Director, Product Design

Who We are

DebtBook is an industry-leading fintech software platform that revolutionizes the way local governments, higher education, healthcare organizations and their finance teams work. Our powerful, cloud-based software helps public finance teams manage all aspects of their debt, leases, and subscriptions, streamline financial reporting, and share information simply with others.

We are driven by a collective commitment to foster a Growth Mindset, exemplify the strength of One Team, consistently go Above and Beyond, and Take Ownership of our responsibilities and outcomes. Our mission is to cultivate an environment where innovation thrives, and our team members are empowered to reach their full potential. 

About this Role

DebtBook is searching for a Product Design Director to join our Product Engineering organization. 

Our Product Engineering team designs and develops easy-to-use products that enable finance teams around the country to leverage software to effectively manage all of their debt, lease, and IT subscription agreements. We believe the most effective product teams are ones that work collaboratively across the various disciplines. In this role, you and your team will participate regularly as the product design subject matter expert during various technical and product planning activities. You'll partner closely with engineers, product managers, and finance or accounting specialists to shape user experiences that set the standard for the category of public finance.  

As the Product Design Director, your work with cover three areas:

You lead a small team of experienced design leads, shape the processes and tooling used by the team, drive the evolution of our design practice. You will contribute to product design with hands-on work on specific efforts or initiatives part of the time. You will contribute to and collaborate on product strategy and quarterly planning. 

Reporting directly to the Chief Product Officer, you will play a pivotal role in driving  the success of our products, demonstrating the business value of design, and fostering the growth and development of our design organization.

What You’ll Do

• Contribute to product strategy and quarterly planning in collaboration with the product management, engineering, subject matter experts in treasury and compliance (accounting) and other leaders in the business
• Work with Product Managers and Engineering Leads to ensure each team is getting design collaboration needed to meet their goals
• Work with the team to facilitate workshops as necessary to create alignment across teams or solve design challenges
• Lead by example through hands-on work on select initiatives - estimated 30-40% of time
• Lead, mentor, and empower a team of 3 design leads by fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment for creativity and innovation
• Contribute to the career growth of a small group of product design leads, helping them hone their craft, find their voice and shape design throughout our organization.
• Manage each team member with an emphasis on  development planning, performance management, collaborative work, and real-time design feedback and coaching

You’re a good fit if you are: 

• An accomplished team lead with a proven track record in similar types of product oriented services with an emphasis on crafting simple yet powerful user experiences
• Have an innate understanding of how to align design initiatives with overall business goals
• A mentor and coach, skilled in developing and nurturing design talent, empowering them to thrive and grow
• Possess strong product sense and the ability to translate business and user objectives into a product experience to create the desired outcomes
• Equipped with exceptional communication and collaboration skills, capable of bridging gaps between design, product, and engineering teams

What You Bring

• 7-10+ years of experience building and shipping technology products at scale - web apps and/or mobile apps, at least 5 of which need to be in Product Design
• 3+ years in a management or leadership role on a design team
• Demonstrated success collaborating with product, engineering, and business teams to deliver exceptional user experiences and strong business outcomes
• Strong product thinker, with well developed product judgment and design taste, and an ability to consistently guide teams to successful user experience and business outcomes
• Ability to leverage data and translate various sources of information into actionable insights for the broader team
• Experience measuring impact with specific tools or metrics
• Ability to design and facilitate workshops to generate ideas, synthesize and align teams
• Possess strong product sense and the ability to translate business and user objectives into a product experience to create the desired outcomes
• Experience working in a scaling organization with a growing design practice
• Expert with using Figma for designing and prototyping software
• Experience working with user testing software and services
• Experience developing and evolving design systems
• A portfolio that highlights your direct contributions to the full product design process (Discovery → Definition → Design Execution and Developer Handoff)
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to successfully articulate design concepts and intent to internal team and customers/prospects
• Experience conducting your own research with a variety of methods, and strong decision making skills for when to do research is a plus
• Demonstrated experience working on AI products, for example working with natural language models, recommendation systems, chatbots, conversation design is a plus
• Experience working in front-end is a plus

Interview Process

• 30 min - Introductory Call
• 1 hr - Management Interview
• 1 hr - Chief Product Officer
• 1.5 hrs - Review Case Studies and Portfolio
• 1 hr - Learn about your work through introductory presentation to Design team
• 30 mins - Q&A 
• 2 hr - Onsite
• 45 min - Director of Engineering
• 45 min - Product Director / APE or FPE
• 30 mins - Wrap-Up 

Why DebtBook

Proud to be named one of the “Best Places to Work” by Charlotte’s Business Journal, DebtBook is a fast-growing company where we dream big, move fast, make an impact, and bring joy to everything we do. Our core values drive our success as an organization, and we are looking for talented teammates who share our passion for challenging the status quo, innovating in all we do, and wanting to make a difference.  

DebtBook is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value diversity and prohibit discrimination and unlawful harassment in the workplace. All applicants will receive consideration for employment based upon their qualifications without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, sexual orientation, age, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, National Guard or veteran status, disability, or any other protected status under federal, state, or local law. We welcome and encourage applicants with disabilities to contact our team for assistance during the application and hiring process. We are committed to expanding accessibility and making reasonable accommodations in accordance with applicable law.