Staff Product Designer

About Handshake

Handshake is the career network built for the AI economy. With 20 million knowledge workers 1600 educational institutions 1 million employersincluding 100% of the Fortune 50and every major AI lab trusting Handshake to power career discovery hiring and upskilling we sit at the intersection of talent and opportunity at a pivotal moment in history. From freelance AI training gigs to first internships to full-time careers Handshake is where professional journeys begin and evolve. That unique position is driving extraordinary growth: in 2025 we tripled our ARR at scale.

About the Role

As a Staff Product Designer on the Network team at Handshake youll design the experiences that introduce millions of people to Handshake and help them build lasting professional relationships throughout their careers. Youll own the end-to-end experience across acquisition onboarding activation referrals and network growthcreating intuitive engaging experiences that help users discover opportunities connect with their communities and realize value from their very first interaction.

This team sits at the heart of Handshakes growth strategy shaping how users first discover the platform build their professional network and develop habits that keep them coming back. Youll work on high-impact consumer experiences where exceptional craft experimentation and user psychology come together to drive meaningful business outcomes. As a Staff Designer youll help define the future of the Handshake network while partnering closely with product engineering data science marketing and brand to build products that millions of people use.

Your Role

• Partner closely with product engineering marketing data science and content teams to define problems shape product strategy and deliver exceptional consumer experiences.

• Own design end-to-end from early concept through post-launch iteration: user flows interaction prototypes high-fidelity mocks and collaboration through implementation.

• Design experiences across acquisition onboarding activation referrals and network growth that help users quickly discover value and build lasting engagement.

• Tackle complex ambiguous consumer design problems by translating behavioral insights and user needs into simple intuitive experiences.

• Rapidly iterate through wireframes prototypes and experiments to validate ideas and optimize conversion engagement and retention.

• Partner with cross-functional teams to design and refine growth experiments across landing pages onboarding flows referral programs viral mechanics and conversion touchpoints.

• Obsess over craft bringing a strong point of view on visual design interaction design and systems thinking while maintaining a relentless focus on user outcomes.

Your Experience

• 7 years of product design experience ideally building consumer-facing products at scale.

• Experience designing products with millions of active users ideally in social marketplace network-driven or consumer growth environments.

• Strong communicator who clearly articulates design decisions tradeoffs user insights and the thinking behind them to partners and leadership.

• Deep visual and interaction design expertise with a proven track record of shipping high-quality consumer experiences that drive measurable impact.

• Experience designing for growth including acquisition onboarding activation engagement referrals or other user lifecycle experiences.

• Comfortable incorporating generative AI tools into the design process to accelerate ideation prototyping and iteration while maintaining a high bar for product thinking craft and user experience.

• Comfortable using qualitative and quantitative insights to inform design decisions evaluate experiments and iterate quickly.

• Highly collaborative. You value diverse perspectives and partner effectively across engineering product data science marketing and brand.

• Design-led thinker who raises the bar by embedding design thinking into product development and helping others grow.

• Impact-driven. You prioritize ruthlessly and focus on the work that matters most.

• Gritty and hands-on. Youre willing to roll up your sleeves and take ownershipnothing is someone elses problem.

• Deeply motivated by Handshakes mission and committed to helping people build meaningful careers in the AI economy.

• Curious and always learning with a growth mindset.

Bonus Points

• Experience designing growth experiences including onboarding referrals social sharing viral loops SEO/content surfaces or registration optimization.

• Familiarity with product-led growth network effects marketplaces or multi-sided platforms.

• Passion for early-career professionals the future of work or the intersection of AI and human potential.

We Offer

Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported and thrive at work and in life.

The below benefits are for full-time US employees.

Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company

Financial Wellness: 401(k) match competitive compensation financial coaching

Family Support: Paid parental leave fertility benefits parental coaching

Wellbeing: Medical dental and vision mental health support $500 wellness stipend

Growth: $2000 learning stipend ongoing development

Remote & Office: Internet commuting and free lunch/gym in our SF office

Time Off: Flexible PTO 15 holidays 2 flex days

Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses

Explore our mission values and comprehensive US benefits at Experience:

Staff IC