Lead Product Designer

Varo is an entirely new kind of bank. All digital, mission-driven, FDIC insured and designed for the way our customers live their lives. A bank for all of us.

About Varo
Varo is a next-generation bank built on technology and innovation, empowering consumers to take control of their financial lives. We serve millions of Americans exclusively through our mobile and web apps, striving to make digital banking easy, convenient, and personalized. The Design Team at Varo is an ambitious, customer-obsessed group of designers, writers, and developers who are shaping the future of banking for the digital age. We believe that financial institutions should provide exceptional products, services, and education to everyone, not just the wealthy. We are the team responsible for bringing the Varo vision to life at every customer touchpoint. Join us in revolutionizing the future of banking.

The Role
Varo is seeking a Lead Product Designer to join our product design team. This is a pivotal, high-impact role focused on defining and elevating the customer experience for Varo's core banking products. We’re seeking a true hands-on leader, committed to delivering pixel-perfect execution on all design deliverables while simultaneously playing a significant, strategic role in the high-level product strategy and roadmap definition.

You will be responsible for conceptualizing, validating, and building critical features from the ground up, navigating the speed and ambiguity of a fast-paced, high-growth environment. This role is the central point where high-level product vision meets practical, daily execution. The Lead Designer is expected to guide cross-functional product teams, including Product Managers, Engineers, and Marketers, toward cohesive, user-centered outcomes that strike a balance between core customer needs and Varo's key business objectives.

What You’ll Be Doing:
• Lead end-to-end design for the core banking experience. Take complex financial flows and turn them into seamless, trustworthy experiences.
• Manage multiple, large-scale projects simultaneously, maintaining a holistic perspective in every decision.
• Develop frameworks that enable scalable, data-driven design decisions across teams.
• Influence decision-making at the senior leadership level across disciplines, set design direction, and align strategy.
• Partner with leadership to connect design strategy to company goals and measurable outcomes.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, User Research, Data Science, and Operations to define vision and roadmaps, align stakeholders, present to leadership, and deliver outcomes tied to user and business goals.
• Collaborate with user research to run usability tests and gather feedback to validate hypotheses and iterate on features.
• Evangelize design thinking within the company and mentor junior team members as the team grows.
• Grow our design system to ensure consistency across multiple products and platforms.

You’ll bring the following required skills and experiences:
• 7+ years of product design experience with a proven ability of driving end-to-end design across complex, multi-surface experiences in fast-paced environments.
• A strong portfolio showcasing your design process, not just final visuals. We want to see how you solve problems.
• Banking domain expertise: You are comfortable with ambiguity, move fast, and can pivot when necessary. You are a strategic architect of complex financial workflows.
• You have experience in design systems, both contributing to and maintaining. You don't just design screens; you design flows and systems.
• Experience leading design through ambiguity and influencing strategy through storytelling and systems thinking. You can guide and persuade executives, engineers, and other stakeholders on your design decisions clearly.
• You have a mentorship mindset and a proven track record of helping other designers grow.
• Bachelor's degree (BA/BS) or equivalent practical experience.

We recognize not everyone will have all of these requirements. If you meet most of the criteria above and you’re excited about the opportunity and willing to learn, we’d love to hear from you!

About Varo
Varo launched in 2017 with the vision to bring the best of fintech into the regulated banking system. We’re a new kind of bank – all-digital, mission-driven, FDIC-insured, and designed around the modern American consumer.

As the first consumer fintech to be granted a national bank charter in 2020, we make financial inclusion and opportunity for all a reality by empowering everyone with the products, insights, and support they need to get ahead. Through our core product offerings and suite of customer-first features, we aim to address a broad range of consumer needs while profitably serving underserved communities that have been historically excluded from the traditional financial system.

Learn more about Varo by following us:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/varomoney
Instagram - www.instagram.com/varobank
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/varobank

Varo is an equal opportunity employer. Varo embraces diversity and we are committed to building teams that represent a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

Beware of fraudulent job postings!
Varo will never ask for payment to process documents, refer you to a third party to process applications or visas, or ask you to pay costs. Never send money to anyone suggesting they can provide work with Varo. If you suspect you have received a phony offer, please e-mail [email protected] with the pertinent information and contact information.

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