Description
We’re looking for a strategic, craft-driven mid-level Product Designer to join our team and help shape the future of academic operations. At Coursedog, we build tools for higher education that support curriculum management, scheduling, and student success—mission-critical operations that advance institutional efficiency, collaboration, and student outcomes. This is your chance to transform institutional complexity into clarity—through thoughtful, user-centered design that empowers educators and administrators and expands access to opportunity for students.
We're laying the foundation for a design practice grounded in deep understanding of user needs and evidence-based decision-making—with strong support from product leadership and a shared drive to make the user experience a strategic advantage. You'll help shape a culture where designers are trusted to lead and elevate the product experience through thoughtful craft and collaboration.
Key Responsibilities
- Design Experiences : Explore and refine product ideas from early concept through low- to high-fidelity prototyping—including live iteration with peers and stakeholders—solving complex UX challenges with clarity and polish through a rigorous, user-centered process that transforms complexity into intuitive experiences
- Content Design & UX Writing : Craft clear, purposeful interface copy that enhances usability, supports user goals, and reflects a consistent product voice—while identifying and addressing opportunities to improve UX writing throughout the experience
- Document Design Specifications and Ensure Quality Implementation : Create polished visual designs with UI specifications that support implementation, and partner with engineers to ensure design quality and alignment are upheld throughout the build process
- UX Evaluation : Identify and address UX issues through heuristic reviews, usability testing, accessibility audits, surveys, and usage insights—collaborating with research, design, and customer-facing teams to drive continuous improvement
- Cross-Functional Collaboration : Partner with product, engineering, research, and other stakeholders to ensure design solutions are aligned, feasible, and impactful—proactively communicating trade-offs, driving clarity, and advocating for users
- Design System Contribution : Help establish and evolve our design system in Figma—including reusable components, patterns, and guidelines—to promote UI consistency and design ops efficiency
- Strategic Design Thinking : Think holistically across functionality, usability, and visual design to guide prioritization, inform trade-offs, and shape strategies that balance user needs with technical constraints and business goals
- Experience designing interfaces for :
Higher education users or administrative enterprise systems
Workflow configuration and management toolsRole-Based Access Control (RBAC)AI / GenAI-powered experiences, such as chatbot interfaces or content generationExperience driving accessibility efforts, applying WCAG guidelines, and establishing documentation and processes that support inclusive design to help teams consistently meet accessibility standards across complex interfacesCuriosity or direct experience with GenAI UX challenges, including chat-based interaction design, prompt design, transparency, and helping users form accurate mental models of AI capabilities and limitationsExperience with UX research methods—such as usability testing, RITE, interviews, contextual inquiry, surveys, analytics, co-design, workshops, and affinity mapping—gained through experience as a dedicated researcher or in a hybrid design / research role. While this is a design role, it offers strong opportunities to flex and deepen research skills.You lead product areas confidently, quickly identify UX issues, and thoughtfully explore and evaluate solutions based on user insights and UX best practices—balancing strong design convictions with openness to feedbackYou raise the bar for design quality and contribute to a more mature, scalable UX processYou build strong partnerships across product and engineering by communicating clearly and proactively, thinking beyond your lane, and acting as a trusted thought partnerYou bring curiosity, optimism, and design maturity to help transform a growing platform into a best-in-class user experienceSkills Knowledge and Expertise
3–4+ years of UX / Product Design experience, ideally in B2B SaaS or other complex application environmentsDeep interaction design expertise with a strong grasp of usability heuristics, UX principles, and accessibility standardsStrong systems thinking and information architecture skills—able to simplify complexity through clear, cohesive design that aligns with user mental modelsExcellent communication skills with the ability to clearly articulate design rationale, ask thoughtful questions, and provide and receive feedback gracefullyFamiliarity with contextual design and service design to support the full user journey—including how users engage with the product, adjacent services (like implementation, customer success, and support), and the broader ecosystem of tools they rely on to get work doneExperience conducting or collaborating on user research and identifying when user insight is needed to guide design decisionsFamiliarity with Figma libraries and hands-on experience scaling and maintaining design systemsProven success in cross-functional collaboration with product managers, engineers, researchers, and stakeholders—acting as a strategic partner, not just a service providerSelf-starter with a strong sense of ownership—able to manage multiple priorities, shift between strategy and execution, and thrive in a fast-paced environmentComfort with ambiguity and complexity; you bring clarity, momentum, and persistence to messy problem spacesWorking at Coursedog
Healthcare, Dental & Vision
We follow a fixed contribution model to ensure equity and transparency. Each employee receives the same annual dollar amount to allocate toward their medical, dental, and vision coverage. This empowers you to select the plan that best meets your needs — whether it’s a base-level plan or a more comprehensive option.
Depending on the selected coverage level, the company covers :
Employee-only coverage : 99% to 55% of monthly premiumsEmployee + dependents : 77% to 43% of monthly premiumsWe proudly partner with Aetna and Guardian, and offer access to best-in-class wellness perks including :
Spring Health (mental health support)XP Health (vision benefits)Carrot Fertility (family planning)One Medical (primary care)We also support pre-tax savings through Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA).
Retirement Planning
To support long-term financial health, we offer a 401(k) plan from day one of employment.
Beginning January 1, 2026, we’ll provide a 4% employer match on your annual salary (subject to federal limits) for employees contributing to a tax-advantaged retirement account.
Paid Time Off
We trust our employees to manage their time responsibly. That’s why we offer an unlimited Paid Time Off policy — because flexibility and balance are critical for sustained excellence and personal well-being.
Remote-First Since Inception
We were built for distributed work. Our culture emphasizes flexibility over rigidity, outcomes over hours, and transparency over gatekeeping. We are committed to being a remote-first organization indefinitely, empowering you to work where and how you thrive best.
Equity
As a valued contributor to our collective success, you’ll participate in the upside. All employees are granted equity in the company, with vesting aligned to your role and tenure. Equity grants are reviewed and adjusted with promotions to reflect your evolving impact.
Paid Parental Leave
We proudly support working parents with industry-leading benefits.
Primary caregivers are eligible for 12 weeks of paid leaveSecondary caregivers receive 6 weeks of paid leaveThis time is fully paid and available to all eligible employees regardless of gender or family structure.
Our mission is to break down barriers to opportunity for students.
Coursedog provides higher ed with modern technology solutions – empowering institutions, students, and communities across the globe.
Coursedog's founding story is rooted in the desire to help students achieve their highest goals. In 2018, Coursedog's co-founders and then college students, Justin Wenig and Nick Diao, were frustrated by how difficult it was to get into the classes they needed to graduate on time. After speaking with higher education provosts and registrars to better understand how academic scheduling works, they came away with a vision that permeates the company today.
Coursedog has raised $113M total capital as a remote-first, hyper-growth startup currently backed by JMI Equity, and with past investments from YC and First Round Capital. We were recently ranked in Forbes top 500 US startup employers and our employee engagement scores rank in the top 5% of tech companies.