Manager of Product Design

We are hiring a Manager of Product Design

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to join our Product team!  Spare is a fast-growing company providing software for cities to power their mobility networks. This role offers a unique opportunity to work closely with our founders to shape the future of design within our business. As the most senior design role at Spare, the Manager of Product Design will play a pivotal role in leading our design team, driving design vision and strategy, and ensuring our products deliver exceptional user experiences.

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As a Manager of Product Design at Spare, you will…

• Be responsible for overseeing the design team and the overall look and feel of our products.
• Develop and implement a design strategy that aligns with our business objectives, ensuring our products are visually appealing, user-friendly, and accessible.
• Demonstrate a blend of leadership, hands-on design work, and strategic vision.
• Lead by example, as a designer assigned to one product development team.
• Work closely with our Product Management, Product Engineering, Marketing, and senior leadership to deliver a fantastic product for our customers.

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Successful candidates will preferably be located in Vancouver, BC. If you like coming into an office, you can work from our HQ as desired.

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Key Responsibilities ✨

Team Leadership and Development:

• Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing design team. You will be responsible for hiring, onboarding, and developing team members, fostering a collaborative and innovative environment.

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Resource Allocation:

• Manage and allocate resources effectively to ensure projects are completed on time and meet high-quality standards.

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Design Vision and Strategy:

• Define and drive the design vision and strategy for Spare, including the development and maintenance of design systems. Champion the overall look and feel of our products, ensuring they are aligned with business goals and user needs.

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Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Work closely with Product Managers (PMs), Engineers, and other key stakeholders to integrate design insights, identify opportunities, and enhance product development processes. Promote a culture of open communication and collaboration across teams to achieve unified goals.

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User Experience Research:

• Oversee and advocate for robust user research practices, including site visits and user feedback collection. Use these insights to inform design decisions and enhance user experiences.

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Design Reviews and Quality Assurance:

• Conduct design reviews to ensure high standards of quality and alignment with design guidelines. Provide feedback on design work, to ensure the design is implemented correctly.

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Accessibility Champion:

• Advocate for accessibility in all design processes, ensuring products are inclusive and usable for all users.

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Hands-on Design Work:

• While leading the team, remain actively involved in design work. Contribute to the creation of innovative, high-quality designs alongside your team.

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Cadence Meetings and Planning:

• Organize and participate in regular cadence meetings, design reviews, and other team activities to ensure alignment, foster continuous improvement, and drive design excellence.

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About You ✨

You have…

• UX, UI, and Technical Background:
  • Strong experience in UI/UX design, with a deep understanding of technical constraints and opportunities. Experience building software products is essential.

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Leadership Experience:

• Proven track record of leading, mentoring, and growing design teams. Experience in hiring, developing talent and driving team success.

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Autonomous and Strategic:

• Ability to work autonomously with a high degree of ownership over the design function. Experience shaping design strategy and vision.

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Excellent Communication Skills:

• Exceptional ability to communicate effectively with team members, stakeholders, and cross-functional partners. Proven ability to foster strong relationships and drive collaborative outcomes.

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Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Experience working closely with PMs, Engineers, and other stakeholders to understand the scope of problems, discover opportunities, and deliver innovative solutions.

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Coding Knowledge:

• Understanding of modern web technologies and ability to write small web apps. This technical knowledge will help bridge the gap between design and development, streamlining communication and enhancing design implementation.

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Diverse Design Experience:

• While not primarily a graphic designer, experience in graphic design and other diverse design disciplines is a plus.

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Nice to Have:

• Passion for transit and/or transit sector experience

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Don’t meet every single requirement?

• Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification in the job posting.  

   At Spare, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment so we strongly encourage you to apply even if you don't believe you meet every single qualification outlined. We also do our best to respond to all applications we receive.

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About Spare

Spare's mission is empowering everyone to unlock the potential of mobility. Spare is the future of shared transportation. We’re revolutionizing how the busy mom from Dallas, the retired teacher from Oslo or the aspiring entrepreneur from Tokyo experiences transportation, by partnering with transportation providers around the world to enable worry-free, efficient, flexible, and automated on-demand solutions.  From the daily commute to non-emergency hospital visits, last-minute lunches, and leisurely trips to the museum, our technology makes people’s lives easier and transit more equitable both for those with specialized mobility needs and those without. With Spare’s Platform, which includes a feature-rich admin web-panel, as well as rider and driver apps, transportation providers can break free from para and microtransit silos and provide holistic demand-responsive services that give each rider exactly what they need. We also help cities easily optimize their transit network so that the entire transportation ecosystem works better together. At Spare, nothing is impossible. We think safe, affordable, scalable and eventually autonomous transportation is the right way forward. Join us for the ride!