Lead Product Designer

About Rec

$3T is spent on recreation globally, and it's built on a completely fragmented system that's largely untouched by technology. At Rec (recreation.ai), we're using AI to change that — reimagining how the world plays, participates in community, and gets active. Our vision is simple: more recreation for everyone. We sit at a rare intersection — a consumer product loved by everyday players and an enterprise platform trusted by the organizations that power recreation. We're a small team with firepower. Our founders were among the first few hundred at Uber, then led teams at The Athletic and MasterClass. The rest of the team combines builders from Google, Microsoft, Strava, Hipcamp, and Airbnb. People join Rec for two reasons: you want to build AI that gets people back in the real world, and you want to work with really smart people.

About The Role

This is a Staff+ IC role, which means we're looking for someone who sets the bar — not just clears it. You'll own design across our most complex and consequential surfaces: the staff-side tools that run recreation facilities day-to-day, the consumer experiences that families interact with, and the design system that ties it all together. You'll work closely with a small but talented design team, and while you won't have direct reports, you'll naturally elevate the people around you — through great taste, sharp feedback, and a point of view worth following.

What You'll Own

• Own end-to-end design across staff-side admin tools, consumer-facing booking and registration experiences, and the design system that scales both.
• Lead the design of AI-powered product features — defining what it looks like, feels like, and how it should behave when AI is doing the work.
• Build and steward Rec's design system: the components, patterns, and principles that create coherence across a fast-moving product.
• Partner tightly with Product and Engineering from problem definition through launch.
• Lead user research and testing across both consumer and staff audiences, and translate findings into clear design direction.
• Raise the design bar across the team — through critique, mentorship, and the kind of high-craft work that others want to replicate.

Who You Are

• 10+ years designing products, with meaningful depth in both consumer-facing and complex operational/admin tools.
• Experience designing AI-powered features — you've thought seriously about how to make AI feel useful, trustworthy, and human.
• A systems thinker. You design components and patterns, not just screens, and you care about how everything fits together.
• Strong ownership instincts — you drive work forward without needing a lot of hand-holding, and you know when to align vs. when to just decide.
• A natural collaborator and informal leader — people come to you for feedback, and your opinions make the work better.
• Deeply user-grounded. Whether it's a parks & rec staff member juggling ten programs at once or a parent trying to register their kid on a phone, you understand your users and design for their reality.
• High craft standards — you care about the details, the edge cases, and the moments nobody else notices.
• A clear, confident communicator. Our Values Be Relentless. Move fast. Own it. Ship real value early and often.Win Together. Speak up, go beyond the boundaries of your role. That's how we win.Take Pride. Treat this like it's yours — because it is.

Pay & Benefits

Compensation: $180,000–$250,000 base + meaningful equity (final offer will be based on your background, experience and skillset)
Benefits: Flexible PTO, top-tier health/dental/vision, and a 401(k) plan to support your future.
Work location: San Francisco — in-office most days at our FiDi SF office.