Clutch is a Vertical Saas Fintech transforming lending for credit unions. We believe that the best way to enhance the financial well-being of the US consumer is to connect them to the lowest cost of debt. Credit Unions while unheard of in the technology circles are large financial institutions that are community centric and have the best loan products. The average American carries over $155,000 in household debt. Unlike fintech lenders and for-profit banks that often issue high-interest loans, credit unions operate as non-profit lenders offering lower cost loans. Clutch is an Andreessen Horowitz (A16Z) backed mission driven company. We develop software that empowers credit unions to offer the best digital experience to the 130 million consumers they serve across the country. 

About the Role:

At Clutch, design isn't just a department, it's the driving force behind our mission. We believe a seamless user experience can empower credit unions to compete and offer a superior banking experience for everyday people.

By designing intuitive experiences, we help credit unions guide members towards financial freedom. This translates to thousands saved that can be put towards dreams and goals. Credit unions are eager to provide a modern consumer experience but lack the technology and design expertise. We bridge that gap, creating experiences that showcase the benefits of credit unions

We are looking for a Player-Coach Design manager to lead our product design team. We are hoping to find someone who is excited for both the strategic challenge of building new products, but also helps their team ship ambitious, high-quality products. 

This role is perfect for someone with a deep passion for user-centered design backed up by their experience in product design, ideally within fast-paced tech startups. Our ideal candidate has a track record of managing a small design team through the complete product lifecycle, from ideation to launch

As a leader in our product team, you'll mentor designers, collaborate with cross-functional teams including product managers, engineers, sales and customer success

Your Responsibilities

• You will be a Player-Coach and first design manager at the company reporting directly to the Head of Product




• Manage designers and design work 
• Lead and expand the product design team that consistently delivers impactful human-centered experiences that meet user needs and business goals
• Manage resource allocation, and project prioritization, and cultivate a culture of design excellenceMentor team members, helping them grow their skills and career paths, while maintaining high design standards and practices




• Craft 
• Craft the end-to-end journeys and develop principles that can be used to help align our teams on the right experiences
• Drive the creation of our design system, ensuring it supports efficient and effective design and development processesBalance long-term vision with short-term objectives, making strategic decisions on design priorities and trade-offs




• Design Process 
• Strategize and oversee the design process, ensuring seamless integration of user research, wireframing, prototyping, and high-fidelity designs into the product development lifecycleRun and improve team processes like design critiques and design jams 
• Actively participate in the design process, from concept to execution, including user research, wireframing, prototyping, visual design, and user testing




• Customer Centricity & Collaboration
• Partner with Product and Engineering leads in this area to improve design processes and executionLead with a deep curiosity for the business and human behavior translating to delightful experiences 
• Communicate design direction, trade offs made, design rationale to accelerate alignment and enthusiasm across the company

Skillset you will bring

• Experience & Craft 
• At Least 7 years of product design experience, including 1-2 years leading designers in a non-agency role
• A portfolio of high-quality work that shows your experience designing elegant and visually engaging solutions to complex problems that directly solve user needs
• A proven track record as a craftsperson and ability to teach others. The team should be able to look up to you and respect you 
• Breadth of design experience whether its visual or interaction or navigation design. You love designing for the entire product process from strategy to pixel—and can demonstrate a range of skills from high-level flows to detailed interactions




• Ambiguity Handling & Problem solving: 
• Ability to embrace ambiguous situations as opportunities to add clarity. Mastery in solving unstructured problems that have many dependencies
• Exceptional problem-solving skills, with an ability to articulate simple direction for complex challenges




• Balancing quality and speed: 
• Bar Raiser: Ability to uplevel direct reports and raise the bar for design quality within an organization
• Balance an iterative approach and urgency to solve customer pain with ensuring that short term improvements ladder up to long-term vision and meet a high bar for the user experience.




• Adaptability in a fast paced fintech environment: 
• Deep curiosity and interest about fintech.
• Adaptability in a fast-paced startup environment, comfortable with juggling multiple products and orchestrating the direction 
• Experience collaborating with product managers, engineers and GTM teams when needed

Why join the Product Design team at Clutch?

• Design is a core capability at Clutch. Designers have an equal seat at the table in the way our team in set up and how we bring products to market
• You will get to work and learn with a team of highly passionate, talented, and supportive people
• Have high agency to influence product and design direction
• Culture of high performance but also high-transparency and support

Benefits and Perks:

• 2 amazing off-sites/year with the entire company
• Flexible PTO
• Stock Options
• Budget for Home Office Setup
• Budget for Work trips
• Full-remote job