Lead Product Designer

About the Role:

We are looking for a Lead Product Designer to shape how technology creates meaningful, dignified opportunities for low-income and historically excluded communities. At Karya, design is about reimagining who technology is built for, and who gets to participate in the AI economy. You will lead the design of products that work in low-resource environments, across languages, and for users with diverse levels of digital access and literacy.

This is a leadership role combining hands-on design, team building, and deep collaboration across product, technology, and field operations.

Why This Role Matters

At Karya, we are building systems where communities are not just users, but contributors to the technologies shaping the future.

Design plays a critical role in ensuring that these systems are accessible, inclusive, and truly representative.

What You Will Do

Design for Inclusion & Real-World Contexts

• Design experiences that work in low-bandwidth, low-literacy, and multilingual environments
• Build products that reflect the realities of low-income and underserved communities, not idealized users
• Champion localization beyond translation - including cultural, linguistic, and contextual relevance
• Simplify complex systems into intuitive flows that are accessible to first-time or intermittent digital users

Lead & Grow the Design Function

• Set clear goals, priorities, and design direction aligned with product and impact outcomes
• Manage and mentor a team of designers across UI, UX, and research
• Create a culture of craft excellence, critical thinking, and continuous learning
• Establish scalable design systems and processes

Drive End-to-End Product Design

• Own the design of mobile-first and web-based products from concept to execution
• Create flows and prototypes grounded in strong UX principles
• Balance speed and quality in a fast-moving, impact-driven environment
• Lead end to end design for new verticals at Karya (currently building Karya Learn)

User Research & Field Learning

• Lead user research across diverse geographies and communities
• Conduct usability testing, field visits, and participatory design exercises and enable junior designers to do the same
• Translate insights into product decisions grounded in real user behavior

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Storytelling, Product, Engineering, and Operations teams to ship impactful solutions
• Bridge the gap between product thinking and community realities
• Work closely with the Design Researcher to design user research studies

Experimentation & AI-driven Design

• Explore and integrate AI-assisted design workflows into product development
• Design for human-in-the-loop systems and AI-enabled platforms
• Continuously experiment with new approaches to improve accessibility, efficiency, and impact

What We’re Looking For

Experience & Skills

• 5-7 years of experience in product design, with experience leading designers
• Strong portfolio demonstrating work across mobile and web applications
• Deep understanding of UX principles, interaction design, and visual design
• Hands-on experience with user research and usability testing
• Proven ability to collaborate across disciplines

Mindset & Orientation

• Strong bias toward building for inclusion, not just scale
• Sensitivity to the needs of low-resource and underserved communities
• Curiosity about language, culture, and how people interact with technology in constrained contexts
• Comfort working in ambiguity and translating complex problems into simple, usable solutions
• Interest in AI, ethical data systems, and human-centered AI workflows

Nice to Have

• Experience designing for multilingual or regional-first products
• Exposure to low-bandwidth or offline-first design patterns
• Experience working with field teams, NGOs, or community-driven programs
• Familiarity with AI products or human-in-the-loop systems

What We Offer

Flexible leave and vacation policy

Remote / hybrid work options

Insurance as per industry standards

Access to leaders in technology and social impact

Meaningful work at the intersection of AI, design, and equity

Karya celebrates diversity and is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered without regard to race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or any other protected status.