Lead Product Designer

About

AmiAmi is building a new kind of social technology: one that gets people off their phones and into meaningful, real-world connection. Instead of optimizing for feeds, engagement loops, or time-on-screen, Ami creates moments of serendipity: gentle nudges when friends-of-friends cross paths, introductions that feel human, and social experiences that are private, intentional, and real.

Ami is a passionate and experienced team of technology and product builders, led by visionary founders with many exits, crafting this next global social platform for consumers. Social media and screen addiction has created a world where behavior and connection are no longer authentic, and Ami is guiding the way back to authentic, real-world connection.

Founded by Andrew Frame (Citizen) and Shawn Fanning (Napster, Path, Helium). Backed by Founder’s Fund, 8VC, and more.

The Role

We’re looking for a lead product designer who will own how Ami feels end-to-end. You’ll be our steward of taste at Ami, defining the design language and emotional tone of the product. We’re looking for someone with exceptional taste, strong opinions, and the confidence to say “no” far more often than “yes” while bringing the team to consensus quickly and decisively.

You’ll run point on making sure that standard holds everywhere: the app, marketing, events, and anything physical we put into the world.

This is a small team building one cohesive experience. Every screen, animation, word choice, and edge case matters. There’s nowhere to hide behind process or volume.

Key Responsibilities

• Define the design language, core product experiences, and emotional tone of the product
• Be an executor with low ego, but strong conviction. You will have a very close partnership with the CEO to be a critical voice in shaping the product
• You should have a strong compass for what’s good and be able to explain it clearly without hiding behind trends, frameworks, or jargon
• Create product and design systems that solve extremely difficult, real problems. For example - we need always-on location; users are very sensitive to this and iOS discourages it. How do we deliver value to the user as fast as possible to retain their location-always status?
• Validating the product by designing prototypes and collecting practical user research data
• Working closely with engineers and understanding technical constraints

Key Requirements

• You have 5+ years of experience building mobile consumer applications
• You have exceptional design taste and the ability to articulate why something works
• Energized to work at an early-stage startup, especially on an ambitious consumer social product
• Oriented around outcomes—you thrive when design is driving impact across both product and business dimensions
• Excited to work in-person with a small, collaborative team in New York
• You have a superpower for solving problems and delivering value to users - not just creating beautiful designs
• Intense hunger to work hard and build something great

Preferred Experience

• iOS specific consumer product design including notifications, maps, AR, live activities, dynamic island, etc.
• Social products and a deep understanding of social mechanics a big plus
• Experience designing location-aware or physical-world products
• Background in brand or storytelling in addition to product design

Why You’ll Love Working Here

• Flex your skills off to the world by being a key contributor of a brand new category of consumer social app
• Work with a team of experienced, visionary, hard-working founders and builders with the highest bar for quality
• Beautiful downtown location with the best NYC views of any startup office
• Fully stocked kitchen, fully stacked gym, amazing restaurants all around
• Early stage generous stock options (Pre Series-A)
• Top-tier VC backing (Founder’s Fund, 8VC, more)