Lead Product Designer

About Geocaching HQ

We are the global headquarters for the game of geocaching. Our mission is to inspire outdoor adventure, exploration, and community. Our products empower a worldwide community of geocachers to make every location an adventure and everyone an explorer.

At Geocaching HQ, we strive to be the best place our employees have ever worked. We foster a workplace rooted in compassion and candor, and we invite you to join us!

Position overview

The Lead Product Designer collaborates closely with nearly every department within HQ to create engaging and intuitive player experiences. In this position, you will utilize your expertise of user-centered design principles and iterative design processes to shape our product strategy and design direction. You’ll have the opportunity to lead qualitative research initiatives, manage & mentor designers, and implement user-centered design principles across our projects. This position is a conduit between design and senior management to move conversations and compelling ideas forward in a data-informed manner.

Responsibilities and duties

• Effectively manage and mentor the UX team, including Product Designers and Visual Designers.
• Present design concepts and rationales to senior management and stakeholders, ensuring alignment with project goals and objectives.
• Develop and support a vision for the end-to-end design of features across web and mobile platforms, avoiding designing siloes by platform.
• Spearhead and manage design strategies, define design systems, and champion player-centric design principles that align with our brand vision and objectives.
• Utilize research practices strategically; mentoring designers into appropriate use of research, continue to build on existing body of knowledge that can be drawn from to identify opportunities, reduce risk or uncertainty, focus testing, reduce the time required for initial discovery over time 
• Balance the need for research with the need to move expeditiously with product development
• Partner with leadership on the direction of our products, keeping pace with (or ahead of) trends that are relevant to our products, and bring a data-informed approach to research, product design, and project development.
• Lead the design process for new and meaningful features from concept to execution.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to maintain creative & brand cohesiveness and consistency (e.g., shared style guide, strong branding guidelines across both Adventures and Geocaching, roles and responsibilities) 
• Conduct user research and qualitative tests to gather insights and inform design decisions.
• Create wireframes, prototypes, and detailed design specifications for gameplay elements as needed.
• Other projects and tasks as assigned.

Skills and experience

• 7+ years of digital product design experience, with at least 3+ years of management experience. 
• Excellent communication skills to articulate design concepts and rationale.
• Knowledge of and development of design patterns for web and mobile applications
• Ability to grasp web and mobile engineering challenges and core technologies 
• Ability to listen well – passionate about giving and receiving honest, thoughtful feedback
• Deep knowledge of research methodologies and best practices
• Experience operating within a user-centered design process that defines and prioritizes the investment in key activities in each phase
• Portfolio of work that demonstrates a strong understanding of human-centered design practice as well as a deep understanding of UI/UX best practices
• Experience developing design systems, substantially improving design practices and scalability
• Proficiency in design tools such as Sketch and Adobe Suite. Knowledge of HTML, CSS, and Javascript is a plus.

Company competencies

• Accountability: Actively seeing commitments through to completion; taking responsibility for actions, welcoming feedback, and effectively explaining decisions.
• Adaptability: Demonstrating openness, flexibility, and agility in response to changing environments or circumstances.
• Collaboration: Identifying appropriate contributors from across and within teams; working with them in a way that leads to effective results and positive relationships.
• Problem Solving: Proactively recognizing challenges, analyzing potential responses, and taking initiative that leads to a thoughtful result.
• Results-Oriented: Outcomes matter; taking responsibility for the timing and results of work and projects.
• Self-Awareness: Continually improving upon personal strengths and areas for growth. Recognizing and managing our own emotions; recognizing and responding well to the emotions of others.

Behaviors

• Exemplify our company values: authenticity, effectiveness, passion, inclusivity
• Demonstrate collaborative communication and negotiation skills
• High level of emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills
• Ability to discern appropriate judgment and discretion 
• Possess a growth mindset with a desire to learn, develop, and share skills
• Graciously give and receive feedback  
• Effectively plan, organize, and prioritize workload

Physical demands and work environment

This job description should not be construed to imply that these requirements are the only duties, responsibilities, and qualification for this job. Incumbents may be required to follow any additional related instructions, acquire related job skills and perform other related work as required. 

Compensation and benefits

We carefully consider a wide range of factors, including your experience and internal equity, when determining individual pay. The range for this role is $118,340 to $191,710. This position is eligible for annual salary increases and bonus (dependent on company & individual performance). 

In addition to a collaborative workforce and a variety of office perks, below are some of our current benefits:

• Comprehensive benefits package: medical, dental, vision insurance. We cover the health insurance premiums for you and your eligible dependents.
• Employer-paid premiums for Short and long-term disability, basic life and AD&D. 
• Options to enroll in Flexible Spending Account (health and dependent care) and additional voluntary life insurance.
• 401k retirement plan: traditional and/or Roth, plus a 4% employer match with immediate vesting.
• Healthy work/life balance: generous PTO (120 hour accrual for each of the first two years of full-time employment, with increased accruals after that) and 10 paid holidays + 2 bonus days, monthly company social events, unlimited access to our Employee Assistance Program, budget for team outings, and more.
• Free Geocaching Premium Membership (plus one for a buddy!) to cache to your heart's content!
• One month paid Sabbatical every 7 years.
• Free unlimited ski/snowboard lift tickets or reimbursement up to $300/year towards outdoor activities.
• On-site gear closet so you can enjoy the great outdoors.
• Employer paid commute options with ORCA cards and on-site parking.
• Professional development programs and budget tailored to your learning & growth -- not in the cookie-cutter "one size fits all" approach.
• Employer charitable donation matching program, adoption benefits, and reimbursement for child/pet/elderly parent caretaker needs.
• Catered in-office lunches Monday-Thursday
• Two hours of paid geocaching per month.

Statement of inclusivity

Geocaching HQ works actively and intentionally to build a diverse, equitable, and inclusive company and worldwide community. We encourage everyone to apply and welcome applicants who are historically underrepresented in the technology and outdoor industries.