Associate Director of Product Design

City of New York•New York City, NY

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Campaign Finance Board is a nonpartisan, independent city agency that empowers New Yorkers to have a greater impact on their elections. Our mission is to make local democracy more open, transparent, and equitable by removing barriers to participation. We make it easier for New Yorkers to vote, meaningfully support candidates for city office, and run for office themselves. NYC Votes, our voter engagement initiative, meets people where they are to share trustworthy election information and help New Yorkers make a plan to vote. We publish the citywide Voter Guide, which delivers information about candidates directly to voters’ doors. Our public matching funds program ensures small contributions can make a big difference, allowing regular people to run for office by relying on the support of other regular people, not just wealthy donors and special interests. And we lift the veil on how candidates raise and spend money, increasing transparency and accountability in local government. We believe that when every New Yorker is empowered to participate meaningfully in elections, candidates will better reflect the communities they serve, elected leaders will be more accountable to the public, and New Yorkers will have a democracy they can truly trust. The Associate Director of Product Design is a senior design leader responsible for driving the execution of user-centered design across digital products and public-facing services. Reporting to the Senior Director of Product, this role translates high-level design vision into actionable product experiences that improve service delivery, accessibility, and trust in government. The Associate Director of Product Design plays a critical role in embedding human-centered design practices into cross-functional teams, ensuring that policy-driven requirements are transformed into intuitive, equitable, and accessible digital experiences. This leader balances strategy and hands-on design oversight, mentoring designers while partnering closely with product and engineering leadership. Unlike private sector roles focused on revenue or growth metrics, success in this role is measured by usability, accessibility, adoption, clarity, and public value. This position will require the selected candidate to obtain NYC residency within 90 days of starting their job and be in-person in the CFB Manhattan office a minimum of 1 day a week.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in product design, UX/UI, or service design.
5+ years of experience designing complex digital services that serve broad and diverse user populations.
5+ years of experience working with cross-functional teams in agile or iterative environments.
Strong portfolio demonstrating systems thinking, accessibility awareness, and end-to-end product ownership.
Knowledge of accessibility standards (WCAG, Section 508) and inclusive design best practices.
Strong facilitation and communication skills, especially in environments involving policy or regulatory complexity.
Candidates for this role must include a portfolio of their work when applying for this position

Nice To Haves

5+ years of experience in product design, with a demonstrated track record of discovery and delivery of technological projects.
3+ years of managing people.
Previous work in government, civic, or political tech.
Experience building a product design team from scratch.
Experience modernizing legacy products.
Knowledge of content design and plain language principles, particularly as they apply to policy-heavy, civic-facing services.

Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end product design efforts for key digital services and platforms.
Translate policy, operational, and regulatory requirements into simple, intuitive user experiences.
Ensure consistent application of design standards, accessibility requirements, and inclusive design principles.
Oversee user flows, interaction models, wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity design outputs.
Champion user research practices including interviews, usability testing, journey mapping, and accessibility testing.
Ensure all digital products meet accessibility standards (Section 508, WCAG).
Embed inclusive design practices that account for language access, digital literacy, disability access, and device constraints.
Promote scalable, modular design practices across products.
Serve as an advocate for human-centered design within the agency, helping non-design teams understand and adopt iterative, user-focused workflows.
Mentor and coach mid-level and senior designers, providing feedback and growth opportunities while supporting hiring efforts to build a diverse, high-performing design team.
Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and mission-driven team culture.