Founding Designer Job at Recruiting From Scratch in San Francisco

Overview Who is Recruiting from Scratch : Recruiting from Scratch is a specialized talent firm dedicated to helping companies build exceptional teams. We partner closely with our clients to deeply understand their needs, then connect them with top-tier candidates who are not only highly skilled but also the right fit for the company’s culture and vision. Our mission is simple : place the best people in the right roles to drive long-term success for both clients and candidates.

Title of Role : Founding Designer (First Design Hire)

Location : San Francisco, CA (On-site; exceptional remote candidates may be considered)

Company Stage of Funding : Seed-Stage, Venture-Backed Startup

Office Type : On-site (Hybrid flexibility possible)

Salary : $120K – $210K + Equity

Company Description We are partnering with an early-stage, venture-backed AI startup that is redefining how teams get the most out of conversations. Their product delivers best-in-class AI-powered meeting notes, action items, automations, and search—helping teams work smarter and more efficiently. With thousands of weekly users and strong early traction, this company is positioned to scale quickly within the $1T+ AI market.

As the first design hire, you’ll join a lean, high-caliber founding team (currently fewer than 10 employees). You’ll have the unique opportunity to shape the visual identity and product experience from the ground up, working directly with the co-founders in a highly creative, fast-moving environment.

What You Will Do Lead design across multiple platforms (web, desktop, and mobile) and define the company’s product design vision.

Translate complex workflows into simple, elegant, and user-friendly experiences.

Establish scalable design systems that balance speed of iteration with long-term quality.

Create visual assets across product, brand, and marketing (landing pages, ad variants, blog layouts, merch, etc.).

Collaborate directly with the founding team to ship impactful features that reach thousands of users daily.

Iterate quickly on product changes based on real-world usage and feedback.

Ideal Candidate Background 3+ years of experience as a Product Designer, ideally within high-growth, venture-backed startups.

Experience designing end-to-end experiences across desktop, web, and mobile applications.

Strong portfolio showcasing excellent visual craft, user-centric thinking, and examples of simplifying complex user journeys.

Experience building or contributing to design systems from scratch.

Ability to work cross-functionally with engineers and founders in a collaborative environment.

Preferred Experience as a founding, senior, or lead designer in a startup environment.

Exposure to both small startups and scaled product-led companies.

Technical understanding or coding knowledge.

Experience with brand design, landing page design, and marketing visuals.

Familiarity with productivity or collaboration tools (e.g., Notion, Figma, Linear, Superhuman).

Compensation and Benefits Competitive base salary : $120K – $210K, depending on experience.

Early-stage equity with high upside potential.

Opportunity to define design at a high-traction startup from day one.

Collaborative, founder-led culture with direct creative ownership.

On-site role in San Francisco with strong team camaraderie (flexibility for exceptional candidates).

This is a rare chance to join as the first design hire at a venture-backed AI company, where your work will directly shape the product used and loved by thousands. If you’re excited about building in the AI productivity space and want to put your creative mark on a high-growth startup, we’d love to hear from you.

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