UI Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UI Product Designer

Company: Proton.ai

Location: Cambridge, MA (Hybrid) or Remote (EU)

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / GTM Operations (Design focus)

Date Posted: August 19, 2026

Experience Level: Product Designer through Senior Product Designer (2-5 years estimated)

Remote Status: Hybrid (3 days/week in office) or Remote (EU)

🚀 Role Summary

• Own the visual language and design system across Proton's AI-native platform for wholesale distribution.

• Act as an AI-native designer, leveraging tools like Claude Code and Cursor for rapid prototyping and iteration.

• Collaborate closely with Product Managers and Engineers within an agentic scrum model to deliver end-to-end product experiences.

• Engage directly with users through constant customer interaction, including onsite visits, to deeply understand their workflows and needs.

• Define and evolve the AI interaction patterns within the software, focusing on trust, suggestion, review, and handoff between users and AI agents.

📝 Enhancement Note: While this role is primarily a Product Design position, its deep integration with AI tools, workflow optimization for B2B users, and close collaboration with engineering and product management place it within the broader GTM Operations ecosystem, particularly concerning the user experience of operational software. The emphasis on "AI-native design" and "agentic tools" suggests a forward-thinking approach to product development that impacts how operational tasks are performed.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain a comprehensive design system, including components, tokens, and documentation, ensuring consistent application across all product areas.

• Prototype user interactions and new feature concepts using code-based tools (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor) to facilitate rapid testing and iteration before full development.

• Define and establish best practices for AI-human collaboration within the product, focusing on user trust, effective suggestion mechanisms, review processes, and seamless agent handoffs.

• Participate actively in an agentic scrum model, adapting design cadences and workflows to align with the team's and AI agents' shipping capabilities.

• Conduct frequent user research, including direct observation and interviews with customers in their working environments, to inform design decisions and validate product direction.

• Translate complex distribution workflows and user needs into intuitive, modern, and efficient user interfaces that enhance productivity and user satisfaction.

• Collaborate with product management to define product strategy and roadmap, ensuring design considerations are integrated from the outset.

• Advocate for user-centered design principles and best practices across cross-functional teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a unique blend of traditional UI/UX design with a strong emphasis on AI integration and user workflow optimization. The expectation to prototype in code and deeply understand B2B user environments (warehouses, sales floors) is critical and sets this role apart from standard UI design positions.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Design, HCI, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. Experience:

• 2-5 years of experience in UI Product Design, with a proven track record of shipping end-to-end digital products.

• Experience working in fast-paced, agile environments, preferably within SaaS or B2B software development. Required Skills:

• Demonstrable Craft: Exceptional command of typography, layout, color theory, hierarchy, and iconography, with an understanding of motion design principles.

• End-to-End Delivery: Proven ability to take products or features from concept through to launch, demonstrating ownership and collaboration with product and engineering teams.

• AI-Native Practice: Daily, hands-on experience using AI tools (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor, or similar) for prototyping and shipping real work, with a clear understanding of structuring context and evaluating AI outputs.

• Portfolio: A strong portfolio showcasing products or features where you independently set the visual language and workflow, ideally featuring reimagined legacy systems.

• Systems Thinking: Ability to create a cohesive visual language and design system, understanding the principles of scalability and consistency.

• Customer Centricity: A strong pull towards direct customer interaction and user research, preferring in-person observation over secondary research.

• Agile Methodologies: Experience with traditional agile frameworks (like Scrum) and an understanding of how to adapt them to new models, such as agentic scrum.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing for complex B2B, enterprise, or ERP-adjacent software with high-frequency users.

• Familiarity with agentic products and patterns for trust, correction, and handoff between humans and AI.

• Previous experience in early-stage SaaS startups.

• Understanding of the wholesale distribution industry or similar operational software domains.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "craft that is demonstrably yours" and "AI-native design" means candidates should prepare to showcase their personal design aesthetic and their practical application of AI tools in their portfolio and interview. The requirement for "real end-to-end delivery" and "hands-on work, not an LLM-generated portfolio" is a critical differentiator.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase products or features taken from concept to launch, clearly demonstrating your role in setting the visual language and overall design direction.

• Include a detailed case study of a workflow you reimagined from a legacy system, explaining what you retained, what you discarded, and how you achieved user adoption.

• Demonstrate your ability to create a unified visual language and design system, outlining the principles and components you established.

• Provide examples of how you have used AI tools (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.) in your design process to prototype and ship functional work. Process Documentation:

• Illustrate your approach to defining and maintaining design system documentation, ensuring its usability for other squads.

