Staff Product Designer
LaurelLaurel’s Mission to Return Time:
We’re a team that is connected by time. Life has taught us its true value and finite nature. We value every minute and are on a mission to return time. And we live and breathe that mission in everything we do — from how we build our product that saves our customers time to how we operate as a company.
Come work with a team that’s intelligent yet humble, visionary yet gets things done. A team that’s only getting started at cracking a problem that affects every person who uses a screen to work.
Come build a company that will stand the test of time as we look to understand time itself.
We all waste a staggering amount of time at work (~33%) because we have no idea where we are spending it. Worse yet, we continue to operate in a factory model that simply does not apply to creative work. Our big bet is that by understanding time, we’ll be able to move away from it as a unit of value. In the future knowledge economy (lawyers, accountants, engineers), contributions will be assessed on value added, not the underlying time spent adding it.
Ambitious mission to say the least, so where are we starting? We have created a new market category called Time Automation that automates the timekeeping process for professionals and allows us to collect time data at scale. Before Laurel, professionals had to manually record every six minutes of their day into antiquated timekeeping software. Not anymore. We are moving away from a world in which humans tell a machine what they did at work, to our version of the world in which the machine tells the human.
We are looking for individuals who share our passion of returning time. Come join us on our journey as we spend time solving time. It will be a long road but if we’re even half right, we’ll change the way work is measured and performed forever.
About Laurel & Roadmap
Laurel is the first company to apply AI to tracking time.
Company Roadmap
- Phase 1 (today): Applying AI to automate timesheets for professional services. Value is: (1) more money for the firm and (2) less time for the user
- Phase 2 (2025): Aggregating time data and moving pro serv industries from selling time → selling outcomes (rewiring the incentive model for 20% of Global GDP)
- Phase 3: (2030):Tie outcomes back to the input of time across all digital industries–and leverage our work data set to automate work that does not create leverage
Traction:
Series B ($55M raised from top-tier investors). Rebuilt platform E2E post Series B raise, which launched in Feb 2023. In just 11 months, we’ve gone from $0 → +$5M ARR on the new platform.
Why Now?
At Laurel, we believe AI is transforming how people approach work. Our timekeeping platform, powered by real AI, simplifies complex workflows for professionals in legal and accounting firms. By automating time tracking and transforming work data into actionable insights, Laurel enables users to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time on what truly matters.
As a Staff Product Designer, you’ll have a direct impact on how we revolutionize timekeeping for knowledge workers, helping professionals reclaim their time. In this role, you'll bridge strategy and execution, designing seamless, user-centered experiences that transform abstract data into intuitive, actionable solutions.
This is a hybrid role based in the San Francisco Bay Area, with three days a week in the office for collaboration.
Skills
Translate complexity into simplicity
You’ll turn complex problems into intuitive design solutions by working with design and cross-functional teams to think holistically about our product’s architecture, ensuring it aligns with user needs.
Design for our customers
Our customers in law and accounting are passionate about their workflows. You’ll collaborate across internal teams and with our subject area experts to help guide your design rationale. You will also speak directly with customers to understand their needs (and personalities) using feedback and interviews to ground your design decisions.
Design for conversations
You’ll craft intuitive, human-like interactions for our AI-powered timekeeping software, making complex tasks simple for users. Partnering with product, engineering, and AI teams, you’ll ensure the system responds naturally and intuitively.
Design end-to-end
You’ll lead the design process from start to finish: synthesize user needs, create flows, prototypes, and mockups, and collaborate with engineering to polish and deliver. You'll continuously validate with real users.
Shape our strategy
You’ll work with cross-functional teams to define project roadmaps, goals, and success metrics, using design to clarify and focus on high-impact opportunities.
Must Haves
The following are our non-negotiables for candidates:
- 5+ years of product design experience at startups (Series B–F preferred).
- 3+ years (within total years) designing B2B or enterprise SaaS software products.
- Proven track record of designing and shipping end-to-end products in technical, complex domains, covering multiple scenarios and edge cases.
- Strong empathy and design solutions tailored for professional users, including Lawyers, Accountants, Finance, Sales, HR, IT, and Procurement.
- Commitment to best-in-class UI design, applying foundational practices like Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics.
- Skilled in using Figma for design and prototyping, with experience leveraging component libraries and design systems to maintain consistency and efficiency across projects.
- Portfolio demonstrating deep UX thinking, including service design, journey mapping, mental/conceptual modeling, taxonomy, information architecture, and naming.
- Demonstrated ability to work with engineering, product, and business teams to align on goals and execute designs.
Nice to Haves
These are qualities of a standout candidate and would make this role a perfect fit:
- Strategic thinker with the ability to contribute to product vision and roadmap.
- Self-motivated and capable of driving projects independently.
- Experience adapting and contributing to design systems; working with engineers to build components for a cohesive design library.
- Enjoys collaborative design discussions, actively participating in critiques and reviews.
- Experienced or interested in data visualization.
- Experience designing for AI-powered or conversational interfaces would be highly relevant for our AI-powered timekeeping product.
- Familiarity with software used by professionals in Legal, Accounting, or Human Resources.
Flexibility and Logistics:
- Location: This role will be hybrid and based in San Francisco
- Additional Benefits: Comprehensive medical/dental/vision coverage with covered premiums, 401(k), and additional benefits including commuter/FSA stipends.
- Visa Sponsorship: Unfortunately we are unable to sponsor visas at this time.
- Compensation: Competitive salary, generous equity; For candidates located in San Francisco, California, the range for this role is $140,000 to $215,000 USD. Final compensation amounts will be determined based on several factors including candidate experience, technical qualifications and expertise and may vary from the amounts listed.
- What happens if my kid or I are sick on a workday? Take all the time you need! We’ll cover for you. And send you some soup.
Laurel's Commitment: We encourage diverse perspectives and rigorous thinkers who aren't afraid to challenge the status quo. Laurel is an equal-opportunity employer committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
Not sure if you meet the qualifications? Keep reading…
At Laurel, we welcome diverse perspectives and people who think rigorously and aren't afraid to challenge the status quo. If you’re interested in joining us on our mission to return time, then we encourage you to apply, even if you don’t perfectly match every single bullet on the job description. We promise to review your application. Laurel is an equal opportunity employer, and we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment, free from discrimination or harassment, for all employees.