Lead Product Designer
About The Position
Bluesky is building a future where social media is open, customizable, and full of possibility, similar to the web. Their app is used daily by millions, and it's built on a protocol that supports an ecosystem of connected apps. They are seeking a lead product designer who can both produce excellent design work and lead a small team of designers. This is a player-coach role where the individual will be hands-on with design problems end-to-end while also directing and developing the team. As the lead designer, you will define Bluesky's visual identity and design culture, driving a new vision for social media. You will own complex design work and manage a team of 2-4 designers, mentoring them and ensuring they produce their best work. You will establish craft standards, lead critiques, and act as the design voice for product and engineering decisions. This role is for someone who enjoys solving product problems directly and fostering a thriving design culture. You will have significant influence over Bluesky's product development, aesthetics, and the growth of design as a discipline within the company.
Requirements
- 10+ years of experience designing digital products, with a strong portfolio of shipped work
- At least 3–5 years leading product design for social, platforms, and/or consumer digital products
- Experience directly managing designers, including performance reviews, hiring, and career development
- Deeply hands-on with the craft: designing, prototyping, focusing on details
- Strong visual design skills, including aesthetic judgment around layout, typography, and hierarchy
- A strong, articulate design point of view and ability to represent design confidently to leadership and cross-functional partners
- Deep experience building and evolving design systems that scale with a growing team and product
- Comfortable influencing product direction, not just executing on it — experience shaping roadmaps and helping define what to build and why
- Strong user empathy and ability to translate messy, qualitative signal into actionable product insight
- Highly proficient with Figma, including advanced component and system work
- Comfortable building interactive prototypes
- Ability to hold certainty lightly, take feedback well, and iterate quickly
Nice To Haves
- Experience leading design on a consumer social or community product
- Strong opinions about what makes social apps feel great, and the ability to articulate and defend them
- A track record of growing designers into more senior roles through mentorship, sponsorship, and stretch opportunities
- Experience contributing to product and brand identity at a company level
- Experience running or commissioning user research and turning insights into product improvements
- Familiarity with decentralized or open-protocol products, or genuine curiosity about what they make possible
- A love-hate relationship with auto layout and a habit of pushing it to its absolute limits
Responsibilities
- Own significant design projects end-to-end — from early ideation and exploration through execution, launch, and post-release iteration
- Bring strong product judgment to decisions about scope, sequencing, and quality, including knowing when not to ship something
- Design clear, intuitive interaction flows and interfaces that feel cohesive and intentional across iOS, Android, and web
- Drive and evolve Bluesky’s visual language, design system, and holistic identity as the product and team grow
- Stay close to users: reviewing real usage, synthesizing feedback, and using those insights to improve the product
- Sweat the details that matter: copy, states, hierarchy, accessibility, and interaction polish
- Manage a team of 2–4 product designers, including 1:1s, performance reviews, goal-setting, and career development
- Mentor and grow designers at all levels, helping them take on more ownership and develop their craft
- Lead design critiques and reviews, raising the quality bar across the team through specific, high-standard feedback
- Hire and onboard design talent as the team grows
- Help define how design works at Bluesky: how we collaborate, how we prioritize, and how we hold ourselves to a high bar
- Partner with product and engineering leadership to define problems, shape roadmaps, and make strategic tradeoffs
- Represent design in cross-functional conversations, bringing clarity and a strong point of view to ambiguous decisions
- Champion the user across the organization, translating research and qualitative signal into product direction
Benefits
- Equity will be considered in the total compensation package.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
