Lead Product Designer

About Us

Circle is building the world’s leading all‑in‑one platform for online communities. We enable creators, coaches, educators, and businesses to bring together their audience with discussions, live streams, events, chat, courses, and payments—all under their own brand. We are a fully remote company of around 200 team members from 30+ countries.

About the Role

You’ll own design for one of Circle’s most important product areas. You will define the problem, shape the direction, and ship the experience. The specific area will be determined based on your strengths and company priorities. You’ll report into the product design organization as the most senior design IC on your product area, partnering directly with product managers, engineers, and design leadership.

Responsibilities

• Own a product area end‑to‑end: identify opportunities, frame the problem, set design direction, and ship—operating as a peer to Product and Engineering, not a downstream executor.
• Design complex, multi‑step product flows that serve multiple user types—balancing creator needs against member experience, and making sophisticated behavior feel simple.
• Prototype and test at speed—using AI‑assisted tools, code‑generation workflows, and whatever gets you to a testable concept fastest.
• Influence product strategy beyond your own surface: contribute to roadmap conversations, flag opportunities other teams miss, and connect dots across the product.
• Drive the craft standard on your area—interaction design, visual quality, and the small details that separate polished product from “good enough”.
• Collaborate closely with engineers and design engineers to turn concepts into working, shippable experiences—not hand off specs and hope.
• Raise the bar for the broader design team through feedback, shared frameworks, and the quality of your own output.

Requirements

• Strong alignment with Circle’s values.
• Proficiency in English (spoken, written, and reading) at CEFR Level C2 / ILR Level 5.
• 5–7+ years of product design experience; portfolio should show systems‑level thinking, shipped 0→1 work, complex multi‑user flows, and evidence of shaping product direction.
• Experience operating as the most senior designer on a product area—setting direction, making trade‑offs, and owning outcomes without constant guidance.
• Strong prototyping skills—building clickable, realistic prototypes yourself (bonus for using AI‑assisted prototyping tools like Cursor, Claude Code, v0, or Lovable).
• Proficiency in Figma for high‑fidelity design and collaboration.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication—clearly explain complex ideas, influence decisions, and align teams asynchronously.
• Comfortable designing in ambiguity and building conviction through iteration.
• Active, evolving AI workflow—already using AI tools in your design process and able to speak concretely about how.

Compensation

• Base salary: $140,000 – $170,000 USD per year (starting point; subject to annual review).
• Equity, benefits, and perks are included in the overall compensation package.

Benefits

• Fully remote: work from anywhere in the world.
• Autonomy and trust: outcomes over everything else.
• 35 days of paid time off annually, plus a paid sabbatical after 5 years.
• Competitive U.S.‑benchmarked compensation and startup equity, regardless of location.
• Comprehensive medical coverage with 100% coverage for you and your family, or medical reimbursement options where applicable.
• Parental leave for expanding or starting a family.
• Home office stipend.
• Learning & development stipend.
• Annual bonus potential for roles without variable income or commission.
• Twice‑yearly fully paid company retreats in incredible locations worldwide.