Design Lead / Head of Design (AI)

Location: Remote; candidates must be based in North or South American time zones. Access to offices in Berkeley, California is available, and candidates who can travel are preferred for three annual retreats.

Annual salary: $150,000–$220,000 USD, depending on location and experience. Salaries and payments are usually available in local currencies.

Company

hirify.global is a research institute investigating trends in machine learning and the economic consequences of AI, creating publicly accessible research and data products for policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, and society.

What you will do

• Manage 3–4 designers and part-time contributors.
• Define and own design strategy across the website and data products.
• Establish design processes and quality standards for the organization.
• Lead design projects end-to-end, from problem definition through delivery.
• Design responsive user interfaces, graphs, specifications, mock-ups, and prototypes.
• Conduct user research and contribute to the design library while partnering with leadership, communications, web development, and research teams.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience designing interactive digital products, including leading projects.
• Experience managing a team of designers.
• Fluency in interpreting data visualizations and statistical insights to communicate AI topics to non-expert audiences.
• A portfolio demonstrating experience in UI/UX and data visualization.
• Ability to work independently, set priorities, and lead design work in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong grasp of typography, color, and layout.
• Ability to work comfortably in Figma, including auto-layout and components.
• Experience establishing or maintaining a design system.
• Prior familiarity with hirify.global’s work.
• Professional-level English proficiency; application materials must be submitted in English.

Nice to have

• Experience with scientific communication.
• Experience in illustration or branding.
• Familiarity with front-end development, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
• Experience with Python libraries such as Matplotlib or Plotly, or other data visualization programming tools.
• Good written communication skills.

Culture & Benefits

• Remote environment with flexible work hours.
• Global benefits program with health insurance, locally applicable supplemental benefits, life insurance, and a pension plan where applicable.
• Generous paid time off, including 30 protected days per year, unlimited personal and sick leave, and paid parental leave for eligible permanent staff.
• Expense support for equipment, productivity tools, and learning or development opportunities.
• Access to a well-equipped Berkeley office with paid meals and a gym, or reimbursement for local coworking space.
• Inclusive, equitable, and supportive working environment.

Hiring process

• Applications are rolling.
• A cover letter, photograph, headshot, and irrelevant personal information are not required.