Staff Product Designer

The Athletic

full-time

Posted on: 3/30/2026

Location Type: Remote

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💰 $160,000 - $180,000 per year

About the role

Design and ship high-quality experiences that drive user, product, and business impact.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams, partnering with Product Managers, Engineers, Content Operations, SEO Strategists, Product Analysts, and fellow designers to lead concepts from ideation to execution.
Support and direct product strategy, ensuring we're asking the right questions and solving for the most important user needs.
Lead larger-scale strategic and vision-oriented projects across the team.
Lead and conduct design and user research as necessary.
Contribute to the Product Design team through mentorship, knowledge-sharing, and elevating our Design System.
Own and lead Product Design cultural events and rituals.
Continually identify new ways to improve both your work and the work of the discipline and team overall, including through the use of new tooling and AI.
Understand the competitive environment of design and our product. Stay on top of new technologies (like AI) and innovative user experiences, especially within sports apps, sports media, and news related products.

Demonstrable expertise in designing shipped, large-scale product experiences across web and native applications.
Strong visual and interaction design skills, as exemplified in an online portfolio or presentation.
Expert communication skills, especially in presenting design decisions that meet user, product, and business needs.
Expertise in successfully collaborating with engineers, product managers, other XFN partners, and stakeholders with a high standard of quality and professionalism.
Expertise in setting up collaborative working structures with other designers on projects and in establishing feedback and critique.
Ability to manage your time effectively across several projects and priorities.
Expert Figma skills and knowledge of other design tools.
Experience with prototyping and animation as a means to explore and convey design solutions.
Experience incorporating AI tooling into the design process.
Subject matter expertise related to sports and/or media. You have a strong understanding of what makes a great sports and/or fandom-related product, and ideas on how we can make our experience even better.
An eagerness to try new things, innovate, and learn and teach others — and a willingness to learn from mistakes.

Benefits

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools

visual designinteraction designprototypinganimationdesign researchuser experience designproduct strategycollaborationmentorshipdesign system

Soft Skills

communicationtime managementinnovationleadershipteam collaborationfeedback and critiqueproblem-solvinguser advocacyadaptabilityknowledge-sharing