Principal Product Designer

About the role

We are seeking a Principal Product Designer to join our growing team and help shape the future of how technology empowers neurodivergent individuals and people with physical, sensory, and other disabilities.

This is a pivotal leadership role working across Everway’s broad product portfolio of special education and assistive technology products for school and the workplace. You will work closely with the VP of UX and Design, senior peers in Product Management, Technology, and Content, and lead a team of designers to deliver exceptional outcomes.

In this role, you will have broad responsibility for defining and influencing design strategies across the organization, with a primary focus on raising the bar on design process and outcome excellence. You will drive high-priority design initiatives forward while managing and mentoring a team of designers, fostering their growth and ensuring alignment with organizational goals.

This is the perfect role for a passionate advocate of user-led thinking and inclusive design practices who thrives on creating impact and driving change. You will excel at joining the dots, facilitating cross-functional collaboration, and delivering transformatively simple, engaging, and empowering experiences into users’ hands.

This is a once-in-a-career opportunity to lead meaningful impact for underserved communities of users, contribute to a mission that makes a huge positive impact in people's lives.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with cross-functional partners, including Product Management, Engineering, Research, Customer Support, and Marketing, to help shape a cohesive design strategy across the product portfolio.
• Act as a change agent to promote user-led thinking and foster a culture of collaboration and innovation across the organization.
• Present design strategies, concepts, and solutions to stakeholders up to C-level.
• Deliver high-level design solutions with clear rationales linked to user and business objectives
• Lead, manage, and mentor a team of designers, providing guidance, feedback, and support to ensure their growth and high-quality output. 
• Mentor and support designers across teams to deliver at the same high level as you.
• Drive the operationalization of design processes to improve efficiency, quality, and consistency across the product suite.
• Ensure all designs adhere to best practices in inclusive design and accessibility, meeting or exceeding WCAG standards.
• Advocate for the adoption and evolution of our emerging brand and design system.
• Partner closely with the User Research Manager to integrate research insights into the design process.
• Oversee team performance, workload distribution, and professional development, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and priorities.
• Facilitate workshops, co-creation sessions, and collaborative design reviews with cross-functional teams.

Essential Criteria:

• Significant experience (5+ years) in product design.
• Proven experience advocating for and embedding inclusive design practices and accessibility standards within digital products.
• Experience working across cross-functional teams and facilitating collaboration between Product, Tech, Research, and other functions.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating the ability to deliver impactful design solutions at scale.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with experience presenting to C-level stakeholders.
• Proficiency in design tools such as Figma and familiarity working within and contributing to design systems.
• Strong understanding of product development methodologies, including Agile, Lean UX, and Design Thinking, continuous discovery.
• Familiarity with collaborative frameworks such as design sprints and co-creation workshops, as well as the ability to adapt processes to suit diverse team needs and project goals.
• Demonstrated ability to manage, inspire, and grow a team of designers, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and excellence.

Desirable Criteria:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field
• Previous experience designing user-centred SaaS products
• Familiarity with education technology and the unique challenges of this sector.
• Experience in early-stage product development and prototyping.
• Advanced prototyping skills (e.g., Protopie, Framer) are a plus but not essential.