Staff Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Staff Product Designer

Company: Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS)

Location: New York, NY, United States

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / Data Analytics UX

Date Posted: May 14, 2026

Experience Level: 10+ Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• This is a pivotal role for a Staff Product Designer to establish and lead UX/UI design for a suite of data products, including clinical dashboards, research analytics, and operational insights.

• The position requires defining and championing design systems, patterns, and principles to ensure consistency and scalability across a complex, regulated healthcare environment.

• The designer will conduct in-depth user research and usability testing, advocating for the needs of clinicians, researchers, and business operations end-users.

• This is a high-impact, high-visibility role focused on transforming data understanding and utilization across the entire enterprise.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as the first full-time product designer within the data products area, indicating a significant opportunity to shape the design function and its strategic influence from the ground up. The emphasis on "staff-level contributor" suggests a senior individual contributor role with leadership expectations in design strategy and practice.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the complete UX/UI design lifecycle for critical data products, from initial concept and user research through to final launch and iteration.

• Conduct comprehensive user research, including interviews, ethnographic studies, and usability testing, with a diverse user base comprising clinicians, data analysts, researchers, and executives.

• Translate intricate data workflows and complex analytical requirements into intuitive, actionable, and user-friendly interfaces.

• Collaborate effectively within agile, cross-functional PODs (Product, Data, Engineering) with Product Managers, Data Engineers, and Business Intelligence Developers to deliver integrated solutions.

• Develop, maintain, and evangelize a living design system within Figma, ensuring alignment with broader enterprise design standards and best practices.

• Establish and promote user-centered design principles and methodologies across all analytics and data teams, fostering a design-aware culture.

• Proactively identify unmet user needs and deliver innovative solutions that anticipate future requirements and enhance user productivity.

• Champion accessibility standards (WCAG) and privacy-by-design principles, ensuring compliance with HIPAA regulations and healthcare data security protocols.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a blend of strategic leadership (setting standards, evangelizing design) and hands-on execution (end-to-end design, research, system building). The focus on "complex, regulated environments" and "healthcare data" highlights a specialized domain requiring specific considerations for user privacy, data security, and user workflows within a clinical context.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Computer Science, or a related field is typically expected for a Staff-level Product Designer. Consideration may be given for equivalent practical experience.

Experience: Minimum of 8+ years in product design, with a strong emphasis on data-heavy or analytical products (e.g., dashboards, BI tools, clinical systems) for at least 2 of those years.

Required Skills:

• Product Design & UX/UI: Proven expertise in end-to-end product design, encompassing user research, information architecture, interaction design, visual design, and prototyping.

• User Research & Testing: Demonstrated ability to plan and execute various forms of user research, including user interviews, usability testing, journey mapping, and persona development.

• Design Tools: Advanced proficiency in Figma for wireframing, prototyping, and collaborative design system development.

• Data Visualization & IA: Deep understanding of information architecture principles and best practices for effective data visualization to convey complex information clearly.

• Regulated Environments: Experience designing for complex, regulated sectors, particularly healthcare, with an understanding of compliance requirements like HIPAA.

• Collaboration & Communication: Exceptional ability to influence and collaborate with diverse stakeholders, including Product Managers, Data Engineers, BI Developers, clinicians, and executives. Strong verbal and written communication skills to articulate design rationale.

• Analytical Product Experience: Specific experience designing user interfaces for analytical tools, dashboards, or business intelligence platforms.

• Independent Work Ethic: Demonstrated ability to work autonomously, manage multiple projects, and drive initiatives forward with minimal supervision.

Preferred Skills:

• Healthcare Data Systems: Familiarity with healthcare data ecosystems, such as Electronic Health Records (EHRs) like Epic, claims data, and specific clinical workflows.

• Modern Data Stacks: Experience with tools and technologies commonly found in modern data analytics stacks, such as Databricks, Sigma, or cloud platforms like AWS.

• Emerging Technologies: Exposure to AI/ML-driven interfaces, automated insight delivery systems, or agentic coding concepts.

• Specialized Domains: Background in clinical informatics, human factors engineering, or behavioral design principles.

• Leadership & Mentorship: Experience mentoring junior designers or leading design initiatives within matrixed organizations.

