Design Lead / Head of Design

Epoch AI is looking for a Design Lead or Head of Design to lead UI/UX and data visualization at Epoch AI. This role involves managing our design team; translating complex research into intuitive, engaging designs; and setting the direction for how our work is perceived and used by researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders. 

We are looking for a senior designer to lead our team and help us communicate our research. You will take ownership of our design work, building our website and creating dashboards. This work is key for our engagement with the research community and policymakers, and directly impacts how our research is understood.

You’ll report directly to our COO, manage a team of 3–4, and partner closely with leadership, communications, web development, and research teams to set design direction.

This role is remote, and we are able to hire in many countries, but we are only considering candidates based in North and South American timezones. We invite anyone who is interested to apply, regardless of background, experience, or credentials. Please do not include a cover letter, photograph, or headshot of yourself, or any personal information that is not relevant to the role for which you're applying (including marital status, age, identity traits, etc.).

Applications are rolling.

Responsibilities

• Manage 3–4 other designers, and part-time contributors
• Define and own strategy across our website and data products 
• Establish design processes and quality standards for the organization 
• Lead design projects end-to-end, from problem definition through delivery
• Design responsive user interfaces and graphs 
• Conduct user research to help us understand audience interests and how they use our research
• Create design specifications, mock-ups, and prototypes while contributing to our design library

What we’re looking for

• 5+ years of experience designing interactive digital products, including leading projects
• Experience managing a team of designers
• Fluency in interpreting data visualizations and statistical insights, to communicate topics in AI to non-expert audiences
• A portfolio demonstrating experience in UI/UX and data visualization
• Ability to work independently, set priorities, and lead design work in a fast-paced environment
• Strong grasp of typography, color, and layout 
• Ability to work comfortably in Figma, including auto-layout and components
• Experience establishing or maintaining a design system
• Prior familiarity with Epoch AI’s work

Nice to have

• Experience with scientific communication
• Experience in illustration, branding
• Familiarity with front-end development, HTML + CSS + JS
• Experience with Python libraries like Matplotlib/Plotly or other data visualization programming tools
• Good written communication skills

If you don’t tick all these boxes but think you would be a great fit, please consider applying anyway!

Compensation & Benefits

• Annual salary between $150,000–$220,000 USD, depending on location and experience. 
• Salaries are not restricted to USD, and contracts and payments are usually in local currencies. Conversions are based on one-year average exchange rates. 
• Remote environment, including flexible work hours. 
• Competitive global benefits program, including a comprehensive health insurance program—including supplemental benefits specific to a local country, as available and mandated by local law—and life insurance and a pension plan, if applicable in your country. 
• Generous paid time off (PTO), including no specific limit on PTO with 30 days per year protected, unlimited personal and sick leave, and 4 months paid parental leave for permanent staff with at least 12 months of tenure (prorated parental leave if less than 12 months). 
• A flexible and generous expense policy for you to spend on equipment and a large range of productivity tools or learning/development opportunities you might find valuable, subject to regulations and manager approval. 
• Access to our very well-equipped offices in Berkeley, California, including paid meals and a gym, or reimbursement for coworking space in your area, if desired. 

Additional Information

We welcome applicants from all North/South American time zones. We also prefer candidates who can travel: we hold three retreats per year, during which we record podcast episodes and other communication efforts. 

Please submit all of your application materials in English and note that we require professional level English proficiency. 

Epoch is committed to building an inclusive, equitable, and supportive community for you to thrive and do your best work. We’re committed to finding the best people for our team, so please don’t hesitate to apply for a role regardless of your age, gender identity/expression, political identity, personal preferences, physical abilities, veteran status, neurodiversity or any other background. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions about this role, accessibility requests, or if you want to request an extension to the application deadline. However, we will not review applications submitted to this email address; please submit your application through the link on this page.  

Epoch AI is a research institute that investigates trends in machine learning and the economic consequences of AI. Our mission is to develop a comprehensive, publicly accessible knowledge base on AI that informs policymakers, industry leaders, and society at large. 

We strive to achieve both rigor and accessibility to our work, as exemplified by some of our most successful projects, including our database of AI models and our AI trends dashboard. Our body of research includes our work on compute trends (IJCN 2022), data scarcity (ICML 2024), and algorithmic progress (NeurIPS 2024). You can read more about our work and mission on our website and in this Time profile.