Sr. Product Designer - Contract

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Sr. Product Designer - Contract

Company: Jobgether (Partner Company)

Location: United States

Job Type: Contract

Category: Product Design / UX/UI

Date Posted: 2026-09-02

Experience Level: Senior (5+ years)

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead end-to-end product design initiatives for a core product area, driving innovation from initial concept through to polished execution.

• Champion user needs by conducting research, interviews, and usability testing to deeply understand customer pain points and translate them into effective design solutions.

• Collaborate closely with product managers and engineers to frame complex problems, evaluate trade-offs, and deliver intuitive, accessible, and high-quality digital experiences.

• Contribute to and leverage scalable design systems, reusable patterns, and modern design practices to ensure consistency and elevate overall product quality.

• This is a remote contract role within the United States, offering significant autonomy and the opportunity to make a direct impact on an AI-focused growth platform.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is presented as a contract position facilitated through Jobgether, acting as an intermediary. The actual hiring and management will be handled by a partner company. The core focus is on senior-level product design with a strong emphasis on end-to-end ownership and cross-functional collaboration within a technology company.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the complete product design lifecycle for a designated product area, encompassing discovery, problem definition, ideation, low-fidelity exploration, high-fidelity design, and developer-ready handoff.

• Conduct and synthesize user research, including interviews, surveys, and usability testing, to identify user needs, pain points, and opportunities for improvement.

• Translate user and business insights into intuitive, accessible, and visually appealing digital experiences that address core user needs, edge cases, and various product states.

• Partner effectively with product managers to define product strategy, prioritize features, and ensure alignment between design and business objectives.

• Collaborate closely with engineers to ensure accurate implementation of designs, troubleshoot technical constraints, and iterate on solutions based on feedback and feasibility.

• Develop and maintain reusable components and patterns within the design system, ensuring adherence to accessibility standards and promoting design consistency across the product.

• Actively participate in design critiques, provide constructive feedback to peers, and incorporate feedback from stakeholders to continuously elevate the quality of design output.

• Balance the need for design craft and detail with the imperative to ship products efficiently, making informed decisions about when to refine and when to move forward.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic product thinking and hands-on design execution. The emphasis on "end-to-end ownership" and "balancing craft with shipping" suggests a need for a designer who can manage ambiguity and deliver results in a fast-paced environment.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong academic foundation in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field is often implied by the experience and portfolio requirements.

Experience: Minimum of 5 years of professional product design experience, with a demonstrated track record of successfully designing and shipping digital products in a collaborative, cross-functional setting.

Required Skills:

• Product Design Leadership: Proven ability to lead end-to-end design processes for complex digital products.

• User-Centered Problem Solving: Demonstrated ability to uncover user needs and translate them into effective design solutions through research and analysis.

• UX/UI Expertise: Sophisticated understanding of user experience principles, interaction design patterns, and visual design aesthetics.

• Figma Proficiency: Advanced skills in Figma, including mastery of component libraries, prototyping workflows, design tokens, and modern design system practices.

• Design System Contribution: Experience in contributing to, maintaining, and leveraging design systems and reusable component libraries.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Ability to work effectively with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders, fostering strong working relationships.

• Communication & Presentation: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions, rationale, and trade-offs clearly.

• User Research & Validation: Experience conducting user interviews, usability testing, and other research methods to validate design concepts.

• Accessibility Standards: Solid understanding of and commitment to designing accessible digital products.

• Independent Work Ethic: Ability to manage workload, prioritize tasks, and deliver high-quality results with minimal direct supervision.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in the Real Estate Technology or AI-focused platform space.

• Familiarity with design tokens and their implementation in code.

• Experience with advanced prototyping tools beyond Figma.

• A proactive approach to identifying opportunities for design improvement and innovation.

• Mentorship or lead experience within a design team.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirements emphasize practical experience and a strong portfolio over formal education. The explicit mention of "Advanced Figma proficiency" and "design systems" points to the need for a technically skilled designer proficient in modern design tooling and methodologies. The "growth orientation" suggests a candidate eager to learn and expand their influence.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a minimum of 3-5 distinct projects that demonstrate end-to-end product design ownership, from initial problem framing to shipped product.

• Clearly articulate the problem statement, your role and contributions, the design process followed (research, ideation, iteration), and the final solution.

• Highlight sophisticated UX thinking, user-centered problem-solving, and high-quality visual and interaction design execution.

• Include examples of how you leveraged or contributed to design systems, component libraries, or design tokens.

• Demonstrate proficiency in Figma, including interactive prototypes, component usage, and design system integration.

• Detail the outcomes and impact of your designs, ideally with quantifiable metrics or qualitative feedback. Process Documentation:

• Within portfolio case studies, clearly document the user research methodologies employed and the insights derived.