• Version Control: Familiarity with Git for design asset management or collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Staff-level" designation implies a need for strategic thinking beyond just execution. Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate how they've influenced product strategy, mentored others, and driven significant improvements in design maturity within organizations. The preferred skills point towards a forward-thinking organization exploring advanced analytics and AI.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Complex Problem-Solving: Showcase at least 2-3 case studies that clearly articulate a complex user problem within an analytical or data-driven context and detail your process for solving it.

• End-to-End Design Process: Demonstrate your involvement across the entire design lifecycle, from initial user research and ideation through to detailed UI design, prototyping, and validation.

• Data Visualization Expertise: Include examples where you've effectively visualized complex data sets, showing how you translated raw data into understandable and actionable insights.

• Application in Regulated Environments: Highlight projects that involved designing for regulated industries, especially healthcare, demonstrating an understanding of associated constraints and requirements (e.g., HIPAA, accessibility).

• Design System Contribution: If applicable, showcase your experience in building, contributing to, or utilizing design systems, illustrating how you ensured consistency and scalability.

• Figma Proficiency: Ensure your portfolio clearly demonstrates your skills in Figma, including advanced prototyping, component creation, and collaboration features.

Process Documentation:

• User Research & Synthesis: Provide examples of how you've documented user research findings, including synthesis methods, personas, and journey maps, to inform design decisions.

• Workflow Design: Illustrate instances where you've mapped out and optimized complex user workflows, particularly those involving data analysis, reporting, or clinical decision-making.

• Usability Testing & Iteration: Detail your approach to planning and conducting usability tests, including how you analyzed results and iterated on designs based on feedback.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Showcase how you've documented and communicated design decisions and processes to product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders to ensure alignment.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given this is the first full-time designer role, the portfolio needs to be exceptionally strong in demonstrating the ability to establish design practices. Candidates should be ready to discuss how they would build a design system from the ground up and implement user research processes in a new context. The emphasis is on problem-solving and strategic impact, not just visual polish.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $128,500 - $196,375 per year. This range reflects a good faith estimate for a Staff Product Designer in New York, NY, considering the experience level (10+ years), the specialized nature of the role (healthcare data analytics UX), and the organization's reputation.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Likely includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, critical for professionals in healthcare.

• Retirement Savings Plan: Typically a 401(k) or similar plan, potentially with an employer match, crucial for long-term financial planning.

• Paid Time Off (PTO): Generous PTO policy encompassing vacation, sick leave, and holidays, supporting work-life balance.

• Professional Development: Opportunities for continued learning, such as attending conferences, workshops, or pursuing certifications, especially relevant for staying current in design and data analytics.

• Life and Disability Insurance: Standard benefits providing financial security.

• Potential for Bonuses/Incentives: While not explicitly stated, roles at this level may be eligible for performance-based bonuses.

Working Hours: Standard full-time hours, likely around 40 hours per week. The role is described as Hybrid, suggesting a balance between working remotely and in the New York office, with potential flexibility in daily schedules.

📝 Enhancement Note: The provided salary range is competitive for a Staff Product Designer in a high cost-of-living area like New York City, especially within a specialized field like healthcare technology. The "additional benefits consistent with the role" phrasing suggests a standard but comprehensive benefits package expected for senior-level positions. The hybrid nature implies a need for strong remote collaboration skills alongside in-person engagement.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Healthcare (Orthopedics and Rheumatology). HSS is a leading academic medical center renowned for its specialized patient care, research, and education in musculoskeletal health. This specialization means data products will likely support clinical decision-making, patient outcomes tracking, research initiatives, and operational efficiency within a highly regulated and clinical context.

Company Size: Large (implied by being a prominent hospital system with multiple locations and a significant employee base). This size suggests established processes but also potential for bureaucracy, making the designer's role in driving change and adoption crucial.

Founded: HSS was founded in 1863, indicating a long history and deep-rooted expertise. This history suggests a stable organization with a strong mission, but potentially with legacy systems and processes that require modernization through design.

Team Structure:

• Design Function: This is a new, standalone role, meaning the designer will operate as an individual contributor initially, with the potential to build out a team or function over time.

• Reporting: Likely reports into a Product Management or Digital Transformation leader, given the focus on "data products."

• Collaboration: Will work closely with cross-functional "PODs" comprising Product Managers, Data Engineers, Business Analysts, Clinical Informaticists, and potentially BI Developers. This matrixed environment requires strong interpersonal skills and the ability to influence without direct authority.