• Explain your workflow for conducting user research, particularly in-person observations within operational environments.

• Detail your understanding and experience with agentic scrum, including how design fits into this workflow and how you manage cadence.

• Show examples of how you think about systems and scalability, ensuring consistency across multiple product areas.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are highly specific, focusing on demonstrating direct impact, AI tool utilization, and the ability to build and maintain design systems for complex B2B environments. Candidates should prepare to articulate their design process, particularly how they integrate AI and customer feedback into their workflow.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $80,000 – $100,000 base salary per year.

• This range is for the base salary and is dependent on the candidate's experience level and qualifications.

• EU offers will be benchmarked to the local market to ensure competitive compensation. Benefits:

• Company Stock Options: Ownership stake in Proton.ai, aligning personal success with company growth.

• Flexible Schedule: High degree of autonomy in managing work hours and flexibility in scheduling.

• Unlimited PTO: Encourages work-life balance and personal well-being.

• 10 Company-Paid Holidays: Recognized holidays are paid days off.

• Paid Parental Leave: 12 weeks of fully paid leave for primary and secondary caregivers, including adoption and fostering.

• Annual Company-Paid Offsites: Opportunities for team building and strategic planning.

Working Hours: Estimated 40 hours per week, with flexibility afforded by the company's focus on autonomy and results.

📝 Enhancement Note: The provided salary range is a base salary. Candidates should inquire about potential total compensation, including bonuses and equity, which are mentioned as part of the overall package. The EU compensation is explicitly stated to be locally benchmarked, indicating a need for candidates in Europe to research their specific market rates.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: AI-powered Software for Wholesale Distribution.

Company Size: Early-stage startup (implied by "builder," "high agency," "high urgency," "backed by Felicis Ventures and Battery Ventures").

Founded: The company was founded with the mission to modernize the $9 trillion wholesale distribution industry with AI-native software.

Team Structure:

• Reporting to the VP of Product, the UI Product Designer will work within a "squad" model, comprising Product Managers and Engineers.

• This squad operates under an "agentic scrum" model, differing from traditional sprints, suggesting a more fluid and AI-integrated development cadence.

• Cross-functional collaboration is central, with frequent interaction with PMs, engineers, and directly with customers. Methodology:

• AI-Native Development: AI tools are treated as first-class collaborators, deeply embedded in the product development workflow.

• Customer-Centricity: Direct and frequent customer engagement, including onsite visits, is a core part of the design and development process.

• Builder Mentality: Emphasis on individuals with high agency and urgency, who own problems end-to-end and drive rapid shipping.

• Iterative Prototyping: Focus on prototyping in code early to test interactions and validate concepts.

Company Website: Proton.ai (Placeholder - actual URL not provided in input)

📝 Enhancement Note: Proton.ai is positioned as an innovator in a traditionally underserved market (wholesale distribution), leveraging cutting-edge AI to disrupt legacy software. The company culture is described as fast-paced, ownership-driven, and deeply customer-focused, with a unique approach to software development integrating AI agents.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role spans from Product Designer to Senior Product Designer.

• Product Designer: Typically involves executing designs under guidance, with increasing autonomy.

• Senior Product Designer: Implies greater ownership of product areas, mentorship capabilities, and the ability to set strategic design direction.

• The "craft bar" is non-negotiable across all levels, meaning the standard of design excellence is consistently high. Reporting Structure:

• Reports directly to the VP of Product.

• Works within cross-functional "squads" alongside Product Managers and Engineers. Operations Impact:

• The UI Product Designer will directly influence the usability and adoption of Proton's AI operating system, impacting how hundreds of distributors manage their operations.

• Successful design translates to tangible business outcomes for customers, such as increased profit returns and saved sales time, directly reflecting the impact of design on operational efficiency and revenue. Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Specialization: Deepen expertise in AI-native design, agentic workflows, and complex B2B UX.

• Design System Leadership: Take ownership of the design system's evolution and adoption across the company.

• Product Strategy Influence: Contribute significantly to product direction and strategy through deep customer understanding and innovative design solutions.

• Career Progression: Potential to move into Senior Designer roles, lead design initiatives, or transition into product management or related leadership positions within a growing startup.

• Learning & Development: Exposure to cutting-edge AI tools and methodologies, with opportunities to shape industry standards for AI-assisted design.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers significant growth potential within a rapidly evolving tech landscape. The opportunity to define AI-human interaction patterns and shape the visual identity of a disruptive platform provides a unique career trajectory beyond traditional UI design roles.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid work model requiring 3 days per week in the Cambridge, MA office. The EU offers are remote.

