Product Design Lead, Elections

U.S. Digital Response

31d • $140,000 - $156,000 • Remote

About The Position

In 2023, USDR launched the Election Administration Platform (EAP), a cloud-based software suite that streamlines back-office operations for election officials. The platform is built on Airtable, a low-code tool that unlocks lower costs and higher customizability for election officials—while introducing significant challenges for user experience and platform scalability.

USDR is seeking a Product Design Lead to drive user experience and interface design for the EAP, with an initial focus on the platform and the potential to expand to other election tools over time. Given a complex, sometimes competing set of objectives, this role will play a critical part in determining how best to achieve our vision and mission.

This role balances two core responsibilities: providing strategic design leadership and hands-on design work (~40%), while building and managing a volunteer design team (~60%). The exact balance will evolve based on program needs and the strengths of the person in this role.

You'll inherit an existing team of volunteer designers and recruit additional volunteers over the course of 12 months. A critical aspect of this role is staying close to the design work to provide meaningful oversight — understanding volunteer work deeply enough to offer recommendations and to determine when to advance the work yourself and when to bring in volunteers for fresh thinking or increased velocity. You'll also need to manage transitions as volunteers rotate on and off the team at different times, and be prepared to step in and move work forward when there are unexpected changes.

This role is termed for 12 months, salaried, and is considered a full-time, benefits-eligible position at 32 hours per week (4 days per week). Potential for term extension will be based on future program needs and funding.

Requirements

• Have 7+ years as a senior independent contributor product designer for digital software products (ideally tech SaaS or analogous field on desktop web applications), with a strong portfolio of leading complex, ambiguous projects, and demonstrating ownership of the development of a product
• Have experience managing other designers — whether through direct reports, leading volunteer teams, or extensive mentorship
• Can demonstrate both strong senior independent contributor work AND people management experience; we're looking for someone who doesn't need training on either aspect
• Can balance hands-on design work with volunteer management responsibilities, and exercise judgment about when to delegate versus execute independently
• Effortlessly model the values in our USDR Community Oath
• A portfolio of relevant design work with strong examples of your work, your design process, and your role
• Experience providing design oversight and quality assurance, including refining others' work and determining when to delegate vs. execute design work independently
• Ability to work effectively through others, such as volunteers and a cross-functional team of product managers, program managers, and engineers
• Comfort in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment, including the possibility that the scope of what you work on may change over time
• Skill in building credibility and strong working relationships quickly in a new organization
• Ability to represent your organization professionally in complex stakeholder conversations
• Comfort advocating for your point-of-view, driving compromise, and getting buy-in and alignment
• Ability to synthesize insights from multiple sources and stakeholder perspectives to inform designs
• Ability to contribute to all stages of the product life-cycle: from early-stage strategy, to delivery, to post-delivery prioritization and quick fixes
• Familiarity with agile, iterative software development practices

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with modern design and collaboration tools such as Figma and component libraries

Responsibilities

• Define end-to-end user flows that incorporate technical information architecture, systems thinking, design principles, and common design patterns
• Create wireframes, prototypes, and design artifacts that align the team toward a shared vision and guide product development
• Create design specifications for web applications and design directly in Airtable for native interface work
• Screen, onboard, and manage a team of volunteer designers and user researchers, including transitioning and building on an existing volunteer design team, creating structure and processes that enable volunteers to contribute effectively while maintaining design quality and consistency
• Provide oversight and quality assurance on volunteer design work, stepping in to make direct improvements, bridge transitions when volunteers rotate off, or drive work forward independently when needed
• Determine when volunteer contributions make sense to increase team velocity or bring new expertise, versus when to execute design work yourself
• Influence prioritization of user journeys and features based on what will help the team achieve our shared mission
• Co-lead Partner Advisory panels to share and receive feedback on wireframes from customers
• Plan and facilitate user research in collaboration with research specialist volunteers, applying insights to inform product strategy, user personas, and feature direction
• Recommend accessibility best practices in compliance with WCAG 2.1 standards
• Uphold human-centered design principles and evangelize their value to other team members

Benefits

• A competitive salary, consistent with similar roles in other tech nonprofits in major U.S. metropolitan cities. The annual salary range for this role is $140,000 - 156,000, depending on experience, based on a 32-hour/week schedule.
• Full health, dental and vision benefits (USDR pays 100% of the cost for our employees and 80% of the cost for their dependents on most plans).
• 401K with a matching contribution of $1 for each dollar you contribute up to 3% of your salary, and $.50 for each dollar you contribute on 3-5% of your salary.
• An equipment reimbursement for the purchase of a computer and peripheral devices of up to $2,000, along with a Work from Home allowance of $100 each month, to support employees as they navigate working from home.
• A discretionary budget of $400 per year per employee for work-related learning and development.
• A supportive community where everyone can thrive and find a balance between working hard to make a difference and taking care of themselves. This means that we are committed to a fully remote work environment (for US-based employees) along with flexible schedules and time off policies that work with your life.

What This Job Offers

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