Principal Designer

Who You Are:

Ai2 is looking for a Principal Designer to lead our design strategy, visual identity, and user experiences that sets Ai2 as a leader in AI. In this role, you will lead a team that transforms complex AI concepts into visually compelling and intuitive experiences. You will drive high-impact projects, mentor a team of talented designers, and collaborate cross-functionally to shape the future of AI products and user interactions. This role blends strategic vision, hands-on execution, and team leadership, requiring someone who can set the creative direction while still owning specific design deliverables. If you thrive in a fast-paced, innovative environment, and can balance strategic vision with hands-on execution, we'd love to hear from you.

You are a bold, visionary, and creative leader with a strong visual design portfolio, a deep understanding of design principles, and an entrepreneurial mindset. You have a keen eye for design aesthetics, impeccable attention to detail, and an ability to transform complex technical concepts into intuitive and visually compelling experiences. You combine a strategic mindset with hands-on execution and excel in a fast-paced environment. You can both deliver high-quality, high-fidelity designs, as well as help establish Ai2 as a design-forward organization.

Who We Are:

Ai2 is a world-leading AI research and development institute that builds breakthrough AI to solve the world's biggest problems. We deliver real-world impact through large-scale open models, data, artifacts, and AI agents. We are a team of designers within Ai2 that defines how real users interact with our AI models and products. We own the Ai2 Playground that enables users to understand and inspect the inner workings of large language models. We are also working on designs and interaction patterns for the future of AI agents and developing an Earth System platform. We are a small, collaborative team that thrives on diverse perspectives, open communication, and a shared commitment to pushing the boundaries of AI-driven design and technology.

Your Next Challenge:

The essential functions include, but are not limited to the following:

Strategic Leadership & Vision

• Own defining a creative vision and design library that aligns with Ai2's brand and strategy.
• Develop long-term design strategies that elevate our brand and experiences.
• Represent the creative team in strategic meetings with senior leadership, providing insights that shape company direction.

Hands-On Visual & Product Design

• Own end-to-end deliverables for key workstreams, including creating visual designs, detailed user flows, wireframes, mockups, and prototypes.
• Establish and maintain comprehensive design systems, style guides, and UI/UX patterns for consistent visual storytelling.
• Translate complex AI concepts into intuitive, user-centric designs that enhance usability and engagement.
• Utilize data-driven insights and user feedback to refine and iterate on design solutions.

Team Management & Mentorship

• Directly manage and mentor senior product designers and UX researchers, fostering a culture of excellence and innovation.
• Establish and lead a design review process to ensure high-quality deliverables and continuous improvement.
• Facilitate team workshops and brainstorming sessions to drive creative problem-solving.

Collaboration & Cross-Functional Coordination

• Work closely with research, engineering, program management, marketing, and partnership teams to ensure design deliverables meet company goals and user needs.
• Lead initiatives that bridge the gap between design and technology, ensuring creative solutions are both innovative and technically feasible.
• Work with our external PR agency and external business partners as necessary to support project goals.

Project & Process Management

• Oversee multiple design projects from ideation through to execution, ensuring adherence to deadlines and quality standards.
• Manage team budget and resource allocation.
• Conduct post-project reviews to capture insights and foster continuous process improvement.

What You'll Need:

• 10-15+ years of experience in visual design, UX, product design, or related field with a strong portfolio of high-impact projects
• Demonstrated success in a senior creative leadership role in the tech industry
• Proven ability to balance strategic oversight with detailed, hands-on design work
• Deep understanding of user-centered design principles and best practices
• Exceptional communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to influence across various levels and teams in an organization
• Passion for technology, innovation, and design, with an aptitude for translating complex AI concepts into intuitive visual experiences
• Strong leadership capabilities and experience mentoring senior designers
• Exceptional visual design skills with expertise in industry-standard tools (eg. Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, etc).
• Creative thinker, scrappy, and thrives in a fast-paced, innovative environment

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a team member to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position for long periods of time.
• The ability to communicate information and ideas so others will understand. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations.
• The ability to observe details at close range.
• Can work under deadlines.

A Little More About Ai2:

Ai2 is a Seattle based non-profit AI research institute founded in 2014 by the late Paul Allen. Our mission is building breakthrough AI to solve the world's biggest problems. We develop foundational AI research and innovation to deliver real-world impact through large-scale open models, data, robotics, conservation, and beyond.

In addition to Ai2's core mission, we also aim to contribute to humanity through our treatment of each member of the Ai2 Team. Some highlights are:

• We are a learning organization - because everything Ai2 does is ground-breaking, we are learning every day. Similarly, through weekly Ai2 Academy lectures, a wide variety of world-class AI experts as guest speakers, and our commitment to your personal on-going education, Ai2 is a place where you will have opportunities to continue learning alongside your coworkers.
• We value diversity - We seek to hire, support, and promote people from all genders, ethnicities, and all levels of experience regardless of age. We particularly encourage applications from women, non-binary individuals, people of color, members of the LGBTQA+ community, and people with disabilities of any kind.
• We value inclusion - We understand the value that people's individual experiences and perspectives can bring to an organization, and we are building a culture in which all voices are heard, respected and considered.
• We emphasize a healthy work/life balance - we believe our team members are happiest and most productive when their work/life balance is optimized. While we value powerful research results which drive our mission forward, we also value dinner with family, weekend time, and vacation time. We offer generous paid vacation and sick leave as well as family leave.
• We are collaborative and transparent - we consider ourselves a team, all moving with a common purpose. We are quick to cheer our successes, and even quicker to share and jointly problem solve our failures.
• We are in Seattle - and our office is on the water! We have mountains, we have lakes, we have four seasons, we bike to work, we have a vibrant theater scene, and we have so much else. We even have kayaks for you to paddle right outside our front door. We welcome interest from applicants from outside of the United States.
• We are friendly- chances are you will like every one of the 200+ (and growing) people who work here. We do.

Ai2 is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. You may view the related Know Your Rights compliance poster and the Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision by clicking on their corresponding links.

This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before the employer can take any action against you, including terminating your employment. Employers can only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the Form I-9.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to employees and applicants with disabilities to the full extent required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you feel you need a reasonable accommodation pursuant to the ADA, you are encouraged to contact us at recruiting@allenai.org.

Benefits:

• Team members and their families are covered by medical, dental, vision, basic life insurance, basic accidental death and dismemberment insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, and an employee assistance program.
• Team members are able to enroll in our voluntary life insurance program, our voluntary accidental death and dismemberment program, our health savings account plan, our healthcare reimbursement arrangement plan, and our health care and dependent care flexible spending account plans.
• Team members are able to enroll in our company's 401k plan.
• Team members will receive $125 per month to assist with commuting or internet expenses and will also receive $200 per month for fitness and wellbeing expenses.
• Team members will also receive up to ten sick days per year, up to seven personal days per year, up to 20 vacation days per year and twelve paid holidays throughout the calendar year.
• Team members will be able to receive annual bonuses and can participate in the long-term incentive plan.

Note: This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the team members(s) of this position. Team members will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments. All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the team member(s) will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills, or abilities. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an at will relationship.