Principal Product Designer, Contract

Pacaso

2h•Remote

About The Position

Pacaso exists to enrich lives by making second home ownership possible and enjoyable for more people. Our innovative co-ownership model is the easiest, smartest and most responsible way for people to experience the joy of a second home. We provide all the benefits of true ownership without the hassles through our simplified financial structure, easy and equitable scheduling, and dedicated local property management.Founded by former Zillow executives, Pacaso has facilitated over $1 billion in gross real estate transactions and service fees across more than 40 markets nationwide, as well as internationally in Paris, London, and Cabo. We have been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, CNBC and more.Pacaso is a certified Great Place to Work and has received numerous accolades for its workplace culture. Fortune and Great Place To Work named Pacaso to the 2024 Best Workplaces in Real Estate list. In 2023, Pacaso was recognized as a Best Workplace in the Bay Area™, and in 2022, it ranked among the Best Medium Workplaces™, Best Workplaces for Real Estate™, and Best Workplaces for Millennials™. Additionally, Pacaso was ranked #6 on Glassdoor's 2022 list of Best Places to Work and was one of LinkedIn's top startups in 2022. The Opportunity We're looking for a seasoned Principal Product Designer to join us on a contract basis during a critical period of growth. You'll own the design of some of our most impactful buyer and owner-facing experiences, starting with a rebrand of Pacaso.com and ultra personalized experiences for our buyers to drive conversion, followed by our swap and scheduling features for owners. This is a rare contract role with real runway: the right person has an opportunity to extend beyond the initial engagement, with a potential path to a full-time position in 2027.

Requirements

Customer obsession. You have a customer first mentality. You are a data driven decision maker, leveraging customer research and feedback to drive design decisions.
Luxury-first design instincts. You have a portfolio that demonstrates deep experience designing for premium and luxury audiences. You understand the nuance between clean and elevated — and you never settle for generic.
AI-augmented workflow. You actively leverage AI tools to accelerate your design process, from ideation to production-ready specs. You clone yourself with the right tools and move faster without sacrificing craft.
Engineering partnership. Working with engineers isn't just something you tolerate — it's one of your superpowers. You communicate clearly, document thoroughly, and build trust quickly with technical partners.
Startup agility. You've operated in fast-moving environments and know how to get up to speed quickly, make decisions with ambiguity, and ship high-quality work at pace.
Sharp attention to detail. You catch what others miss. Your work reflects a high bar for typography, spacing, interaction, and consistency — especially at the component and system level. You are comfortable working in ambiguity in the midst of product complexity.
Collaboration and communication. You're a clear, proactive communicator across design, product, and engineering, and cross-functional teams — and you raise the design quality of every team you're part of.
8+ years of product design experience, with a significant portion at the principal or senior + level
Portfolio demonstrating luxury or premium consumer product design (hospitality, real estate, travel, fintech, or adjacent industries strongly preferred)
Experience translating brand vision into elevated product experiences
Experience translating complex concepts into simple experiences for a luxury audience
Proficiency in Figma, including component libraries and design systems
Experience with mobile app design (iOS and Android) and responsive web
Demonstrated use of AI tools in your design workflow (e.g., generative design, AI-assisted prototyping, documentation acceleration)
Experience in a startup or high-growth environment where speed and quality coexisted

Nice To Haves

Experience with fractional ownership, real estate, or luxury travel platforms
Familiarity with brand redesign or design system migration projects
Prior work on owner/member portals or loyalty/swap/exchange-type features

Responsibilities

Lead design of ultra-personalized experiences tailored to high net worth individuals to drive buyer conversion and the website and mobile app
Lead the design perspective of our brand redesign, expected to take place in Q2 — bringing a fresh visual lens to how Pacaso presents itself to prospective buyers
Lead design for Pacaso's swap experience — the core feature that allows co-owners to trade stays across our global portfolio — including new swap functionality being extended to Infinity (whole home) owners
Own the in-app owner experience holistically, including enhancements to other features such as scheduling, our AI concierge, and financing.
Translate complex concepts into elegant, intuitive experiences that feel premium at every touchpoint