Product Designer

About the Company

Beacon AI is a fast-paced team of aviators, engineers, and operators creating an AI platform aimed at improving aviation safety, efficiency, and capability. The company is backed by leading investors, has won twelve Department of Defense contracts, and works with major airlines on mission-critical systems. It favors small, autonomous teams over rigid processes so people can move quickly, learn rapidly, and build with a strong sense of ownership.

Role Summary

The company is hiring a Product Designer to help define how pilots engage with AI inside the cockpit. This role focuses on creating clear, fast, and precise experiences in an environment where design directly affects safety. It is an opportunity to help shape a product from an early stage in one of the most consequential areas of technology.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the complete product design workflow for Beacon AI’s pilot assistant, covering discovery, user research, wireframing, prototyping, and final specifications for engineering.
• Run research and usability tests with pilots and aviation experts to understand workflows, decision-making patterns, and safety-sensitive requirements.
• Turn complex AI outputs and alerts into interfaces that are immediately understandable and usable in demanding cockpit conditions.
• Create and evolve a design system that keeps the product consistent, efficient, and scalable.
• Work closely with engineering and product-minded teammates to deliver refined experiences in iterative releases.
• Support brand and visual identity work when needed, including marketing assets and web presentation.

What You Bring

• Background as a lone or founding designer who has owned projects from start to finish and helped take products from idea to launch without large-team structure.
• Strong product design judgment with the ability to move from research and strategy into polished execution.
• Advanced comfort with Figma and ownership of design systems.
• A habit of questioning the problem before jumping to visual solutions, including the confidence to challenge weak briefs.
• Comfort working through ambiguity, complexity, and evolving requirements.
• Interest in aviation, aerospace, or other safety-critical environments.

Preferred Background

• At least 3 years of product design experience, ideally on complex, data-intensive, or safety-critical products such as aviation, aerospace, defense, medical devices, or enterprise software.
• Strong portfolio showing full-cycle product design work and familiarity with modern design tools such as Figma.
• Experience designing AI-enabled products and making machine-generated insights feel reliable and intuitive.
• Exposure to motion design, micro-interactions, or basic HTML and CSS.

Work Location

This is a hybrid position based in San Carlos, California. The role requires 3 or more days onsite each week, with remote work allowed on the remaining days.

Benefits

• Medical coverage: the company pays 100% of employee medical premiums and 25% of dependent premiums.
• Paid time off: 3 weeks of PTO plus more than 13 paid company holidays.
• Monthly phone and wellness stipends.
• 401(k) availability, with no current employer match and stated plans to improve this benefit in the future.

Eligibility

Because of U.S. export control rules, the employer can hire only U.S. Persons, including U.S. citizens, Green Card holders, lawful permanent residents, and people granted asylum or refugee status. Visa sponsorship and visa transfer support are not available, and all work must be performed within the United States.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Beacon AI is an equal opportunity employer and does not base hiring decisions on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. The company also prohibits harassment and discrimination and follows applicable federal, state, and local employment laws.