Director of Design Systems

Reports to: EVP, Product

Location: NYC Region : This position would be considered a hybrid role, with expectations of two (2) days per week within the NYC Headquarters/office and the remaining time working remotely.

About AlphaSense:

AlphaSense is a market intelligence platform used by the world’s leading companies and financial institutions. Since 2011, our AI-based technology has helped professionals make smarter business decisions by delivering insights from an extensive universe of public and private content—including company filings, event transcripts, news, trade journals, and equity research. Our platform is trusted by over 3,500 enterprise customers, including a majority of the S&P 500. Headquartered in New York City, AlphaSense employs over 1,500 people across offices in the U.S., U.K., Finland, and India. For more information, please visit www.alpha-sense.com.

About the Team: 

The AlphaSense Product Design team comprises talented product designers, UX specialists, and research professionals based in the US, UK, Finland, and India. We’re a detail-oriented, strategic-minded group dedicated to creating engaging user experiences that deliver real results. We base our designs on a deep understanding of user behavior, market trends, and performance metrics, ensuring that our work drives meaningful impact for our clients, which range from Fortune 1000 companies to leading financial institutions around the globe. Our commitment to data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement ensures that we stay at the forefront of our field and deliver the best possible user experiences.

About the Role:

We’re seeking a skilled and passionate ‘hands-on’ Product Design leader to join our expanding product design team. In this role, you will drive the overall design vision and strategy, foster innovation, and

ensure consistency and excellence in design execution within our Knowledge Management Lane while pushing the limits of our Generative AI capabilities.

Knowledge Management is not just about handling information; it’s about reshaping market intelligence with innovative design and technology. Our commitment is to empower users with aesthetically pleasing and intuitive tools that capture crucial insights seamlessly, transforming these insights into actionable intelligence for informed decision-making that drives meaningful outcomes.

You’ll work closely with a global, cross-functional team to bring new features to market and help define the future of our product landscape, solidifying our position as a leader in market intelligence through AI-driven search. As a thought leader in our design team, you’ll play a crucial role in driving the success of our product. You’ll collaborate with product management, engineering, and user research peers to create innovative experiences that meet the needs and exceed the expectations of our customers. This is an exciting opportunity to make a real impact and shape the future of our product offerings.

Who You Are & What You Bring:

• Domain expert who is passionate about crafting best-in-class product experiences and robust tools for tasks like note creation/distribution, project management, email, task management, newsletter creation, and integrations
• “Player/Coach” who has helped build and lead product design teams and mentor eager designers to continued success and professional growth
• Cognitive product pro who still gets their hands dirty designing user interfaces and interactions and are willing and able to share the design load with their team as it grows
• Always curious and eager to learn about complex topics and workflows and able to get up to speed quickly
• Expertise in visual hierarchy, layout, and information architecture
• Thorough knowledge of using and/or building design systems to ensure consistency and efficiency in product development
• Evangelize a holistic approach to user experience design with a deep understanding of product vision and objectives
• Seasoned user research skills and experience with relevant methodologies
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work well both independently and in a team
• A forward-thinking and inquisitive individual eager to push the boundaries of product design and create cutting-edge experiences
• Stays up-to-date with market trends and technological advancements to ensure that designs are relevant and innovative

What You’ll Do:

• Hands-On Design : Divide and conquer the design priorities with your team. This role will require significant hands-on design of our product UI (consider this role an ‘IC/Manager’ hybrid to start). You will hit the ground running, crafting exceptional experiences at speed and scale while building the design vision and team moving forward.
• Strategic Leadership : Provide strategic direction and leadership to the product design team, guiding the development of design vision, principles, and priorities aligned with company goals.
• Product Design Strategy : Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including product management, engineering, marketing, and UX research, to define and execute the product design strategy. Ensure alignment with business objectives, user needs, and industry best practices.
• User-Centric Design Excellence : Champion a user-centric design approach, leveraging research, insights, and feedback to inform design decisions and create intuitive, accessible, and delightful user experiences.
• Product Innovation + Iteration : Drive innovation and iteration in product design through prototyping, experimentation, and user testing. Continuously iterate on design solutions based on feedback and data insights to optimize user satisfaction, engagement, and business impact.
• Stakeholder Engagement : Build strong relationships with executive leadership, product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders, effectively communicating design vision, strategy, and progress. Advocate for design principles and user experience excellence at all levels of the organization.
• Quality Assurance + Governance : Ensure the highest design quality, craftsmanship, and usability standards are upheld throughout the product development lifecycle. Establish and enforce design governance processes to maintain consistency, coherence, and brand integrity.
• Industry Trends + Best Practices : Stay informed about industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in product design, user experience, and design leadership. Share knowledge and insights with the team and advocate for innovative design approaches and tools.
• Performance Evaluation + Growth : Conduct regular performance evaluations and provide constructive feedback to team members. Support career development and growth opportunities for designers, fostering a culture of learning, collaboration, and excellence.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field
• 15+ years of experience as a product designer and leader with a strong portfolio showcasing relevant work experience, case studies detailing processes, and research – with an emphasis on learnings and professional growth/evolution
• Expertise using Figma
• Strong understanding of best practices, user-centered design principles, and methodologies
• Excellent problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication skills
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic, agile environment and handle multiple projects simultaneously
• A passion for design and a commitment to delivering exceptional user experiences
• Experience working with and helping to build and advocate for design systems
• Comfortable, flexible, and skilled in collaborating with global, cross-functional teams
• Confident understanding of Generative AI; experience designing for it not required but preferred

AlphaSense is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to a work environment that supports, inspires, and respects all individuals. All employees share in the responsibility for fulfilling AlphaSense’s commitment to equal employment opportunity. AlphaSense does not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of race, color, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, military or veteran status, disability, or any other non-merit factor. This policy applies to every aspect of employment at AlphaSense, including recruitment, hiring, training, advancement, and termination.

In addition, it is the policy of AlphaSense to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified employees who have protected disabilities to the extent required by applicable laws, regulations, and ordinances where a particular employee works.

Base Compensation Range*:  $220,000 - $270,000

Additional Components: You may also be offered a performance-based bonus, equity, and a generous benefits program.

*For base compensation, we set standard ranges for all US-based roles based on function, level and geographic location, benchmarked against similar stage growth companies and internal comparables. In order to be compliant with local legislation, as well as to provide greater transparency to candidates, we share salary ranges on all job postings regardless of desired hiring location. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including geographic location as well as candidate experience/expertise and may vary from the amounts listed above.