Head of Product Design

At Acorns, our mission is to look after the financial best interests of the up-and-coming, beginning with the empowering, proud step of micro-investing. How do we accomplish our mission? Our values.

Lead With Heart - With compassion, integrity, and tenacity, inspire yourself and others to move past all previous thresholds of possibility

Make Bold Decisions - We are creating a new world. Be optimistic, adventurous, and courageous. Leap fearlessly into the future

Always Build Trust - Say what you mean, mean what you say, and do what you say you’re going to do. We are all owners. We are one team

Never Stop Growing - Change IS the constant. Stay hungry and curious. Be relentless in the pursuit of progress

Find a way - Never settle, no excuses, nothing is impossible. Just make it happen

Our values guide us, and our mission drives us. Come join us and help deliver financial wellness for the whole family, putting the tools of wealth-making into everyone’s hands.

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Head Product Design | Acorns

Money is deeply emotional; it can make you feel guilty, stressed, jealous, or even angry.  And yet, most financial products are designed like money is just numbers on a screen—ignoring the very real emotions that come with every dollar earned, spent, saved, or invested.

Now, imagine you’re the person tasked with making people feel good about their financial decisions. Not just comfortable, not just confident—but hopeful. That’s not just a design problem; that’s a psychology problem. A storytelling problem. A behavior problem. And solving it will require a leader who understands that great design is about both function and perception.

At Acorns, we’re looking for a Head of Product Design who sees design the way a great architect sees a city: not as isolated buildings but as an intricate, living system of human behavior. You’ll need to lead an environment where ideas move fast, where designers challenge themselves to push beyond “functional” and into the more meaningful. To lead with a great understanding of form, function, and feeling.

And let’s not forget humor. Not just because work should be enjoyable, but because humor gives you perspective. It keeps you humble, reminds you that no idea is too precious to evolve, and helps you build real connections with your team—the kind that makes collaboration feel effortless and creativity thrive.

So, what does this all mean? It means we’re looking for a leader who can connect the dots between human psychology, great design, and financial empowerment. Someone who understands that people don’t just use products—they experience them. Someone who sees design not just as a craft, but as a force for meaningful change.

This isn’t just a job—it’s life’s work, because when people feel in control of their money, they feel more in control of their lives. And when that happens at scale, society changes. If that idea excites you, then we’d love to have you join us.

Acorns is a remote-first organization, offering the flexibility to work remotely while providing optional access to office space in Irvine, CA.

What you will do at Acorns:

• Drive the overall design strategy and vision for your team ensuring alignment with business goals and user needs
• Champion a customer-centric design approach, advocating for the needs and goals of our customers throughout the product development lifecycle
• Oversee the end-to-end design process, from concept development to final product delivery.
• Continuously iterate and improve upon multiple products and features based on user feedback, stakeholder feedback, customer testing, and product experiments

• Ensure design consistency and quality across all consumer-facing products and platforms.

• Foster a culture of creativity, collaboration, and continuous improvement within the design team

• Work shoulder-to-shoulder with designers and key stakeholders to create wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity designs that effectively communicate design ideas and solutions

• Partner with Product Management and Engineering to define product requirements and prioritize design initiatives

What you will bring to Acorns:

• Proven Experience: 12+ years of experience in product design, with a focus on consumer-facing products
• Design Leadership: 5+ years of people management experience, with experience managing a high-performing, dispersed team. Demonstrated experience motivating, supporting, and developing team members to meet performance expectations, and build their careers.
• Portfolio: Strong portfolio showcasing exceptional design skills and a deep understanding of user-centered design principles. Proficiency in Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, and prototyping tools.
• Strategic Mindset: Ability to align company vision and organizational goals with team execution
• Entrepreneurial Spirit: A knack for turning ambiguous ideas into actionable concepts and delivering tangible results, with an innovative and resourceful mindset.
• Action-Oriented Mindset: A bias toward action, demonstrating initiative, decisiveness, and the ability to move projects forward even in uncertain or ambiguous situations.
• Continuous Curiosity: A commitment to lifelong learning and a natural curiosity to explore how to make products better for users. Your openness to feedback and willingness to challenge assumptions will be invaluable to our collective success.
• Deep empathy and passion for our customer and their experience with Acorns
• Exceptional change management capabilities - Comfortable with ambiguity and constant change with the ability to work through complex problems, set priorities, and execute commitments
• Thirst for delivering game-changing products
• Exceptional drive and precision in delivery
• A belief that your work is tied to your life's mission
• Optimistic about the potential of societal change

You are not expected to have experience with all listed requirements. If you feel passionate about Acorns' mission, vision, and values, please apply.

What we offer:

• Competitive salary and stock options
• A comprehensive benefits package for you and your family
• Flexible work location, hours, and paid time off
• 401(k) discretionary match
• Monthly Acorns account contribution & GoHenry account for your family
• Mindfulness and Financial Wellness resources, Headspace and Addition Wealth
• Acorns Career Development Program (Ongoing training sessions, development plans, development check-ins, Cornerstone’s online training platform)
• Roots Leadership Program for Emerging Leaders
• Community week onsite gatherings and various virtual events
• Talented and motivated team members who care deeply about one another, our mission, and our customers.
• The rare opportunity to create a new world. We inspire one another every day to do meaningful work that solves big societal challenges.

About Acorns:

Acorns is a financial wellness app that helps everyday people and families save and invest money for the long term. Since 2014, Acorns has grown into a global company with multiple life stage products serving the needs of kids, teens, adults, and parents. Named one of Time’s “World’s Best Brands of 2024,” Acorns has helped over 13 million people save & invest over $22 billion dollars, much of it from spare change and small amounts.

Management Principles:

• Managers are constantly raising the bar
• Managers ensure all team members have a voice and a path
• No surprises - Managers give and receive feedback early and often
• Managers continuously assess performance action on concerns quickly
• Managers foster a resilient, results-oriented mindset

Compensation Information:

The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $241,000 and $260,500/year; however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a sign-on bonus, equity grants, and discretionary cash bonus awards in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits (including 401(k) eligibility and various paid time off benefits, such as vacation, sick time, and parental leave), dependent on the position offered. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.

If hired, employee will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

Work Authorization:

Acorns participates in E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. For more information about E-Verify, please visit www.e-verify.gov

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