Principal Product Designer

The Principal Product Designer plays a key role on the Product Design team at TED, leading strategic projects and mentoring other members of TED’s Product Design team. 

Please include a portfolio with your application.

Skills and Experience:

• 8+ years of experience in product design
• Fluency in a broad range of software design disciplines, including interaction design, information architecture, and visual design. Familiarity with motion design and native app design
• Experience leading complex design efforts from beginning to end, from ideation through prototyping, refinement, iteration, user testing, launch, post-launch maintenance, and turndowns when necessary. Track record of successful collaboration with Product Managers and Engineers
• Experience successfully collaborating with remote or distributed teams
• Track record of leveraging design systems, design tools (eg Figma, Miro, usertesting.com), and user research to accelerate iteration and development. We use Figma as our primary design, prototyping, and collaboration tool
• Strong communication, curiosity, collaboration, and perspective-taking skills. Eager to understand the cultures, values, goals, and constraints of others, whether they are TED staff, partners, users, or beyond
• Mission-driven and keen to support and grow our global community, welcoming people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world. Believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world
• Desire to work in a fast-paced environment where we navigate the complexities of both scale (especially on ted.com) and crafted experience (especially for our conferences)

Responsibilities:

• Lead design projects serving a variety of user needs, increasing engagement, strengthening community, and driving the impact of ideas. Drive projects forward from whiteboard sketching to high-fidelity final treatments
• Rapidly produce multiple concepts and prototypes, recognizing that there is rarely “one right answer” and there is value in exploring trade-offs. Collaborate with other Product Designers as well as Product Managers, Engineers, and beyond, both informally and through participation in structured Design Sprints
• Contribute to the long-term goals and strategy of TED’s products and services
• Mentor and support other members of TED’s Product Design team
• Help shape the culture and processes of the Product Design team
• Define critical user journeys and promote a culture of product design excellence not only inside the Digital Products team, but also across TED more broadly

Workplace Conditions / Physical, Mental and Visual Demands:

• General: Office environment
• Physical: Repetitive movement of wrists, hands, and/or fingers
• Mental/Visual: Concentrated mental and/or visual attention; work involves performing tasks to very close accuracy and quality specifications
• Machines, Tools, Equipment, Electronic Devices, Computer Software, etc.
• Ability to use common office equipment such as telephone, computer and copier
• Computer programs to include MS Office, Mac programs, Google Docs, functional related databases
• Travel: Upon request

Your current location is flexible, but you’ll need to work US East coast hours. Once it is safe, this position can be based in TED’s Manhattan office, though we will also consider candidates who would indefinitely work remotely.