Staff Designer – VehicleOS, Instrumentation

General Motors • Sunnyvale, CA

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

GM’s Human Interface Design – Vehicle Studio is hiring a Staff Designer – Instrumentation to lead the future of in-vehicle driver information. In this role, you will act as a senior individual contributor and domain expert for digital instrument clusters and alert architecture, defining patterns that make complex, real-time information clear, glanceable, and trustworthy. You’ll partner closely with design managers, software, engineering, safety, and product teams to ship high-quality cluster experiences at scale across GM brands. If you’re passionate about data-rich interfaces, safety-critical UI, and crafting cohesive information systems that drivers can rely on every day, this role is for you.

Requirements

• 9+ years’ experience creating digital interfaces for automotive, web, mobile, gaming, or embedded systems, with a strong focus on complex information displays or real-time data.
• Formal training or degree in Interface Design, Visual Design, Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related discipline.
• Strong portfolio showcasing UX, interaction design, visual systems, and information design for data-rich or real-time experiences.
• Demonstrated experience owning end-to-end design of complex, multi-state interfaces.
• Ability to exercise restraint in design, balancing aesthetics, glanceability, and functional clarity for safety-critical use cases.
• Proficiency in design tools such as Figma and Adobe Creative Suite, plus familiarity with prototyping tools for motion and interaction.
• Proven ability to partner with cross-functional teams (engineering, safety, human factors, product, brand) to solve complex problems.
• Strong problem-solving and organizational skills, with experience managing multiple programs or variants in parallel.
• Excellent visual, verbal, and written communication skills, especially when explaining complex states and behaviors.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in automotive HMI, especially instrument clusters, HUDs, or safety-critical displays.
• Hands-on experience in lean or agile product environments, including iterative design and rapid validation.
• Strong understanding of accessibility, legibility, and inclusive design in low-attention, in-vehicle contexts.
• Proficiency in interactive prototyping (software and/or hardware), ideally with real-time system or data simulation.
• Experience mentoring other designers and influencing design direction beyond your immediate projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design of digital instrument clusters, including layouts, cluster faces, states, and model/brand variants.
• Define and refine alert and notification architecture, prioritizing safety, legibility, and consistency across programs.
• Shape information hierarchy, motion, and state models for real-time and contextual driver information.
• Partner with product managers, software engineers, safety, and human factors to translate requirements into user-centered, regulation-aware solutions.
• Own complex initiatives from early concepts and IA through wireframes, prototypes, and final specifications.
• Contribute to and evolve design guidelines, patterns, and frameworks for driver information and alerts across the ecosystem.
• Collaborate with brand design to ensure instrumentation feels on-brand while maintaining clarity and usability.
• Leverage research, validation studies, and data to iterate and improve designs.
• Mentor other designers on instrumentation best practices, elevating the craft and quality across the team.
• Contribute to a collaborative, inclusive, and curious team culture.

Benefits

• GM offers a variety of health and wellbeing benefit programs. Benefit options include medical, dental, vision, Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Accounts, retirement savings plan, sickness and accident benefits, life insurance, paid vacation & holidays, tuition assistance programs, employee assistance program, GM vehicle discounts and more.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees