Founding Product Designer

About the Role

Location: Hybrid – Chicago, IL or New York, NY (3 days in office required)

Job Type: Full-time, 60-day contract-to-hire

We’re looking for a product designer who wants to build — not just direct. You’ll be our first full-time designer and will own everything from UX strategy to high-fidelity Figma mocks. You’ll be deeply hands-on, designing the core user experience of Aviary’s AI voice platform and knowledge base used by financial institutions.

This role is highly cross-functional. You’ll collaborate closely with engineering, sales, and Client Deployment & Success, who works directly with clients and gathers real-world feedback. Together, you’ll help translate on-the-ground insights into intuitive, elegant product experiences.

What You’ll Do

• Own design end-to-end: From wireframes to production-ready UI in Figma.
• Coordinate with engineering: Ensure designs are buildable and well-documented.
• QA and test releases: Help test features pre-launch and ensure designs are executed as intended.
• Run feedback loops: Collaborate with our Client Deployment & Success Lead to incorporate frontline feedback into design decisions.
• Improve usability: Identify friction points in the product and propose UX solutions.
• Maintain our design system: Establish and evolve a consistent visual language across the platform.
• Contribute to roadmap: Support roadmap planning with input from users and internal teams.
• Manage releases: Help plan and coordinate product releases with internal stakeholders.

About You

• Strong portfolio demonstrating UI/UX work (ideally in B2B SaaS).
• Proficient in Figma with a keen eye for usability, interaction, and visual design.
• Comfortable working in ambiguous environments with a bias toward action.
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate across technical and non-technical teams.
• Curious about how data flows in the product (you don’t need to code, but should want to understand how things work).
• Based in or willing to relocate to Chicago/New York (hybrid role).
• This role may require travel 4-5 days a month to meet with clients or other team members.

Nice to Have

• Experience coordinating cross-functional teams and product releases.
• Exposure to AI tools in regulated industries like finance or insurance.
• Familiarity with client success workflows or collaboration with support/CS teams.
• Experience using tools like Notion and Linear.
• Understanding of how data flows through systems — familiarity with database structures (e.g., SQL schemas) is a plus, even if you don’t write code.

Why This Role is Unique

• You’ll own the design of a live, revenue-generating AI product from day one.
• You’ll be a key contributor to the product roadmap and company direction — with a path to grow into product management or ownership.
• You’ll shape the design culture and systems from scratch in a high-autonomy environment.

About Aviary AI

Aviary AI transforms how credit unions, banks, and insurers communicate with their members using AI-powered voice agents. Our platform helps teams scale outreach, cut costs, and stay compliant — all while delivering a better experience. We’re backed by Y Combinator and growing fast.