Office Location(s): Cambridge, MA (near Harvard Square). The EU offers are remote.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The Cambridge office is designed to foster collaboration among squad members (PMs, Engineers, Designers) and direct customer interaction.

• Tools & Technology: Access to modern design and development tools, including AI-powered coding assistants like Claude Code and Cursor.

• Cross-functional Interaction: Frequent opportunities to work alongside and learn from engineers, product managers, and directly from end-users in their operational settings.

Work Schedule: While a standard 40-hour work week is typical, the company emphasizes high autonomy and a flexible schedule, allowing for adaptation around project needs and personal preferences, especially within the "agentic scrum" model.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model in Cambridge offers a balance between in-person collaboration and remote flexibility, while the EU remote option provides global reach. The emphasis on direct customer engagement means the designer will spend time understanding users in their actual work environments, not just within the office.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of resume and portfolio to assess craft, AI usage, and end-to-end delivery experience.

• Portfolio Presentation: Candidates will likely present their portfolio, focusing on case studies that demonstrate their ability to set visual language, reimagine legacy systems, and utilize AI tools. Expect questions about your process and impact.

• Design Challenge: A practical exercise, potentially involving prototyping in code with AI assistance or solving a specific design problem relevant to distribution workflows.

• Cross-functional Interviews: Discussions with PMs and Engineers to evaluate collaboration style, systems thinking, and understanding of agile/agentic scrum.

• Customer Interaction Simulation: Potential discussion or simulation of how you approach customer interaction and gather insights.

• Final Interview: Meeting with the VP of Product and potentially other senior leaders to assess cultural fit, strategic thinking, and overall alignment with the company's vision.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight AI Integration: Clearly showcase how you've used AI tools (Claude Code, Cursor) in your projects, focusing on concrete examples of output and impact.

• Demonstrate Craft: Ensure your visual examples are polished and reflect strong command over typography, color, layout, and hierarchy. Pull references from diverse sources beyond standard software.

• Tell a Story: For each project, articulate the problem, your process, your specific contributions, the challenges faced, and the measurable outcomes achieved. Focus on the "why" behind your design decisions.

• Legacy System Reimagining: Dedicate a significant portion of your portfolio to this requirement, detailing the "before" and "after," your rationale for changes, and how you drove adoption.

• Systems Thinking: Explain how you approach creating consistent and scalable design systems.

• Customer Empathy: Show evidence of how customer insights influenced your design decisions.

Challenge Preparation:

• AI Prototyping: Be prepared to demonstrate your ability to prototype in code using AI tools. Practice structuring prompts and evaluating AI-generated code.

• Workflow Analysis: Study common workflows in wholesale distribution or similar B2B operational software. Be ready to analyze inefficiencies and propose design solutions.

• Design System Principles: Understand how to build and maintain robust design systems that are both comprehensive and easy for teams to adopt.

• Agentic Scrum Understanding: Familiarize yourself with the concept of agentic scrum and be ready to discuss how design fits into such a model.

📝 Enhancement Note: The application process heavily emphasizes practical skills, particularly the hands-on use of AI tools and the ability to translate complex needs into elegant, functional designs. A strong, well-curated portfolio that directly addresses the requirements is paramount.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (implied standard, though not explicitly stated), Claude Code, Cursor.

• Design System Management: Tools for component libraries, token management, and documentation.

• Collaboration: Standard team communication and project management tools (e.g., Slack, Jira, Asana - assumed).

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly mentioned for the designer, understanding how design impacts user behavior and conversion metrics is key. Experience with analytics tools (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics) to interpret user data is a plus. CRM & Automation:

• Familiarity with the types of operational software Proton.ai integrates with or replaces (CRM, PIM, eCommerce AI, Order & Quote Entry) is beneficial for understanding the user context.

📝 Enhancement Note: The core tools highlighted are AI-powered coding and prototyping environments (Claude Code, Cursor), emphasizing Proton.ai's unique development approach. Proficiency in these tools, alongside traditional design software and a strong understanding of design system principles, is essential.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• High Agency & Urgency: A proactive, results-oriented mindset where individuals take ownership and drive progress quickly.

• Builder Mentality: A passion for creating, iterating, and shipping impactful software.

• Customer Obsession: Deep commitment to understanding and serving users, with a preference for direct interaction.

• AI Collaboration: Embracing AI as a partner in the design and development process.

• Craftsmanship: A dedication to high-quality design execution and a strong personal aesthetic.

