Product Design Lead, Elections

About U.S. Digital Response

U.S. Digital Response (USDR) works alongside state, local, and tribal governments to modernize how they deliver digital services and better meet the public's needs.

We envision a future where communities trust governments to deliver. We operate with humility and deep respect for our partners and believe that modern and resilient technology applied in the public interest can deliver people-centered services at the speed of need.

Since March 2020, USDR’s projects have impacted tens of millions of people in nearly 50 U.S. states and territories. We’ve worked with more than 650 governments and organizations on over 700 projects.

Leveraging an internal team of ~30 staff along with a network of over 12,000 pro-bono technical experts, USDR addresses and uncovers solutions for common, systemic challenges that public servants are facing. We bring the innovation and agility of a tech startup that is tailored to serve the unique needs and challenges of government.

Learn more in our blog post reflecting on five years of USDR.

Glossary

Government partner / partner = what we call the governments we work with (may be any kind of department at federal, state, county, or city level, or a public entity)

Volunteer = we are primarily a volunteer-based organization. We have a pool of 12,000+ professional-level volunteer technologists who are the primary contributors to many of our projects.

Programs = USDR's two program areas focus on improving service delivery where any failure can meaningfully erode trust in government. These programs are Digital Delivery and Elections. USDR program staff work alongside our government partners to help them modernize how agencies work and apply a product operating model to their work.

About our Elections Program

Election administration in America is deceptively complex. Over 8,000 local and state bodies run elections with severe resource constraints—election operations average just 0.5% of local budgets—as officials face mounting regulatory pressures, escalating security threats, and the loss of federal support programs.

Through two key offerings to election officials, USDR’s Election Program helps ensure secure, efficient, and trustworthy elections:

• Rapid Response: Custom tech support by expert volunteer technologists in a matter of days to address election officials’ most urgent issues and pilot innovative ideas.
• Election Administration Platform (EAP): Enabling election offices to co-develop and procure affordable software to build long-term resiliency, such as keeping track of secure election equipment and hiring large temporary workforces.

You can learn more about our Elections work on our website.

About the role

In 2023, USDR launched the Election Administration Platform (EAP), a cloud-based software suite that streamlines back-office operations for election officials. The platform is built on Airtable, a low-code tool that unlocks lower costs and higher customizability for election officials—while introducing significant challenges for user experience and platform scalability.

USDR is seeking a Product Design Lead to drive user experience and interface design for the EAP, with an initial focus on the platform and the potential to expand to other election tools over time. Given a complex, sometimes competing set of objectives, this role will play a critical part in determining how best to achieve our vision and mission.

This role balances two core responsibilities: providing strategic design leadership and hands-on design work (~40%), while building and managing a volunteer design team (~60%). The exact balance will evolve based on program needs and the strengths of the person in this role.

You'll inherit an existing team of volunteer designers and recruit additional volunteers over the course of 12 months. A critical aspect of this role is staying close to the design work to provide meaningful oversight — understanding volunteer work deeply enough to offer recommendations and to determine when to advance the work yourself and when to bring in volunteers for fresh thinking or increased velocity. You'll also need to manage transitions as volunteers rotate on and off the team at different times, and be prepared to step in and move work forward when there are unexpected changes.

This role is termed for 12 months, salaried, and is considered a full-time, benefits-eligible position at 32 hours per week (4 days per week). Potential for term extension will be based on future program needs and funding.

In collaboration with a product manager, program managers, and engineers, you will:

• Define end-to-end user flows that incorporate technical information architecture, systems thinking, design principles, and common design patterns
• Create wireframes, prototypes, and design artifacts that align the team toward a shared vision and guide product development
• Create design specifications for web applications and design directly in Airtable for native interface work
• Screen, onboard, and manage a team of volunteer designers and user researchers, including transitioning and building on an existing volunteer design team, creating structure and processes that enable volunteers to contribute effectively while maintaining design quality and consistency
• Provide oversight and quality assurance on volunteer design work, stepping in to make direct improvements, bridge transitions when volunteers rotate off, or drive work forward independently when needed
• Determine when volunteer contributions make sense to increase team velocity or bring new expertise, versus when to execute design work yourself
• Influence prioritization of user journeys and features based on what will help the team achieve our shared mission
• Co-lead Partner Advisory panels to share and receive feedback on wireframes from customers
• Plan and facilitate user research in collaboration with research specialist volunteers, applying insights to inform product strategy, user personas, and feature direction
• Recommend accessibility best practices in compliance with WCAG 2.1 standards
• Uphold human-centered design principles and evangelize their value to other team members

