Entry Level Lead Product Designer Jobs
New grad lead product designer jobs are open to recent graduates and entry level candidates with zero to two years of experience, where a strong portfolio or internship work can matter more than a long resume. Most openings are on-site, remote, and hybrid roles across Technology & Software, Manufacturing, and Automotive, with employers like TikTok, Photon, and Figma hiring at this level now.
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Showing 4 of 29+ Entry Level Lead Product Designer jobs
We're hiring an Experience Designer I (XD I) to join our digital team. You'll design apps, web products, and interfaces for connected devices, from the first research interview to the launch video.
This is an early-career role. You've got 2 to 3 years of experience and you're ready to work on real products with real constraints. You won't own every skill below on day one, and we don't expect you to. You'll get hands-on time across the whole process and learn from senior designers who've shipped a lot of it.
The best fit is someone who loves the messy middle of a project. You ask good questions, sketch fast, test early, and care about how the last pixel moves.
Our digital work rarely lives on just one screen. In a given year you might touch:
- Consumer apps for iOS and Android, often as the companion to a physical product
- Web apps and dashboards that turn sensor data into something people can act on
- IoT products where the app, the device, and the setup flow all need to feel like one thing
- Medtech touchscreens built for clinicians and patients, where clarity and safety come first
- Non-traditional interfaces like voice, light, haptics, embedded displays, and AI-driven experiences
One week you're designing an onboarding flow for a smart home device. The next, you're figuring out how a nurse reads a screen from six feet away with gloves on.
Whipsaw is a product design and brand consultancy in San Francisco. We take products from first insight to first customer, with one team covering strategy, industrial design, digital experience, brand, packaging, and launch.
We've partnered with 350+ clients, designed 1,000+ products, and picked up 325+ design awards along the way. Our clients range from funded startups shipping their first product to established companies building something new.
Here's what makes us a little different. The product leads, and the brand follows. Our digital designers sit next to industrial designers and engineers, so the screen on a device and the device itself grow up together.
Base Salary Range: $80,000 to $100,000 per year, based on experience and skills
Location: Hybrid (3-days in person) at 55 Mississippi Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
What you'll do
You'll work across every phase of a project, usually as part of a small team with a senior or lead designer.
Discover
- Run needs finding and user research: interviews, observation, competitive reviews
- Synthesize what you learn into insights, journey maps, and clear problem statements
Define and ideate
- Map flows, information architecture, and wireframes
- Use AI tools to generate and stress-test ideas quickly, then apply your own judgment to pick what's worth pursuing
- Explore app concepts and visual directions, from rough sketches to polished comps
Prototype and test
- Build AI-enabled prototypes that feel real enough to test with users and clients
- Plan and run usability and validation testing, then turn findings into design changes
- Write front-end code when it's the fastest way to prove an idea
Refine and ship
- Refine visual design until every state, edge case, and screen size holds up
- Design UI microinteractions and motion that make interfaces feel alive and easy to read
- Build and maintain design systems that engineering teams can actually use
- Create launch assets and motion graphics for product reveals, websites, and campaigns
Work with clients
- Present work in client reviews and workshops, and explain the thinking behind it
- Partner with industrial designers, engineers, and brand designers so hardware and software line up
What you'll bring
You'll need
- 2 to 3 years of professional UX/UI experience, at a studio, agency, or in-house team
- A degree in interaction design, HCI, graphic design, industrial design, or a related field
- Strong visual craft: type, layout, color, hierarchy, and an eye for detail
- A solid grasp of UX process, from research through testing
- Fluency in Figma, including components, auto layout, and interactive prototyping
- Hands-on experience using AI tools in your design process, and opinions about where they help and where they don't
- Clear communication, both in writing and when presenting to a room
- A portfolio that shows your thinking and your polish (more on that below)
Nice to have
- Front-end coding skills (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) or experience building in Framer or Webflow
- Motion design in After Effects, Rive, Protopie, or similar
- Experience designing for hardware, embedded screens, or regulated products like medical devices
- Work on a design system used by a real engineering team
- Comfort running usability sessions and synthesizing results on your own
Don't check every box? Apply anyway. We care more about how you think and how fast you learn than a perfect match.
We're hiring an Experience Designer I (XD I) to join our digital team. You'll design apps, web products, and interfaces for connected devices, from the first research interview to the launch video.
This is an early-career role. You've got 2 to 3 years of experience and you're ready to work on real products with real constraints. You won't own every skill below on day one, and we don't expect you to. You'll get hands-on time across the whole process and learn from senior designers who've shipped a lot of it.
The best fit is someone who loves the messy middle of a project. You ask good questions, sketch fast, test early, and care about how the last pixel moves.
