Head of Design

Padlet is building software for a good education. A good education is one that inspires curiosity, creativity, and community. Our software enables that through visual content creation and collaboration in millions of classrooms worldwide.

There are some products so good, you feel delight using them. You wish you had more problems just so could use them more. Think Dyson vacuum cleaner, a faucet with the perfect laminar flow, a sharp knife, WD40.

We aspire to build such products at Padlet. We are looking for a Head of Design to lead our young, talented design team and help us fulfill this aspiration.

You'll be a player coach. You'll mentor the team, but also ship designs yourself. This is an in-person role out of our San Francisco office. You'll report directly to the CEO.

Responsibilities

• Leading the design of new products, features, and marketing assets.
• Mentoring and coaching the design team.
• Hiring more designers, if necessary.
• Putting Padlet in the hands of a billion people.
  
  

Qualifications

• You like working hard.
• You are honest.
• You've designed beautiful software products.
• You've lead exceptional design teams.
• You've hired exceptional designers.
• Bonus: you have a good sense of humor.
  
  

About Padlet

• Vision: Every child in the world will grow up with Mickey Mouse and Padlet.
• Product: We are making the default way of collecting and sharing thoughts on the Internet. People love the product.
• Impact: We have 40 million users, making Padlet one of the most used apps on the planet.
• Money: We are venture backed AND fiscally responsible. We are built to last one hundred years.
• Badassery: We are only 60 odd people. That's over half a million active users per person.
  
  

Joys of designing at Padlet

• We don't design with data or A/B tests unless we really don't know what the right answer is.
• We ship. Your work will not be stuck in purgatory for years.
• Your work will have a tremendous impact on global education.
• Every artist craves an audience. You'll start with 40 million.
• We value quality and craft.
• We don't take ourselves too seriously.
  
  

Sorrows of designing at Padlet

• We don't design with data or A/B tests unless we really don't know what the right answer is.
• CEO has very strong opinions about design and can often be incorrigible.
• Work can be chaotic. "Change of plans. Let's do this instead." is not uncommon.
• You will get hate mail whenever you redesign something. Many users feel very strongly about the product.
  
  

Some people you‘d be working with

• Collin Palmer: Exclusively listens to movie soundtracks when working, especially the Darth Vader theme. One man product machine from speccing to shipping.
• Gerard Searchfield: Insists that wallabies and kangaroos are different animals, artificially inflating the biodiversity of his homeland. Will notice a 1px misalignment from 18 feet away.
  
  

The office

• Our office is in the middle of Presidio, a beautiful national park. We’re a 5 minute walk from the beach. The WiFi works outdoors. You can work sitting in a lawn overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge.
• The office itself is designed to be a space for all your interests and hobbies. We have a meditation room, game room, library, art studio, kids room, and full makerspace with 3d printers, presses, laser cutters, sewing machines, and more.
  
  

Benefits

• Top tier medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, including One Medical memberships.
• 401(k) with matching.
• Commuter benefits.
• FSA.
• Stock options.
• Catered lunches and dinners. Military grade snacking.
• 20 vacation days. Plus sickness and bereavement days for when life happens.
• Parental leave
• All the gadgetry you need, including a new phone every year.
  
  

Special time to join

Because we're small, we move fast. And because we have tremendous traction, your designs will go in the hands of millions. This combination of speed and impact is rare and quite satisfying.

Compensation Range: $200K - $300K