Instrument - Product Designer Contract (Senior Design Director)

Product Designer is needed in United States.

Client: Instrument

Location: United States

Contract: Contract

Job Description

Instrument is a digitally native design and technology company that partners with leading brands to create impactful digital experiences across Brand, Marketing, and Product.

Instrument is seeking experienced freelance Product Designers to support upcoming digital product and experience projects. Work may include designing customer- or athlete-facing experiences, translating visual direction into scalable templates and components, and building or documenting design systems.

You will collaborate with designers, strategists, technologists, producers, engineers, and clients to turn complex user journeys into clear, useful, and high-quality digital experiences. Depending on your level, you may own a major workstream, strengthen a design system, or provide hands-on creative leadership across a team.

The role is open to Senior Product Designers and Design Directors. Senior Designers will independently manage complex design work and contribute to systems and critiques. Design Directors will additionally guide creative direction, mentor designers, maintain a high quality standard, and build strong relationships with senior client partners.

Responsibilities include:

• Design polished digital product experiences for desktop and mobile.
• Translate user journeys, product requirements, and creative direction into flows, interfaces, and prototypes.
• Create, scale, and document component-based design systems, patterns, specifications, and reusable assets.
• Apply design systems consistently while identifying gaps and improvement opportunities.
• Balance user needs, brand expression, technical feasibility, accessibility, and delivery constraints.
• Present work and clearly explain design decisions to internal and client audiences.
• Collaborate with engineers during implementation to maintain design quality.
• For Design Director engagements, guide workstream direction, mentor designers, and support senior client relationships.

Requirements

• Significant experience designing digital products, services, platforms, or complex responsive web experiences.
• A portfolio demonstrating strong visual design, UX expertise, systems thinking, and personal contributions to projects.
• Experience taking complex problems or user journeys and developing cohesive digital experiences.
• Advanced proficiency in Figma, including components, variables, libraries, prototyping, and documentation.
• Experience creating or scaling practical, reusable design systems.
• Ability to work from strategy, information architecture, or established creative direction and apply it across connected experiences.
• Strong understanding of accessibility and inclusive, usable design across devices.
• Ability to work independently, manage a defined workstream, and communicate proactively.
• Strong collaboration skills with designers, strategists, technologists, producers, engineers, and clients.
• Design Director candidates should also demonstrate hands-on creative leadership, mentoring experience, and confidence guiding teams and clients.

Please provide a portfolio featuring product, platform, responsive web, or design systems work.

Contract Details and Benefits

• Expected contract pay range: $61–$120 per hour.
• Compensation varies based on location, experience, and skill set.
• Regional cost-of-living pay ranges apply: US1 +15%, US2 +7.5%, and US3 base rate.
• Benefits may be available in accordance with applicable law and company policy, based on factors such as hours worked and assignment duration.