10+ years of experience designing digital products with minimal direction.
Proficient in AI tools like Cursor and Claude Code, with a track record of shipping prototypes or production code.
Experience in both web and native mobile design, with a mobile-first mindset.
Demonstrated ability to create scalable frameworks or design systems adopted by teams.
Strong Figma skills, including auto layout, components, and visual design expertise.
Proactive problem-solver who takes initiative and follows through.
Responsibilities
Lead the renter experience across web and mobile platforms, ensuring quality and coherence.
Balance maintenance of existing features with the development of new innovations.
Establish design standards and patterns for other senior designers to follow.
Prototype functional AI solutions integrated with existing components.
Incorporate AI tools into the design process as they emerge.
Influence product direction based on user data and insights, gaining buy-in from stakeholders.
Mentor fellow designers through critique and collaboration, enhancing overall team performance.
Benefits
Flexible work environment with remote options.
Opportunities for professional development and mentorship.
Collaborative culture that values innovation and creativity.
Access to cutting-edge tools and technologies.
Equity options as part of the compensation package.
Full Job Description
The Job
Lead Core, end to end
Lead the renter experience across web, mobile web, and native iOS and Android. You're accountable for its coherence, quality, and direction.
Balance maintenance and invention. Core carries real traffic and real revenue, so you improve what exists as much as you build what's next, and you know which one a given week calls for.
Set the craft bar: visual, interaction, and systems. Create the patterns and standards other senior designers calibrate against.
Build AI-forward
Prototype in Cursor and Claude Code until it's functionally real, not just clickable. Wire it to our actual components, variables, and tokens so engineering builds from your prototype instead of starting over. Engineering drives architecture, performance, and the merge.
Make AI a default part of how you work. Form a point of view on what's working and fold new tools into your process the week they land.
Lead through influence
Bring a point of view on where Core should head, grounded in renters, data, and taste, and get senior product, engineering, and executive partners behind it.
Find problems nobody handed you. Use qualitative and quantitative research and experiments to decide what's worth building, and change your mind when users tell you to.
Mentor without managing. Raise the level of every designer you work with through critique, pairing, and example, and finish what you start.
What makes you right for this
Must Haves
10+ years designing digital products, owning ambiguous, cross-functional problems with minimal direction.
You build with AI in real work. You've shipped working prototypes or production code with tools like Cursor or Claude Code, and you can say what the AI got right, where it fell short, and how you validated it.
You've shipped on both web and native mobile, and you think mobile-first.
Your work has scaled beyond you. A framework, pattern library, starter kit, or standard that other designers or teams adopted. We look at scope, not title.
Craft you can show: Figma fluency (auto layout, components, variables, systems), plus visual design, typography, interaction, and motion that others copy.
You act without being told: you spot problems, decide, follow through to resolution, and know when to say no.
Nice to have
A two-sided marketplace at real scale.
Partnering directly with C-suite leaders on product direction.
A side project taken from idea to launch
Here's the Pay Range:
At Apartment List, we carefully consider a variety of factors to determine compensation for each position, including the role, level, and work. The CAN Total Target Compensation (TTC) for this position is:
Zone 1: $184,000 - $223,000 TTC (including $162,000 - $196,000 base salary) + equity
Zone 2: $165,000 - $200,000 TTC (including $145,000 - $176,000 base salary) + equity
This reflects the compensation target for new hire salaries for the position across all CAN locations. Please note, the compensation details provided do not include benefits and perks that we offer.
We also rely on market indicators along with considering your work location, job related skills, experience and relevant education and training, to determine compensation that is fair and competitive for you. Apartment List will consider paying compensation near the higher of the range in exceptional circumstances, where candidates have the experience, credentials or expertise that would warrant such consideration. It is always our goal to hire exceptional talent and we would be happy to share more about compensation during the hiring process.
About Apartment List
Apartment List is a platform that connects renters with apartment listings through an online marketplace. The company was founded in 2011 by John Kobs and Chris Erickson. The platform allows renters to search for apartments based on various criteria such as location, price, and amenities. Apartment List also provides tools for renters to schedule tours, apply for apartments, and pay rent online. The company has raised over $200 million in funding and has partnerships with over 5,000 property management companies. Apartment List has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing companies in the US by Inc. Magazine and Deloitte.
