Lead end-to-end product design for renter acquisition and engagement. Own growth-focused, visually rich experiences, champion brand and motion, collaborate across product/engineering/data/marketing, and experiment with AI to ship impactful features.
Who We Are
At Apartment List, we’re transforming how people rent—making it smarter, easier, and a lot less frustrating. Our platform has already matched over 1.4 million renters with their next home, while helping properties fill units with the right residents. Backed by strong growth and a big vision, we’re building the future of renting—and inviting bold thinkers to help us shape it!
The RoleWe're looking for a Staff Product Designer with a high bar for both product thinking and visual craft. You care deeply about how things work and how they look, and you do not treat those as separate concerns.
You are an end-to-end product thinker: systems-fluent, research-informed, and comfortable owning a problem from framing through launch. You also bring a genuine eye for design. Bold typography, purposeful motion, and expressive micro-interactions are part of how you solve problems, not a layer you apply at the end.
You set a high bar for yourself and help raise it for the people around you. You notice things, form a point of view, and move. You also treat AI as a core part of your practice and have used it to ship real product.
Drive renter acquisition and engagement through design
Own the design of experiences that attract, convert, and delight renters. Shape how people first encounter Apartment List through interactive, shareable, and visually rich touchpoints that feel exciting and delightful rather than utilitarian.
Raise visual craft across product and brand
Champion brand and expressive visual design. You know when to work within guidelines, when it’s time to evolve them, and you can articulate why. You spot opportunities to improve the product beyond your immediate scope and act on them.
Spot problems, move on them, and collaborate openly
You notice things early. You form a point of view and act. You communicate your thinking clearly and early, present with conviction, take feedback with grace, and help your teammates do their best work.
Keep pushing what AI makes possible
You are curious about new tools, quick to experiment, and generous with what you discover. You help the team stay sharp and move faster together.
Baseline, required for all Product Designers
- 6-8 years shipping consumer or B2C digital products, end-to-end: from problem framing and research through detailed UI and launch
- Mastery of Figma, including components, auto layout, variables, and prototyping; strong design systems fluency
- Product strategy chops: you connect user needs to business outcomes and make smart tradeoffs
- Deep user empathy and excellent collaboration skills across product, engineering, data, and marketing
- Curious about AI design tools and actively using them to move faster
Specialty, what makes this role unique
- An exceptional eye for visual design: motion, and brand expression are how you think, not flourishes you add at the end
- Brand design fluency: you understand the difference between rigidly applying a system and extending it with intent, and you know when to flag that the brand system itself should evolve.
- Motion design sensibility: you can design and specify meaningful animations and micro-interactions, with a clear understanding of timing, easing, and attention
- High agency, low maintenance: you spot problems before they are assigned, form a point of view, and move
- A portfolio that shows authored work: not just usable, but visually exciting, with evidence across growth surfaces, brand expression, and visual craft
Rive / Lottie / After Effects · Cursor / Storybook / Claude Code / Vercel · HTML / CSS / React · Online marketplaces · A/B testing and experimentation
At Apartment List, we carefully consider a variety of factors to determine compensation for each position, including the role, level, and work. The Canada base salary range for this position is: ($CAD)
- Zone 1: $131,000 CAD - $159,000 CAD TTC (including $117,900 CAD - $139,920 CAD base salary) + equity
- Zone 2: $118,000 CAD - $143,000 CAD TTC (including $106,200 CAD - $125,840 CAD base salary) + equity
This reflects the compensation target for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations. Please note, the compensation details provided do not include benefits and perks that we offer.
We also rely on market indicators along with considering your work location, job related skills, experience and relevant education and training, to determine compensation that is fair and competitive for you. Apartment List will consider paying compensation near the higher of the range in exceptional circumstances, where candidates have the experience, credentials or expertise that would warrant such consideration. It is always our goal to hire exceptional talent and we would be happy to share more about compensation during the hiring process.
Similar Jobs
Artificial Intelligence • Consumer Web • Information Technology • Real Estate • Software • PropTech
Lead end-to-end product design for renter acquisition and engagement. Own growth-focused experiences from research and strategy through detailed UI, motion, and launch. Champion brand and visual craft, design systems, and AI-driven tooling while collaborating cross-functionally to ship measurable product outcomes.
Top Skills:
Figma
Cloud • Security • Software • Cybersecurity • Automation
Design and implement authentication features across the Rails monolith and GATE, including token issuance/validation, token migration, passkeys/passwordless, SSO/SAML/OIDC/LDAP/SCIM support, cryptographic key management, vulnerability remediation, and performance optimization while shaping roadmap and engineering standards.
Top Skills:
Cryptographic SigningGateGitlabGoIamJson Web Token (Jwt)Key ManagementLdapOauthOpenid Connect (Oidc)PasskeysPasswordlessRuby on RailsRbacRubySAMLScimService AccountsWorkload Identity Federation
Cloud • Security • Software • Cybersecurity • Automation
Lead product strategy for GitLab's engineering analytics and insights platform, define multi-horizon roadmap, partner with data and engineering teams to build pipelines, knowledge graph integrations, dashboards, and conversational AI experiences that turn engineering data into decision-ready intelligence for software leaders.
Top Skills:
Ai-Powered AnalyticsAnalytics PlatformAPIsBusiness Intelligence ToolingConversational AiDashboardsData PipelinesDora MetricsGitlabKnowledge GraphValue Stream Management
What you need to know about the NYC Tech Scene
As the undisputed financial capital of the world, New York City is an epicenter of startup funding activity. The city has a thriving fintech scene and is a major player in verticals ranging from AI to biotech, cybersecurity and digital media. It also has universities like NYU, Columbia and Cornell Tech attracting students and researchers from across the globe, providing the ecosystem with a constant influx of world-class talent. And its East Coast location and three international airports make it a perfect spot for European companies establishing a foothold in the United States.
Key Facts About NYC Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 549,200; 6% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: Capgemini, Bloomberg, IBM, Spotify
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, Fintech
- Funding Landscape: $25.5 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Greycroft, Thrive Capital, Union Square Ventures, FirstMark Capital, Tiger Global Management, Tribeca Venture Partners, Insight Partners, Two Sigma Ventures
- Research Centers and Universities: Columbia University, New York University, Fordham University, CUNY, AI Now Institute, Flatiron Institute, C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics, NASA Space Radiation Laboratory
