Senior Product Designer

Who Are We?

Have you struggled to reserve that coveted summer camping spot at a state park? Wondered why you’re still filling out a paper form at the DMV? Or tried (and failed) to book your favorite pickleball court from your phone?

Kaizen Labs is rebuilding the government’s digital front door - bringing modern, people-first software to the public services millions of Americans rely on every day. From parks & recreation and permitting to licensing and payments, we’re replacing outdated systems with intuitive, beautiful technology designed for residents and the public servants who serve them.

Our platform now powers over 50 agencies across 17 states, reaching more than 40 million residents. Recent partners include Maricopa County (AZ), San Bernardino County (CA), and the Cherokee Nation. In Maryland, our platform helped eliminate seven-mile traffic jams at state parks, saving hundreds of thousands in costs and dramatically improving the visitor experience.

Founded in 2022 and based in New York City, Kaizen has raised $35 million from world-class investors, including NEA, Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, 776, and Carpenter Capital.

We’re a team of builders, designers, and operators redefining what it means to serve the public in the digital age - and we’re just getting started.

Location

This is a hybrid role based out of our New York City HQ. Candidates must reside in New York or be able to commute to New York City to work out of our office at least three times a week (Tuesdays - Thursdays).

The Role

As the third design hire at Kaizen, you’ll report to the Design Lead and play a foundational role in crafting exceptional user experiences for government staff and members of the public. This high-agency opportunity will allow you to impact every aspect of design at the company: from scoping and shipping products with our engineers, to building innovative prototypes for the sales team, to creating marketing assets as we evolve our brand. In true startup fashion, you’ll wear many hats, including partnering closely with our implementation team on customer deployments and helping to define our product roadmap strategically.

What You’ll Do

• Lead design work end-to-end, including:

  • Driving research and discovery sessions with our customers

  • Writing clear, well-scoped product requirement documents

  • Designing and iterating upon high-fidelity flows and prototypes

  • Collaborating side-by-side with our wonderful engineering team to bring the work to life

  • Contributing to Trailmix, our internal design system

• Partner with our implementation team on critical customer deployments by providing hands-on project management, product strategy, and customer communications

• Work with the business development team to define the future of the product with robust prototyping for RFP responses and demos

• Work with the leadership team to create marketing assets for socials, one-pagers for conferences, and other branded materials

What You’ll Bring

• 4-6 years of experience in product design, preferably in a high-growth startup or agency environment

• Experience designing administrative tooling

• Experience designing scalable solutions for SaaS products for desktop and mobile

• Experience in client services and excitement to work directly with customers

• Proficiency in Figma for both design and prototyping

• Workflows powered with AI tooling (ChatGPT, Figma Make, Lovable, etc.)

Strong Candidates May Also Bring...

• Experience with AI coding tools like Cursor to make your own contributions to the codebase

Base Salary: $130k - $160k

💚 At Kaizen, we believe that great work starts with taking great care of our people. We’re building something meaningful, and that starts with a culture where people genuinely love to work. Here’s how we support you - in and out of the workplace:

🩺 Comprehensive Health Coverage

We offer Gold, and Platinum PPO plans through Oxford (United), with 85% of premiums covered for employees on the Platinum plan, with a $0 premium option

🏥 Dental, Vision & Financial Wellness

You’re covered with Guardian PPO dental and Beam vision plans - Kaizen pays 99% of premiums for employees and 50% for dependents. We also offer:

• 💳 Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA & Dependent Care FSA)

• 🛡️ $100,000 in fully paid life insurance

• 🏦 401(k) access through Guideline

🤰🏼 Parental Leave That Supports Families

Because time with your growing family matters.

• 🍼 16 weeks fully paid for birthing parents and 10 weeks paid for non-birthing parents

🗽 Everyday Support & Flexibility

• 🚆 $50/month toward your commute

• 🏡 One-time setup stipend (up to $750) for your home or NYC office

• 💪 $100/month for wellness or productivity

🎡 Perks That Make Life Better

• 🎉 $250/year for recreation - because fun matters

• 📚 $500/year for professional development - because growth does too

• 🍱 Expensed lunch three days a week when you're in the office

• 💻 Company-provided laptop

🌴 Time Off to Recharge

• 🌅 Unlimited PTO

• 🇺🇸 All federal holidays off

• ☃️ A company-wide winter break during the week of Christmas

Kaizen provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

We are committed to maintaining a supportive and inclusive environment for people with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We respect the varied identities, abilities, cultures, and traditions of the individuals who comprise our organization and recognize the value that different backgrounds and points of view bring to our organization.

If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please email us at [email protected]. This information will be treated as confidential and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the interview process.