The role: 

  • As a member of our Design team, the Director, Product Design will lead the strategy and vision for design across our products. 
  • You are a strong leader, design evangelist, and thought partner with comprehensive industry knowledge. 
  • You will retain, motivate, and develop a high-performing design team while fostering an environment for helping others learn and grow.You do not shy away from difficult conversations and you will coach and mentor team members by providing effective performance feedback to improve and develop optimum performance through day-to-day design challenges.
  • You will produce non-obvious user experience insights to create innovative designs for Newsela and identify ways to improve the user experience both visually and by measurable user outcomes. 
  • You will independently produce, deliver, and validate high-quality end-to-end product(s), with a focus on ideating short-term design strategies and features with our product team that balances strategic business goals with the needs of clients.
  • You will collaborate with core team members to introduce new product features and create a better user experience based on user feedback. 
  • You will partner closely across our cross-functional team to bring the voice of the customer to every conversation – and ensure we are building the best products in the market.
  • You will be building the org by creating and executing on design vision with a focus on quality metrics for usability while delivering experiences that drive growth. You will be leading the design strategy and influencing direction by using data, examples, and sway to create the vision for where the product design should head for dynamic experiences.

Why you’ll love this role:

  • You will have the opportunity to have an impact on the design strategy and vision across Newsela’s products. 
  • You will be joining a fun team with the opportunity for virtual get-togethers and on-site events throughout the year.
  • The team is a blend of high-functioning and collaborative Product Designers and User Researchers who are key in shaping our features and products.
  • You will have a direct impact on our customer-obsessed team who deeply cares about shaping our teacher and student experience, which will ultimately scale Newsela’s ability to bring engaging, culturally responsive learning content to K-12 classrooms nationwide.

Why you’re a great fit:

  • 3+ years of experience leading design teams and a minimum of 7+ years of product design experience. Skilled at implementing and optimizing the organizational structure and creative development processes that allow the design team to scale with the company.
  • Experience with a wide range of design prototyping tools and methods like sketching, storyboarding, diagramming, wireframing, prototyping, and user research.
  • Deep knowledge in 2-3 key areas: UX/Prototyping & Interaction Design, UI/Visual Design, Understanding Human Behavior, Business and Product Strategy, Design Thinking, Accessibility and Inclusive Design, Information Design, Information Architecture, and Design Systems.
  • Product-minded design leader with the confidence and ability to be a thought partner to business leads and our Senior VP of Product.
  • Cross-functional partnership experience across the organization, including Product, Engineering, Marketing, Customer Services, Sales, and Leadership.
  • You can effectively guide designers to communicate and negotiate with other cross-functional members.
  • You have proven experience fostering strong relationships with cross-functional agile teams while successfully managing many stakeholders through all phases of the design process.
  • Excellent communication, presentation, interpersonal, and negotiation skills for a broad range of audiences including leadership.
  • Ability to drive end-to-end product design and lead the design strategy of our entire product portfolio.
  • You are confident engaging with executives and updating the design framework and processes to meet emerging customer and internal needs.

Base Compensation: $160,000+. Total compensation for this role also incentive stock options, bonus, and benefits. This compensation range may be adjusted based on actual experience. 

Apply for this Job

* Required
resume chosen  
Dropbox Google Drive
(File types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf)
Cancel
cover_letter chosen  
Dropbox Google Drive
(File types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf)
Cancel
When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review
+ Add another education

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Newsela’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.

Our system has flagged this application as potentially being associated with bot traffic. Please turn off any VPNs, clear your browser cache and cookies, or try submitting your application in a different browser. If this issue persists, please reach out to our support team via our help center.
Please complete the reCAPTCHA above.