Founding Designer

As a Founding Designer at Operator, you will be at the forefront of designing our product and brand. Your responsibilities will include collaborating with the team on the design direction, setting the design culture, innovating UX paradigms, and working closely with early customers to refine product features. You'll play a pivotal role in shaping not just the looks but also the functionality of the product as we aim to disrupt the tech landscape.

To be considered for the Founding Designer position at Operator, you should have at least 4 years of design experience. We value excellent visual, UX, and interaction design skills alongside a strong understanding of the trade-offs between product design, engineering, and business objectives. Experience in early-stage environments and familiarity with AI-native products are also advantageous.

At Operator, we foster a culture that prioritizes autonomy and collaboration. As a Founding Designer, you’ll be surrounded by ambitious and kind colleagues who are all committed to doing Great Work. Your role will not only allow you to define design strategies but also to influence the overall company culture, ensuring that principles of creativity and innovation are woven into our daily practices.

While previous experience in startups is not strictly necessary, it is highly preferred for the Founding Designer role at Operator. We are looking for candidates with a demonstrated ability to handle 0-to-1 work, as the dynamic nature of startups demands versatility, quick thinking, and a proactive approach to problem-solving.

For the Founding Designer position at Operator, while not mandatory, skills such as frontend engineering experience, a strong interest in AI-native products, and experience in brand design are considered nice to have. These additional skills would certainly enhance your ability to contribute to our innovative projects and foster collaboration across various divisions.

When discussing your design process in an interview for the Founding Designer role at Operator, highlight your approach to research, ideation, prototyping, and user testing. Elaborate on how you integrate feedback at various stages and how you pivot your design based on user insights. Providing examples from previous projects will help illustrate your effective process.

In the interview, explain your methodology for prioritizing features, considering user needs, market demands, and technical feasibility. Discuss criteria you use to assess the value of a feature versus its implementation complexity, and share examples of how this approach led to successful products.

Sharing a specific instance where customer feedback significantly influenced your design is key. Talk about how you gathered the feedback, the changes you made as a result, and the positive outcome that followed. This demonstrates your ability to be responsive and user-centered in your design approach.

While responding, list the design tools you are comfortable with, such as Figma, Sketch, or Adobe Creative Suite. For the Founding Designer position at Operator, showcasing familiarity with collaborative tools and mentioning any experience with prototyping or user testing platforms can be a plus.

In your answer, explain your commitment to continuous learning by mentioning industry blogs, online courses, and design communities you engage with. This shows that you’re passionate about your craft and actively seek to improve your skills, a quality highly valued at Operator.

Choose a project where challenges required innovative solutions. Describe the situation, the steps you took to address the obstacles, and the successful outcome. This highlights your problem-solving abilities and perseverance, traits essential for a Founding Designer.

Discuss specific strategies or initiatives you took to foster a positive design culture in your previous roles. Whether it was through workshops, team collaborations, or mentorship, emphasize how you’ve improved team dynamics and creativity, both crucial for setting the tone at Operator.

User experience should be at the forefront of your design philosophy. Talk about how you prioritize usability and accessibility in your designs, and how understanding the user journey informs your decision-making. Providing examples of successful UX outcomes will resonate well in the interview.

In your answer, illustrate how you reconcile creative design with business goals. Discuss your approach to understanding the market and user needs while ensuring that your designs contribute to the overall strategy of the company, which is a vital skill for the Founding Designer role.

Share your enthusiasm for the startup environment, emphasizing your passion for innovation, agility, and collaboration. Discuss how these elements invigorate your creativity and drive, making the Founding Designer role at Operator an appealing opportunity for you.