Director of User Experience (UX)

Prosper•San Francisco Bay Area, CA

20h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of User Experience (UX) serves as the primary visionary and operational leader for Prosper’s UX organization. The role shapes UX strategy, optimizes DesignOps, integrates emerging technologies such as AI, and ensures cross-functional alignment. The Director combines organizational leadership with hands-on management to help 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, supports organizational growth, and cultivates an inclusive, high-performing design culture. They own the UX organization’s long-term strategy and champion user-centric, ethical AI in product experiences and UX workflows. They are accountable for the systems, tools, processes, and budget used across UX, and work with Product, Engineering, Customer Experience, and other departments to align priorities, resolve dependencies, and improve collaboration. This is a hybrid role requiring two days per week in Prosper’s San Francisco office. The posted annual salary range is $190,000–$237,000, plus bonus and benefits. Salary may depend on location, experience, and other job-related factors.

Requirements

8–10+ years of experience in UX Design, Product Design, or a related field.
3–5+ years of leadership experience managing other managers.
Bachelor’s degree.
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.
Ensure UX Managers understand quarterly objectives, coordinate project workflows, and have the resources needed to support 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.
Cultivate a healthy, inclusive, and high-performing design culture.
Own, develop, and execute long-term strategic plans for the UX organization.
Establish and champion a vision for incorporating AI into product experiences in a user-centric, ethical manner aligned with product priorities.
Ensure product experiences are usable, viable for the business, technically feasible, and aligned with the company’s brand.
Partner with stakeholders to turn user needs and business objectives into impactful, prioritized UX projects.
Maintain accountability for UX systems, tools, and processes, and continually optimize workflows.
Evaluate, adopt, and integrate AI tools into UX processes to streamline workflows, automate routine tasks, and accelerate research and design output.
Establish and facilitate cross-team collaboration, including UX critiques, design reviews, and retrospectives.
Ensure UX teams collaborate effectively, maintain alignment, and work toward shared objectives.
Serve as the primary UX liaison to leaders in Product, Engineering, Customer Experience, and other departments.
Coordinate with cross-functional leaders to identify dependencies, resolve development roadblocks, and establish collaborative processes.
Design and lead cross-departmental workshops to align teams 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.