Product Designer (Contract)

Location: Remote (US) or San Jose, CA
Annual Salary: USD 125,000 - USD 175,000
Type: 3 month contract with potential for FTE conversion
Reports to: Director of Product Design

The Role

We are looking for a talented and motivated Product Designer to own the design and user experience (UX) of Playground. This role will be critical in creating an engaging, family-friendly interface that enhances how users interact with Playground. You will collaborate closely with our product and engineering teams to design and iterate on experiences that support our mission to connect families through fun and physical activity. Using first principles thinking, you’ll be tirelessly seeking opportunities to improve the first-time user experience, the core browsing experience, and other features intended to engage and retain users.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design process for the OS, focusing on user needs, usability, and delightful interactions for both kids and adults.
• Design and prototype the UI/UX for our custom Android-based operating system, including navigation, settings, and play modes.
• Design user-friendly web-based features that allow users to manage their Playground account off-device
• Work closely with product leaders, engineers, and marketers to understand requirements, align on objectives, and deliver innovative design solutions.
• Create wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity designs for new features. Collaborate with engineering to refine designs based on feedback and testing.
• Work to build more consistent practice around team-wide customer empathy by participating in and leading research and testing
• Conduct user research and usability testing to validate design decisions, identify pain points, and iterate on solutions.
• Help build and maintain a consistent design language and design system for both the OS and web platforms.
• Conduct regular audits and usability testing to ensure the design system meets user needs and maintains a high level of quality.
• Advocate for the value and importance of a design system to stakeholders across the company.

Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience in product design, UI/UX design, or a similar role.
• Experience with software development and the processes and practices associated with it.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating experience in interaction design, visual design, and user experience, with a focus on consumer-facing digital products.
• An eye for high-quality, well-crafted visual and interaction design.
• Proficiency with design and prototyping tools such as Figma, Sketch or similar.
• Strong leadership and communication skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions and advocate for user-centered design.
• Ability to balance multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• A knack for figuring out ambiguous problems and shaping them into clear goals.
• Passion for creating engaging experiences for families, children, and friends.

Nice To Have

• Experience designing operating systems, or 10-foot UI experiences.
• Experience conducting user research and usability testing.
• Familiarity with designing for entertainment experiences with a library of content that is curated and editorialized.
• Knowledge of design systems and creating reusable design components.

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