SVP, Chief Design Officer - Slack

Description

About Slack & The Role

Slack is where work happens. It's more than just a communication tool; it's the digital headquarters that brings people, information, and workflows together. As the SVP & Chief Design Officer for Slack, you'll lead the design team shaping how millions of people work every day. You'll be a strategic partner to our product and engineering leadership across Salesforce, blending conversational interfaces, proactive AI agents, and seamless multimodal collaboration into a unified, agentic platform.

This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of a product that touches millions of users daily. We're looking for a visionary design leader who is passionate about consumer-grade experiences in an enterprise context. You will be responsible for defining the design strategy, building and mentoring a diverse and talented team, and fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and excellence.

The Strategic Imperative: Slack as the UI for AI at work

Responsibilities

We see Slack as the definitive UI for a new era of work. Slack's role is evolving into the intelligent interface where humans and AI agents can seamlessly collaborate to drive business outcomes. As the SVP & Chief Design Officer, your design leadership will be critical in this evolution. You will be responsible for designing:

• Human-Agent Collaboration: Designing the interaction models and user interfaces that enable a fluid and effective partnership between human users and AI agents. This includes how AI agents present information, how users interact with them, and how their contributions are integrated into workflows.
• Unified Workflows: Building a cohesive user experience where tasks, data, and communication are unified, eliminating the need to switch between multiple applications.
• A Single Pane of Glass: Establishing Slack as the single, personalized interface that surfaces the most critical information and actions for every user, whether they are a developer, a CEO, a sales representative, a service agent, or a marketer.
  
  

The Importance of a Consumer Focus

While Slack is a powerful enterprise tool, our success is built on a consumer-centric philosophy. We believe that the best enterprise software feels as effortless and delightful to use as the consumer apps people use every day. Your role is to infuse this mindset into every aspect of our product.

This isn't just about aesthetics; it's about deeply understanding user behavior and motivation. We're moving beyond simple functionality to create an experience that feels personal, productive, and even joyful. You will champion the user and their needs, ensuring that our product remains simple and accessible even as we add increasing layers of complexity and power. By focusing on a human-centered design approach, you will ensure that the workflows, notifications, and interfaces we create are not only functional but also a pleasure to use, driving adoption and engagement across our customer base.

Key Responsibilities

• Design Excellence & Craft: Own the ultimate mandate for pixel-perfect execution and the highest standards of design craft. Ensure every experience transcends utility to deliver meaningful joy and unmatched productivity.
• Strategic Leadership: Define and champion the long-term design vision for Slack, ensuring it aligns with and advances the broader Salesforce strategy.
• Team & Culture: Attract, hire, mentor, and lead a high-performing and diverse design organization. Foster a culture of excellence, collaboration, and continuous learning.
• Product Partnership: Partner closely with the SVP of Product and the SVP of Engineering to shape product strategy and prototype the path forward.
• User Advocacy: Serve as the voice of the user within the leadership team, ensuring that user needs and insights drive product decisions.
• Operational Excellence: Establish and optimize design processes, tools, and methodologies to scale the organization effectively.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with marketing, research, and other teams to ensure a consistent and compelling brand and user experience.
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

• 15 years of experience in product design, with a significant portion in a leadership role.
• 10 years of experience managing and leading large, multi-disciplinary design teams.
• A strong portfolio of successful, consumer grade products with major scale
• Demonstrated experience in a leadership role at a top-tier technology company.
• Deep expertise in user-centered design principles and methodologies.
• Proven ability to partner with C-level executives and influence product strategy.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing for enterprise software and B2B SaaS products.
• Experience with AI, machine learning, and designing for human-agent collaboration.
• A strong understanding of the Salesforce ecosystem and its products.
• Experience leading a globally distributed team.
  
  

For roles in San Francisco and Los Angeles: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, Salesforce will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.