Head of Design

Faros • San Mateo, CA

2d

About The Position

We are looking for a strategic and visionary Head of Design to lead design across both of our major product bets. On one hand, you will own the end-to-end experience of our core engineering intelligence platform, upgrading its polish, coherence, and data storytelling to the high standard that enterprise buyers expect. On the other hand, you will be the founding designer of our new agentic AI platform - greenfield work that requires rethinking how engineers and leaders engage with data, guidance, and action across multiple mediums, from web and mobile to conversational AI, Slack messages, and Jira flags.
Few design roles ask you to mature an existing product and invent a new interaction paradigm at the same time. This one does.
Crucially, you will be the architect of a modern, AI-augmented design organization. This is a high-impact, true "player-coach" role. You will operate as a hands-on Individual Contributor for at least the next 12–18 months, utilizing the latest AI tools to optimize your own output and ship polished UI. Simultaneously, you will manage our existing UX designer, lead by example, and build the strategic foundation required to scale the design team as Faros grows.

Requirements

• Experience & DNA: 8+ years of experience in Product Design, with at least 3 years in a leadership or "founding designer" role within a fast-moving startup. We are open to deep B2B SaaS experience or candidates with a Consumer background who want to bring consumer-grade, emotionally resonant UX to the enterprise space.
• The Player-Coach Mentality (Hands-on Craft): You possess the strategic vision of a Head of Design but still love being in the trenches. You are an expert in modern design tools and are excited to execute high-fidelity work yourself while the team is small.
• Deep AI Tooling Fluency: You understand the constraints and possibilities of LLMs, agentic workflows, and generative UI. You have deep, hands-on experience using modern AI tools to optimize the design lifecycle and accelerate your own day-to-day workflow.
• UX Systems & Data Visualization Expertise: Proven ability to unify complex product surfaces into a single, cohesive experience. You bring a deep portfolio showcasing your ability to translate complex analytics into intuitive, insight-driven UI.
• Outcome-Driven Mindset: You understand that great design drives business. You will be measured not just on aesthetics, but on customer satisfaction (CSAT) and our ability to convert Proof of Concepts (POCs) into successful, closed deals.
• Leadership Capacity: Experience managing or mentoring designers and a clear vision for how to grow a design organization from the ground up.

Nice To Haves

• Experience designing for AI-powered products or natural language interfaces.
• Familiarity with the engineering/DevOps landscape (DORA metrics, GitHub workflows, etc.).
• Strong understanding of front-end constraints, the ability to partner effectively with Lead Engineers, and an eagerness to leverage AI coding agents to close the gap between design and implementation.
• Passionate about tinkering with the latest AI design tools and engineering frameworks (e.g., Google Stitch, Moonchild AI, Flowstep, Figma Make, UX Pilot, etc.) to constantly broaden the boundaries of what your team can build.

Responsibilities

• Design for Dynamic, Adaptive UI: Define how users collaborate with our AI agents. You will design for the user's context, understanding that a conversational AI interaction requires a fundamentally different approach than a web or mobile interface.
• Own the End-to-End Experience & Elevate Polish: Be the ultimate owner and definitive voice for usability across the Faros suite. We expect you to lead a "systemic facelift" of our UI, moving us to a refined, high-maturity visual language that resonates with enterprise buyers.
• Master Data Storytelling: Act as the dedicated owner for data visualization standards. You will transform complex engineering analytics and operational data into clear, actionable, and beautiful insights, recommendations, alerts, dashboards, and shareable information.
• Leverage an AI-First Workflow & Lead the Team: Move at startup speed. We expect you to jump into the codebase using AI coding agents to fix UI/UX issues and raise PRs directly. Beyond your own output, you will be responsible for AI literacy within the design organization, ensuring your team uses the latest technology to optimize their workflows.
• Partner with Engineering, Product, and Go-To-Market: Act as the bridge between Product and Engineering/Sales/Marketing. You must be able to confidently explain your design choices to GTM teams, debate what great UX means, and tie design back to business outcomes, while balancing “moving fast" with the craftsmanship required for a category-defining product.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed