Head of Design

The Role

Our Design team is an integral part of OAK’S LAB, working alongside our Engineering and Product Management teams to build world-class products for US startups. As our Head of Design, you’ll be ultimately accountable for our design output whilst managing a team of talented designers.

We’re looking for an experienced Head of Design who has extensive experience in building world-class digital products. You’ll be responsible for overseeing the design process on up to 10 startup projects at a time and will be required to solve complex UX/UI challenges with our teams on a daily basis. We’re looking for someone who has a strong vision about how a user experience should be crafted in early-stage products and has the ability to effectively communicate this vision to other designers and stakeholders. You’ll have the responsibility to hire, coach, and mentor a team of talented designers and foster a culture of user obsession and innovation within the department and company.

Goals

• Ensure OAK’S LAB builds world-class products and experiences for our partner startups and their users
• Nurture a top-level, growing, and happy design team
• Develop and implement best-in-class design processes and methodologies

Responsibilities

Working on our projects:

• Collaborate with other members of the OAK’S DIGITAL management team to drive key strategic decisions in how we build products
• Consult on and oversee our projects from the design perspective
• Collaborate with US startup founders on design challenges and key product decisions

Working with our people:

• Recruit and hire a world-class design team
• Lead 1:1s, department meetings, and design syncs with Designers
• Manage a departmental budget

Developing our processes:

• Own our design processes and parts of our internal product development methodology; The OAK’S LAB WAY
• Lead company-wide initiatives to embrace design thinking and culture within OAK'S LAB
• Foster a culture of collaboration and continuous learning within the design department

Skills & Requirements

• 8+ years of design experience in either an agency or product company
• 2+ years of experience in either a Team Lead or management position
• Deep expertise in UX and UI design
• Deep expertise in communicating directly with users and making data-driven design decisions
• Knowledge of and experience with Figma
• Ability to coach and lead other designers through inspiration and expertise
• Strong understanding of how design is impacted by the goals and limitations of early-stage startups
• Fluent verbal and written communication in English
• Confidence and excitement to present your outputs
• The ability to explain complex design solutions and topics to senior stakeholders as well as your team
• Energy and know-how that will inspire your team and the entire company

Nice to Have:

• Experience working directly in or with early-stage startups
• Knowledge of and experience with Webflow
• Experience in building marketing websites
• Branding experience
• Experience in managing a team of 8+ designers

Our Projects

We’ve built over 40 successful products. Here are a few from our portfolio:

• PlexTrac
• Crave
• Vette
• Plotify

See our design portfolio here.

Benefits

• Flexible working hours
• Hybrid working environment
• 25 vacation days + 1 birthday day off + 1 additional day for every year working with OAK’S LAB (capped at 30 days)
• Top-of-the-line MacBook and hardware budget
• Budget to spend on your growth (books, courses, conferences)
• Free English lessons
• Opportunity for a bonus gained from investments in our startup partners
• Team bonding, happy hours, online games, annual offsite trips
• Outside of work activity clubs (yoga, traveling, football, tennis, etc.)
• Snacks and drinks in the office, weekly pizza, monthly breakfast
• Landmark office right on Old Town Square (dog-friendly)