Senior Manager, Product Design

Summary

Join Instacart as a Senior Design Manager to lead the digital experience for the Caper Cart, an AI-powered smart cart. You will drive visionary experiences, balancing hands-on execution to create outstanding user experiences. Collaborate with Product, Engineering, User Research, and Business Development teams. Leverage your skills in strategic design, ideation, prototyping, iteration, and research to improve existing carts and define future generations. Coach and develop product designers, ensuring craft excellence while meeting business needs. This role requires a proven track record of delivering innovative consumer hardware products and involves travel for research and collaboration.

Requirements

• Minimum 10+ years of experience in product design, with 5+ years managing designers
• Proven track record of delivering innovative consumer hardware products that demonstrate measurable impact on both customers and the business
• A portfolio showcasing end-to-end design experience on hardware products—from generative concepts and prototyping to final production and launch
• A craft leader with strong attention to interaction design, visual aesthetics, motion, content, and the overall cohesiveness of the user experience
• Demonstrated ability to transform user experiences by consistently balancing visionary thinking with near-term, actionable execution
• Strong awareness of industry and market trends, as well as emerging technologies and tools that can shape future solutions
• Proven collaboration skills, effectively working across disciplines, including product management, software engineering, marketing, and business development
• Comfortable working in fast-paced, start-up environments, with excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Prior experience managing and mentoring product designers, with a track record of fostering growth and development across different career stages
• Availability and willingness to travel as needed for in-store research, team collaboration, or key moments in the product development lifecycle

Responsibilities

• Lead the digital experience for Caper Cart, Instacart’s AI-powered smart cart
• Drive visionary experiences while balancing hands-on execution that sets the standard for outstanding experiences and craft; helping to evolve Caper into a best-in-class product
• Work at the forefront of product innovation, tackling complex design challenges while driving user-centered solutions by combining customer insights, technology capabilities, and market trends
• Drive getting customer insights throughout the development process and be responsible for translating them into actionable improvements in partnership with Research
• Be responsible for coaching and developing the careers of our product designers
• Drive work in a hands-on manner, jumping in when needed, to ensure craft excellence that also balances business needs
• Define our Caper cart experiences by pushing the boundaries of our digital experience
• Improve/refine our current generation of carts and define future generations
• Use your full range of skills including strategic design, ideation, prototyping iteration and research
• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, User Research, and Business Development to bring our carts to life

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working on consumer hardware products with computer vision or weight sensors is a plus, but not requirement
• Experience working on B2B products is a plus, but not requirement
• Experience managing a remote team across different time zones

Benefits

• Highly market-competitive compensation and benefits
• Remote work
• New hire equity grant
• Annual refresh grants