Lead Product Designer, Hayward

XOPS is a fast-growing startup building the future of observability and automation for IT operations. Our platform unifies complex system data to deliver visibility, control, and intelligent workflows across the enterprise, empowering IT teams to manage the entire employee technology lifecycle with precision. As industries embrace AI to automate cars, rockets, and even farming, IT operations remain stuck in the past, reliant on spreadsheets and manual processes. We believe it is time for a change.

At XOPS, we are pioneering autonomous IT operations, freeing teams from tedious tasks and elevating them into strategic leadership roles. Our mission is to drive operational excellence, financial stewardship, and security across the enterprise, while transforming the employee experience. We are just getting started, and we are looking for exceptional teammates to help shape the future.

XOPS is seeking a Lead Product Designer to join our team and work in our office in San Jose. In this role, the Lead Product Designer will straddle strategic leadership and hands-on design execution, creating sophisticated experiences for complex B2B workflows while mentoring junior designers and collaborating with cross-functional teams. You'll be instrumental establishing design processes that can scale with our growing organization. 

Requirements

What you will do: 

 

Leadership & Strategy 

Serve as a design thought leader, advocating for user-centered design principles across the organization 

Partner with product management to translate business requirements and user needs into compelling product experiences 

Establish and refine design processes that balance speed, quality, and scalability 

Mentor junior designers and provide constructive feedback to elevate the overall design quality 

Collaborate with engineering leadership to ensure design feasibility and quality implementation 

Design Execution 

Lead end-to-end design process from problem definition through research, ideation, prototyping, and implementation 

Create sophisticated solutions for complex B2B workflows, particularly in infrastructure/system management contexts 

Design intuitive interfaces for technical users with varying levels of expertise 

Create high-fidelity prototypes to validate concepts with users and stakeholders 

Cross-Functional Collaboration 

Partner closely with product management to define requirements and success metrics 

Work with engineering teams to ensure faithful implementation of design solutions 

Collaborate with customer success and sales to gather insights about user pain points and needs 

Present design concepts to executive leadership and key stakeholders, articulating design rationales clearly 

 

 

Requirements 

6+ years of product design experience, with at least 3 years focused on B2B SaaS products 

Proven experience leading design for complex technical products or platforms 

Experience working in both startup and enterprise environments 

Strong portfolio demonstrating end-to-end product design process and systems thinking 

Experience creating and managing design systems 

Track record of shipping products used by technical professionals 

Expertise in modern design tools (Figma) and rapid prototyping techniques 

Experience mentoring junior designers or leading design teams 

 

Bonus 

Background in designing for infrastructure, DevOps, IT management, or problem management platforms 

Experience designing for technical users with complex workflows 

Knowledge of design operations (DesignOps) principles 

Experience with data visualization and complex dashboards 

Familiarity with agile development methodologies 

Background working with remote or distributed teams 

Skills & Competencies 

Exceptional systems thinking and ability to design for scalable platforms 

Strong visual design skills with attention to detail 

Excellent written and verbal communication skills 

Ability to simplify complex technical concepts into intuitive interfaces 

Comfort with ambiguity and ability to make design decisions with incomplete information 

Data-driven approach to design with experience in quantitative and qualitative user research methods 

Ability to balance business requirements, technical constraints, and user needs 

For this role, the estimated base salary range is between $153,000 - $187,000 USD. The actual base salary will vary based on various factors, including market and individual qualifications objectively assessed during the interview process. The listed range above is a guideline, and the base salary range for this role may be modified.

Benefits

Competitive Compensation: Salary, Equity, and 401K

Comprehensive Vision, Dental, and Healthcare plans

Discretionary Time off Policy (If you need time off, take time off!)

11 Company-paid Holidays

Hybrid Work Policy - 3 days in office/2 days remote

A chance to be part of a rapidly growing startup and make a real impact!