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Principal Product Designer, R&D

About Skillz:

Skillz is driving the future of entertainment by accelerating the convergence of sports, video games and media for a booming mobile-first audience worldwide. The company’s platform empowers mobile game developers and players with access to fun and fair competition for real prizes, shifting the paradigm to make esports accessible to anyone, anywhere.

Skillz helps developers build multi-million dollar game franchises by turning content into competitive social gaming properties for the world’s 2.6 billion gamers. The company has already worked with 20,000 game developers, leveraging its patented technology to host billions of casual esports tournaments for 30 million players worldwide.

Last year, Skillz was recognized as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies and CNBC Disruptor 50 (for the second time). In 2018, Skillz was listed as one of Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startups and Entrepreneur Magazine’s 100 Brilliant Companies. In 2017, Inc. Magazine ranked Skillz the No. 1 fastest-growing private company in America.

The company is backed by leading venture capitalists, media companies, and professional sports luminaries, ranging from Liberty Global, Accomplice, Wildcat Capital, Telstra Ventures, and a founder of Great Hill Partners to the owners of the New England Patriots, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Mets, and Sacramento Kings.

Who we're looking for:

Are you an amazing designer who also wants to lead a team and grow in your career? Can you bring life to new ideas and show the value of design through innovation and vision?

Your passion for design leads you to create fresh new concepts that can change an industry. You take initiative and you find solutions to problems. The status quo is not sufficient. You are constantly looking for new ways to improve design and you expect the people around you to do the same.

You’ll serve a vital role at Skillz: You’ll lead our (currently) small research and development design team. This means you’ll be up-level your team while leading by example, jumping in and creating designs, prototypes, etc when it makes sense. A passion for design excellence expressed through thoughtful creative direction and people leadership is a must.

You will report to the Head of Product Design [ Matt Snow ] and will be based in San Francisco.

What You'll Do:

• Collaborate with leadership to determine our overall R&D product design direction and strategy
• Hiring, leading, and mentoring the growth and success of a small but talented team of product designers creating experience across Apps, Web, TV, and AR/VR
• Partner closely with Product Management, Engineering, and other cross-functional teams to deliver amazing and effective work
• Set a North star. Show what could be. Create meaning out of ambiguity.
• Lead by example and roll up your sleeves when needed
• Contribute to iterating on our product experiences through user research
• Drive design thinking within the larger Product Design organization and encourage various design-focused problem-solving methodologies

Your Skillz:

• 8+ years of professional experience as a UX or Product Designer
• You have successfully managed or led a team of designers for 4+ years
• Experience with delivering 0-1 products from concept stages to launch
• Mobile design and/or AR/VR experience required
• Portfolio that showcases sound product thinking and looks amazing
• Ability to manage deadlines and collaborate in a cross-functional environment
• Capable of supporting your designs with strong rationale, research, and effective communication