Founding Product Designer

• Work directly with the founders and founding engineer to build the product, take it to market, and improve it based on real reader behavior
• Own the visual design and much of the UX
• Shape the experience from the first screen a reader sees through closing a chapter
• Own the reading experience, including typography, layout, composer, streaming text, transitions, motion, and interaction details
• Own the wider product, including onboarding, story discovery, library, character interactions, episode endings, and sharing
• Turn rough ideas into clickable, testable prototypes
• Use AI and modern prototyping tools to explore ideas quickly
• Work closely with the founding engineer during implementation
• Test the real product and refine design details through production
• Establish visual language, interaction patterns, and standards for future designers
• Bring ideas, defend design decisions, challenge incorrect assumptions, and change direction when a better answer emerges
• Build a tier A consumer product with strong typography, interaction, motion, pacing, and visual consistency
• Pursue broad ownership with a path to Head of Design as the business grows

• Minimum 5+ years of experience
• Exceptional visual and UX taste
• Strong typography skills, including hierarchy, spacing, line length, rhythm, and readability
• Portfolio of real consumer product work demonstrating visual and UX design
• Experience designing and shipping products end to end
• Strong interaction and motion instincts
• Experience using AI to explore ideas and prototype interactions
• Proficiency with prototyping rather than only designing screens
• Ability to start from nothing without a detailed specification, existing design system, or competitor reference
• Understanding of implementation constraints and strong collaboration with engineers
• Ability to explain design decisions, challenge founders, and work independently
• Genuine interest in consumer psychology
• Preferred: four or more years designing consumer products
• Preferred: experience at an early-stage company
• Preferred: having taken at least one product from concept to launch
• Familiarity with Figma, Claude Design, AI-assisted design and prototyping tools
• Must-have skills: Product Designer, UI/UX Design
• Good-to-have skills: Interaction Design, Prototyping, Motion Design