How to hire a product designer

How to hire a product designer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step product designer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a product designer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new product designer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a product designer do?

Post a product designer job for free, promote it for a fee

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your product designer job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a product designer for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect product designer also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   Here's a comparison of product designer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Product Designer	Description	Hourly rate
   Product Designer	Industrial designers develop the concepts for manufactured products, such as cars, home appliances, and toys. They combine art, business, and engineering to make products that people use every day... Show more	$32-73
   Computer Aided Design Designer	A computer-aided design (CAD) designer is responsible for creating plan outlines and project designs for a specific business need. A CAD designer utilizes various technologies and software applications to generate graphic illustrations... Show more	$19-42
   Industrial Design Internship	Industrial design interns will assist in developing product ideas while considering other criteria such as engineering, sales, marketing, and production. Interns are also tasked to come up with creative solutions to customer problems and dissatisfied needs, gather data by testing and validating ideas with the consumer research department, and prepare concept renderings with the right resources for marketing and sales presentation uses... Show more	$22-43

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Sketch
   • Visual Design
   • UI
   • User Research
   • User Experience
   • Interaction Design
   • Prototyping
   • Invision
   • End Design
   • CSS
   • Human Centered Design
   • HTML
   • Prototype
   • Design Process

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage PDM system, updating technical, fit and design information.
   • Lead front-end QA of all major releases, filing, prioritizing and fixing bugs myself.
   • Manage all aspects of production including QC, packaging needs, and adherence to worldwide product standard protocols.
   • Lead FMEA (failure modes and effects analysis) team and DVP (design verification plan) prove-out for system.
   • Provide responsive html layouts using bootstrap and hand code CSS.
   • Design and develop high-fidelity user interface prototypes in HTML, JavaScript, and VBScript base on product requirements.

   More product designer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the product designer job description is a good way to get more applicants. A product designer salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a product designer in Florida may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level product designer. Additionally, a product designer with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average product designer salary

   $102,033yearly

   $49.05 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level product designer salary

   $68,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 29, 2025

   Average product designer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$127,749	$61
   2	Washington	$119,559	$57
   3	Oregon	$111,699	$54
   4	Arizona	$105,002	$50
   5	District of Columbia	$98,216	$47
   6	Massachusetts	$90,554	$44
   7	North Carolina	$90,322	$43
   8	Maine	$87,368	$42
   9	New York	$86,887	$42
   10	Utah	$86,614	$42
   11	Texas	$84,011	$40
   12	Minnesota	$82,167	$40
   13	Virginia	$81,519	$39
   14	Colorado	$81,419	$39
   15	Rhode Island	$79,161	$38
   16	Pennsylvania	$76,612	$37
   17	Oklahoma	$75,856	$36
   18	Illinois	$74,731	$36
   19	Indiana	$71,548	$34
   20	Florida	$71,054	$34

   Average product designer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Netflix	$150,774	$72.49	6
   2	Credit Karma	$150,230	$72.23	3
   3	Meta	$148,454	$71.37	466
   4	Brex	$147,300	$70.82	4
   5	Lyft	$144,063	$69.26
   6	DoorDash	$142,826	$68.67	37
   7	Apple	$141,682	$68.12	78
   8	Google	$141,309	$67.94	106
   9	Coinbase	$140,760	$67.67	985
   10	The Walt Disney Company	$140,026	$67.32	39
   11	Instacart	$139,948	$67.28	4
   12	Getaround	$139,183	$66.91
   13	Wealthfront	$138,364	$66.52
   14	Mixpanel	$137,904	$66.30
   15	Airtable	$137,751	$66.23	5
   16	Yelp	$137,011	$65.87
   17	Discovery	$136,968	$65.85
   18	Addepar	$136,669	$65.71	3
   19	PayPal	$136,583	$65.66	28
   20	Microsoft	$135,402	$65.10	54

4. Writing a product designer job description

   A product designer job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a product designer job description:

   Product designer job description example

   As a designer at Cloudera your main focus is to let your curiosity drive you. You will use your passion and knowledge to create precision-crafted designs that bring simplicity and innovation to our products. The Cloudera Data Platform (CDP) helps customers manage the lifecycle of their data, from the edge to AI. Our data platform delivers unprecedented value to our customers and is key to our overall strategy and success. We need a strong designer to lead the constant improvements and the key components that make the platform valuable for our customers.
   
   You will be leading the full user-centered design process, from user interviews, competitor analysis, mockups, prototyping, validation and inspecting the quality of implementation. Partnering closely with other designers, our incredible product management, and engineering teams to deliver the most usable solutions possible. Additionally, you will work closely with the entire design team to improve our process, our design system, and our design culture. The culture of the Cloudera Design team is human first, we actively seek to grow each person's career through outside education and candid compassionate feedback from other experienced designers.
   In this position you will…
   
   Design user flows, diagrams, wireframes, and designs to satisfy product requirements.Create high-fidelity visual designs and/or prototypes that demonstrate user flows.Deliver pixel-level specs and supporting assets to the development team.Participate in design reviews to collect feedback from designers and stakeholders. Facilitate collaborative workshops that unlock innovation.Iterate on existing application features to improve usability and drive key metrics.Assist in the planning and estimating of design activities, participating in broader. workflow coordination and setting of expectations.Conduct product research and usability studies.Dive deep into domain research, understanding the customers and the technology.Conduct competitive analysis of other products and services.Contribute to and maintain design pattern libraries.
   
   You have…
   
   5+ years of professional experience in UX design, UI design, product design, and/or web application design.Self-starter with excellent time management skills and ability to handle multiple projects with shifting priorities.Portfolio exhibiting the ability to conceptualize and demonstrate visual communication skills. Examples of process and design approaches are highly recommended.Strong understanding of user centered design processes and methodology, particularly as applied to enterprise software, PAAS, and SAAS applications.Mastery of design principles with a firm understanding of grid systems, typography, and color. A strong attention to detail and consistency in design.Strong collaborator experienced in working with cross-functional, international teams.Proficient in Figma, Sketch, Zeplin, Adobe Creative Cloud, and associated prototyping tools.Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a relevant field is required. Excellent verbal and written English communication skills are required.
   
   You might also have…
   
   Experience in coordinating and conducting usability studies.Working knowledge of HTML, CSS, front-end javascript frameworks, and mobile centric design patterns.Proficient in conducting qualitative and quantitative research.
   Experience designing for data streaming, data warehousing, machine learning and AI applications.
   Knowledge and experience with animation and motion graphics.
   
   If you are ready to have a game changing impact, this is the job for you. If this position has piqued your interest and you have what we described - we invite you to apply! Your adventure in big data awaits.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find product designers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your product designer job on Zippia to find and attract quality product designer candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit product designers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new product designer

   Once you've selected the best product designer candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new product designer. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a product designer?