Founding Product Designer

Clera

$80K — $160K *
Consumer Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5+ years of product design experience, particularly with AI-powered or complex software interfaces.
  • Strong proficiency in design tools like Figma and prototyping.
  • A portfolio showcasing end-to-end product design with an emphasis on design systems and pixel-perfect execution.
  • Experience in designing onboarding flows and conducting experiments to enhance activation and conversion rates.
  • Proven track record of user research methodologies, including interviews and usability testing, translating insights into actionable design.
  • Comfortable managing the design process independently in a fast-paced startup environment.
  • Experience collaborating closely with engineering teams and aiding product strategy.

Responsibilities

  • Collaborate with engineering to create intuitive, AI-driven experiences that balance user simplicity with advanced capability.
  • Manage the entire design lifecycle from initial concepts to final product launch, including prototypes and design systems.
  • Conduct ongoing user interviews and usability testing to identify improvement areas and inform design choices.
  • Implement design experiments to foster growth, enhance onboarding, and optimize conversion rates.
  • Develop go-to-market messaging and visuals that connect with creative professionals and video teams.
  • Participate in product strategy discussions, working alongside engineering and leadership to shape execution.

Benefits

  • Founding-level equity providing ownership stake in the company.
  • Influence over product direction in a dynamic early-stage environment.
Full Job Description
About the Role

A fast-growing, Y Combinator-backed AI creative tools startup is looking for a Founding Product Designer to join the team in Berlin. This is a founders-level role where design sits at the heart of product strategy, adoption, and growth. You'll be one of the earliest design hires, shaping the product experience from the ground up in a company with strong early traction and doubling revenue month over month.

The platform helps professionals and video teams create high-quality animations in a fraction of the time traditionally required. You'll be designing AI-native interfaces that make powerful creative tools genuinely accessible to a broad audience.
What You'll Do
  • Partner closely with engineering to design intuitive, AI-native experiences that balance simplicity with power - hiding complexity while giving users control when they need it.
  • Own the full design lifecycle from concept to launch: prototypes, design systems, and pixel-perfect UI execution.
  • Run continuous user interviews and usability tests to surface new opportunities and validate design decisions.
  • Drive growth through design experiments, improved onboarding flows, and conversion optimizations.
  • Shape go-to-market messaging and visuals that resonate with the target audience of creative professionals and video teams.
  • Contribute to product strategy and execution alongside engineering and leadership.
What We're Looking For
  • 5+ years of product design experience, ideally designing AI-powered or complex software interfaces.
  • Strong proficiency with design tools (e.g., Figma), prototyping, and building scalable design systems.
  • A portfolio demonstrating end-to-end product design - concept through launch - with clear evidence of design systems and pixel-perfect execution.
  • Experience designing onboarding flows and running experiments to improve activation and conversion metrics.
  • Proven ability to conduct user research (interviews, usability testing) and translate insights into design decisions.
  • Comfort owning the design process end-to-end in a fast-moving startup environment - shipping, iterating, and measuring UX impact.
  • Experience partnering with engineering teams and contributing to product strategy.
  • Based in Berlin or willing to relocate - this role is on-site.
Compensation & Benefits
  • Salary range: €80,000 - €160,000 EUR annually, depending on experience.
  • Founding-level equity and ownership.
  • Direct influence over product direction at an early-stage, high-growth company.
Location

Berlin, Germany - on-site. Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

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