• Illustrate the iterative design process, showing how feedback and validation informed design decisions and refinements.

• Provide examples of how you collaborated with product managers and engineers, detailing communication strategies and problem-solving approaches.

• Showcase your approach to ensuring accessibility and usability throughout the design lifecycle.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio is a critical component for this role. It needs to go beyond showcasing visuals and demonstrate a deep understanding of the design process, user empathy, technical proficiency with Figma, and the ability to drive impact through design.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: As a contract role within the United States, a Sr. Product Designer typically commands a competitive hourly or daily rate. Based on industry benchmarks for senior-level product designers with 5+ years of experience in technology, particularly in remote contract positions, the estimated range would be $70 - $120+ per hour. This can vary significantly based on specific skill sets, the partner company's budget, and the exact scope of work.

Benefits:

• Competitive contract compensation: A senior-level scope offering the opportunity to own meaningful product experiences.

• Remote work flexibility: Fully remote position within the United States, providing autonomy and work-life balance.

• Impactful project: Opportunity to contribute to an AI-focused growth platform serving a large professional customer base.

• Collaborative environment: Work alongside experienced product, engineering, and design professionals.

• Focus on quality: Strong emphasis on user-centered design, usability, accessibility, and overall design quality.

• Influence and growth: Opportunities to influence design systems, product practices, and customer experience.

• Industry exposure: Exposure to the rapidly evolving real estate technology and AI market.

• Values-driven culture: Work in an environment that values curiosity, autonomy, collaboration, simplicity, and continuous improvement.

• Visibility: Opportunity to make a visible impact on products used by thousands of real estate professionals and businesses.

Working Hours: The role is expected to align with standard full-time working hours (approximately 40 hours per week). While remote, maintaining consistent availability for collaboration during core business hours within the United States time zones will be crucial.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary is estimated based on industry standards for contract Sr. Product Designers in the US. Benefits are primarily focused on the nature of the work, flexibility, and professional development opportunities inherent in a contract role with a growing tech company.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, specifically an AI-focused growth platform likely serving the Real Estate Technology sector. This implies a dynamic, data-driven, and innovation-oriented environment.

Company Size: While not explicitly stated, the mention of "fast-growing technology company" and "ambitious product and design organization" suggests a company that is past the early startup phase but still agile and scaling. It's likely a mid-sized company or a rapidly expanding startup.

Founded: The founding date is not provided, but the company's focus on AI and growth platforms indicates a relatively modern operational focus.

Team Structure:

• Product & Design Organization: The role is part of an "ambitious product and design organization," suggesting a structured approach to product development.

• Cross-functional Teams: Designers work closely with product managers and engineers, forming small, agile teams focused on specific product areas.

• Reporting: As a senior individual contributor, the designer likely reports to a Design Lead, Head of Product Design, or a similar leadership role within the product organization.

Methodology:

• User-Centered Design: A strong emphasis on understanding and addressing user needs is a core tenet.

• Agile Development: Collaboration with engineering and the need to "ship" products suggests an agile or lean development methodology.

• Data-Driven Decisions: The AI focus implies that data analysis and performance metrics play a significant role in product strategy and design validation.

• Design System Driven: The requirement to "strengthen the design system" indicates a commitment to scalable, consistent design practices.

Company Website: https://jobgether.com/ (Note: This is the platform through which applications are submitted; the actual partner company's website is not directly linked but is implied to be in the Real Estate Technology/AI space).

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture is described as valuing curiosity, autonomy, thoughtful collaboration, and a balance between craft and shipping. This suggests a results-oriented environment that also encourages learning and individual initiative.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Sr. Product Designer (Contract) role, placing it at a senior individual contributor level. The scope involves end-to-end ownership of significant product areas, requiring a high degree of autonomy and strategic input.

Reporting Structure: The designer will likely report to a Design Manager, Head of Design, or a Senior Product Lead. They will work in close partnership with Product Managers and Engineering leads within their assigned product pod.

Operations Impact: The designer's impact is directly tied to improving user experience, driving user adoption, and ultimately contributing to the growth and success of the AI-focused platform. By creating intuitive and effective digital products, they influence customer satisfaction, retention, and the platform's overall value proposition.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Expansion: Deepen expertise in AI-driven product design, real estate technology, and advanced Figma capabilities.

• Leadership Exposure: Opportunity to influence design direction, mentor junior designers (informally), and contribute to design system evolution.

• Project Ownership: Take on increasing complexity and scope of product areas, leading design for new features or strategic initiatives.

• Industry Insight: Gain valuable experience in a rapidly evolving market at the intersection of AI and real estate technology.

• Portfolio Enhancement: Deliver impactful projects that significantly strengthen the designer's professional portfolio.

