Staff Product Designer, Mobile

NPR is a thriving, mission-driven multimedia organization producing award-winning news and music programming. They are seeking a Staff Product Designer to lead design initiatives and enhance digital experiences for their mobile platform, collaborating with various teams to ensure accessibility and user engagement.

Responsibilities:

• Drive cross-organizational design strategy and product vision by translating audience insights into scalable digital experiences that align with NPR's public service mission and strengthen long-term audience relationships
• Lead end-to-end product discovery and experience design for NPR’s next-generation mobile platform, guiding projects from opportunity framing and audience research through prototyping, validation, systems design, and launch
• Direct the user-experience strategy for NPR’s personalization engine overhaul, crafting adaptive, habit-forming digital experiences that increase audience engagement, retention, and trust while honoring public media values
• Champion an evidence-driven design culture across product teams, using rapid experimentation, audience feedback, and measurable outcomes to validate ideas early and ground product decisions in actual audience behavior
• Partner closely with Product, Software Engineering, Research, Data, Newsroom/Editorial teams, and external UX consultants to align strategy, refine implementations, and define the future of NPR's digital portfolio
• Build, scale, and maintain robust, accessible design systems that harmonize and elevate the user experience across web, native mobile, and connected audio surfaces
• Champion inclusive design principles and accessibility standards (WCAG) across all digital products to ensure NPR's platforms are universally accessible to diverse national audiences
• Partner with mid-level and senior designers to provide constructive design critiques, foster professional growth, and uphold high visual and functional standards across initiatives
• Facilitate design thinking workshops, discovery sprints, and co-creation sessions with product, editorial, and technical stakeholders to drive collaborative problem-solving
• Present design strategies, product vision, and user-centered rationale clearly and persuasively to cross-functional teams, member station partners, and executive leadership

Requirements:

• 10+ years of experience leading product design strategies and shipping scalable digital products across web and mobile ecosystems
• 2+ years as a Staff, Principal, or equivalent senior individual contributor
• Native mobile design expertise (iOS & Android) with a proven focus on adaptive experiences, responsive layouts, and comprehensive mobile design systems
• Exceptional product judgment and systems thinking
• Proven ability to design inclusive interfaces that comply with WCAG and web accessibility standards
• Strong proficiency in design thinking frameworks and agile methodologies, integrating user-centered practices seamlessly into delivery cycles
• Versatility across low- to high-fidelity prototyping techniques to rapidly validate ideas and align product teams
• Strong track record of designing across complex contexts, including both consumer-facing platforms and internal enterprise tools
• Exceptional ability to articulate complex design decisions clearly and solicit constructive, actionable feedback from cross-functional partners
• Mastery of visual design principles, information architecture, interaction patterns, and modern design tools (e.g., Figma)
• Strong ability to balance innovative design solutions with technical constraints and project timelines, accurately scoping project workload
• Solid understanding of modern technology frameworks that power digital platforms (e.g., APIs, content management systems, mobile SDKs)
• Demonstrated ability to lead co-creation sessions and influence product strategy without direct managerial authority
• Bringing a builder's mindset to complex product challenges
• Bachelor's degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design, Digital Media, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
• Demonstrated experience utilizing product analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, Amplitude) to evaluate user behavior, measure performance, and guide iterative design decisions
• Experience scoping, estimating, and structuring design work streams for multi-designer projects