Lead Product Designer

As Lead Product Designer at the Stellar Development Foundation, you will lead design across SDF's products and raise the bar on craft for the whole team. This is a player-coach role: you manage and mentor another designer while remaining a hands-on individual contributor on the most important and visible work. You set the design vision, uphold an exceptional standard of craft, and leverage AI tools to multiply what a small design team can deliver, moving faster from concept to high-fidelity, shippable design.

What you'll do

• In your first 30 days, ramp on SDF's products, design system, and roadmap; partner with product managers and engineers; and start contributing directly to active design work.
• Within 90 days, own the design vision for key product areas, establish how the team works including AI-assisted workflows, and support the growth of the designer you manage.
• Set and champion a clear product design vision aligned with company goals and brand values.
• Lead by example as the most senior designer, contributing directly to the most important projects with exceptional visual and interaction craft.
• Manage, mentor, and grow another product designer; provide thoughtful feedback and career development.
• Maintain and scale the design system to ensure consistency and speed across products.
• Leverage AI design and prototyping tools to increase the team's leverage and the quality and velocity of what you ship.
• Partner closely with Product and Engineering to ship pixel-perfect, user-centered experiences.
• Conduct user research and usability testing to validate decisions, and champion user-centered design across the organization.

What you bring

• 7+ years of product design experience with a strong portfolio of shipped, end-to-end work.
• Exceptional visual and interaction design skills and a critical eye for detail.
• Experience managing or mentoring other designers, with formal management experience a plus.
• Demonstrated use of AI tools to accelerate and elevate design work.
• Expert knowledge of modern design tools such as Figma and Framer, and experience building and scaling design systems.
• Strong communication skills; you can present, influence, and align stakeholders at all levels.
• A strong understanding of user-centered design, with experience in research and usability testing.

Nice to have

• On-chain, crypto, or fintech design experience.
• Experience building or scaling a design team.
• Prototyping with code or AI tools such as Framer, v0, or similar tools.
• Founder or 0-1 product experience.

What we offer

• Competitive base salary of $170,000-$235,000 depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and location, plus lumen-denominated grants.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage with most plans covered at 100% for the employee and dependents.
• Flexible time off plus 15 company holidays including a company-wide holiday break.
• 401(k) with 4% match.
• Commuter benefits with $250 per month employer contribution.
• Health and Dependent Care FSA Accounts.
• Health Savings Account with monthly employer contribution.
• Gym reimbursement of $80 per month.
• Life and ADD coverage at 1x salary up to $250,000.
• Short and long-term disability.
• Generous paid parental leave for all parents, plus paid pregnancy disability leave for birthing parents.
• Family building benefits through Kindbody.
• Wellbeing benefits including One Medical, Rightway, and Headspace.
• Learning and development budget of $1,500 per year.
• Daily lunch and snacks in office.
• Company retreats.

About Stellar Development Foundation

The Stellar Development Foundation is a non-profit organization supporting the Stellar network, a decentralized, fast, scalable blockchain platform for financial products and services. SDF provides grants, investments, and tooling to developers, financial institutions, NGOs, corporations, and entrepreneurs worldwide building on Stellar, creating real-world utility through the ability to issue assets and convert currencies in real time.