H-1B Visa Head Of Design Jobs
Head of Design roles qualify for H-1B sponsorship as specialty occupations requiring a bachelor's degree or higher in design, human-computer interaction, or a related field. Most openings come from mid-size to enterprise tech, fintech, and consumer product companies with active LCA filing histories. No lottery exemptions apply, but cap-exempt employers such as universities and nonprofits do hire for this role.
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Get Access To All JobsKikoff: A FinTech Unicorn Powering Financial Progress with AI
At Kikoff, our mission is to provide radically affordable financial tools to help consumers achieve financial security. We're a profitable, high growth FinTech unicorn serving millions of people, many of whom are building credit or navigating life paycheck to paycheck. With innovative technology and AI, we simplify credit building, reduce debt, and expand access to financial opportunities to those who need them the most. Founded in 2019, Kikoff is headquartered in San Francisco and backed by top-tier VC investors and NBA star Stephen Curry.
Why Kikoff
This is a consumer fintech startup, and you will be working with serial entrepreneurs who have built strong consumer brands and innovative products. We value extreme ownership, clear communication, a strong sense of craftsmanship, and the desire to create lasting work and work relationships. Yes, you can build an exciting business AND have real-life real-customer impact.
About The Role
As Head of Design, you will own the design vision, craft, and execution across the company. You will set the quality bar, rebuild the foundation our product is built on, and be a direct partner to senior leadership on the decisions that shape what Kikoff feels like to use. This is not a hands-off role. You will be close to the pixels, close to the product, and close to the team. You will give real feedback on real work, and you will be expected to make the call when designers are stuck in ambiguity.
In This Role, You Will
Lead and Grow the Team
- Manage, coach, and develop the product design team - including hands-on mentorship of junior designers, not just feedback in big meetings
- Own hiring and talent strategy: bring in designers who raise the bar, and shape the org structure that lets them do their best work
- Set a high bar for craft, ownership, and user obsession across the team
- Invest in career growth: clear expectations, honest feedback, and a path forward for every designer on the team
- Go beyond filling headcount. Understand each designer's strengths and place them where they'll do their best work and develop in the desired growth areas.
Own the Design Vision and Quality Bar
- Set the overall design vision for Kikoff - what good looks like, how the team works, how designers grow
- Make the call when there is ambiguity: a great design manager can resolve a design decision when the team is stuck, instead of leaving it open
- Give practical, down-to-earth feedback grounded in visual, UX, and craft fundamentals - not just product framing
- Champion the visual front and push the bar on what Kikoff can look and feel like
Build the Design Foundation
- Build the design system from the ground up so it is something the whole company and our coding agents will want to use
- Define and enforce design patterns across the product to reduce design debt and bring consistency
- Drive the standards that make every screen feel like Kikoff, across product, marketing, and brand surfaces
Drive Cross-Functional Impact
- Be a strategic partner to Engineering, Product, and Marketing as a peer - not a downstream resource
- Bring product design and creative closer together: together ship brand-quality product and product-quality brand
- Take company-wide direction on design, brand, and creative - and translate it into work that benefits product, marketing, and creative at the same time
- Bring user insights into the work: run journey workshops, listen to the user's voice, and make sure the team is designing for real people, not just shipping screens
Reinvent How Design Works in the Age of AI
- Define how the Kikoff design team uses AI - with a clear, hands-on plan, not a slide
- Be hands-on yourself: try new tools, prototype, vibe-code small fixes, and bring back what works to the team to help them adopt it
- Help the team figure out the new workflow together - what to use AI for, what to keep human, and how to keep craft from sliding
You Have
- 10+ years of experience in product design, with substantial time in consumer-facing, mobile-first products
- 7+ years leading and managing design teams - you have grown designers into senior ICs and you have built a team that does great work without you in the room
- Demonstrated experience scaling a design team through a growth phase: you have hired strong designers and you know how to grow a team without losing the craft
- Deep design sense across visual, interaction, and UX - you can engage at the pixel level when it matters and you can give feedback that makes the work better
- A track record of building and rebuilding design systems that the team actually adopts and that hold up as the product grows
- A track record of partnering with product and engineering as a peer, and shipping work that moved the business
- Hands-on fluency with modern AI tooling for design - you have used it, formed real opinions, and have a clear point of view on how it changes the team
- The ability to make your team better every day: through clarity, honest feedback, and trust with strong practitioners
- A sharp eye for brand integrity. You ensure our brand values are deeply woven into the product’s DNA. You can align cross-functional stakeholders on a unified brand vision and ensure that every pixel of the UI speaks our specific visual language.