Our digital work rarely lives on just one screen. In a given year you might touch:
- Consumer apps for iOS and Android, often as the companion to a physical product
- Web apps and dashboards that turn sensor data into something people can act on
- IoT products where the app, the device, and the setup flow all need to feel like one thing
- Medtech touchscreens built for clinicians and patients, where clarity and safety come first
- Non-traditional interfaces like voice, light, haptics, embedded displays, and AI-driven experiences
One week you're designing an onboarding flow for a smart home device. The next, you're figuring out how a nurse reads a screen from six feet away with gloves on.
Whipsaw is a product design and brand consultancy in San Francisco. We take products from first insight to first customer, with one team covering strategy, industrial design, digital experience, brand, packaging, and launch.
We've partnered with 350+ clients, designed 1,000+ products, and picked up 325+ design awards along the way. Our clients range from funded startups shipping their first product to established companies building something new.
Here's what makes us a little different. The product leads, and the brand follows. Our digital designers sit next to industrial designers and engineers, so the screen on a device and the device itself grow up together.
Base Salary Range: $80,000 to $100,000 per year, based on experience and skills
Location: Hybrid (3-days in person) at 55 Mississippi Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
What you'll do
You'll work across every phase of a project, usually as part of a small team with a senior or lead designer.
Discover
- Run needs finding and user research: interviews, observation, competitive reviews
- Synthesize what you learn into insights, journey maps, and clear problem statements
Define and ideate
- Map flows, information architecture, and wireframes
- Use AI tools to generate and stress-test ideas quickly, then apply your own judgment to pick what's worth pursuing
- Explore app concepts and visual directions, from rough sketches to polished comps
Prototype and test
- Build AI-enabled prototypes that feel real enough to test with users and clients
- Plan and run usability and validation testing, then turn findings into design changes
- Write front-end code when it's the fastest way to prove an idea
Refine and ship
- Refine visual design until every state, edge case, and screen size holds up
- Design UI microinteractions and motion that make interfaces feel alive and easy to read
- Build and maintain design systems that engineering teams can actually use
- Create launch assets and motion graphics for product reveals, websites, and campaigns
Work with clients
- Present work in client reviews and workshops, and explain the thinking behind it
- Partner with industrial designers, engineers, and brand designers so hardware and software line up
What you'll bring
You'll need
- 2 to 3 years of professional UX/UI experience, at a studio, agency, or in-house team
- A degree in interaction design, HCI, graphic design, industrial design, or a related field
- Strong visual craft: type, layout, color, hierarchy, and an eye for detail
- A solid grasp of UX process, from research through testing
- Fluency in Figma, including components, auto layout, and interactive prototyping
- Hands-on experience using AI tools in your design process, and opinions about where they help and where they don't
- Clear communication, both in writing and when presenting to a room
- A portfolio that shows your thinking and your polish (more on that below)
Nice to have
- Front-end coding skills (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) or experience building in Framer or Webflow
- Motion design in After Effects, Rive, Protopie, or similar
- Experience designing for hardware, embedded screens, or regulated products like medical devices
- Work on a design system used by a real engineering team
- Comfort running usability sessions and synthesizing results on your own
Don't check every box? Apply anyway. We care more about how you think and how fast you learn than a perfect match.
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Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software15
- Manufacturing3
- Automotive2
- Electronics & Hardware2
- Artificial Intelligence2
Entry Level Lead Product Designer Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get an entry level lead product designer job?
Build a portfolio that shows end-to-end design thinking, not just finished screens. Entry level hiring managers want to see your process, so include case studies from coursework, internships, or personal projects. Proficiency in Figma, familiarity with design systems, and the ability to present decisions clearly will give you a real edge over candidates who only submit a polished deck without context.
Which companies hire entry level lead product designers?
Companies hiring entry level lead product designers right now include TikTok, Photon, and Figma, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Hiring at this level comes from a wide mix of employers, including fast-growing startups building their first design team, mid-size tech companies scaling product, and established organizations with structured new grad programs.
Are there remote entry level lead product designer jobs?
Yes, though on-site and hybrid roles are still common at this stage. About 32% of entry level lead product designer openings are remote or hybrid as of November 2026, so there are real options if you need flexibility. Filtering by work setting when you search will help you find the arrangements that fit your situation without wading through every listing.
Are these new grad lead product designer jobs?
Yes, these listings include new grad, recent graduate, and junior lead product designer roles. A new grad friendly posting typically welcomes candidates with zero to two years of experience, accepts internship or academic work as qualifying experience, and evaluates applicants on portfolio quality rather than tenure. If a listing asks for a portfolio submission, that is a strong signal it is open to early-career candidates.
Which industries hire the most entry level lead product designers?
Entry Level lead product designer roles concentrate in Technology & Software, Manufacturing, and Automotive, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. These sectors invest heavily in product-led growth and user experience, which means they need designers who can contribute to the full product cycle from day one, making them natural landing spots for junior talent building their careers.