Director of Design

The posting, as Propel wrote it

ABOUT US

Propel builds technology that strengthens the social safety net in America. We envision a future where every American has the tools and resources they need to thrive.

The safety net's strength depends not just on funding, but delivery. Propel exists to dramatically improve how government benefits are delivered. Managing SNAP benefits, picking a D-SNP plan, or protecting against EBT theft should feel as seamless as Apple Pay or Netflix.

Governments struggle to build modern, scalable user experiences. We don't.

Over 5 million Americans trust Propel today. We've grown revenue 35% YoY and are reinventing entire benefit categories, including Medicare, around the real needs of low-income Americans. We're building a high-growth, high-ceiling, sustainable for-profit company where impact drives revenue.

THE ROLE

Propel's mission is to improve how government benefits are delivered and help low-income Americans strengthen their financial health. Millions of households use our app to check an EBT balance, track a SNAP deposit, protect their benefits from theft, or choose a Medicare plan, and they should get an experience that is fast, dignified, and worthy of the stakes. Most software built for these families falls short of that.

Closing the gap is our market opportunity, and it gives design unusual leverage: much of the work is turning rules written for administrators into something the people they govern can understand and act on.

We're looking for a Director of Design with strong taste who can tie design decisions to revenue, retention, and company priorities, and who will define what design means at an AI-native company. This person will report to our Head of Product and be a core member of EPD leadership.

Here's how you'll impact the company

• Lead a senior, autonomous design team. You'll lead a team of seven designers, five of them at Staff or Principal level, with backgrounds at Figma, Facebook, Uber, and Duolingo. The team covers product design, content design, and design research, so you'll work across the full range of how users experience Propel. You'll own the team's coaching, growth, performance, and hiring. You'll own our design rituals, and build on them rather than inherit them. With a team this experienced, you will need to ensure your bar for craft and judgement stay high, so your feedback is specific and useful to the team.
• Make the case for design debt and get it paid down. You’ll define why it matters to our users and the business, decide which pieces are worth fixing first, and build the support to get them done. That means making the tradeoffs clear enough that product and engineering leads choose to invest, and finding ways to make progress that don’t depend only on other teams giving up roadmap time.
• Improve our product development process. Collaborate with product and engineering leadership to improve organizational decision-making. We want a divergent thinker who challenges our frameworks, sys

[…]
OPEL

Propel is a technology company that's strengthening the social safety net for people who receive government benefits. Over 5 million Americans trust the free, modern Propel app to manage their government benefits, save money, and get updates when their benefits change. We've also partnered with renowned institutions and organizations like Vote.org http://Vote.org, GoFundMe, and GiveDirectly.

Propel is a for-profit, venture-backed company that holds its social mission at its core. We're proud to be supported by a blend of nonprofits, impact investors, and world-class investors including the Robin Hood Foundation, Andreessen Horowitz, Nyca Partners, Financial Health Network, JPMorganChase, Kevin Durant, Serena Williams, and Nas.

Learn more about our impact from the press

• Fintech Company Propel Announces $10 Million Fund For Food Stamp Recipients Affected By Government Shutdown https://www.forbes.com/sites/juliegoldenberg/2025/10/30/fintech-company-propel-announces-10-million-fund-for-food-stamp-recipients-affected-by-government-shutdown/
• Late Show With Stephen Colbert http://linkedin.com/posts/givedirectly_help-feed-snap-families-missing-their-benefits-activity-7391501043743870977-UeOM
• How to Propel the Fight Against Poverty in America https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJpjAwxAciA
• How Tech is Helping Poor People Get Government Aid https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/08/us/politics/safety-net-apps-tech.html
• Propel Routes Money to those Who Need it Most https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2020/04/03/fintech-apps-offer-first-aid-for-hardest-hit-consumers/
• How one tech startup is giving cash to SNAP recipients https://www.npr.org/2025/11/04/nx-s1-5587728/snap-shutdown-propel-tech-startup-cash-donations
• How hunger relief groups say you can help feed your neighbors during the shutdown and beyond https://apnews.com/article/food-banks-snap-benefits-freeze-3c232305bfe0fbaea9efc795c8c07a99

Join us, and let's build something amazing together!