- Compassion. You care about the people on your team, you listen to ICs, and you pay attention to what designers are saying so the work - and the team - can get better
Nice to Have
- Experience in fintech, consumer credit, or other regulated consumer products
- Experience leading both product design and brand or creative functions, or bringing those teams closer together
- Experience building or scaling a design system that supports both native mobile and marketing surfaces
What We're Like
Scrappy. We move fast and build what we need, not what sounds impressive. We don't cut corners when they matter, and we don't over-engineer when they don't.
Risk-oriented. We make tradeoffs deliberately. A mature team knows the difference between a bet worth taking and one that isn't.
User-obsessed. We talk to users, watch them use the product, and believe that understanding what they actually feel is the only way to design for them. You will be surrounded by people who think this way.
Humble. We know this journey has required timing, circumstance, and the right people showing up. We are grateful, and we don't take it for granted.
Base Range
$260,000 - $374,000 USD
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Kikoff Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to complying with all federal, state, and local laws providing equal employment opportunities and considers qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other legally protected class. Please reference the following for more information.
Kikoff: A FinTech Unicorn Powering Financial Progress with AI
At Kikoff, our mission is to provide radically affordable financial tools to help consumers achieve financial security. We're a profitable, high growth FinTech unicorn serving millions of people, many of whom are building credit or navigating life paycheck to paycheck. With innovative technology and AI, we simplify credit building, reduce debt, and expand access to financial opportunities to those who need them the most. Founded in 2019, Kikoff is headquartered in San Francisco and backed by top-tier VC investors and NBA star Stephen Curry.
Why Kikoff
This is a consumer fintech startup, and you will be working with serial entrepreneurs who have built strong consumer brands and innovative products. We value extreme ownership, clear communication, a strong sense of craftsmanship, and the desire to create lasting work and work relationships. Yes, you can build an exciting business AND have real-life real-customer impact.
About The Role
As Head of Design, you will own the design vision, craft, and execution across the company. You will set the quality bar, rebuild the foundation our product is built on, and be a direct partner to senior leadership on the decisions that shape what Kikoff feels like to use. This is not a hands-off role. You will be close to the pixels, close to the product, and close to the team. You will give real feedback on real work, and you will be expected to make the call when designers are stuck in ambiguity.
In This Role, You Will
Lead and Grow the Team
- Manage, coach, and develop the product design team - including hands-on mentorship of junior designers, not just feedback in big meetings
- Own hiring and talent strategy: bring in designers who raise the bar, and shape the org structure that lets them do their best work
- Set a high bar for craft, ownership, and user obsession across the team
- Invest in career growth: clear expectations, honest feedback, and a path forward for every designer on the team
- Go beyond filling headcount. Understand each designer's strengths and place them where they'll do their best work and develop in the desired growth areas.
Own the Design Vision and Quality Bar
- Set the overall design vision for Kikoff - what good looks like, how the team works, how designers grow
- Make the call when there is ambiguity: a great design manager can resolve a design decision when the team is stuck, instead of leaving it open
- Give practical, down-to-earth feedback grounded in visual, UX, and craft fundamentals - not just product framing
- Champion the visual front and push the bar on what Kikoff can look and feel like
Build the Design Foundation
- Build the design system from the ground up so it is something the whole company and our coding agents will want to use
- Define and enforce design patterns across the product to reduce design debt and bring consistency
- Drive the standards that make every screen feel like Kikoff, across product, marketing, and brand surfaces
Drive Cross-Functional Impact
- Be a strategic partner to Engineering, Product, and Marketing as a peer - not a downstream resource
- Bring product design and creative closer together: together ship brand-quality product and product-quality brand
- Take company-wide direction on design, brand, and creative - and translate it into work that benefits product, marketing, and creative at the same time
- Bring user insights into the work: run journey workshops, listen to the user's voice, and make sure the team is designing for real people, not just shipping screens
Reinvent How Design Works in the Age of AI
- Define how the Kikoff design team uses AI - with a clear, hands-on plan, not a slide
- Be hands-on yourself: try new tools, prototype, vibe-code small fixes, and bring back what works to the team to help them adopt it
- Help the team figure out the new workflow together - what to use AI for, what to keep human, and how to keep craft from sliding
You Have
- 10+ years of experience in product design, with substantial time in consumer-facing, mobile-first products
- 7+ years leading and managing design teams - you have grown designers into senior ICs and you have built a team that does great work without you in the room
- Demonstrated experience scaling a design team through a growth phase: you have hired strong designers and you know how to grow a team without losing the craft
- Deep design sense across visual, interaction, and UX - you can engage at the pixel level when it matters and you can give feedback that makes the work better
- A track record of building and rebuilding design systems that the team actually adopts and that hold up as the product grows
- A track record of partnering with product and engineering as a peer, and shipping work that moved the business
- Hands-on fluency with modern AI tooling for design - you have used it, formed real opinions, and have a clear point of view on how it changes the team
- The ability to make your team better every day: through clarity, honest feedback, and trust with strong practitioners
- A sharp eye for brand integrity. You ensure our brand values are deeply woven into the product’s DNA. You can align cross-functional stakeholders on a unified brand vision and ensure that every pixel of the UI speaks our specific visual language.
