Director of User Experience (UX)

Prosper•San Francisco, CA

2d•$190,000 - $237,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of User Experience (UX) is the primary visionary and operational leader for Prosper’s UX organization. The role shapes the organization’s design strategy, optimizes DesignOps, integrates emerging technologies such as AI, and aligns teams across functions. It combines organizational leadership with hands-on management to ensure teams deliver desirable, viable, and feasible user experiences that connect with the company’s brand and advance product initiatives. The Director leads and develops UX Managers, oversees management-level hiring and organizational design, establishes the UX organization’s long-term strategy, and champions user-centered, ethical AI integration in both product experiences and design workflows. The role is accountable for UX systems, tools, processes, collaboration practices, and cross-team alignment. It also serves as the primary UX liaison to Product, Engineering, Customer Experience, and other departments; resolves dependencies and roadblocks; and leads alignment workshops. The Director works with UX Managers and the VP on staffing and tool allocation, and manages the cross-team UX budget, including funding for team-building, professional development, industry recognition, and travel. The position is hybrid, with two days per week in Prosper’s San Francisco office and flexibility to work remotely the rest of the time.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree.
8–10+ years of experience in UX Design, Product Design, or a related field.
3–5+ years of leadership experience managing other managers.
Experience directly managing and integrating UX Research and UX Writing/Content Design disciplines.
Strong background in DesignOps, scaling design teams, and optimizing cross-functional product development processes.
Forward-thinking approach to emerging technology, with proven experience or strong capability integrating AI into design workflows and product features.
Demonstrated ability to influence executive stakeholders, align design strategy with business goals, and lead collaborative workshops.

Responsibilities

Directly manage, mentor, and support the professional growth of UX Managers; clarify quarterly objectives, align project workflows, and ensure managers have the resources needed by their teams.
Lead hiring decisions and organizational design for management-level UX roles.
Conduct regular one-on-ones with direct reports and quarterly skip-level meetings with individual contributors; foster a healthy, inclusive, high-performing design culture.
Develop and execute long-term strategic plans for the UX organization.
Establish and champion a user-centric, ethical vision for AI in product experiences, identifying opportunities that align with product priorities.
Ensure product experiences are usable, viable for the business, technically feasible, and aligned with the company’s brand identity.
Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to turn user needs and business objectives into prioritized UX projects that balance business goals with user benefit.
Oversee UX systems, tools, and processes, continually optimizing workflows to increase the organization’s impact at scale.
Evaluate, adopt, and integrate AI tools into UX workflows to streamline work, automate routine tasks, and accelerate research and design output.
Establish and facilitate cross-team UX critiques, design reviews, retrospectives, and other collaboration practices.
Ensure UX teams collaborate, stay aligned, and work toward shared objectives rather than operating in silos.
Serve as the primary UX liaison to leaders in Product, Engineering, Customer Experience, and other departments.
Coordinate with cross-functional leaders to identify dependencies, remove development roadblocks, and establish collaborative processes.
Design and lead cross-departmental workshops to align stakeholders on product vision and UX priorities.
Collaborate with UX Managers and the VP to allocate staffing and tools across UX teams.
Establish and manage the cross-team UX budget, including funding for team-building, professional development, industry recognition, and travel.

Benefits

Competitive salary of $190,000–$237,000 annually, plus bonus and benefits.
401(k) with a 5% company match.
Flexible time off.
Paid parental leave.
Annual wellness allowance.
Comprehensive health coverage.
Udemy access.
Childcare assistance.
Pet insurance.
Additional savings through Beneplace.
Hybrid work environment with two days per week in the San Francisco office and flexibility to work remotely.