Nominal builds software that lets hardware teams test, iterate, and deploy as fast as software teams.
The Role
Design defined product features and improvements for a connected hardware testing platform. Translate complex data workflows into intuitive experiences, conduct user research, create flows and prototypes, collaborate with engineering and product through implementation, and contribute to reusable design-system components. The role also involves incorporating customer feedback, explaining design decisions, and supporting products used to test advanced hardware systems.
Summary Generated by Built In
About Nominal
Nominal is building the connected test and operations platform powering the world's most advanced hardware systems, from spacecraft and autonomous vehicles to next-generation defense programs. Our platform gives hardware engineering teams a single place to ingest data, analyze performance, automate test execution, and collaborate across every phase of development, so they can move faster without sacrificing safety or precision. We're a fast-moving team that owns problems end-to-end, works across disciplines, and thrives at the intersection of hardware and software.
We serve top-tier commercial and defense customers, from autonomy leaders like Anduril and Shield AI to next-generation aerospace teams like Hermeus and REGENT, and performance engineering teams like Pratt Miller Motorsports, alongside mission partners within the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force on programs where failure isn’t an option. We’re backed by Sequoia, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, and Lightspeed. Our team draws from SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, Applied Intuition, and other leading companies, united by a common mission: giving hardware engineers the tools to build the future with speed, safety, and confidence.
The role
We’re looking for designers graduating in 2027 or sooner with solid visual and product design fundamentals to join Nominal full time.
You’ll own design work for defined features and product improvements, with support from experienced designers and close collaboration with engineering and product. You’ll help bring new capabilities to life, learn directly from customers, and grow your judgment as a product designer. Your work will support engineers testing and validating complex hardware systems, including nuclear reactors, rockets, and supersonic aircraft.
- Turn complexity into clarity. Dive into high-frequency, high-volume hardware and data workflows and translate them into intuitive product experiences.
- Design alongside real users. Partner with engineers and customers to understand their workflows, identify pain points, and test potential solutions.
- Partner with design, engineering, and product to research, prototype with AI, and contribute directly to product improvements and features.
- Own the design of defined features from initial exploration through implementation, working with your team to clarify scope and make tradeoffs.
- Collaborate with engineers throughout development to refine interactions and deliver thoughtful, usable experiences.
- Evolve our design system. Contribute reusable patterns and components that improve consistency and usability across the platform.
- Help shape our design culture by sharing work early, giving constructive feedback, and using customer insights to inform product decisions.
- You’re graduating in 2027 (or sooner) and seeking a full-time product design role as a new graduate or early-career designer.
- You have a portfolio that demonstrates strong visual design fundamentals and product thinking through academic work, personal projects, internships, or professional experience.
- You can translate a user problem into clear flows, detailed interface designs, and prototypes.
- You can explain your design decisions and refine them based on feedback, user needs, and technical constraints.
- You take initiative to clarify unfamiliar problems and collaborate with others to move work forward.
- You’ve collaborated with engineers to bring a design into a working product.
- You’ve used AI tools to explore ideas or build prototypes.
- You’ve designed data visualizations, complex workflows, or tools for technical users.
✨ Benefits/Perks
- 100% coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Unlimited PTO and sick leave
- Free lunch, snacks, and coffee
- Professional Development Stipend
- 401k Plan
- In-office hardware lab with a $250 project stipend
- Annual company retreat
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
ITAR Requirements
To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
Skills Required
- Graduating in 2027 or sooner
- Portfolio demonstrating strong visual design fundamentals and product thinking
- Ability to translate user problems into clear flows, detailed interface designs, and prototypes
- Ability to explain design decisions and refine them based on feedback, user needs, and technical constraints
- Initiative to clarify unfamiliar problems and collaborate effectively
- Experience collaborating with engineers to bring designs into working products
- Experience using AI tools to explore ideas or build prototypes
- Experience designing data visualizations, complex workflows, or tools for technical users
Nominal Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Nominal and has not been reviewed or approved by Nominal.
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Healthcare Strength — 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage is repeatedly described as covering both employees and dependents, indicating unusually strong healthcare provisioning. Additional mentions of “Platinum” coverage reinforce the sense of a high-tier plan offering.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Unlimited PTO and paid holidays/sick time are presented as part of the core package, suggesting broad time-off benefits on paper. Parental leave is also framed as fully paid in several places, reinforcing overall leave breadth.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Wellness stipends, daily gourmet lunch (and sometimes dinner), and periodic retreats are consistently highlighted as meaningful lifestyle perks. Learning/development and other small stipends further round out a perks-heavy total rewards posture.
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The Company
What We Do
Nominal builds the essential software stack that enables hardware teams to test and iterate as rapidly as software teams. Nominal empowers engineers to continuously monitor, validate, and deploy innovations, transforming how mission-critical hardware is built and operated.
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