Collaboration Style:

• Squad-Based: Working closely within small, cross-functional teams (PM, Eng, Design).

• Agentic Scrum Integration: Adapting collaboration to a model that includes AI agents as active participants.

• Direct Feedback: Openness to giving and receiving constructive feedback, particularly from customers and within the design community.

• Transparent Communication: Emphasis on clear and frequent communication, especially regarding design decisions and their rationale.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture is characteristic of a high-growth, innovative startup. Success hinges on individuals who are self-starters, deeply empathetic to users, comfortable with cutting-edge technology, and passionate about building exceptional products.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Defining AI Design Patterns: Establishing novel and effective patterns for AI-human interaction in a space where standards are still emerging.

• Balancing Craft and AI Leverage: Ensuring AI tools amplify, rather than dictate, design taste and quality.

• Adoption of Design System: Persuading and enabling multiple squads to consistently adopt and utilize the design system.

• Understanding Complex Workflows: Deeply internalizing the intricate operational processes of wholesale distributors to design effective solutions.

• Remote/Hybrid Collaboration: Effectively collaborating and maintaining design consistency across distributed and hybrid team members.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI Tool Mastery: Becoming an expert in leveraging AI for design and development, potentially influencing future tool development.

• Pioneering AI-Native Design: Contributing to the nascent field of AI-assisted product design and setting industry standards.

• Deep B2B UX Expertise: Developing specialized knowledge in designing for complex, high-frequency enterprise workflows.

• Mentorship: Opportunities to mentor junior designers and contribute to the overall design maturity of the company.

• Strategic Impact: Gaining experience in shaping product strategy and influencing the direction of a rapidly growing SaaS company.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents a unique opportunity to tackle novel design challenges at the intersection of AI and enterprise software, offering significant potential for professional growth and impact.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you set the visual language for a product from scratch. What was your process, and how did you ensure consistency?" (Focus on craft, systems thinking, and ownership).

• "How do you integrate AI tools like Claude Code or Cursor into your design workflow? Provide a specific example of how it helped you ship faster or better." (Focus on AI-native practice and tangible results).

• "Walk us through a project where you significantly improved a legacy system's user experience. What were the key challenges, and how did you overcome them?" (Focus on end-to-end delivery, user empathy, and problem-solving).

• "How do you approach defining AI interaction patterns (e.g., suggestion, review, handoff)? What principles guide your decisions on when a user should trust or override an AI agent?" (Focus on AI-human interaction design and strategic thinking). Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why are you interested in working at Proton.ai, and what excites you about our mission in wholesale distribution?" (Demonstrate research and alignment with company goals).

• "Describe your ideal work environment and how you thrive in a fast-paced startup setting." (Assess cultural fit, agency, and urgency).

• "How do you ensure you are deeply connected to users, especially when working in a hybrid or remote capacity?" (Highlight your customer-centric approach).

• "How do you balance the need for strong design craft with the efficiency gains offered by AI tools?" (Address the core tension of the role). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Lead with Impact: Start with your most impressive projects that directly address the core requirements (AI usage, legacy system reimagining, design system ownership).

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals effectively. For AI-assisted work, show the prompts, the AI output, and your subsequent refinements.

• Quantify Results: Whenever possible, include metrics demonstrating the impact of your designs (e.g., increased user adoption, reduced task completion time, improved satisfaction scores).

• Be Prepared for Code Questions: If you mention prototyping in code, be ready to discuss your code snippets and design decisions related to them.

• Articulate Your "Why": For every design decision, be ready to explain the rationale, linking it back to user needs, business goals, or technical constraints.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to rigorously test both design craft and practical application of AI. Candidates must be ready to demonstrate concrete skills, articulate their thought process clearly, and showcase a deep understanding of user workflows and AI integration.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this UI Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided Greenhouse link.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to prominently feature projects demonstrating your AI tool usage (Claude Code, Cursor), your ability to set visual language, and your experience reimagining legacy systems. Ensure case studies clearly articulate your process and impact.

• Resume Optimization: Highlight keywords such as "UI Product Design," "AI-native design," "Design Systems," "Prototyping," "Claude Code," "Cursor," "B2B," and "end-to-end delivery." Quantify achievements where possible.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, especially your approach to AI integration and customer research. Prepare specific examples for behavioral questions and be ready to present your portfolio confidently.

• Company Research: Understand Proton.ai's mission, the wholesale distribution industry, and their unique AI-driven approach. Prepare thoughtful questions about the role, team, and company vision.

⚠️ 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.