Head Of Design Jobs
Head Of Design jobs are open across tech, fintech, healthcare, consumer goods, and agencies, at every level from senior designer to VP, with specializations in product design, brand identity, and UX leadership. Find a role that fits from the openings below and apply directly.
Find Head Of Design JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 40+ Head Of Design jobs
Head of Product Design/ Director
About the Role: You will define and own the physical product experience for a breakthrough stealth-stage neurotechnology and brain-computer interface (BCI) startup building an AI-powered neural interface platform. This role will shape how the wearable looks, feels, and integrates naturally into everyday life. The first-generation product is a highly integrated, sensor-rich textile beanie that combines cameras, microphones, open-ear speakers, EEG sensors, flexible electronics, and battery systems into a soft, elegant form factor designed to be worn comfortably for extended periods of time.
Role Overview:
- Own ID and ME for the wearable end-to-end: sketch through CAD, prototype, tooling, and DfM with overseas CMs.
- Lead the integration of electronics into soft goods: flex PCB packaging, rigid-island placement, textile-to-rigid transitions, weight distribution, thermal management, serviceability.
- Define and enforce comfort engineering: pressure mapping, weight balance, skin-contact thermal limits, breathability, fit across head sizes and hair types, long-wear validation.
- Drive the design language and material story for our brand's physical products: fabrics, seams, transitions, how the device announces itself or fades into the background.
- Partner with the EE lead on rigid-island layout, antenna keep-outs, and electrode contact pressure; with audio and camera leads on acoustic ports, mic mesh, lens windows, and pod integration.
- Partner with the reliability lead on drop, ingress, thermal, and ergonomic robustness.
- Ship the product by end of year and build and lead the product design function as ID and ME capability scales.
Responsibilities:
- 10+ years of industrial design and/or mechanical engineering, with multiple shipped consumer wearables or comparable body-worn products.
- Demonstrated experience integrating electronics into soft goods or textile products (apparel, headwear, garments, or wearables with significant fabric content).
- Deep CAD proficiency (SolidWorks, Fusion 360, Rhino, or equivalent) and rendering (Keyshot or comparable).
- Strong instinct for comfort engineering: pressure points, weight, thermal, fit across diverse users, backed by structured wear testing and iteration.
- Experience driving DfM, tooling, and quality with overseas CMs.
Preferred Skills:
- High-density biocompatible interfaces, dry electrode arrays, or other dense sensor-to-skin integrations.
- Soft goods sourcing and textile engineering: knit beanies, technical apparel, woven goods.
- Optical windows, acoustic ports, or sensor windows in consumer products.
- Biocompatibility, skin contact, and dermatological testing for body-worn products.
- A point of view about what makes a wearable beautiful rather than gadget-y.
Type: Fulltime
Location: Palo Alto, CA (Hybrid Schedule)
Salary Range: $300k - $350k/y (DOE)
Offers equity + bonus
Submit resume to jobs@OSIengineering.com
No 3rd party agencies and no C2C allowed
Abel Lara
408.550.2800 x119
Head of Product Design/ Director
About the Role: You will define and own the physical product experience for a breakthrough stealth-stage neurotechnology and brain-computer interface (BCI) startup building an AI-powered neural interface platform. This role will shape how the wearable looks, feels, and integrates naturally into everyday life. The first-generation product is a highly integrated, sensor-rich textile beanie that combines cameras, microphones, open-ear speakers, EEG sensors, flexible electronics, and battery systems into a soft, elegant form factor designed to be worn comfortably for extended periods of time.
Role Overview:
- Own ID and ME for the wearable end-to-end: sketch through CAD, prototype, tooling, and DfM with overseas CMs.
- Lead the integration of electronics into soft goods: flex PCB packaging, rigid-island placement, textile-to-rigid transitions, weight distribution, thermal management, serviceability.
- Define and enforce comfort engineering: pressure mapping, weight balance, skin-contact thermal limits, breathability, fit across head sizes and hair types, long-wear validation.
- Drive the design language and material story for our brand's physical products: fabrics, seams, transitions, how the device announces itself or fades into the background.
- Partner with the EE lead on rigid-island layout, antenna keep-outs, and electrode contact pressure; with audio and camera leads on acoustic ports, mic mesh, lens windows, and pod integration.
- Partner with the reliability lead on drop, ingress, thermal, and ergonomic robustness.
- Ship the product by end of year and build and lead the product design function as ID and ME capability scales.
Responsibilities:
- 10+ years of industrial design and/or mechanical engineering, with multiple shipped consumer wearables or comparable body-worn products.
- Demonstrated experience integrating electronics into soft goods or textile products (apparel, headwear, garments, or wearables with significant fabric content).
