, becoming a key voice in product development.

• Career Progression: Potential to move into Design Lead, Principal Designer, or Product Management roles, depending on career aspirations and performance.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" title indicates an expectation of leadership, strategic input, and the ability to navigate complex organizational structures. The impact is clearly tied to revenue generation, making this a high-visibility role. Growth opportunities are framed around deepening expertise, leadership, and cross-functional influence, common pathways for senior individual contributors in tech and media.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid. This suggests a blend of in-office collaboration and remote work flexibility. The primary office location mentioned is 30 Hudson Yards in New York City, a prominent modern office building. Other listed locations (Atlanta, Washington DC) might indicate regional hubs or alternative office spaces for hybrid workers.

Office Location(s):

• New York, NY (30 Hudson Yards)

• Atlanta, GA

• Washington, DC Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The hybrid model, coupled with the emphasis on cross-functional collaboration, implies an environment designed for both focused individual work and team-based ideation and problem-solving.

• Tools & Technology: Expect access to industry-standard design software (Figma), collaboration tools, and potentially specialized ad tech platforms.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for regular interaction with designers, product managers, engineers, and researchers, both formally in meetings and informally in shared workspaces.

Work Schedule: Standard full-time hours (approximately 40 hours per week) are expected, with flexibility inherent in the hybrid arrangement. The nature of digital media and advertising may also involve occasional work outside standard hours to meet project deadlines or address critical issues.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid nature of the role is a key detail, requiring candidates to be comfortable with a mix of in-office and remote work. The specific NYC location at 30 Hudson Yards suggests a modern, well-equipped workspace. The flexibility should be balanced with the need for collaborative work sessions and team presence.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will likely review applications and conduct an initial screening call to assess basic qualifications and cultural fit.

• Portfolio Review: Candidates will be asked to present their portfolio, showcasing relevant case studies. This stage focuses on design process, problem-solving, Figma proficiency, and understanding of ad tech/growth principles. Expect to discuss your role, contributions, and the impact of your work.

• Design Challenge/Exercise: A practical design exercise or case study may be given to assess your ability to tackle specific problems related to ad experience design, monetization, or user engagement within a given timeframe.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Interviews with Product Managers, Engineers, Researchers, and potentially stakeholders from editorial or ad sales teams to evaluate collaboration skills, communication, and strategic thinking.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A final interview with the hiring manager to discuss overall fit, career aspirations, and confirm alignment with team goals.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 strong case studies that best demonstrate your experience in product design, particularly in ad tech, marketing tech, or growth. If you have experience in news/media, highlight that.

• Focus on Process: Clearly articulate your design process from problem identification to solution and iteration. Use wireframes, user flows, mockups, and prototypes to illustrate your journey.

• Highlight Figma Proficiency: Showcase complex Figma usage, including components, variables, and shared libraries. Demonstrate how you leverage these features for efficiency and scalability.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, present metrics that show the business impact of your designs (e.g., increased engagement, improved conversion rates, enhanced ad performance, reduced load times).

• Explain Your Role: Be clear about your specific contributions, especially in team projects.

• Address User & Business Needs: Demonstrate your ability to balance user experience with business objectives (ad revenue, subscriptions, performance).

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Context: If given a design challenge, ensure you fully grasp the problem statement, target audience, and business goals. Ask clarifying questions.

• Prioritize and Scope: Given time constraints, focus on the most critical aspects of the problem. Outline your approach and any assumptions made.

• Think Aloud: Communicate your thought process clearly, explaining your design decisions and rationale.

• Consider Edge Cases: Briefly touch upon potential challenges or edge cases and how you might address them.

• Focus on Ad Experience: Tailor your solutions to the specific context of ad experience, considering user perception, ad effectiveness, and platform performance.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to assess a candidate's end-to-end design capabilities, from strategic thinking and user research to detailed execution and collaboration. The portfolio and design challenge are critical components for evaluating practical skills and problem-solving abilities relevant to the Ad Experience domain.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential for UI design, prototyping, and collaboration. Strong proficiency required, including advanced features like variables, components, styles, and shared libraries.

• Design System Tools: Experience utilizing, creating, and modifying components within a design system for scalable and consistent user experiences.

Analytics & Reporting:

• User Research Platforms: Tools for conducting and analyzing user interviews, surveys, and usability tests (e.g., UserTesting, Lookback, Hotjar).

• Analytics Platforms: Familiarity with web and app analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics) to understand user behavior, track performance metrics, and measure the impact of design changes.

• A/B Testing & Multi-Variant Testing Tools: Experience with platforms that facilitate experimentation (e.g., Optimizely, VWO) to validate design hypotheses and optimize user experiences.

CRM & Automation:

• Ad Tech Platforms: Familiarity with advertising technology platforms and their interfaces, understanding how ads are served, managed, and reported on.

• Project Management Tools: Tools like Jira, Asana, or Trello for managing design tasks, tracking progress, and collaborating with development teams.

• Collaboration Tools: Slack, Microsoft Teams for day-to-day communication and team coordination.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma is explicitly called out as a primary tool, indicating its central role in the design workflow. The mention of A/B testing, user research, and analytics platforms underscores the data-driven nature of the role. Familiarity with ad tech platforms is also a significant advantage, given the specialization.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity with Business Acumen: A strong commitment to creating exceptional user experiences that also drive significant business value, particularly in monetization.

