Product Designer (Goodnotes for Desktop)

Our Values:

Dream big
—Be visionary, strategic, and open to innovation

Build great things
—Work in service of our users, always improving and pushing higher

Take ownership
—Take responsibility with bold decision-making and bias for action

Win like a sports team
—Be trusting and collaborative while empowering others

Learn and grow fast
—Never stop learning and iterate fast

Share our passion
—Share ideas and practice enthusiasm and joy

About the team:

You will be joining our Goodnotes Foundation team. This team is responsible for the foundations that make Goodnotes the leading note-taking app that it is!

Our team is spread between Asia and Europe. You’re welcome to work remotely from anywhere, with at least 4 hours overlap with with the people you’d be working closely with, or you can join us in our Hong Kong or London office. Due to the asynchronous nature of working that Goodnotes has adopted, any time difference will not impact your work-life balance.

About the role:

We are looking for a talented Desktop Experience Designer to join our team. In this role, you will be responsible for creating intuitive and engaging user experiences for our desktop applications. You will work closely with product managers, developers, and other designers to ensure that our products meet the highest standards of usability and design.

This is the role for you, if you’re excited to work on the things listed below:

• Own and evolve our INK Design System: Take the lead in refining and elevating our design system. Develop a robust system with detailed documentation to ensure scalability and consistency across platforms that supports the needs of both our design and engineering teams.
• Work at the intersection of Apple (Mac) and Cross-Platform (PWA, ChromeOS, Android, Microsoft) design to create unified and delightful user experiences.
• Partner with product, engineering, and research teams to design features and solutions that address user needs while aligning with business goals.
• Create wireframes, storyboards, prototypes, user flows, process flows, and site maps to effectively communicate interaction and design ideas early and often.
• Establish and promote design guidelines, best practices, and standards.
• Conduct user research and usability testing to gather feedback and iterate on designs.
• Leverage both quantitative data and qualitative insights into creative ideas and considered design decisions

The skills you will need to be successful in the above:

• Minimum 5 years of product design experience preferably in software design.
• Experience creating or managing design systems, with a strong understanding of token-based theming, documentation, and scalable components.
• Proven experience as a Desktop Experience Designer or similar role, with a strong portfolio showcasing design projects, particularly for desktop applications.
• Strong understanding of the Microsoft Fluent or Google’s Material Design guidelines, with knowledge of Apple’s Human User Interface guidelines being a plus.
• Expertise in designing end-to-end flows from research to delivery, with clear visual hierarchy and an evidence-based design process.
• A high standard for detail, quality, and user-centered design, with a portfolio that showcases impactful and cohesive work.
• Ability to frame problems, conduct user research, usability testing, and gather actionable insights.
• Strong visual design skills and an analytical mindset.
• Ability to balance vision with iteration, making tradeoffs to deliver the right user experience to market.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently, ensuring responsibility for every detail from initial sketches to final high-quality outputs.
• Experience collaborating in small, cross-functional teams including engineering, product management, and product insights.
• Quick generation of various concepts and prototypes, with the ability to know when to delve deeper and when to switch directions.
• Ability to consider existing insights, technical limitations, business requirements, and platform-specific needs to create data-informed solutions.
• Systems thinking with the flexibility to zoom in for detail and zoom out for comprehensive understanding, effectively connecting the dots.

What else would help you, but is not required

• Experience working with any productivity app is highly preferred.
• Experience working in a fast-paced startup environment.
• Experience with front-end development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript).

Even if you don’t meet all the criteria listed above, we would still love to hear from you! Goodnotes places a lot of value on learning and development and will support your growth if needed.

The interview process:

• An introductory call with someone from our talent acquisition team. They want to hear more about your background, what you are looking for, and why you’d like to join GoodNotes
• A one hour call with our Head of Design. You’ll be expected to walk through your portfolio and give an overview of your experience as a designer during this call.
• A one hour portfolio review with our team
• A 1.5 hour whiteboard session with our design team where we co-ideate and see how we can work together
• A 45 minute call with the Goodnotes Foundation Engineering Manager

What’s in it for you:

• Meaningful equity in a profitable tech-startup
• Budget for things like noise cancelling headphones, setting up your home office, personal development, professional training, and health & wellness
• Sponsored visits to our Hong Kong or London office every 2 years
• Company wide annual offsite
• Flexible working hours and location
• Medical insurance for you and your dependents