Design Lead—
Universe opens up the possibilities of the internet to everyone. A magical grid that distills the web into simple Lego-like building blocks. With our app, anyone on earth can build a custom website or store in seconds—without code, all from a phone. This is possible not because of some hard-tech breakthrough but because of great design.
Up until now, Joe, our CEO & founder, has led design here. But as we grow, we need someone who is entirely focused on designing our product, brand, and our design studio itself.
This is an opportunity to build a new kind of studio—one that truly invents. It's an opportunity to create new interfaces that unlock creativity. A chance to shape a brand that represents a radically better internet—pushing the envelope of cultural relevance in a way that is common in fashion but unheard of in technology.
It’s an invitation to partner with a founder-CEO to build design into everything we do here at Universe. Finally, this studio will live on the internet. Universe is a distributed company—we have 25 employees all over the US, and our design studio will follow that mold.
What you’ll do 🔧
You'll lead an integrated team, across product and brand, starting with our two amazing designers, Molly and Daniel. You'll shape our design process. You'll have the space to hire new designers in the near term, and then to grow your team alongside the company’s growth.
You'll be a player-coach. You'll likely spend half of your time actually designing. You'll spend the rest of your time bringing the best out of your team and coordinating with people across the company.
You'll work closely with our CEO to set our design vision. You'll work with our Product and Engineering Leads to take ideas from conception through to final execution. You'll collaborate with our Growth and Marketing Leads to get the word out about Universe.
Most importantly, you'll contribute in ways we can't possibly foresee. You'll bring new ideas, new energy, new ways of looking at problems. You'll take what we've got and push us to new heights.
Who you are đź‘€
You have a strong background in product design—specifically mobile user interfaces. You have a track record of building and shipping apps that people love. You're able to think big and small—the architecture and the details—distilling large, complex problems into simple, toy-like solutions. And you design the "whole thing" from high level conceptual thinking to visual design.
You also have great instincts for creative direction. The idea of working on both product and brand deeply excites you. You want to build one of the world's great brands. You know how to make things that hit.
You are thoughtful and precise. You value open and honest dialogue. You are a good listener—but you will will represent your ideas strongly and clearly. You can inspire your team—and our larger team—representing a vision for what Universe could be.
You have led other designers and brought their best work out of them. You're someone they look up to but also someone they can trust and be open with.
You are passionate about the power of technology. You believe that good design can unlock a better future. You are optimistic.
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While we've accomplished a lot, we're only just getting started. There are now 5 billion people online, but only a tiny fraction of them can actually build the internet. With good design, we can change that.