Director of Product Design

Director Of Product Design

Over the last 14 years, Ellevation Education has built a thriving business serving the educators who support English Learners. Today, nearly 2,000 districts across the country use Ellevation software to drive English Language Development (ELD) in their schools. We are a successful, growing business with a real mission: helping ELLs achieve their highest aspirations.

We're hiring a Director of Product Design to lead this function as we pursue our goal of being the premier and most impactful ELD solution on the market. This role reports to our Chief Product & Technology Officer and serves on the R&D Leadership team, where Design sits alongside Product and Engineering as an equal partner in developing strategy and setting direction. As we evolve from a suite of point solutions into an integrated ELD platform, design plays a central role in defining what the experience should be, not just what it looks like.

You'll inherit a team of four product designers (with one to two open roles to fill) supporting work across four product domains. The core challenge is how to connect our compliance, instruction, and assessment tools into a set of unified workflows that drive impact in the classroom and across the district. Doing this requires a design leader who can think strategically, scale design craft, and influence peers across R&D. The right candidate will bring a sharp recruiting eye, strong people leadership, and enough hands-on judgment to set the bar. The job requires not only the ability to identify and nurture talent, but also to build belonging and deliver through others.

Product Culture

We are organized into small, durable product teams that develop solutions in specific domains. Our teams are cross-functional—product, design, and engineering work so closely together that we call ourselves DevPro and rarely meet in functional silos. We focus on outcomes over output, which means we engage users early, validate hypotheses through research and prototyping, and iterate rapidly toward high-confidence solutions.

While we work in separate teams, we prioritize integration and consistency of our solutions meaning consistency isn't a nice-to-have, it's a critical part of our end goal.

We expect AI tools like Claude Cowork and Claude Code to be central to designers' workflows as on-demand collaborators that can help explore ideas quickly: generating variations, stress-testing concepts, and moving from problem to prototype faster than traditional methods allow. This isn't about replacing craft; it's about using AI to expand what's possible within constraints.

We value Product Designers who think strategically and are able to look at problems from multiple angles, weigh tradeoffs, and articulate how a solution meets the needs of both users and the business. We celebrate accountability to outcomes: conducting experiments, adjusting strategy based on learnings, and delivering products that change behavior and drive real value.

Impact:

• 1 month: Build a clear picture of Ellevation's strategy and the role design plays in success. Internalize our approach to People Leadership and the Product Design Career Matrix. Develop rapport with direct reports, R&D leadership peers, and key commercial stakeholders. Understand our operating rhythm, team rituals, and shape-up planning cadence (shaping, betting, and cycle delivery).

• 3 months: Spend time with our customers and develop a clear sense of how they use Ellevation products. Develop a deep understanding of the feedback loops within the product. Understand Ellevation's approach to recruiting and begin sourcing for open roles. Establish high-trust relationships with other R&D and functional leaders. Partner with the Principal Product Designer to assess the current state of Backpack and the craft bar across the team.

• 6 months: Steward the overall direction of Product Design. Ensure designers are participating meaningfully in upstream shaping, not just downstream delivery. Partner with the Principal Product Designer to set and pursue the team's craft, systems, and AI fluency goals. Work closely with R&D Leadership to calibrate on performance and resource allocation across Product, Engineering, and Design. Continue to grow influence across the organization.

• 12 months: Take full ownership of Product Design at Ellevation. Expand the team's capacity through hiring, mentorship, and the rituals that let design scale across four domains. Work with Product and Engineering leadership to define healthy collaboration patterns from shaping through delivery. Partner with the Principal Product Designer to drive Backpack adoption as a competitive advantage.

About You:

• 8+ years managing Product Designers, with a track record of building resilient teams, growing talent, and developing leaders.

• A clear communicator who can articulate design decisions to non-design audiences and earn trust through how you frame trade-offs.

• Raises the bar on craft. Gives honest feedback, pairs with designers on hard problems, and sets a clear standard for what good looks like.

• Bias to action. Tests ideas in the world, iterates on what ships, doesn't get stuck debating.

• AI-fluent. Has a developed perspective on AI in the design craft, builds LLM-assisted workflows, teaches others to do the same.

• Designs with empathy for users unlike themselves and brings diverse perspectives into the process.

Nice to Haves:

• Enterprise SaaS builder background, with experience delivering for both key decision-makers and end-users.

• Personally goes to the source on user research and brings the team along.

• Thinks in systems and creates coherent experiences across workflows rather than isolated features.

• Loves to win with great people. Builds influence across functions, shares credit broadly, brings out the best in others.

Travel Expectations:

• Boston-area preferred

• Role requires in-person presence in Boston minimum of 10 times per year for monthly 2-day scheduled onsites

$170,000 - $220,000 a year Ellevation is transparent about its approach to pay which includes a competitive base salary, annual performance-based raise, and bonus (or commission for sales positions). The salary range for this role is $170,000 - $220,000, and the budgeted target is the midpoint, commensurate with candidate experience and internal parity. Our philosophy is that the full range is indicative of growth during employment. In addition, we provide comprehensive benefits to all full-time employees.

Are you passionate about growth and eager to learn? Do you possess a drive to excel and make a difference? Ellevation values diversity, creativity, and a hunger for new perspectives. While our job postings outline preferred qualifications, we believe that talent comes in various forms. If you're motivated, adaptable, and ready to contribute, we encourage you to apply. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds and experiences, recognizing that unique skills and fresh outlooks are invaluable assets to our team. Don't let a checklist of requirements deter you – take the leap, and let's explore the possibilities together!

At Ellevation, we develop world-class software to help educators serve the fastest growing population of K-12 students: English Learners (ELs). Ellevation helps school districts transform their Multilingual Learner programs and ensure all students can achieve their highest aspirations. Our product suite includes a best-in-class data and instructional planning platform, resources to build teacher capacity, and student-facing programs to teach academic language.

We are a fast-growing, mission-driven technology company partnering with over 1,500 school districts and more than 2 million current and former English Learners. Over the next five years, we plan to double the number of ELs we serve and drive measurable outcomes for students. Ellevation merged with Curriculum Associates in 2021 to accelerate impact for Multilingual Learners. Our company continues to operate independently and is well-capitalized to support our ambitious social and financial objectives.

Why Ellevation?

• Mission-driven organization where team members are empowered to make a significant impact

• Opportunities to join Employee Resource Groups and support building a culture of belonging

• Professional development and growth opportunities

• Company and team offsites in various cities across the United States

• Collaborative workspace in the heart of Boston - a stone's throw from many central T stops (Downtown Crossing, Government Center, and Aquarium). Free snacks, beverages, and local organic fruit provided

• Remote and in-person engagement opportunities, including happy hours, themed events, and competitions

• Remote and in-person wellness programming to support