Freelance Product Design Lead

ustwo•New York, NY

About The Position

We’re looking for experienced freelance Product Design Leads to help design and build complex tools and platforms. You’ll champion users’ needs and map and optimize end-to-end journeys across complex product ecosystems. You’ll apply user research methods to uncover insights and test design concepts and prototypes. AI is central to the work, and you’ll use it throughout the design process, from research and concept development to shipping production-ready code. You’ll work closely with client stakeholders, often founders and early-stage teams, so clear communication and strong relationship-building are essential. As the discipline lead on a project, you’ll work alongside a talented, collaborative team to shape, design, and build new products. The role calls for strategic and hands-on design leadership, product judgment, and the ability to work autonomously at startup pace amid ambiguity and changing client needs.

Requirements

Strong understanding of user research and a range of methods and techniques for uncovering insights and testing concepts and prototypes.
Ability to understand client business goals and technical limitations and work within those constraints.
Skill in identifying and prioritizing problems and aligning teams and clients.
Proficiency in qualitative and quantitative research methods.
Ability to translate insights and complex requirements into tangible design artifacts.
Ability to create user-centered designs, including experience journeys and end-to-end flows.
Strategic thinking and conceptual exploration, combined with attention to detail and the ability to guide a team.
Skill in interaction design, visual expression, design, and prototyping.
Experience leading design within cross-functional teams and distilling complex information into actionable steps.
Fluency in AI-assisted design and development workflows, including generating code with AI and contributing production-ready front-end work.
Strong product mindset and judgment about scope and priorities at different product stages.
Comfort working at startup pace with autonomy, self-direction, and limited oversight.
Strong storytelling, communication, collaboration, and relationship-building skills.
Ability to facilitate workshops and design reviews and incorporate different perspectives.
Ability to work through ambiguity and adapt to changing client needs.
Ability to explain where AI accelerates work and where design judgment matters most.

Responsibilities

Champion users’ needs and map and optimize end-to-end journeys across complex product ecosystems.
Use research methods to uncover insights and test design concepts and prototypes.
Use AI throughout the design process, including research, concept development, and production-ready code.
Work with client stakeholders to understand business goals and technical limitations, explore solutions, and deliver value.
Identify and prioritize problems and align teams and clients around them.
Translate research insights and complex requirements into design artifacts, including journeys and end-to-end flows.
Develop strategic concepts across the product ecosystem and guide the team through detailed design work.
Create interaction models and design solutions through visual design and prototyping.
Lead design within cross-functional teams and translate complex information into actionable steps.
Generate code with AI, understand how it fits into the technical stack, and contribute production-ready front-end work.
Use product judgment to decide what to build, what to cut, and how far to take work at each stage.
Self-direct work, make decisions, and manage personal output with limited oversight.
Communicate and tell the story of the design process, tailoring communication to different audiences.
Facilitate workshops and design reviews with clients and teammates, ensuring perspectives are heard and incorporated.
Adapt to ambiguity and changing client needs, guide the team, and build trust through consistent delivery.
Explain how AI accelerates work and where design judgment is most important.