Methodology:

• Agile Development: Pods operate in an agile methodology, requiring designers to be comfortable with iterative development cycles, sprint planning, and continuous feedback.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: The role is inherently focused on data products, implying a culture that values data analysis, performance metrics, and evidence-based insights.

• User-Centricity: The explicit goal is to establish user-centered design practices, indicating a strategic push to integrate user needs more deeply into product development.

Company Website: https://www.hss.edu/

📝 Enhancement Note: As the first dedicated product designer for data products, the candidate will play a crucial role in shaping the team's design maturity and advocating for user-centric approaches. The healthcare industry context is paramount, requiring sensitivity to clinical workflows, patient privacy (HIPAA), and the high stakes of medical decision-making.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Staff Product Designer. This is a senior individual contributor role, typically one level below Principal or Lead Designer. It signifies a high degree of autonomy, expertise, and influence. The role is expected to set standards, tackle the most complex challenges, and mentor others.

Reporting Structure: The designer will likely report to a Director or VP level within Product Management, Digital Health, or a similar department focused on enterprise data and analytics. They will collaborate extensively with peer-level Product Managers and Data Engineers within cross-functional PODs.

Operations Impact: This role has the potential for immense impact by fundamentally changing how clinicians, researchers, and administrators understand and utilize critical data. By translating complex data into intuitive interfaces, the designer can improve clinical decision-making, accelerate research discoveries, and enhance operational efficiency, directly contributing to HSS's mission of patient care and innovation.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Opportunity to build and lead a design function for data products, potentially growing into a Design Manager or Director role.

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in healthcare data analytics UX, human factors in clinical settings, or AI-driven interfaces.

• Strategic Influence: Become a key strategic partner in defining the future of HSS's data products and digital transformation initiatives.

• Mentorship: Provide guidance and mentorship to junior designers or team members interested in design, fostering a culture of design thinking.

• Cross-Functional Expertise: Gain in-depth knowledge of clinical, research, and business operations within a leading healthcare institution.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Staff" title suggests significant growth potential, not just in individual contribution but also in leadership and strategic impact. The candidate should be prepared to discuss how they would scale design within the organization and influence product strategy for critical data assets.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid. This indicates a blend of remote work and in-office presence at the HSS New York campus. The exact split will likely be determined by team needs and company policy but suggests a need for effective remote collaboration tools and practices.

Office Location(s): Primarily New York, NY, at the Hospital for Special Surgery campus. Specific office locations within the campus might vary, but the expectation is regular presence in NYC.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Pods: The work environment is structured around cross-functional PODs, fostering close collaboration with product managers, engineers, and data specialists.

• Modern Tooling: Access to contemporary design and data tools (Figma, potentially Databricks, Sigma, AWS) is indicated, supporting efficient and effective work.

• Innovation Focus: The company highlights its role in transformation and innovation, suggesting an environment that encourages creative problem-solving and the exploration of new technologies.

• Healthcare Setting: Working within a hospital environment means interactions may occur with clinical staff, requiring adaptability and understanding of a busy, mission-critical setting.

Work Schedule: Primarily standard full-time business hours (approx. 40 hours/week). The hybrid model may offer some flexibility in structuring the work week, balancing remote and in-office days. However, collaboration with global teams or critical project deadlines might necessitate occasional adjustments.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid nature requires candidates to be adept at both independent remote work and in-person collaboration. Understanding the rhythms of a large hospital system and its diverse user groups (clinicians, researchers, administrators) will be key to succeeding in this environment.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

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

• Portfolio Review & Presentation: A dedicated session to present your portfolio, focusing on 2-3 key case studies that demonstrate your approach to complex problems, user research, data visualization, and end-to-end design. Be prepared to discuss your rationale, the challenges faced, and the outcomes achieved.

• Design Challenge/Exercise: You may be given a take-home assignment or a live design exercise focusing on a specific data product problem, assessing your problem-solving skills, design thinking, and ability to work within constraints.

• Stakeholder Interviews: Interviews with Product Managers, Data Engineers, Clinical Informaticists, and potentially executives to evaluate collaboration style, communication skills, and ability to influence across disciplines.

• Hiring Manager/Team Lead Interview: A final discussion to assess overall fit, strategic thinking, and alignment with the team's vision.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select case studies that best showcase your experience with data products, complex workflows, user research in regulated environments, and your ability to impact business/clinical outcomes.

• Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, your process (research, ideation, design, testing), the solutions you developed, and the measurable impact or learnings. Use visuals effectively.

• Highlight Data Visualization: Specifically call out how you approached data visualization challenges, showing your understanding of different chart types, information hierarchy, and user comprehension.

• Emphasize Process: Detail your methodology, especially how you conducted user research and usability testing, and how you translated findings into design decisions.

• Address Constraints: Acknowledge any constraints (e.g., technical limitations, HIPAA compliance) and explain how you navigated them.

• Figma Showcase: Clearly demonstrate your proficiency in Figma, perhaps by showing interactive prototypes or components from a design system.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Research HSS, its mission, and common healthcare data challenges (e.g., EHR integration, clinical decision support, operational efficiency metrics).

• Focus on User Needs: Anticipate that challenges will likely involve translating complex data into actionable insights for specific user groups (clinicians, researchers).

• Structure Your Approach: Be prepared to articulate your design process clearly and concisely, even under time pressure. Think about research, ideation, sketching, and validation.

• Consider Data Visualization: If the challenge involves data, think about the most effective ways to visualize it for clarity and impact.

• Accessibility and HIPAA: Keep these critical healthcare considerations in mind throughout your problem-solving process.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given this is a Staff-level role and the first of its kind for data products, expect the interview process to heavily scrutinize your ability to define and implement design best practices, not just execute them. Demonstrating strategic thinking and leadership potential will be key.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: This is explicitly mentioned as the tool for building and maintaining the design system. Mastery of Figma's advanced features, including component libraries, auto layout, and collaborative workflows, is essential.

• User Research Platforms: While not specified, expect to use tools for conducting remote usability testing, user interviews, and surveys (e.g., UserTesting.com, Lookback, SurveyMonkey, Qualtrics).

• Prototyping Tools: Figma's prototyping capabilities will be central, but familiarity with other prototyping tools might be beneficial.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Data Visualization Tools: Candidates should be comfortable working with data visualized in tools like Tableau, Power BI, or potentially Sigma (mentioned as preferred). Understanding the principles behind effective dashboard design is critical.

• BI Platforms: Familiarity with Business Intelligence platforms and how users interact with them is important.

• Data Warehousing/Lakes: Awareness of underlying data infrastructure like Databricks (mentioned as preferred) is a plus, indicating an understanding of where data originates.

CRM & Automation:

• EHR Systems: Familiarity with Electronic Health Record systems, particularly Epic (mentioned as preferred), is highly advantageous given the healthcare context.

• Workflow Automation Tools: Understanding how users interact with automated workflows within enterprise applications.

• Cloud Platforms: Exposure to cloud environments like AWS (mentioned as preferred) is beneficial, as many modern data products are cloud-based.

• Version Control: Git is listed as a preferred skill, suggesting potential use for managing design assets or collaborating with engineering teams on code-related aspects of product development.

📝 Enhancement Note: The mention of specific preferred tools like Databricks, Sigma, Epic, Power Apps, and AWS indicates the types of data ecosystems the designer will be interacting with. A candidate's ability to quickly learn and adapt to new tools within these stacks will be important.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Mission-Driven: A strong commitment to HSS's mission of providing excellent patient care, advancing research, and educating professionals in musculoskeletal health. Decisions should align with improving patient outcomes and operational efficiency.

• Excellence & Innovation: A drive for high standards in clinical care, research, and operational processes, coupled with a forward-thinking approach to adopting new technologies and methodologies.

• Collaboration & Teamwork: Emphasis on working effectively across diverse teams (clinical, research, IT, administration) to achieve common goals. The "POD" structure reinforces this.

• Data-Informed: A culture that values data analysis and evidence-based decision-making as core to improving all aspects of the organization.

• Patient-Centricity: The ultimate focus is on the patient, meaning all design efforts should aim to improve the patient experience, clinical outcomes, or the efficiency of care delivery.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: The role is designed to be deeply integrated within cross-functional PODs, requiring constant collaboration and communication with non-design roles.

• Design Advocacy: The designer will need to effectively advocate for design principles and user needs, educating stakeholders on the value of user-centered design, especially in a data-heavy context.

• Feedback Loops: An agile environment implies continuous feedback, requiring designers to be open to constructive criticism and iterative improvements.

