[Remote] Director of Product Design and Research

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Stack Overflow is one of the most popular websites in the world focused on increasing productivity and protecting institutional knowledge. The Director of Product Design and Research will shape strategy at the leadership level, oversee design and research processes, and advocate for user needs while leading a talented team.

Responsibilities

• Own and uphold how design and research work at Stack Overflow include the process, tooling, standards, and craft
• Own the user experience perspective on how technologists discover and interact with knowledge, and make the ux calls that shape where the product goes
• Maintain the highest standards of design craft and research quality across every product surface
• Evolve the team’s AI-first design practice as the technology changes, maintaining the pipeline from concept to working, production-ready code
• Own and run the team rituals that elevate quality and develop designers and researchers
• Coach designers and researchers in their career growth, developing both skill and leadership across the team
• Build a high-trust, feedback driven culture that gives people real autonomy and holds them accountable to their work
• Be a coauthor of our Sit at the table where product strategy is made and be a vocal advocate for our users and customers to ensure their needs are adequately push back when user needs aren’t being represented
• Work alongside Product and Engineering leaders as part of the EPD leadership team, contribution to how we build software in an AI-first world
• Build and maintain research infrastructure that actually drives decisions, not just informs them

Skills

• 10+ years of product design experience with a portfolio that demonstrates exceptional design craft and strong end-to-end product thinking
• 4+ years leading and managing design and/or teams at a product company
• Background in B2B or enterprise products, ideally at an AI-native company or one that has strongly pivoted to AI; developer tooling experience a plus
• A track record of people management that is honest and trust-based
• Demonstrated ability to fight for your team's careers, workload, and recognition, not just their output
• The ability to maintain a clear perspective on what your team needs in a high-pressure, fast-moving environment
• Fluency in how AI is changing product surfaces, not just as a tool in the design workflow but also experience designing for ai-native or ai-augmented products
• Experience designing for AI-native or AI-augmented products, with an understanding of the unique UX challenges they present
• Comfortable working at the intersection of design and code; you understand functional prototyping and know how to develop that capability in a team without losing people who aren't there yet
• Exceptional UI and visual design judgement and the ability to hold the team accountable to a high level of craft
• Experience deploying research strategically and making findings visible and actionable across a product organization
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate design rationale and influence across various stakeholders

Benefits

• Generous paid vacation
• Generous parental leave, family care leave, and unlimited sick days
• Industry-leading health benefits that are applicable per country of residence for all our full-time employees
• Company-paid Life Insurance
• Home Internet stipend
• Professional allocation for your growth and development
• One-time allowance to assist with your home office setup
• Company-paid access to Calm, Prosus Academy and Overdrive

Company Overview