Overview

Job Description Job Description Director of Product DesignLocation: St. Louis, MO (On-site)About KNOWiNKKNOWiNK builds technology that powers elections. Our products are trusted by election officials across the country to run accurate, efficient, and accessible elections, forming a foundation for democratic participation. We are an AI-forward company committed to continuous innovation, and we build software that serves a wide range of users: from poll workers managing a busy precinct on Election Day to county clerks who depend on our tools day in and day out. Designing for this mission demands rigor, empathy, and an unwavering commitment to clarity.Role OverviewThe Director of Product Design is a senior leadership role responsible for the strategy, quality, and execution of user experience across KNOWiNK's suite of election products. This role owns KNOWiNK's design vision, shaping the experiences that ultimately touch tens of millions of voters across the country. The Director leads a team of three UX designers and operates as a player/coach, contributing hands-on design work on cross-functional teams while setting the direction, standards, and processes that elevate the entire design function.The Director of Product Design will report to the Director of Product and work closely with Engineering and Product leadership to define and continuously refine the processes, standards, and direction that enable the team to deliver great user experiences across KNOWiNK's product portfolio, spanning web and native iPadOS applications. A primary objective of this role is to unify a product portfolio that has historically felt fragmented, bringing consistency, coherence, and a shared design identity across all KNOWiNK products.Key ResponsibilitiesTeam Leadership & DevelopmentLead, mentor, and develop a team of three UX designers, ensuring work quality meetsKNOWiNK'sstandards and each designer is growing in their craftMake decisions about designer assignments to cross-functional (XFN) teams, ensuring effective design coverage across the product portfolioFoster a culture of feedback, craft, and continuous improvement within the design teamDesign Strategy & ExecutionOwn the end-to-end user experience strategy acrossKNOWiNK'sproduct suite, with a clear mandate to achieve consistency and coherence across historically fragmented productsLead and mature theKNOWiNKdesign system, driving adoption across all product teams and technology stacksContribute directly as a designer on cross-functional teams, delivering high-quality UX work alongside your teamDesign for a diverse set of user personas, including poll workers who requirehighly accessible, self-explanatory interfaces, and county clerks who prioritize speed and efficiencyUphold and advance accessibility standards across all products, ensuring compliance with ADA and WCAG guidelinesChampion a culture of rapid prototyping and continuous user feedback,establishinglightweight research practices thatvalidatedesign decisions early and reduce the risk of building the wrong thingCross-Functional CollaborationEstablish and lead cross-functional design standards in partnership with Engineering and ProductEnsure Design is integrated throughout the SDLC, including contributing to the definition of Ready and definition of DoneCollaborate with Product and Engineering leadership to align on roadmap priorities and delivery expectationsProcess, Tooling & AIDefine and own design team processes, workflows, and tooling decisionsChampion the use of AI in design, setting clear standards for how AI tools should and should not beleveragedby the design teamStay current on emerging design tools and methodologies and evaluate their applicability toKNOWiNK'sworkflowsQualificationsRequired7+ years of UX/product design experience, with at least 2 years in a people management role (design manager, design lead, or director)Demonstrated experience designing software products, with a strong portfolio showing end-to-end product