- Deep CAD proficiency (SolidWorks, Fusion 360, Rhino, or equivalent) and rendering (Keyshot or comparable).
- Strong instinct for comfort engineering: pressure points, weight, thermal, fit across diverse users, backed by structured wear testing and iteration.
- Experience driving DfM, tooling, and quality with overseas CMs.
Preferred Skills:
- High-density biocompatible interfaces, dry electrode arrays, or other dense sensor-to-skin integrations.
- Soft goods sourcing and textile engineering: knit beanies, technical apparel, woven goods.
- Optical windows, acoustic ports, or sensor windows in consumer products.
- Biocompatibility, skin contact, and dermatological testing for body-worn products.
- A point of view about what makes a wearable beautiful rather than gadget-y.
Type: Fulltime
Location: Palo Alto, CA (Hybrid Schedule)
Salary Range: $300k - $350k/y (DOE)
Offers equity + bonus
Submit resume to jobs@OSIengineering.com
No 3rd party agencies and no C2C allowed
Abel Lara
408.550.2800 x119
Head Of Design Jobs by Experience Level
See All 40 Head Of Design Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Head Of Design JobsHead Of Design Job Market
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software
- Non-Profit & Social Services
- Aerospace & Defense
- Media & Entertainment
- Electronics & Hardware
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in head of design jobs.
- 8 or more years of design experience with at least 3 in a leadership role
- Proven experience managing and growing a team of designers
- Strong command of Figma and prototyping and design system tooling
- Demonstrated ability to align design strategy with product and business goals
- Experience partnering cross-functionally with product management and engineering
- Portfolio showing end-to-end product or brand design work at significant scale
Tips for Your Head Of Design Job Search
Show systems thinking, not just craft
Head of design roles demand proof you can build and scale a design practice, not just deliver great work. Your resume should call out team structures you've led, design systems you've created, and how your work connected to business outcomes.
Tailor your portfolio for leadership audiences
Hiring committees for head of design roles include product and engineering leaders who care about process and impact, not polish. Lead each case study with the problem, your decision-making, and the measurable result before showing any visuals.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists head of design openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Target companies at the right design maturity
A head of design role at a Series A startup means building the function from scratch, while a late-stage or enterprise role means managing managers. Read job descriptions carefully for phrases like 'first design hire' or 'scaling the team' to gauge which situation you're walking into.
Prepare a 30-60-90 day plan for interviews
Final-round interviews for design leadership roles often include a presentation to an exec panel. Walking in with a drafted onboarding plan, covering how you'd assess the current design culture, align with product, and set early priorities, signals executive readiness.
Negotiate scope before you negotiate title
Before accepting an offer, confirm your reporting line, whether you'll have hiring authority, and what the design team's current budget looks like. Misaligned expectations on these points are the most common reason head of design hires leave within 18 months.
Head Of Design Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most head of designs?
The companies hiring the most head of designs right now include Shinesty, BRAVEN, and Red Cell Partners, with the largest share of openings in New York, California, and Colorado, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of August 2026. Demand tends to concentrate in companies scaling their product teams or undergoing a brand refresh.
How many head of design jobs are remote?
About 85% of head of design openings are fully remote or hybrid as of August 2026, reflecting the broad adoption of distributed design teams. Roles focused on digital product and UX tend to offer the most remote flexibility, while brand and in-house agency positions more often require on-site presence for collaboration and creative reviews.
How do you become a head of design?
Most heads of design get there by first mastering individual contributor craft, then taking on lead or principal roles where they manage small teams or own a design domain end-to-end. From there, moving into a design manager or director role builds the people management and cross-functional credibility employers expect. Building a visible body of work, whether through a strong portfolio, public writing, or community involvement, accelerates the path significantly.
Can you get hired as a head of design with limited leadership experience?
Yes, particularly at early-stage startups where you'd be the first or second design hire and formal management experience is less weighted than strong craft and a clear point of view. Emphasize any informal leadership you've done, such as mentoring junior designers, leading design critiques, or driving a design system initiative, and frame your portfolio around decisions and outcomes rather than execution alone.
What does the head of design interview process look like?
The process typically opens with a recruiter screen, followed by a portfolio review with the hiring manager or a senior design leader. From there, expect a working session or case study presentation to a cross-functional panel that often includes product and engineering leaders. Final rounds frequently involve a conversation with the CEO or CPO, and sometimes a paid or unpaid design exercise focused on strategic thinking rather than pixel-level execution.
Where can I find and apply to head of design jobs?
You can find and apply to head of design jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States. Find roles that match your experience and specialization, then apply directly to each listing from the same place.
See All 40 Head Of Design Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Head Of Design Jobs