Senior Product Designer

Employment Type: [Not Specified] Location Type: [Not Specified] Salary: [Not Specified]

Position Overview

NPR is a mission-driven multimedia organization that produces award-winning news, information, and music programming in partnership with hundreds of independent public radio stations across the nation. Our audience values information, creativity, curiosity, and social responsibility, and so do our employees. We are innovators and leaders in diverse fields, from journalism and digital media to IT and development, touching the lives of millions worldwide every day.

NPR is committed to building a workplace where collaboration is essential, diverse voices are heard, and inclusion is the key to our success. We are dedicated to doing the right thing in our journalism and in every role at NPR, meaning integrity, adherence to our ethical standards, and compliance with legal obligations are fundamental responsibilities for every employee.

As a Senior Product Designer, you will be involved in every aspect of the design process, from concept development to inspecting pixels just before launch. You will utilize a full range of design skills, from interaction design to product design to prototyping. This role involves representing design on multidisciplinary project teams, working closely with researchers, product managers, and developers. Your primary objective is to help inform product vision and foster positive digital experiences for millions of NPR consumers.

This is a union-represented role covered under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement with NABET-CWA DMU.

Responsibilities

• Strong ability to explain design decisions and elicit specific, useful feedback.
• Create elegant and useful design systems that define the digital experience across platforms.
• Effectively collaborate with adjacent disciplines to define vision for products or campaigns.
• Strong understanding of and proficiency with established and emergent industry standards, tools, and best practices.
• Strong understanding of visual design elements and principles.
• Recommend and execute user research for new and existing products and make recommendations for change.
• Define design direction for highest-priority products.
• Apply established and emergent industry standards and best practices.
• Actively participate in design critiques and user research studies.
• Understand intended audience(s) and how they might be impacted by design decisions.
• Act on guidance and feedback effectively.
• Consume and act upon specific design goals and incorporate relevant research.
• Work closely with developers to help build prototypes and refine working products.
• Facilitate design thinking and co-creation sessions with relevant partners.
• Mentor designers with less experience.
• Conceptualize and direct end-to-end design experiences, qualitative studies, design systems/standards, campaigns, and/or collateral.
• Demonstrate an ability to balance innovation with pragmatism and accurately scope own work.
• Gather business requirements and translate them to audience-focused product or campaign goals.
• Identify cross-system dependencies and potential conflicts.
• Effectively work across multiple, related teams, systems, or projects.

The above duties and responsibilities are not an exhaustive list of required responsibilities, duties, and skills. Other duties may be assigned, and this job description can be modified at any time.

Minimum Qualifications

• At least seven (7) years of Product Design experience, including mobile applications and mobile-friendly websites.
• Experience designing membership or subscription-based platforms, with a strong grasp of user motivations, paywall strategy, benefits communication, and conversion optimization across digital touchpoints.
• Skilled at communicating value through design, with an ability to simplify complex offerings (e.g., premium benefits, donor tiers, or station-member integrations) into intuitive, emotionally resonant experiences.
• Comfortable with [Information incomplete]