You are a good fit for this role because you:

• Have 7+ years as a senior independent contributor product designer for digital software products (ideally tech SaaS or analogous field on desktop web applications), with a strong portfolio of leading complex, ambiguous projects, and demonstrating ownership of the development of a product
• Have experience managing other designers — whether through direct reports, leading volunteer teams, or extensive mentorship
• Can demonstrate both strong senior independent contributor work AND people management experience; we're looking for someone who doesn't need training on either aspect
• Can balance hands-on design work with volunteer management responsibilities, and exercise judgment about when to delegate versus execute independently
• Effortlessly model the values in our USDR Community Oath

Qualified candidates will demonstrate a track record of Product Design leadership:

• A portfolio of relevant design work with strong examples of your work, your design process, and your role
• Experience providing design oversight and quality assurance, including refining others' work and determining when to delegate vs. execute design work independently
• Ability to work effectively through others, such as volunteers and a cross-functional team of product managers, program managers, and engineers
• Comfort in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment, including the possibility that the scope of what you work on may change over time
• Skill in building credibility and strong working relationships quickly in a new organization
• Ability to represent your organization professionally in complex stakeholder conversations
• Comfort advocating for your point-of-view, driving compromise, and getting buy-in and alignment
• Ability to synthesize insights from multiple sources and stakeholder perspectives to inform designs
• Ability to contribute to all stages of the product life-cycle: from early-stage strategy, to delivery, to post-delivery prioritization and quick fixes
• Familiarity with modern design and collaboration tools such as Figma and component libraries
• Familiarity with agile, iterative software development practices

Application Process: While applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis, we encourage interested candidates to apply before February 13. USDR will review all applications received, followed by a series of three interviews with staff members.

What we offer you:

• A competitive salary, consistent with similar roles in other tech nonprofits in major U.S. metropolitan cities. The annual salary range for this role is $140,000 - 156,000, depending on experience, based on a 32-hour/week schedule.
• Full health, dental and vision benefits (USDR pays 100% of the cost for our employees and 80% of the cost for their dependents on most plans).
• 401K with a matching contribution of $1 for each dollar you contribute up to 3% of your salary, and $.50 for each dollar you contribute on 3-5% of your salary.
• An equipment reimbursement for the purchase of a computer and peripheral devices of up to $2,000, along with a Work from Home allowance of $100 each month, to support employees as they navigate working from home.
• A discretionary budget of $400 per year per employee for work-related learning and development.
• A supportive community where everyone can thrive and find a balance between working hard to make a difference and taking care of themselves. This means that we are committed to a fully remote work environment (for US-based employees) along with flexible schedules and time off policies that work with your life.

About USDR Salary Practices

At USDR, we aspire to be an organization where our employees not only sustain, but thrive. We compensate every employee based on the belief that they are fully performing in their role – meaning they demonstrate our values, perform the responsibilities, and meet the expectations of their individual role.

Each job at USDR is leveled based on the business need for the role, and the salary band is determined based on market data for similar roles in the tech industry. New hires who signal full proficiency toward the job requirements will likely be offered the mid-point of our salary range.

Work Authorization

All USDR staff members work remotely in support of flexibility, wellness, and work-life balance. At this time, USDR is only hiring candidates who reside in the United States, and who have and maintain active U.S. Work Authorization. We are not able to offer U.S. visa support at this time.

USDR uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all new employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.DHS.gov/E-Verify.

Equal Employment Opportunity

U.S. Digital Response is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer fully dedicated to achieving a diverse staff. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and expression, and sexual orientation), disability status, protected veteran status, political party affiliation, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Please note that the EEO questionnaire included in our job application is dictated by federal government regulations, and does not reflect USDR’s position on gender inclusivity.

We encourage and welcome all interested potential applicants, regardless of background or prior experience volunteering with U.S. Digital Response, to apply.