Staff Product Designer

About the role

We are seeking a talented Staff Product Designer to join our Network team at Handshake. In this pivotal position, you will have the opportunity to influence the user experience for millions of individuals as they navigate our platform. Your focus will be on enhancing how users discover Handshake, forge professional connections, and maintain engagement throughout their careers. This role is critical to our growth strategy, emphasizing user acquisition, onboarding, activation, and the expansion of our network.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including product management, engineering, marketing, data science, and content, to identify challenges and shape product strategies.
• Oversee the complete design lifecycle, from brainstorming initial concepts to implementing post-launch enhancements, which includes creating user flows, prototypes, and high-fidelity designs.
• Design user experiences that drive acquisition, onboarding, activation, referrals, and network growth, ensuring they deliver immediate benefits while promoting long-term user engagement.
• Tackle intricate design problems by transforming user needs and behavioral insights into straightforward and intuitive experiences.
• Develop and evaluate wireframes, prototypes, and experimental designs aimed at boosting conversion rates, user engagement, and retention levels.
• Collaborate with various teams to refine and optimize growth experiments across landing pages, onboarding processes, referral initiatives, and key conversion points.
• Uphold exceptional standards in visual and interaction design, applying systems thinking while consistently prioritizing user outcomes.
• Advocate for user-centered design principles throughout the product development process, mentoring colleagues to enhance their design capabilities.
• Analyze user feedback and data to inform design decisions, iterating quickly to improve product effectiveness.
• Engage in regular discussions with stakeholders to communicate design rationale, trade-offs, and insights derived from user research.
• Stay updated on industry trends and emerging technologies to continuously innovate and improve the user experience on Handshake.
• Foster a collaborative environment that values diverse perspectives, ensuring all voices are heard in the design process.

Requirements

• A minimum of 7 years of experience in product design, ideally with a focus on large-scale consumer products.
• Proven track record of designing products utilized by millions, especially in social networks, marketplaces, or consumer growth sectors.
• Strong ability to articulate design decisions, trade-offs, and user insights to both peers and leadership.
• Extensive expertise in visual and interaction design, with a history of creating impactful consumer experiences.
• Experience in designing for growth metrics, including user acquisition, onboarding, activation, and engagement strategies.
• Proficient in using generative AI tools to enhance design processes, prototyping, and iterative development while maintaining high standards for user experience.
• Skilled in leveraging both qualitative and quantitative data to inform design choices, assess experiments, and iterate effectively.
• Committed to fostering a collaborative atmosphere with engineering, product, data science, marketing, and branding teams.
• Driven by Handshake's mission to empower individuals in building careers within the AI economy.
• Possesses a curious mindset, eager to learn and grow within the role.

Nice to have

• Experience in designing growth-oriented features such as onboarding processes, referral systems, social sharing mechanisms, viral loops, SEO/content strategies, or optimizing registration flows.
• Familiarity with concepts of product-led growth, network effects, and multi-sided platforms.
• A genuine interest in the future of work, early-career professionals, and the intersection of artificial intelligence and human potential.

Skills & tools

• Proficient in product design, interaction design, and visual design.
• Strong understanding of systems thinking and prototyping techniques.
• Experience in user research methodologies and data analysis.
• Familiarity with generative AI tools to enhance design workflows.

Practical notes

As a full-time employee in the U.S., you will enjoy a comprehensive benefits package that includes equity options, a 401(k) match, paid parental leave, fertility assistance, medical, dental, and vision coverage, mental health support, a wellness stipend of $500, a $2,000 learning stipend, flexible paid time off, 15 holidays plus 2 flexible days, stipends for internet and commuting, complimentary lunch and gym access at our San Francisco office, team outings, and referral bonuses.

About the company

Handshake is a career community for college students and recent graduates. Founded in 2014, Handshake connects students at over 1,400 educational institutions with employers for internships and entry-level jobs.