Director of Product Design

At Talkdesk, we are courageous innovators focused on redefining the customer experience, making the impossible possible for companies globally. We champion an inclusive and diverse culture representative of the communities in which we live and serve. And, we give back to our community by volunteering our time, supporting non-profits, and minimizing our global footprint. Each day, thousands of employees, customers, and partners all over the world trust Talkdesk to deliver a better way to great experiences.

We are recognized as a cloud contact center leader by many of the most influential research organizations, including Gartner and Forrester. With $498 million in total funding, a valuation of more than $10 Billion, and a ranking of #16 on the Forbes Cloud 100 list, now is the time to be part of the Talkdesk legacy to help accelerate our success in a new decade of transformational growth.

At Talkdesk, we embrace FAST, our fundamental operating principles that define who we are as an organization. These principles drive us to make the impossible possible. FAST: Focus + Accountability + Speed = Talkdesker.

• Focus: Focus time, energy and attention on what is most impactful for the business and thoughtful about how and when to partner with others.
• Accountability: Hold self and others accountable to meet commitments and drive results. Accept responsibility for successes and failures.
• Speed: Execute with agility and urgency. Act promptly, decisively, and without delay. Make good and timely decisions that keep the organization moving forward.
• Talkdesker: YOU!

About the Role

As the Director of Product Design at our organization, you will oversee user research and user experience (UX) design for all Talkdesk products. Your leadership will ensure that our design efforts drive innovation and meet the needs of our users while supporting the company’s business goals.

About the Product Area

Your insight and expertise will drive research, innovation, and operational excellence across all design functions. You will ensure that our products exceed market demands and deliver exceptional user experiences.

Responsibilities

Lead Cross-Functional Design Strategy
Develop and implement a cohesive design strategy that aligns user research, UX, and visual design to support product development. Ensure that design efforts are synchronized across teams to deliver a consistent and impactful experience for users.

Drive User-Centered Design and Research
Direct and prioritize user research initiatives to gather insights into user behaviors, needs, and pain points. Use these insights to inform UX design decisions, ensuring that products are optimized for end users and aligned with business objectives.

Manage and Mentor a Global Design Team
Lead a global design team of 10, ensuring they are well-supported and developing their skills in user research, UX design, and visual design. Facilitate collaboration within the team and across other departments such as product and engineering. Foster an inclusive and creative culture that encourages innovation and alignment with business goals.

Stakeholder Engagement and Communication
Serve as the key design representative in cross-functional meetings, ensuring alignment with product management, engineering, and other departments. Clearly communicate design insights, research findings, and UX strategies to internal stakeholders, translating design into business impact.

Skills & Qualifications 

Interpersonal Skills

• Communication: Facilitates communication across the business, ensuring that teams collaborate effectively and are well-informed during periods of change.
• Initiative: Challenges teams to exceed expectations, identifying opportunities to drive innovation and improvement.
• Objectivity & Adaptability: Leads teams in finding better ways to serve business and customer needs, even outside their discipline. Willing to tackle important but less visible tasks that help the team meet goals.
• Empathy & Humility: Advocates for others in discussions, helping leaders understand their teams, users, and clients.

Craft Skills

• Business Context: Gathers and shares key business insights with the team, ensuring design decisions are aligned with organizational goals.
• User Focus: Organizes user-focused design processes and advocates for the user at all stages of product development.
• Breaking Down Complexity: Excels at simplifying complex problems and leading teams to create effective solutions.
• Systems Thinking: Develops scalable systems and workflows that enhance team efficiency and productivity.

Leadership Skills

• Team Leadership: Manages a larger team effectively, providing clear goals while creating space for decision-making and growth. Fosters trust and transparency through open communication and dependable leadership.
• Design Vision: Confidently leads projects to define and execute a coherent medium- to long-term design vision. Builds the design organization as a strategic focus within the company.
• Developing Others: Shares processes and mindsets across teams. Mentors others, helping them develop their teams and adopt design best practices.
• Culture and Togetherness: Promotes a positive, inclusive culture that encourages good behavior and team well-being. Acts as a cultural leader within the organization.
• Hiring and Organizational Design: Leads the design team’s hiring process with a thoughtful approach, resulting in great hires and strong retention.
• Stakeholder Management: Expertly navigates stakeholder needs, maintaining strong relationships even during challenging situations. Ensures alignment across teams and protects team members when necessary.
• Product Design Strategy: Provides clear direction on design strategy, working closely with senior designers and product managers to drive alignment and success.

Education & Experience 

• At least 8 years of experience in a Design Leadership role, focusing on high-impact product design or design systems teams.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience managing design teams.
• Experience balancing trade-offs between team needs and business priorities.
• Proven ability to lead or contribute to multiple strategic projects simultaneously.
• Strong skills in identifying high-impact opportunities and iterating quickly while projects are in motion.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience in Product Design, Interaction Design, User Experience, Design Management, or a related field.
• Fluent in English, with professional working proficiency.

Work Environment and Physical Requirements:

Primarily office-environment work, extended periods of sitting or standing, computer-based work. Limited lifting, and equipment usage limited to computer-related equipment (keyboards, mouse, etc.)

The Talkdesk story hinges on empathy and acceptance. It is the shared goal among all Talkdeskers to empower a new kind of customer hero through our innovative software solution, and we firmly believe that the best path to success for our mission is inclusivity, diversity, and genuine acceptance. To that end, we will hire, promote, work along, cheer for, bond with, and warmly welcome into the Talkdesk family all persons without regard to ethnic and racial identity, indigenous heritage, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status.