• Collaboration & Partnership: A belief in working closely with product, engineering, research, and editorial teams to achieve shared goals.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Utilizing insights from user research and analytics to inform design choices and measure success.

• Innovation & Iteration: A culture that encourages experimentation, learning from failures, and continuously improving products.

• Design Excellence: Upholding high standards for visual design, interaction design, and overall user experience quality.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Expect active participation in cross-functional team meetings, design reviews, and brainstorming sessions.

• Open Communication: A preference for clear, direct, and constructive communication to ensure alignment and efficient problem-solving.

• Feedback Exchange: A culture that values constructive feedback, both giving and receiving, to foster continuous improvement.

• Agile & Iterative: Collaboration within an agile framework, focusing on iterative development and rapid feedback loops.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture is likely to be fast-paced, collaborative, and data-informed, typical of a major media organization operating in the digital space. The emphasis on balancing user needs with business objectives (especially revenue) is a defining characteristic of roles within ad experience teams.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing User Experience and Monetization: Designing ad experiences that are effective for advertisers and revenue-generating for CNN without alienating users or compromising the premium news experience.

• Platform Fragmentation: Ensuring a consistent and high-quality ad experience across diverse platforms (desktop web, mobile web, mobile app, video).

• Ad Tech Complexity: Navigating the intricate landscape of ad technologies, formats, and privacy regulations.

• Stakeholder Alignment: Managing diverse stakeholder expectations (editorial, sales, product, engineering) to achieve consensus on design direction.

• Measuring Impact: Developing robust methods to measure the effectiveness of ad experiences in terms of user engagement, satisfaction, and revenue contribution.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deepen Ad Tech Expertise: Gain specialized knowledge in digital advertising, programmatic advertising, and monetization strategies within the media industry.

• Product Strategy Influence: Contribute significantly to the strategic direction of CNN's ad products and future monetization efforts.

• Design System Advancement: Play a key role in evolving and maintaining a comprehensive design system for a large-scale media platform.

• Cross-Disciplinary Learning: Collaborate closely with data scientists and researchers to enhance understanding of user behavior and data analysis techniques.

• Mentorship and Leadership: Opportunity to grow into design leadership roles, mentoring junior team members and potentially leading design initiatives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to the role's position at the intersection of user experience and revenue. Growth opportunities are tied to mastering this complex domain, influencing strategy, and developing leadership skills within a prominent media organization.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach designing an ad experience that maximizes revenue while minimizing user disruption on a news website?"

• "Describe a time you had to balance conflicting stakeholder requirements (e.g., editorial, sales, engineering) for a product feature. How did you achieve alignment?"

• "Walk us through your process for identifying and prioritizing design problems within a complex digital product, especially one with monetization goals."

• "How do you ensure your designs are scalable and maintainable, particularly when working with design systems?" Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about CNN and Warner Bros. Discovery, specifically our Ad Experience team?"

• "How do you stay updated on trends in digital advertising, user experience design, and media consumption?"

• "Describe your experience working in a hybrid or remote environment and how you foster collaboration."

• "How do you approach incorporating feedback from data scientists and researchers into your design process?" Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Tell a Story: Frame each case study as a narrative: the problem, your role, your process, the solution, and the outcome/impact.

• Focus on Figma: Be ready to demonstrate your Figma skills, explaining your use of components, variables, and collaborative features.

• Quantify Results: Present metrics clearly and explain how your design decisions led to those results.

• Address Trade-offs: Be prepared to discuss the trade-offs you made during the design process and why.

• Showcase Ad Experience Relevance: Explicitly connect your work to ad tech, growth, or monetization challenges if possible.

Challenge Preparation:

• Research CNN: Familiarize yourself with CNN's current digital products, ad placements, and overall brand.

• Understand Ad Formats: Be aware of common digital ad formats and their user experience implications.

• Think User + Business: For any challenge, consider both the user's perspective and the business's revenue objectives.

• Prioritize and Scope: Given a time limit, focus on a core problem and a well-defined solution, clearly stating any assumptions.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic thinking, practical design skills (especially in Figma), a data-driven approach, and the ability to navigate complex business requirements in the ad tech space. Articulating your process and impact is paramount.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided Workday link: https://warnerbros.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/global/job/NY-New-York-30-Hudson-Yards/Sr-Product-Designer---Ad-Experience_R000106057

• Tailor Your Resume: Optimize your resume to highlight your 5+ years of product design experience, specifically calling out your 2+ years in ad tech, marketing tech, or growth design. Use keywords from the job description such as "Figma," "user experience design," "ad tech," "monetization," and "design systems."

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest case studies that demonstrate your product thinking, Figma proficiency, and experience with ad-related design challenges. Ensure each case study clearly outlines the problem, your process, your role, and the measurable impact of your solutions.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice articulating your design process, rationale, and the impact of your work. Be ready to discuss how you balance user needs with business objectives, especially in the context of ad revenue.

• Research CNN & WBD: Familiarize yourself with CNN's current digital platforms, their ad strategies, and Warner Bros. Discovery's overall mission and values. This will help you 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.