Digital Experience Design Director

ABOUT SLATE

At Slate were building safe reliable vehicles that people can afford personalize and loveand doing it here in the USA as part of our commitment to reindustrialization. The spirit of DIY and customization runs throughout every element of a Slate because people should have control over how their trucks look feel and represent them.

ABOUT SLATE

Slate Auto is a new American electric vehicle company building something the industry hasnt seen: a purpose-built affordable EV truck designed for real people. Were in pre-production and moving fast which means every hire shapes the culture and product were building. We believe great design isnt a department; its a competitive advantage.

Our digital experiences from the moment someone discovers a Slate truck online to the day they configure purchase and drive one off the lot are as important to us as the vehicle itself. Were building the online marketplace the ownership app the purchasing flow and the in-vehicle digital experience from the ground up and we need a design leader who can help us do it right.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Were looking for a Director of Digital Experience Design to own the design vision and execution across Slates digital customer and partner facing products: our website and online marketplace the vehicle configurator and purchasing experience the Slate ownership/service mobile app and the in-vehicle digital experience including the instrument cluster.

This is a senior leadership role that sits alongside Product and Software leadership as one of three legs of a stool responsible together for defining what we build how we build it and how it looks feels and works for our customers. Youll set design direction build and scale the team establish the systems and processes that make great design for our digital experiences repeatable and bring creative energy that makes Slate owners genuinely love interacting with their truck

WHAT YOU GET TO DO

Design Leadership & Vision

• Define and drive the design vision for all customer-facing digital touchpoints: web mobile in-vehicle HMI and future experiences
• Translate Slates brand and product strategy into cohesive human-centered design that feels intentional at every interaction
• Ensure design holds a strategic voice at the table advocating for the customer in roadmap conversations sprint reviews and executive discussions
• Set and enforce quality standards across your teams output from early concepts through production delivery

Team Building & Management

• Lead coach and grow a team of UI designers UX designers and copywriters focused on digital product experiences
• Hire thoughtfully to fill gaps in the teams capabilities as Slate scales from pre-launch to post-launch and beyond
• Build a team culture of craft curiosity and direct feedback one that takes design seriously without taking itself too seriously
• Develop career paths and growth frameworks for designers at different levels

Design Systems & Process

• Own and evolve Slates digital design system so that UI components are consistent accessible and reusable across web and native app surfaces
• Scale version-controlled design artifacts component libraries and documentation that allow designers and engineers to work from a single source of truth
• Define and continuously improve the design teams workflow within our agile delivery process: how design fits into sprint cycles when to prototype vs. ship and how to validate decisions quickly
• Drive the adoption of shared tooling (Figma design tokens handoff processes) and ensure consistency in how design artifacts are created reviewed and delivered to engineering
• Scale a lightweight but durable UX research practice user testing usability reviews data-informed iteration that keeps the team grounded in real customer behavior

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Operate as a true partner with Product and Software leaders contributing to roadmap prioritization shaping requirements and resolving design-engineering tradeoffs together
• Collaborate with brand marketing and vehicle design teams to ensure digital experiences feel like a natural extension of the Slate brand distinct in execution cohesive in identity
• Partner with the in-vehicle software team on instrument cluster and HMI experiences applying interaction design rigor to the cockpit alongside safety and regulatory constraints
• Represent design in executive and board-level conversations articulating design rationale and strategic intent to senior stakeholders clearly and confidently

WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TEAM

Required

• 12 years of experience in product design UX or UI design for high volume consumer/customer experiences with at least 5 years in a people leadership role
• A strong portfolio demonstrating end-to-end ownership of complex digital products: strategy research interaction design visual design and delivery
• Deep experience building and maintaining design systems using atomic design principles tokens components documentation and governance
• Proven ability to work as a true partner with product and engineering comfortable in sprint planning backlog grooming and technical tradeoff conversations
• Experience designing for multiple surfaces: web (responsive/adaptive) native mobile (iOS/Android) or embedded or in-vehicle UI
• Mastery of Figma and modern prototyping workflows; experience establishing team-wide design tooling standards
• Experience leading design optimization efforts through a variety of iterative approaches (A/B and multivariate testing) to improve customer experience
• Strong UX research instincts you know when to run a usability test when to look at the data and when to trust your gut
• Excellent communication skills: able to present design decisions to executives collaborate in whiteboard sessions and write clearly about design rationale
• Bachelors degree in Interaction Design Human-Computer Interaction Product Design Graphic Design Computer Science or a related field or equivalent professional experience

Preferred

• Experience leading design of new or scaling e-commerce or digital marketplaces
• Working knowledge of HTML CSS and component-based front-end frameworks (MUI Tailwind etc) enough to speak credibly with engineers about implementation
• Masters degree in HCI Interaction Design or a related field
• Experience scaling a design team from early-stage through a major product launch

Work Authorization Requirement:

Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a permanent basis. We are unable to offer visa sponsorship at this time.

WHY JOIN TEAM SLATE

At Slate were fueled by grit determination and attention to detail. The start-up spirit of ingenuity and resourcefulness move our business forward. Team Slate fosters a culture of excellence innovation and mutual respect and is motivated by shared principles.

• Safety First

• Delight Customers

• One Team

• Relentless Improvement

• Fast Frugal and Scrappy

• Respectful Collaboration

• Positive Legacy

WE WANT TO WORK WITH PEOPLE THAT REFLECT THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH WE OPERATE.

Slate is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We do not discriminate based upon race color religion gender gender identity or expression sexual orientation national origin genetics disability age veteran status marital status parental status cultural background organizational level work styles tenure and life experiences. Or for any other reason.

Slate is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability you may contact us at