- Compassion. You care about the people on your team, you listen to ICs, and you pay attention to what designers are saying so the work - and the team - can get better
Nice to Have
- Experience in fintech, consumer credit, or other regulated consumer products
- Experience leading both product design and brand or creative functions, or bringing those teams closer together
- Experience building or scaling a design system that supports both native mobile and marketing surfaces
What We're Like
Scrappy. We move fast and build what we need, not what sounds impressive. We don't cut corners when they matter, and we don't over-engineer when they don't.
Risk-oriented. We make tradeoffs deliberately. A mature team knows the difference between a bet worth taking and one that isn't.
User-obsessed. We talk to users, watch them use the product, and believe that understanding what they actually feel is the only way to design for them. You will be surrounded by people who think this way.
Humble. We know this journey has required timing, circumstance, and the right people showing up. We are grateful, and we don't take it for granted.
Base Range
$260,000 - $374,000 USD
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Kikoff Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to complying with all federal, state, and local laws providing equal employment opportunities and considers qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other legally protected class. Please reference the following for more information.
See all Head Of Design jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Head Of Design roles.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding H-1B Visa Sponsorship in Head Of Design
Verify your degree supports specialty occupation
USCIS requires your degree field to directly relate to the Head of Design role. A degree in graphic design, industrial design, or HCI is straightforward. A business or psychology degree needs supporting documentation linking your coursework to the design leadership function.
Search LCA filings before applying
Use Migrate Mate to filter employers by verified DOL Labor Condition Application history for design roles. This shows which companies have actively sponsored similar positions, so you're not guessing at sponsorship willingness before investing time in interviews.
Target cap-exempt employers for faster timelines
Universities, nonprofits, and affiliated research institutions are exempt from the H-1B cap and lottery. Head of Design roles exist at these organizations, and you can start work as soon as USCIS approves the petition, not just on October 1.
Confirm the prevailing wage tier in your metro
Head of Design salaries vary sharply by market. Run the OFLC Wage Search before negotiating your offer to confirm the Level II or Level III prevailing wage for your metro area. An offer below the certified wage will block LCA approval.
Ask employers about I-129 premium processing upfront
Design leadership hires often have faster onboarding expectations. Ask during the offer stage whether the employer will file I-129 with premium processing. A 15-business-day adjudication window lets both sides plan the start date without ambiguity.
Document your management scope before filing
USCIS scrutinizes Head of Design petitions where the role blends individual contributor and management duties. Your job description should clearly articulate team size, reporting structure, and strategic decision-making authority to support the specialty occupation classification.
Head Of Design jobs are hiring across the US. Find yours.
Find Head Of Design JobsHead Of Design H-1B Visa: Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Head of Design role qualify as a specialty occupation for H-1B purposes?
Yes, provided the position requires at least a bachelor's degree in a directly related field such as graphic design, industrial design, human-computer interaction, or a closely aligned discipline. USCIS will review the job description to confirm the degree requirement is genuine and specific to the role, not a generic preference. Roles that accept any bachelor's degree regardless of field face higher scrutiny.
Which industries sponsor H-1B visas most often for Head of Design positions?
Technology companies, fintech firms, enterprise software companies, and consumer product businesses file the most LCAs for senior design leadership roles. Healthcare technology and e-commerce companies are also active sponsors. You can review verified employer filing histories on Migrate Mate to identify which companies have submitted LCAs for design roles before you apply.
Can I change employers on H-1B status if I'm already a Head of Design somewhere?
Yes. Under H-1B portability rules, you can start work with a new employer as soon as they file your transfer petition with USCIS, provided your current status is valid and you've been in lawful H-1B status for at least six months. You don't need to wait for approval to begin working. Your new employer must file a new I-129 and certified LCA covering the Head of Design role at their organization.
How does the H-1B cap and lottery affect Head of Design job seekers?
Most Head of Design roles at for-profit companies are subject to the H-1B cap and annual lottery. USCIS accepts registrations each March for a cap of 85,000 visas, and selection is random. Cap-exempt options include nonprofit organizations, universities, and affiliated research institutions. If you're targeting cap-exempt employers specifically, you can file at any time of year and begin work upon approval.
What documentation should I gather before my employer files my H-1B petition?
Gather your degree certificates, official transcripts, and any foreign credential evaluations confirming equivalency to a U.S. bachelor's degree. Prepare an updated resume detailing your design leadership experience and a letter or documentation showing team management responsibility. Your employer will also need a certified LCA from DOL and a detailed job description that supports the specialty occupation classification for your Head of Design role.
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