• Knowledge Sharing: As the first designer, establishing practices for sharing design knowledge, patterns, and research findings will be crucial for scaling design impact.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture likely values deep domain expertise (healthcare) and a pragmatic approach to implementing design solutions within a complex, regulated system. Candidates should demonstrate how their values align with patient care, data integrity, and collaborative problem-solving.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Establishing Design Function: As the first dedicated product designer for data products, a significant challenge will be building the design function, processes, and garnering buy-in from stakeholders across various departments.

• Complexity of Healthcare Data: Navigating the intricate nature of healthcare data (clinical, financial, research), ensuring accuracy, privacy (HIPAA), and usability for diverse user groups.

• Bridging Technical & Clinical: Translating highly technical data concepts and engineering constraints into intuitive user experiences for clinical and business users who may have limited technical backgrounds.

• Legacy Systems & Processes: Potentially encountering established systems and workflows that may resist change, requiring strong change management and persuasive design advocacy.

• Measuring Design Impact: Quantifying the impact of design improvements on clinical outcomes, research efficiency, or operational metrics in a way that resonates with a data-driven organization.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Healthcare Domain Expertise: Gain unparalleled insight into clinical workflows, research methodologies, and hospital operations, becoming a subject matter expert in healthcare UX.

• Cutting-Edge Data Technologies: Work with modern data stacks and potentially AI/ML interfaces, enhancing skills in emerging technology design.

• Strategic Influence & Leadership: Develop leadership skills by shaping the design strategy for critical enterprise data products and potentially growing into a management role.

• Cross-Functional Mastery: Become adept at collaborating and influencing across diverse disciplines like clinical informatics, data science, and business operations.

• Industry Recognition: Contribute to a leading healthcare institution, potentially leading to speaking opportunities or case studies within the healthcare technology community.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are significant but directly tied to the growth opportunities. Success in this role will require resilience, strong communication, and a proactive approach to defining best practices in a nascent design space within HSS.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your approach to establishing a design system from scratch for a new product area. What would be your first steps at HSS?" (Focus on framework, collaboration, initial components, and adoption strategy).

• "How would you prioritize design initiatives when faced with competing demands from clinical, research, and operational stakeholders?" (Discuss frameworks for prioritization, stakeholder alignment, and data-driven decision-making).

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What do you know about HSS and its mission? How does that inform your approach to designing data products here?" (Research HSS's specialties, values, and patient care focus).

• "How do you see your role contributing to HSS's transformation across the enterprise, specifically regarding data utilization?" (Connect your skills to the company's strategic goals and the role's impact).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly outline the problem statement, your specific role and contributions, the user research conducted, key design decisions and rationale, the final solution, and the measurable impact or key learnings.

• Emphasize the "Why": Explain why you made certain design choices, linking them back to user needs, business objectives, or technical constraints.

• Showcase Data Visualization: Dedicate time to explaining how you approached visualizing complex data, highlighting clarity, accuracy, and actionability.

• Demonstrate Figma Proficiency: If possible, provide interactive prototypes or walk through key Figma components/features relevant to the case study.

• Prepare for Q&A: Anticipate questions about your process, challenges, trade-offs, and how you would apply your learnings to HSS.

📝 Enhancement Note: Be prepared to discuss not just what you designed, but how you arrived at those solutions and why they were effective. For this specific role, demonstrating an understanding of healthcare data complexities and the ability to influence without direct authority will be critical.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Staff Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the HSS Careers portal via the provided link.

• Craft a targeted resume: Highlight your 8+ years of product design experience, with specific emphasis on data-heavy products, UX/UI, user research, and Figma proficiency. Quantify achievements wherever possible (e.g., "Improved user task completion by X%," "Reduced error rates by Y%").

• Curate your portfolio: Select 2-3 robust case studies that best demonstrate your end-to-end design process for analytical products, complex data visualization, and experience in regulated environments. Ensure clear articulation of problems, solutions, and impact.

• Prepare your portfolio presentation: Practice walking through your selected case studies, focusing on your strategic thinking, design rationale, and ability to collaborate. Be ready to discuss how you would implement design practices at HSS.

• Research HSS: Understand the organization's mission, its leadership in orthopedics and rheumatology, and its strategic goals related to data and digital transformation. Consider how your design philosophy aligns with their values.

⚠️ 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.