Principal Product Designer
Phia
Location
New York City
Employment Type
Full time
Location Type
On-site
Department
Product
Compensation
- $210K – $250K • Offers Equity
Overview
As Principal Product Designer, you’ll lead the creation of Phia’s product experience from the ground up, defining the design vision while scaling the systems, teams, and processes needed to move fast. You’ll operate at the intersection of strategy and execution, partnering closely with Product, Engineering, and Leadership to turn ambiguous problems into clear, compelling product experiences. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who thrives in rapid iteration, isn’t afraid of bold bets, and knows how to build high-quality design at startup speed. You’ll set the bar for craft, velocity, and impact as Phia grows from zero to one and beyond.
About Phia
Phia is building the AI layer that connects consumers and brands, powering a personalized shopping agent that translates real-time consumer intent into trusted product discovery. Launched in April 2025, Phia has surpassed 1 million users in under a year and partnered with 6,200+ retail brands, representing billions in annual gross merchandise volume. Each month, Phia drives millions of dollars in sales for brands and has achieved 11× revenue growth since launch, with partners seeing higher conversion rates, stronger new customer acquisition, increased average order value, and significantly reduced return rates.
Phia’s core experience is an AI shopping agent embedded directly within users’ natural shopping flow, delivering real-time insights that help users make smarter, more confident purchase decisions.
Phia is a small, high-ownership team building at startup speed. If you want to ship at high velocity, solve complex problems in consumer AI and commerce, and have clear ownership from day one, this is the place to do it.
What You Own
Own Phia’s product design vision and execution end to end, from zero-to-one to scale
Set the bar for product quality, craft, and speed across all user experiences
Build, lead, and scale high-impact product design teams in a fast-moving environment
Drive design decisions in ambiguous problem spaces and turn ideas into shipped product quickly
Partner tightly with Product, Engineering, and Leadership to shape product strategy and priorities
Define and evolve design systems that enable rapid iteration and consistent experiences
Push bold experimentation while maintaining a cohesive product experience
Stay close to the work – reviewing, guiding, and unblocking teams to keep momentum high
Use user insights and data to inform decisions and measure impact
Qualifications
10+ years of product design experience, including senior leadership roles in high-growth products
Proven experience leading design in zero-to-one or early-scale environments
Strong product sense and high bar for craft across interaction, visual, and systems design
Track record of building and scaling design teams that ship quickly and well
Experience partnering closely with Product and Engineering leadership
Comfort operating at speed in ambiguous, evolving environments
Clear, direct communicator with strong influence across functions
Compensation Range: $210K - $250K