As industries race to embrace AI, traditional database solutions fall short of rising demands for versatility, performance, and affordability. Couchbase is leading the way with Capella, the developer data platform for critical applications in our AI world. By uniting transactional, analytical, mobile, and AI workloads into a seamless, fully managed solution, Couchbase empowers developers and enterprises to build and scale applications with unmatched flexibility, performance, and cost-efficiency—from cloud to edge. Trusted by over 30% of the Fortune 100, Couchbase is unlocking innovation, accelerating AI transformation, and redefining customer experiences. Come join our mission.
As a Lead Product Designer at Couchbase, you’ll shape intuitive experiences for our flagship product, Capella—a cloud-native database-as-a-service platform. You’ll lead design initiatives from concept to execution, transforming complex workflows into simple, scalable, and delightful solutions for developers and enterprises. This role combines strategic thinking, hands-on design craft, and leadership to influence product direction and elevate the overall user experience.
What you’ll do- Lead the design of end-to-end product experiences for Couchbase (with focus on Capella), from initial concept through polished execution.
- Collaborate with product and engineering to translate complex requirements into user-centered designs.
- Clarify requirements, identify constraints, and challenge assumptions to better define the problem space.
- Explore a wide breadth of design options and articulate trade-offs for each approach.
- Deliver crisp, pixel perfect, and robust high-fidelity designs. Include edge cases and interactive states when relevant.
- Develop interactive prototypes to explore and validate new features, workflows, and interactions.
- Conduct user research to uncover pain points and opportunities, leveraging insights to inform design decisions.
- Give constructive design feedback and mentor junior designers.
- Contribute to our design system while maintaining visual cohesion and scalability.
Mandatory Qualifications:
- Experience designing products for specialized audiences such as developers, SREs, and DBAs; familiarity with database software is needed.
- Experience conducting user research and applying insights to design decisions.
- 8+ years experience as a UX or Product Designer, with a portfolio showcasing your best work.
- Proven ability to transform complex product briefs into simple, intuitive experiences.
- Experience designing products for specialized audiences such as developers, SREs, and DBAs; familiarity with database software is a plus.
- Strategic thinker who considers the big picture before diving into details - know when to zoom out and when to zoom in. Understanding of systems thinking, and the ability to factor in interdependencies between features.
- Experience conducting user research and applying insights to design decisions.
- Excellent communication skills to articulate design concepts and rationale.
- Comfortable working in distributed teams and collaborating across time zones.
- Should be proficient with Figma and AI tools.
At Couchbase, we believe innovation thrives when diverse perspectives are at the table. We actively encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds—including women, people of color, LGTBQIA+ professionals, veterans, and individuals with disabilities. If you see a role that excites you, but don’t meet every qualification, we still encourage you to apply.
Studies show underrepresented talent is less likely to apply unless they meet all the criteria. We encourage you to apply if you’re excited about the role and can bring strong contributions to our team.
If you require reasonable accommodations during the recruitment process, please let your recruiter know—we’re happy to support you.
We value diverse educational and career backgrounds. If your experience aligns with the role’s goals—even if it doesn’t follow a traditional path—we’d love to hear from you.
- Generous Time Off Program - Flexibility to care for you and your family
- Wellness Benefits - A variety of world class medical plans to choose from, along with dental, vision, life insurance, and employee assistance programs*
- Financial Planning - Retirement program* and Business Travel Insurance
- Career Growth - Be valued, Create value approach
- Fun Perks - An ergonomic and comfortable in-office / WFH setup. Food & Snacks for in-office employees.
- And much more!
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Unlike other NoSQL databases, Couchbase provides an enterprise-class, multicloud to edge database that offers the robust capabilities required for business-critical applications on a highly scalable and available platform. Couchbase is built on open standards, combining the best of NoSQL with the power and familiarity of SQL, to simplify the transition from mainframe and relational databases.
