Principal Product Designer

About the role

Fivetran is looking for a Principal Product Designer to shape the future of our automated data movement platform. You will lead design strategy for complex technical workflows, ensuring our data infrastructure tools remain intuitive for developers and analysts. This role requires a strategic thinker who can balance high-level vision with the practical constraints of engineering and user needs. You will be responsible for defining the long-term design language of our core platform and its evolution. The ideal candidate will partner closely with cross-functional teams to align design decisions with business objectives and technical feasibility. You will champion user-centered design principles within a fast-paced, product-driven environment. Your work will directly influence how thousands of data professionals interact with and rely on automated data pipelines.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Conduct deep user research to uncover latent needs and pain points within the data integration workflow for analysts and engineers.
• Architect the end-to-end user journey for setting up, monitoring, and troubleshooting automated data replication across diverse sources and destinations.
• Define and own the core design system components that enable scalable and consistent user experiences across our web and embedded interfaces.
• Translate intricate data transformation concepts into clear, visual representations and interactive prototypes that facilitate stakeholder alignment.
• Collaborate with product managers to refine feature requirements and ensure the design solution addresses the root problem effectively.
• Partner with engineering leads to break down complex features into actionable design deliverables that respect technical constraints and timelines.
• Establish accessibility standards and best practices to ensure our data platform is usable by the broadest possible range of professionals.
• Evaluate the success of design implementations through qualitative feedback and quantitative metrics, iterating based on observed user behavior.
• Lead the design of error states and debugging workflows to reduce friction and anxiety for users managing critical data pipelines.
• Synthesize findings from user interviews and usability tests to create actionable design recommendations and product roadmaps.
• Mentor junior designers by providing design critiques, guidance, and frameworks for approaching complex product challenges.
• Advocate for the user throughout the product development lifecycle, ensuring design integrity is maintained from concept to launch.

Requirements

• Demonstrated extensive experience in product design specifically for technical, developer, or data platform user groups.
• Possess a proven track record of translating complex technical concepts and infrastructure workflows into simple, understandable user experiences.
• Show a deep understanding of the modern data stack, including data warehouses, data lakes, ELT processes, and common transformation tools used by analysts.
• Have a history of leading design initiatives from the initial conceptual phase through detailed design and final implementation and handoff.
• Exhibit strong collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively and influence without direct authority in a matrixed engineering environment.
• Bring a strong portfolio that showcases your process, including research, ideation, prototyping, and high-fidelity design outcomes for complex products.
• Display proficiency in industry-standard design tools such as Figma, Sketch, or equivalent, and a commitment to design system maintenance.
• Highlight experience in creating design systems and pattern libraries that ensure consistency and efficiency across large product suites.
• Show evidence of user research methodology skills, including conducting interviews, synthesizing findings, and translating insights into design decisions.
• Commit to meeting hard business deadlines and delivering high-quality design work in a fast-paced, agile development environment.

Nice to have

• Demonstrated background in designing for data governance, compliance, or security-focused software where user trust is paramount.
• Experience working with agentic AI tools or platforms that involve automated decision-making and dynamic workflow generation.
• Familiarity with REST APIs and the ability to understand and empathize with developer-centric product ecosystems and documentation standards.
• Previous work on products that integrate with multiple third-party APIs and managing the complexity of disparate data sources.
• Experience contributing to open-source projects or communities centered around data infrastructure and integration.

Practical notes

This is a full-time position based in our Oakland, California office. The role requires regular in-person collaboration with product and engineering teams during standard business hours. Travel is not expected as part of the core responsibilities for this role. This position is eligible for standard Fivetran employment benefits and compensation packages as determined by company policy and local regulations. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship for this position.