Director, Product Design

Handshake•San Francisco, CA

About The Position

Handshake is the career network for the AI economy. 20 million knowledge workers, 1,600 educational institutions, 1 million employers (including 100% of the Fortune 50), and every foundational AI lab trust Handshake to power career discovery, hiring, and upskilling, from freelance AI training gigs to first internships to full-time careers and beyond. This unique value is leading to unparalleled growth; in 2025, we tripled our ARR at scale. Why join Handshake now: Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel Work hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world’s top educational institutions Join a team with leadership from Scale AI, Meta, xAI, Notion, Coinbase, and Palantir, among others Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue The Role Collaborate closely with your cross-functional partners: research, product, engineering, analytics, and marketing to ship and iterate on strategic, great-to-use products that make real impact for both our customers and business Set your team up to succeed: hire and grow the team; raise the bar on culture, operations, and execution of design work, including product reasoning, systems thinking, pixel level precision, mobile prototyping, ability to facilitate conversations with and present to stakeholders, stellar teamwork and mentoring Strengthen the overall product organization's ability to experiment, iterate, and learn alongside your product organization lead teammates; develop well-informed strategic visions of where we're headed, break up those visions into pragmatic phases to scaffold our way forward Influence and evolve creative direction and information architecture alongside your design leader teammates and the VP of Design to weave a seamless, symbiotic experience across the disparate areas of our three-sided marketplace Foster and operationalize a productive, inclusive design team culture alongside your design leads teammates, ensuring everyone is supported and set up to do their best work and their best teamwork You Have You've designed and shipped products, especially for mobile platforms, that customers love, and can systematically, clearly articulate what it took to make that happen, from high-level strategy down to pixel-level decision-making You have plenty of experience navigating complex systems, ambiguity, experimentation; you're pragmatic, flexible, and creative in seeking out solutions and paths forward You relish using your design skills to bring clarity and simplicity to both process and product, and can demonstrate that you've done so effectively in the past You've got a track record of building up and developing happy, high-performing teams; you take pride and joy in setting up designers from a wide variety of backgrounds for top-notch performance, impeccable vibes and constant learning; you seek innovative ways to flow around any barriers You're humble and kind despite your track record, excited to keep learning, curious about the workings of a three-sided marketplace and ever-evolving team / product surface area Extra bonus if you're experienced with leading one or more of: multi-sided marketplaces, growth, b2b Bonus Points Extra bonus if you're experienced with leading one or more of: multi-sided marketplaces, growth, b2b Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported and thrive at work and in life. The below benefits are for full-time US employees. 🎯 Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company 💰 Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching 🍼 Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching 💝 Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend 📚 Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development 💻 Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office 🏝 Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days 🤝 Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers. #LI-AK1

Requirements

You've designed and shipped products, especially for mobile platforms, that customers love, and can systematically, clearly articulate what it took to make that happen, from high-level strategy down to pixel-level decision-making
You have plenty of experience navigating complex systems, ambiguity, experimentation; you're pragmatic, flexible, and creative in seeking out solutions and paths forward
You relish using your design skills to bring clarity and simplicity to both process and product, and can demonstrate that you've done so effectively in the past
You've got a track record of building up and developing happy, high-performing teams; you take pride and joy in setting up designers from a wide variety of backgrounds for top-notch performance, impeccable vibes and constant learning; you seek innovative ways to flow around any barriers
You're humble and kind despite your track record, excited to keep learning, curious about the workings of a three-sided marketplace and ever-evolving team / product surface area

Nice To Haves

Extra bonus if you're experienced with leading one or more of: multi-sided marketplaces, growth, b2b
Extra bonus if you're experienced with leading one or more of: multi-sided marketplaces, growth, b2b

Responsibilities

Collaborate closely with your cross-functional partners: research, product, engineering, analytics, and marketing to ship and iterate on strategic, great-to-use products that make real impact for both our customers and business
Set your team up to succeed: hire and grow the team; raise the bar on culture, operations, and execution of design work, including product reasoning, systems thinking, pixel level precision, mobile prototyping, ability to facilitate conversations with and present to stakeholders, stellar teamwork and mentoring
Strengthen the overall product organization's ability to experiment, iterate, and learn alongside your product organization lead teammates; develop well-informed strategic visions of where we're headed, break up those visions into pragmatic phases to scaffold our way forward
Influence and evolve creative direction and information architecture alongside your design leader teammates and the VP of Design to weave a seamless, symbiotic experience across the disparate areas of our three-sided marketplace
Foster and operationalize a productive, inclusive design team culture alongside your design leads teammates, ensuring everyone is supported and set up to do their best work and their best teamwork