Head of Product Design (UI/UX, AI-Forward) - Contractor Role

Head of Product Design (UI/UX, AI-Forward) - Contractor

Downstream · Open to employees in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom

About Downstream

Downstream is transforming the construction industry by building a marketplace for equipment rentals, portable toilets, and roll-off dumpsters. We are scaling fast. Our vision: bring price transparency, automation, and intelligence into one of the most manual, underserved verticals in the economy.

We’re inspired by clean design and modern architecture—and we’re pushing forward with AI-native product thinking, not bolting it on later.

The Role

We’re hiring a Head of Product Design (UI/UX) who is obsessed with creating intuitive, elegant, and impactful user experiences. You’ve shipped something before—whether at a startup that scaled, a product that users loved, or a platform that redefined a workflow. You know the pain of turning complex problems into simple, usable solutions, and you want another shot at shaping an industry from 0 → 1.

At Downstream, you’ll work directly with our CEO, CTO, and Product team to:

• Define and own the design vision for our marketplace, supplier tools, and customer experience.
• Lead end-to-end design for web and mobile, including UX flows, UI systems, and visual identity.
• Architect AI-native product experiences that feel intuitive, not artificial—helping users trust automation and agents in critical workflows.
• Collaborate with engineers and product managers to ship fast: prototype, test, iterate, and refine.
• Build and scale our design system so we can move quickly without sacrificing quality.

Responsibilities

• Drive the product design strategy across customer, supplier, and internal platforms.
• Build and maintain UI/UX standards that reflect simplicity, trust, and efficiency.
• Design AI-native experiences—where agentic systems interact seamlessly with users, data, and decisions.
• Conduct user research and usability testing with construction industry stakeholders.
• Mentor and grow a design team as we scale.

What We’re Looking For

• Battle-tested designer: You’ve shipped real products (startup, marketplace, SaaS, or similar).
• AI-forward mindset: You don’t just add AI—you design around it, making it feel natural and empowering.
• Builder’s DNA: Comfortable with ambiguity, speed, and iteration. You’ve felt the pain of building in the real world and still want more.
• Technical & design skills:
• UI/UX design (Figma, Sketch, or equivalent)
• Strong UX research and prototyping chops
• Design systems and component libraries
• Understanding of modern frontend frameworks (bonus: Flutter, React)
• Experience designing for AI interactions (chat, agents, workflows)
• Startup mentality: Hands-on, resourceful, willing to go beyond your job title.
• Industry experience: Construction tech or marketplaces a huge plus—someone who can empathize with our users.

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience in marketplaces, logistics, SaaS, or fintech.
• Familiarity with B2B workflows and procurement tools.
• Contributions to open-source design systems or AI products.

Why Downstream

• Early-stage, high-growth startup with real traction.
• Work with a small, sharp, and ambitious product + engineering team.
• Opportunity to shape AI-native product experiences in an industry that hasn’t seen this level of innovation before.
• Competitive salary + equity