Founding Product Designer

DesignRemoteFull-time

The application window will remain open until the position is filled. This opportunity will remain posted based on business needs.

About the role

Clinic staff interact with Kestrel's interface dozens of times a day under real pressure: phones ringing, patients waiting, deadlines looming. The product needs to be fast, forgiving, and unmistakably clear. As our founding designer, you'll own the entire design surface: the dashboard clinic staff live in, the landing pages that convert visitors, and the design system that ties it all together.

You'll do real user research with medical office staff (not hypothetical personas, but actual practice managers who've been on hold with Aetna for 45 minutes). You'll prototype in Figma, ship production-ready designs, and measure whether your work actually made someone's day easier.

This is a founding role. You'll shape the visual identity and UX philosophy of the product from the ground up.

Minimum qualifications

3+ years of product design experience shipping web applications (not just marketing sites).
Strong portfolio demonstrating end-to-end product design: research, wireframes, high-fidelity mockups, and shipped product.
Proficiency in Figma (components, auto-layout, prototyping).
Experience designing complex workflows with multiple states, form-heavy interfaces, and data-dense dashboards.
Ability to articulate design decisions clearly to engineers and stakeholders.

Preferred qualifications

Experience designing for healthcare, fintech, or other regulated industries where clarity is critical.
Experience building and maintaining a design system (tokens, component library, documentation).
Familiarity with frontend development (HTML/CSS, Tailwind, React). Enough to review implementations and suggest refinements.
Experience conducting user research: interviews, usability testing, workflow observation.
Experience as the first or only designer at a startup.
Understanding of accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA) and inclusive design principles.
Motion design skills (Framer Motion, After Effects, Lottie) for micro-interactions.

Responsibilities

Own the end-to-end design process: user research, information architecture, wireframes, visual design, prototyping, and QA.
Design and maintain Kestrel's design system, including components, patterns, tokens, and documentation.
Conduct user research with real clinic staff to understand workflows, pain points, and mental models.
Design complex, form-heavy workflows that feel simple (prior auth submission, clinical extraction review, appeal management).
Collaborate closely with engineering to ensure designs are implemented faithfully and performantly.
Design marketing pages, email templates, and other customer-facing touchpoints.
Define and track UX metrics: task completion rates, time-on-task, error rates.
Establish the visual brand identity and ensure consistency across all touchpoints.

Compensation

Base salary: $110,000–$165,000 + equity + benefits. Compensation depends on experience and location.

Interested?

We review every application personally and typically respond within a week.

Apply for this role

Kestrel is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic. If you need an accommodation during the application process, please let us know at contact@kestrel.to.