Director, Product Design - Core Experience

Overview 

About the Role

Every year, people around the world spend nearly one trillion dollars on groceries. Food is not only a daily necessity but also an emotional and cultural cornerstone of life. As a Director of Product Design, you’ll play a pivotal role in reshaping how people connect with food—whether for a shared meal, a special celebration, or everyday convenience.

In this role, you’ll champion craft excellence, raise the bar for design standards, and drive meaningful innovation that transforms the grocery experience. You’ll not only shape transformative experiences for core consumers but also design customer-centered solutions in orchestration with our four-sided marketplace of Consumers, Shoppers, Retailers, and Advertisers. Your work will have a direct impact on empowering millions of people to nourish their lives effortlessly.

About the Team

The Instacart Design Team is deeply committed to enabling families and communities to thrive by making grocery shopping accessible and effortless for all. We design solutions on behalf of end-users while balancing the complexity of a marketplace that serves multiple stakeholders.

With a focus on multi-platform functionality, the team collaborates to build the future of grocery shopping experiences. Guided by innovation, empathy, and an unyielding commitment to craft, the team delivers solutions that create lasting impact. Whether designing for Consumers, Shoppers, Retailers, or Advertisers, the Instacart Design Team crafts every touchpoint with intention, ensuring an effortless experience.

About the Job

As a Director of Product Design, you’ll tackle bold challenges and lead strategic efforts that continually evolve our experience-driven ecosystem. Here’s what you’ll do:

• Partner closely with Product and Engineering leaders to establish a vision for the customer experience and define a multi-pronged product strategy.
• Foster a culture of innovation by encouraging fresh approaches to our customer challenges, building empathy-driven frameworks, and delivering solutions that elevate the quality of life for users.
• Lead and inspire a team of ~20 designers and managers by developing future design leaders, broadening their skill sets, and nurturing their growth and confidence.
• Bring a human-centered approach to our design practice by balancing curiosity, strategy, and creativity.
• Seamlessly shift between high-level visionary strategy, as well as detailed execution, ensuring alignment across all team deliverables.
• Drive inclusivity and represent diverse perspectives to ensure the users’ voice remains core to your decisions.
• Champion and improve design processes by identifying root causes, resolving team health issues, maintaining engagement levels, and optimizing workflows.
• Advocate for user-centered outcomes that resonate with product and engineering teams while advancing creativity and collaboration.

Minimum Qualifications:
To succeed in this role, you’ll bring the following to the table:

• 15+ years of design experience with deep expertise in product design and a proven track record of excellence.
• 6+ years of leadership experience managing managers and overseeing teams of 12+ members.
• Demonstrated ability to attract and cultivate world-class design leaders.
• Comprehensive understanding of product development, including collaboration with engineering, analytics, content strategy, and research teams.
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to thrive in fast-paced, dynamic environments.
• Commitment to executing a human-centered design approach focused on curiosity, empathy, and innovation.
• Proven ability to connect team contributors’ efforts with high-level strategies that deliver company objectives.
• Strong track record of driving user-centric solutions in cross-functional environments that blend creativity with technical feasibility.

Preferred Qualifications:
The following would be nice to have but not required:

• Familiarity with consumer-facing and marketplace-focused products.
• A passion for integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion practices into team building and leadership methods.