Product Design Contractor

Spherical

27d•Remote

About The Position

Spherical is a transdisciplinary research and design studio focused on regenerating Earth's living systems. They are seeking a mid-level Product Design Contractor for a six-month engagement. This role involves close collaboration with the Design Director and Senior Designer on the Living Infrastructure Field Kit. The contractor will contribute to UI design, interaction design, and component documentation, directly influencing how communities in Greater Los Angeles plan and propose living infrastructure projects. This is a remote contract position requiring 32-40 hours per week and reports to the Design Director. The Living Infrastructure Field Kit is a free platform for the Greater LA region, offering map-based planning tools, local data, and learning materials for living infrastructure projects. It serves a diverse user base, including community organizers, environmental advocates, government agencies, and educators, and is funded by Accelerate Resilience Los Angeles (ARLA). The product team operates in three-week sprints with parallel design and engineering efforts, in a research-informed environment with collaboration among product designers, a researcher, and engineers.

Requirements

Demonstrated professional experience designing digital products across web and mobile.
A strong portfolio showing product design work; please include your portfolio link with your application.
Strong foundation in visual design fundamentals: typography, color, layout, and composition.
Solid interaction design skills with experience designing complex flows, edge cases, and responsive interfaces.
Experience working with and contributing to design systems.
Familiarity with accessibility standards (WCAG) and inclusive design practices.
Proficiency in Figma.
Able to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously and keep the Design Director informed of any issues in real time.
High standards of craft with a consistent ability to meet deadlines.
A thorough, exploratory approach to design and a willingness to push ideas before landing on the right solution.
Collaborative, with a calm and solutions-oriented approach under pressure.
Comfortable taking direction and iterating quickly and accurately.
Able to work effectively in a sprint cadence alongside engineers and researchers.

Nice To Haves

Formal education in graphic design, interaction design, or a related field is a plus, though equivalent professional experience and a strong portfolio are equally valued.
Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite is a plus.
Healthy balance of comfort, curiosity and discernment in the use of AI-assisted tools and workflows.

Responsibilities

Deliver UI design and documented components for the Field Kit.
Simplify key flows to enhance platform navigation and usability.
Improve visual consistency and component coverage across the UI kit.
Ground design decisions in validated user needs and technical feasibility.
Deliver clear specifications and prototypes for smooth engineering handoff.
Contribute to accessibility improvements across the platform.
Collaborate with the product team on short discovery cycles to validate user needs, synthesize findings into design requirements, and establish guardrails before high-fidelity work.
Partner with engineers throughout implementation to review production builds and ensure design quality.
Support Design leadership in creating presentations and executive-ready visuals for leadership and client reviews, as needed and within allocated hours.