Government technology has failed the public for decades, and Americans have been conditioned to expect websites from the 90s for essential public services.
Kaizen exists to strengthen trust in American public services by building technology that residents and public servants are proud to use. We partner with local, state, and federal agencies to replace legacy systems with modern, AI-native software that is worthy of the people they serve. We started in outdoor recreation, and now we're building toward something much larger — the software layer that powers how Americans access any government service.
Our platform already reaches 40 million residents across 50+ agencies in 17 states.
Founded in 2022 and based in New York City, Kaizen has raised $35 million from NEA, a16z, Accel, 776, and Carpenter Capital. We're builders, designers, and operators who believe that beautifully designed software shouldn’t be a luxury in government. It’s how you earn trust back.
This is a hybrid role based out of our New York City HQ. Candidates must reside in New York or be able to commute to New York City to work out of our office at least three times a week (Tuesdays - Thursdays).
As the fourth design hire at Kaizen, you’ll report to the Design Lead and play a foundational role in crafting exceptional user experiences for government staff and members of the public. This high-agency opportunity will allow you to impact every aspect of design at the company: from scoping and shipping products with our engineers, to building innovative prototypes for the sales team, to creating marketing assets as we evolve our brand. In true startup fashion, you’ll wear many hats, including partnering closely with our implementation team on customer deployments and helping to define our product roadmap strategically.
Lead design work end-to-end, including:
Driving research and discovery sessions with our customers
Writing clear, well-scoped product requirement documents
Designing and iterating upon high-fidelity flows and prototypes
Collaborating side-by-side with our wonderful engineering team to bring the work to life
Contributing to Trailmix, our internal design system
Partner with our implementation team on critical customer deployments by providing hands-on project management, product strategy, and customer communications
Work with the business development team to define the future of the product with robust prototyping for RFP responses and demos
Work with the leadership team to create marketing assets for socials, one-pagers for conferences, and other branded materials
4-6 years of experience in product design, preferably in a high-growth startup or agency environment
Experience designing administrative tooling
Experience designing scalable solutions for SaaS products for desktop and mobile
Experience in client services and excitement to work directly with customers
Proficiency in Figma for both design and prototyping
Workflows powered with AI tooling (ChatGPT, Figma Make, Lovable, etc.)
Experience with AI coding tools like Cursor to make your own contributions to the codebase
Comprehensive medical through Oxford/United - Gold and Platinum PPO plans, with 85% of premiums covered on the Platinum plan and a $0 employee premium option. Dental through Guardian PPO and vision through Beam, with 99% of employee premiums covered and 50% for dependents.
$100,000 in fully paid life insurance. FSA and Dependent Care FSA. 401(k) access through Guideline.
16 weeks of fully paid parental leave for birthing parents. 10 weeks fully paid for non-birthing parents.
Unlimited PTO & closed for all federal holidays.
Company-wide winter break the week of Christmas.
One-time home office or desk setup stipend up to $750.
$50/month commuter benefit.
$100/month for wellness or productivity - your call on how you use it!
$500/year for professional development.
$250/year for recreation.
Company-provided laptop.
Expensed lunch while in the office.
Kaizen is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. If you need an accommodation during the interview process, email us at careers@kaizenlabs.co.
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