Product Design Director

About XQ

XQ is a national organization dedicated to reimagining high school for the future—so every young person graduates prepared for college, career, and life. We work at the intersection of product, policy, design, and storytelling to catalyze system-level change across states, districts, and communities.

Our work includes digital products, learning experiences, tools for educators and policymakers, research-driven platforms, and national campaigns. Design at XQ is not decoration—it is a strategic lever for clarity, adoption, and impact.

The Role

XQ is hiring a Design Director to help shape the future of our products, platforms, and brand experiences. This role sits at the intersection of product strategy, design craft, and creative direction and is responsible for ensuring that everything XQ puts into the world is coherent, intentional, and grounded in a clear point of view.

The Design Director will lead and influence across product design, brand experience, and creative execution—partnering closely with Product, Engineering, Research, Policy, and Communications. This is a role for a senior design practitioner who can think in systems, set direction under ambiguity, and elevate both strategy and craft.

Requirements

What You’ll Do

Product Strategy & Design Leadership

• Shape design direction for XQ’s product ecosystem, ensuring alignment with organizational strategy and user needs
• Partner with Product and Engineering to define what gets built, why it matters, and how it fits into a broader system
• Translate complex policy, educational, and research inputs into clear, usable product and experience decisions
• Guide teams from early concept through launch, balancing vision with real-world constraints

Brand Experience & Creative Direction

• Ensure a cohesive brand experience across digital products, content, campaigns, and public-facing moments
• Set and uphold a high bar for design quality, clarity, and cultural relevance
• Provide creative direction and critique across disciplines (product design, visual design, content, motion)
• Help evolve XQ’s experiential and visual language as the organization and its impact scale

Leadership & Craft

• Direct the work of external agencies and contractors, providing the creative direction and critique necessary to ensure all output meets XQ’s standards.
• Run critiques that connect craft → strategy → outcomes, not just aesthetics
• Foster a culture of rigor, curiosity, and intentionality in design practice
• Support hiring, onboarding, and growth of design talent as the organization scales

Judgment, Alignment & Impact

• Make clear design decisions in ambiguous, high-stakes environments
• Know when to push for excellence and when to optimize for speed and clarity
• Ensure XQ’s work consistently reflects its values, ambition, and responsibility to the communities it serves

What We’re Looking For

Required Experience & Skills

• 8+ years of experience in design, with significant time in senior or staff-level roles
• Proven ability to lead product strategy through design, not just execution
• Experience directing design across both product and brand/creative contexts
• Strong systems thinker who can operate across multiple products and initiatives
• Deep understanding of human-centered design, research-informed decision-making, and iterative development
• Exceptional taste, judgment, and ability to articulate design rationale

Preferred Experience

• Experience working on complex platforms, ecosystems, or mission-driven products
• Background in education, public interest technology, or social impact organizations (a plus, not required)
• Comfort working across disciplines, including product, engineering, policy, research, and communications

Benefits

This is a full-time, exempt role with a competitive salary, commensurate with experience. XQ Institute offers a generous benefits package, including health coverage, retirement plans, and paid time off.

Compensation range: $225,000 - $250,000

Location

XQ is based in Oakland, CA, with offices in Washington DC, LA, and New York. This role will be based in Oakland, CA onsite 5 days per week.