Senior Product Designer - New York, NY

Blackbird Labs is a loyalty and payments platform establishing meaningful connections between the world’s best restaurants and their customers.

Served up in 2022 by Ben Leventhal, co-founder of Eater and Resy, Blackbird offers a fully customizable loyalty programming platform for restaurants and a consumer app designed to make every guest feel like a bonafide VIP no matter where they dine. Backed by Union Square Ventures, a16z, Amex Ventures, Variant Fund, and other forward-thinking investors, Blackbird is out to revolutionize the restaurant industry.

At Blackbird, our values guide everything we do and our talent principles define the key traits we seek in our employees.

We have passion for our product – committed to our mission and instinctively think like and go the extra mile for our customers. We are elite performers – striving for excellence, going above and beyond to achieve exceptional results, and learning quickly with horsepower, drive, and grit. We make others better – taking initiative to elevate others, giving and receiving feedback, and championing a culture of growth. We hold one another accountable to living out our talent principles as we march together to achieving our mission.

We are an in-office culture that values the power of in-person connection and collaboration. Just as Blackbird fosters magical in-restaurant experiences, we believe being together ignites creativity, accelerates problem-solving, and strengthens the team spirit essential to driving our mission forward.

We’re looking for a Senior Product Designer to help shape a product that reimagines dining and reinvigorates the economy of the restaurants that nourish our society — from app experiences to restaurant tools and brand expression. This is a role for a versatile, hands-on designer who thrives in early-stage environments and loves bringing ambitious ideas to life with craft, clarity, and intention. You’ll have the autonomy to explore, iterate, and build your best work.

You’ll work in a team that values design as strategy — not decoration. You’ll own design projects end-to-end: from concept to launch, from pixels to systems. You’ll partner closely with product, engineering, brand marketing, and the Founder/CEO to ship work that’s both beautiful and deeply functional. You’ll also collaborate directly with restaurant partners and creatives who care deeply about craft and community.

Join our small, ambitious team of designers, engineers, and restaurant industry experts and help us reimagine how hospitality works — from payments and rewards to storytelling and brand experience.

Responsibilities

• You’ll begin as the sole designer on a product squad focused on payments — shaping how guests pay, how restaurants manage transactions, and how crypto supports it all. Over time, as priorities evolve, you’ll move fluidly between squads and initiatives, leading design in the areas of highest impact. We’re a lean, collaborative team, and your work will influence nearly every surface of the Blackbird experience.

• Lead end-to-end design for major product initiatives — from research and concept to final implementation.

• Craft best-in-class UI that balances hospitality, brand warmth, and product clarity.

• Collaborate cross-functionally with product managers, engineers, and brand designers to shape features and experiences. Seek out answers, own the nuances.

• Contribute to and evolve Blackbird’s design system — ensuring consistency and delight across touchpoints.

• Use prototypes and motion to tell stories and bring ideas to life.

• Help shape the design culture at Blackbird through feedback, collaboration, and craft excellence.

Requirements

• 5–8 years of experience in Product Design.

• Proven ability to lead design projects independently in fast-moving and complex environments.

• Deep fluency in visual design — typography, layout, hierarchy, motion, and storytelling.

• A strong point of view in UX fundamentals and systems thinking.

• Comfort working across the full stack of design tools (Figma, prototyping, motion, Adobe, etc.).

• A portfolio that showcases thoughtful process, refined visual craft, and real-world product impact.

Nice to Haves

• A brand design itch. We’re a small team building from the ground up, and we aim to gather designers who can zoom out to evolve our visual identity and brand holistically — from product UI to marketing moments.

• An engineer’s mindset. Whether you write code or just think in systems, understanding how things are built helps you design with clarity, feasibility, and performance in mind.

• Strategic instincts. You can distill complex or abstract business goals into intuitive, communicable design concepts — turning “what if” ideas into real, understandable experiences.

• Applicable Experiences. Experience in hospitality, fintech, or consumer brands that blend digital and physical experiences.

• Love for food and dining. Whether you’re a home cook, restaurant regular, or just curious about what people eat and why — a genuine passion for food helps you connect with our mission and our users.

Depending on your work location and experience the target annual salary for this position can range from: $150,000 – $190,000 USD. This range does not include the equity component of the overall compensation package. Disclosure in accordance with New York City's Pay Transparency Law.

Full time offers from Blackbird may also include stock options, benefits (including medical, dental, vision, flexible time off, 401(k)), and some not-so-standard, extra-fun perks — subject to applicable taxes and based on eligibility.

Blackbird Labs is committed to diversity in its workforce and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation or any other basis protected by applicable law. Blackbird will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable law. For US applicants, you may view the Know Your Rights notice here. Additionally, Blackbird participates in the E-Verify program.

Join us and find out what the best work of your career could look like here at Blackbird.