📝 Enhancement Note: While a contract role, the "growth orientation" mentioned in the requirements suggests opportunities for professional development and increased influence, even within the contract duration. The focus is on impact and skill enhancement rather than traditional long-term career pathing within a single company.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This is a fully remote contract position, meaning there is no central office requirement. The work is performed from the designer's own location.

Office Location(s): The role is open to candidates located anywhere within the United States, allowing for flexibility in geographical location.

Workspace Context:

• Remote Autonomy: Designers are expected to manage their own workspace and schedule, fostering independence and self-discipline.

• Digital Collaboration Tools: The environment relies heavily on digital collaboration tools (e.g., Figma, Slack, video conferencing) for communication, design reviews, and project management.

• Cross-functional Interaction: While remote, there's a strong emphasis on "thoughtful collaboration" and working closely with product managers and engineers, requiring proactive engagement and clear communication.

• Design System Accessibility: Access to and utilization of the company's design system and related documentation will be crucial for daily work.

Work Schedule: The standard expectation is approximately 40 hours per week. While remote work offers flexibility, maintaining availability for synchronous collaboration, meetings, and design critiques during core business hours relevant to the US-based team is essential for effective teamwork.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote nature of the work is a key feature, emphasizing self-management and digital collaboration. Candidates should be comfortable working independently and adept at using remote communication and design tools.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening (Jobgether AI): Your application and portfolio will first be assessed by Jobgether's AI for core requirements and fit.

• Shortlisting: Top-fitting candidates are shortlisted and their information shared with the partner company.

• Hiring Company Review: The partner company's internal team reviews the shortlisted candidates and their portfolios.

• Design Challenge/Case Study: Expect a design challenge or a request to present a detailed case study from your portfolio, focusing on your process, problem-solving, and impact. This often involves presenting to product managers and engineers.

• Stakeholder Interviews: Interviews with key stakeholders, including Product Managers, Engineering Leads, and potentially Design leadership, to assess collaboration style, design judgment, and cultural fit.

• Final Evaluation: Assessment of overall fit, design skills, communication, and potential impact.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Tell a Story: Structure your case studies to clearly articulate the problem, your approach, your specific contributions, the challenges faced, and the measurable outcomes.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals (wireframes, mockups, prototypes) to illustrate your design process and final solutions.

• Highlight Your Role: Be explicit about your responsibilities and contributions, especially in team projects. For this role, emphasize end-to-end ownership.

• Focus on Figma: Ensure your portfolio demonstrates advanced Figma skills, including interactive prototypes, component usage, and any design system work.

• Quantify Impact: Where possible, include metrics (e.g., conversion rates, user satisfaction scores, task completion times) that demonstrate the positive impact of your design work.

• Address Trade-offs: Discuss any difficult decisions or trade-offs you had to make and the rationale behind them.

• Accessibility Matters: Showcase your understanding and application of accessibility principles.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Product: Research the partner company's product (if possible, beyond Jobgether's description) and its target users.

• Practice Your Pitch: Be prepared to walk through a portfolio project in detail, explaining your process and decisions concisely.

• Prepare for "Why": Be ready to articulate the "why" behind every design decision, linking it back to user needs and business goals.

• Problem-Solving Scenarios: Anticipate questions about how you would approach ambiguous problems or resolve design disagreements.

• Figma Proficiency: Be ready to demonstrate Figma skills if requested, or discuss your workflow and system approaches in detail.

📝 Enhancement Note: The process involves both an AI screening and direct review by the hiring company. A strong, well-articulated portfolio is paramount, and candidates should be prepared to present their work and discuss their design process in depth.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential and explicitly stated as requiring "Advanced Figma proficiency." This includes mastery of component libraries, prototyping, design tokens, and design system practices.

• Prototyping Tools: While Figma is primary, familiarity with other prototyping tools may be beneficial.

• Collaboration Platforms: Tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or similar for daily communication and team interaction.

• Video Conferencing: Zoom, Google Meet, or similar for meetings and design critiques.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics Tools: Familiarity with tools like Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics, or similar for understanding user behavior and product usage.

• Data Visualization: Experience interpreting data presented in dashboards or reports to inform design decisions.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly a CRM role, understanding how design impacts user journeys within CRM or marketing automation platforms can be beneficial, particularly in a B2B context.

• Project Management Tools: Familiarity with tools like Jira, Asana, Trello, or similar for managing design tasks and collaborating with engineering.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma is the cornerstone of the technical requirements. Proficiency in this tool, including its advanced features for design systems and collaboration, is non-negotiable. Exposure to analytics and project management tools will also be advantageous.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Curiosity: A drive to understand users, technology, and market trends.

• Autonomy: The ability to take ownership and drive work independently.

