Principal Product Designer

Free Association is hiring! We’re looking for a Principal Product Designer to join our team. In this role, you’ll bring hands-on design expertise and leadership to a variety of product design challenges.

Principal Product Designers at Free Association are hybrid designers, strategists and team leaders. They are passionate about creating elegant, useful digital products, ensuring a high standard of quality, integrity and ingenuity at every step of the process. As a Principal Product Designer, you’ll be responsible for the overall strategy, user experience and visual execution of the products you work on. 

Outside of client work, you’ll contribute to the growth and evolution of the design discipline at Free Association. You’ll mentor associate and lead-level designers, contribute to the company’s body of design knowledge, and help shape our point of view on emerging design frameworks, processes and tools.

• 7+ years of relevant industry experience
• Strong portfolio showcasing cross-platform digital product expertise
• Demonstrated ability to distill complex problems into simple and effective solutions
• Experience leading teams and mentoring designers
• Experience collaborating with engineers to realize prototypes, guide implementation and launch new products
• Intuitive design instincts with the ability to track into research-driven processes
• Ability to excel in a fast-paced, highly iterative and collaborative environment
• Ability to translate business objectives into product strategy
• Experience with prototyping tools like Principle, Framer, or After Effects
• Experience creating, using and managing design systems
• Strong written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills
• Thoughtful, systematic and highly organized

• Split time between hands-on design, team leadership and mentorship of other designers
• Set the bar for work quality and performance of the team
• Develop original design concepts, and oversee all aspects of execution through to launch
• Create sketches, storyboards, prototypes, and design specifications necessary to guide development of product experiences
• Build relationships, understand client vision/direction, and collaborate with a variety of stakeholders to build relevant product experiences for users
• Conduct workshops and brainstorming sessions with internal design team members, defining narratives and visual design direction for new initiatives
• Present work and rationale for decisions to executive-level client stakeholders, representing Free Association at all stages of engagement
• Collaborate with Team Leads and Product Managers to help scope design phases of projects accurately and efficiently
• Help create, manage and evolve the product backlog, driving week-to-week task prioritization

• 6+ Weeks PTO 
• 12 Weeks Paid Parental Leave with flexible return
• 3% Company Contribution to your 401k
• Monthly Employee Stipend 
• Remote Set-Up Allowance
• Premium Apple hardware and customized software set-up
• + many other great benefits to support you & your family!