Lead Product Designer

Lead Product Designer

Jama Software® is focused on maximizing innovation success in multidisciplinary engineering organizations. Numerous firsts for humanity in fields such as fuel cells, electrification, space, software-defined vehicles, surgical robotics, and more all rely on Jama Connect® requirements management software to minimize the risk of defects, rework, cost overruns, and recalls. Using Jama Connect, engineering organizations can now intelligently manage the development process by leveraging Live Traceability™ across best-of-breed tools to measurably improve outcomes. Additionally, customers have access to cutting edge AI functionality to modernize their requirements workflows and processes. Our rapidly growing customer base spans the automotive, medical device, life sciences, semiconductor, aerospace & defense, industrial manufacturing, consumer electronics, financial services, and insurance industries.

As a Lead Product Designer, you elevate the craft of design across multiple product areas while serving as a key partner to Product and Engineering. You bring deep expertise in UX design, strong systems thinking, and a refined ability to translate complex problems into elegant, intuitive solutions. You operate with a balanced blend of strategic vision and hands-on execution, guiding teams through ambiguity while ensuring high-quality outcomes.

You provide formal leadership within cross-functional squads, shaping rituals, driving alignment, and modeling best-in-class design practices. You demonstrate mastery of the design system and help others adopt industry-leading patterns and methods. Your influence extends beyond your immediate roadmap areas as you mentor designers, raise the bar for craft, and contribute to the evolution of our design culture. We're seeking someone with hands-on experience using AI-native ways of working in product design, such as using AI for research synthesis, prototyping, experimentation, writing, analysis, and faster decision-making.

This position reports to the Senior Director of Product Design.

What You'll Do:

Drive Product Design Excellence

• Lead design efforts across multiple product areas, ensuring cohesive, user-centered solutions that balance customer needs, technical constraints, and business goals.
• Translate complex workflows into intuitive experiences through high-quality concepts, flows, prototypes, and refined design deliverables.
• Navigate ambiguity with confidence, breaking down large, strategic initiatives into actionable, incremental design steps.

Provide Cross-functional Leadership

• Serve as the design lead for one or more cross-functional squads, driving rituals, facilitating alignment, and ensuring design quality throughout the product development lifecycle.
• Partner closely with Product and Engineering leaders to shape roadmaps, define problem spaces, and influence prioritization through customer insights and design rationale.
• Represent design in strategic discussions, advocating for user experience and elevating design's role in decision-making.

Advance The Design System

• Demonstrate deep mastery of the design system and guide others in applying it effectively across products.
• Identify opportunities to evolve system components, patterns, and documentation based on emerging needs and industry best practices.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners to ensure consistency, scalability, WCAG 2.2 AA conformity, and craft excellence across the product suite.

Champion Research and Craft

• Lead customer discovery efforts, synthesizing insights that inform product direction, and uncover new opportunities.
• Plan, conduct, and analyze discovery explorations and usability tests to influence our product roadmap, validate design decisions, and refine solutions.
• Model high standards of craft, attention to detail, and thoughtful problem-solving, inspiring others through your work.

Mentor and Elevate the Team

• Provide structured mentorship to Product Designers and Senior Product Designers, offering feedback, coaching, and craft guidance.
• Contribute to design reviews with a focus on elevating quality, strengthening rationale, and fostering a culture of constructive critique.
• Share knowledge, tools, and methods that help the team grow and operate more effectively.

What You'll Bring:

• 8-15+ years of UX design experience, including substantial work on business software applications. Brand or consumer-only experience is not sufficient.
• BS/BA (or equivalent experience) in graphic design, interaction design, HCI, new media, or a related field.
• Demonstrated success working cross-functionally with Product and Engineering teams in a fast-paced software environment.
• Strong systems thinking and the ability to design for complex, multi-step workflows.
• Mastery of UX design principles and modern product design practices.
• High proficiency with design tools such as Figma, Jira, Pendo, and related software.
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions clearly to diverse audiences.
• Strong sketching, ideation, and rapid prototyping abilities.
• A portfolio showcasing high-quality UX work, strong craft, and clear problem-solving.

Nice to Have:

• AI-driven prototyping, experience designing chatbots, recommendation engines, and agentive UX.
• Experience demonstrating how design is a strategic driver of business.
• Deep knowledge of HTML/CSS/JS/React capabilities and limitations.
• Experience with the Requirements Management industry.
• Prior experience leading design within multi-product ecosystems.

Perks and Benefits:

• Virtual first and culturally diverse work environment spanning 8 countries.
• Ambitious and fun work with a chance to define distinct, company-shaping tangible contributions.
• Flexible time off and leave programs crafted to meet the needs for your rejuvenation and extra support to cope with life events with a quarterly $75 wellness reimbursement.
• Comprehensive and affordable medical, dental and vision plans with pre-tax savings accounts and a generous 401(k) employer match.
• 6+ weeks of paid parental leave to bond with your new family member.
• Emphasis on learning and development at all levels with a subscription to LinkedIn Learning.

At Jama Software, we welcome passionate individuals who have the unrestricted right to work in the United States, including natural citizens and Green Card holders, and reside in eligible states to join our team.

Jama Software participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9.

If you get to this point, we hope you're feeling excited about the job you just read. Even if you don't feel that you meet every single requirement, we still encourage you to apply. We're eager to meet people that believe in Jama Software's mission and can contribute to our team in a variety of ways – not just candidates who check all the boxes.

Jama Software is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to any characteristic protected under federal, state, or applicable law.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us at View email address on click.appcast.io to request an accommodation.