Staff Product Designer - VC Backed Startups

Department: EPD

Location: NYC - Hybrid

Compensation: $170K – $250K • Offers Equity

Employment Type: FullTime

Join SignalFire’s Talent Network for Staff Product Designer Roles at VC-Backed Startups

🛑 This is not an application for a specific job. Instead, this is a way to get on the radar of VC-backed startups that are actively hiring Design talent. If you have any questions, please direct inquiries to talentnetwork@signalfire.com.

At SignalFire, we partner with top early-stage startups that are shaping the future of technology. Our portfolio spans 200+ innovative companies across AI, cybersecurity, healthtech, fintech, developer tools, and enterprise SaaS.

We’re looking to connect with exceptional Staff Product Designers who are excited about leading design strategy, scaling design systems, and crafting world-class user experiences. By joining SignalFire’s Talent Network, your profile will be shared with our portfolio companies, giving you visibility into exclusive early-stage opportunities that may not be publicly listed.

Who Should Join?

We’re looking for designers who are:
✔ Passionate about leading product design efforts and shaping user experience at scale
✔ Experienced in building and scaling design systems that support complex digital products
✔ Excited to mentor designers, collaborate cross-functionally, and drive user research

Typical Roles & Responsibilities

• Lead the design vision and user experience for high-growth startup products

• Create high-fidelity UI designs, prototypes, and interaction models for web and mobile applications

• Develop and maintain scalable design systems to ensure consistency across products

• Work closely with engineering and product teams to align design strategy with business goals

• Conduct user research, usability testing, and A/B experiments to optimize the product experience

• Advocate for accessibility, usability, and human-centered design principles

• Establish best practices for UX/UI workflows, design documentation, and cross-functional collaboration

• Mentor and guide junior designers, fostering a strong design culture within the team

Common Qualifications

While each startup has its own hiring criteria, many staff product design roles in our network look for:

• 6+ years of experience in product design, UX/UI, or interaction design

• Expertise in Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, and prototyping tools (Framer, InVision, Principle)

• Experience designing for complex applications, AI-driven interfaces, or enterprise SaaS products

• Strong understanding of user research, usability testing, and data-driven design decision-making

• Proven ability to develop and scale design systems across multiple products

• Knowledge of motion design, micro-interactions, and responsive UI principles

• Familiarity with front-end technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript basics) for effective collaboration with engineers

• Experience working in fast-paced startup environments or cross-functional teams

💡 Tools & Technologies You Might Work With:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, Framer, InVision, Principle

• User Research & Testing: Maze, Lookback, UserTesting, Hotjar, Google Analytics

• Design Systems & UI Libraries: Material Design, Tailwind UI, Carbon Design System

• Collaboration & Handoff: Notion, Miro, Zeplin, Abstract, Storybook

• Front-End Basics (for Collaboration): HTML, CSS, JavaScript basics

What Happens Next?

1. Submit your application to join SignalFire’s Talent Ecosystem.

2. We review applications on an ongoing basis to identify strong candidates.

3. If there’s a match, a SignalFire talent partner or a leader from one of our startups may reach out directly.

4. No match yet? We’ll keep your profile on file for future product design roles in our portfolio.