• Thoughtful Collaboration: Engaging effectively with cross-functional partners, valuing diverse perspectives.

• Craftsmanship: A high standard for visual and interaction design quality, usability, and accessibility.

• Simplicity: Striving for clear, intuitive solutions that are easy for users to understand and adopt.

• Continuous Improvement: A commitment to learning, iterating, and enhancing both product quality and personal skills.

• Impact-Driven: Focusing on delivering designs that solve real problems and create tangible value for users and the business.

Collaboration Style:

• Partnership: Close working relationships with Product Managers and Engineers, treating them as integral parts of the design process.

• Open Feedback: A culture of giving and receiving feedback constructively during design critiques and team discussions.

• Proactive Communication: Regularly sharing work, seeking input, and keeping stakeholders informed to ensure alignment.

• Solution-Oriented: Focusing on collaboratively finding the best solutions to user and business challenges.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture appears to be a blend of modern tech values—emphasizing autonomy, collaboration, and continuous learning—with a strong focus on design quality and user-centricity, particularly within the context of an AI-driven product.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Ambiguity and Execution: Taking on undefined problems and translating them into clear design solutions while meeting shipping deadlines.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Ensuring buy-in and effective collaboration across Product, Engineering, and other departments, especially in a remote setting.

• Scalability of Design: Contributing to and maintaining a design system that supports a growing product and diverse user base.

• Technical Constraints: Designing within the realities of technical limitations and platform capabilities, requiring negotiation and compromise.

• Rapidly Evolving Market: Staying abreast of advancements in AI, real estate technology, and design best practices to ensure designs remain relevant and innovative.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Dive into AI/Real Estate Tech: Gaining specialized knowledge in a high-growth, cutting-edge industry.

• Advanced Design System Practice: Contributing to and learning from sophisticated design system implementation and governance.

• Strategic Design Influence: Opportunities to shape product strategy and direction through design thinking and user advocacy.

• Remote Collaboration Mastery: Honing skills in effective communication and collaboration within a distributed team environment.

• Portfolio Building: Delivering significant, impactful projects that enhance professional marketability.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are typical for a senior role in a fast-paced tech environment, requiring adaptability and strong problem-solving skills. The growth opportunities are geared towards gaining specialized industry knowledge and increasing design influence.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you led the end-to-end design of a complex digital product. What was your process, and what were the key outcomes?" (Focus on your ownership, problem-solving, and impact.)

• "How do you approach translating ambiguous user needs or business requirements into concrete design solutions?" (Highlight your research, ideation, and validation methods.)

• "Walk me through a significant design decision you made where you had to balance user needs with technical constraints or business priorities. How did you navigate it?" (Demonstrate your ability to make trade-offs and communicate rationale.)

• "How do you ensure your designs are accessible and inclusive for a diverse user base?" (Showcase your understanding of accessibility guidelines and practical application.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about working on an AI-focused growth platform in the real estate technology space?" (Research the industry and the potential impact of AI.)

• "How do you define and maintain high design quality in a fast-paced environment?" (Connect to your experience with craft, critiques, and shipping.)

• "Describe your ideal collaboration style with Product Managers and Engineers. How do you build strong working relationships?" (Emphasize partnership and communication.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure is Key: Prepare a concise narrative for each project, starting with the problem, your role, the process, your solutions, and the results.

• Highlight Figma: Be ready to discuss your Figma workflow, how you use components, design systems, and prototyping features.

• Focus on Impact: Emphasize the "so what?" of your designs – how did they benefit the user or the business? Use metrics if available.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about specific design choices, research findings, and challenges faced.

• Showcase Problem-Solving: Demonstrate your ability to think critically and solve complex design challenges.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will heavily rely on evaluating your portfolio and your ability to articulate your design process, decision-making, and impact. Be prepared to discuss specific examples and demonstrate your proficiency with Figma.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Sr. Product Designer - Contract position:

• Submit your application through the Jobgether platform.

• Optimize Your Portfolio: Curate your portfolio to highlight 3-5 of your strongest end-to-end product design projects. Ensure each case study clearly demonstrates your role, process, problem-solving, and impact, with a strong emphasis on Figma proficiency and design system contributions.

• Tailor Your Resume/Profile: Ensure your resume or profile clearly states your years of experience and highlights skills directly relevant to product design, UX/UI, Figma, design systems, and cross-functional collaboration.

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice walking through one or two key portfolio projects in detail, anticipating questions about your design decisions, research methods, and outcomes. Be ready to discuss your approach to accessibility and collaboration.

• Research the Context: Familiarize yourself with the AI and Real Estate Technology sectors to better understand the product's market and potential user needs. Understand Jobgether's role as an AI-powered matching platform.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization (the partner company managed by Jobgether) before making application decisions.