UI/UX Design Manager

About Puffy and the Opportunity

Puffy is a leading direct-to-consumer mattress brand with over $1 billion in sales, ranking among the top five US mattress companies. We are pioneering an AI-first design approach since December 2023, incorporating AI into live design pipelines and processes. We are seeking a UI/UX Design Manager to fully own the design function for Puffy.com, guiding the design system, AI-first workflows, conversion optimization, and the design team with a direct reporting line to the CEO. This leadership role offers a fast-track career progression from Design Manager to Director and VP of Design within 1-2 years, an accelerated timeline compared to industry norms.

Role Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the entire design system spanning IA, wireframes, high-fidelity comps, prototypes, and motion specifications across multiple site components such as Home, Category/PLP, PDP, Cart/Checkout, editorial, and paid-media landing pages.
• Maintain design tokens and components that ensure brand consistency in AI-generated variants and determine the incorporation of AI tools, guardrails, and human QA within the design pipeline.
• Ensure quality standards of design handoff through developer modes and structured specs, track regressions post-launch, and translate design and experimentation outcomes into strategic narratives for CEO-level roadmap discussions.
• Develop and enforce an AI-first workflow for the design team, streamlining handoff times by 40%, creating prompt libraries, and integrating AI reviews for varied content types such as product copy, FAQs, and localized materials.
• Design conversational shopping features including natural-language search, guided finders, and product page Q&A in collaboration with engineering.
• Own on-site recommendation UI components including placement, card density, explanatory microcopy, and "why this" affordances.
• Execute a comprehensive CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) roadmap involving A/B and multivariate testing focused on improving add-to-cart metrics.
• Integrate WCAG 2.2 accessibility standards into the design system with AI-assisted audits supplemented by manual review.
• Shift team operations from sequential workflows to agile practices, including kickoff meetings, resourcing, and team mentorship.

Candidate Requirements

• 7 to 10 years of experience in web design for e-commerce, including at least 4 years managing and mentoring design teams.
• A proven portfolio demonstrating shipped PDP, PLP, and Checkout design improvements linked to measurable business results.
• Expertise in Figma--including components, variables, and Dev Mode--combined with strong visual design, motion craft, and responsive design skills.
• Experience integrating Generative AI tools into professional design pipelines, knowledgeable in prompt engineering, quality assurance, and brand governance.
• Familiarity with AI-driven UX patterns such as conversational search interfaces, assistant UIs, and recommendation modules, plus their measurement and analysis.
• Comfort working collaboratively on experimentation frameworks (A/B testing and multi-armed bandits) with growth teams and an understanding of balancing optimization speed with causal clarity.
• Working knowledge of WCAG 2.2 accessibility standards and SEO fundamentals for structured content and schema within e-commerce contexts.
• Desirable: Experience designing chat or guided-selling workflows.

Company Culture and Traits

• Ownership oriented: Employees are treated as owners accountable for results rather than mere activity.
• Fast decision-making and execution: Thrive in high-pressure environments by quickly making thoughtful decisions.
• Commitment to excellence: Solve complex challenges and push creative boundaries.
• AI-first mentality: Engage daily with multi-turn AI interactions driving assumptions and innovation.
• Team commitment: Rally as a unified team when mission-critical demands arise.

Compensation and Benefits

• Total annual compensation up to $132,000 USD including base salary and a monthly performance bonus of up to 10% of base salary.
• Annual salary reviews conducted every January.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance benefits depending on country of hire.
• Generous paid time off policies including public holidays.
• Flexible remote-first work environment with access to an AI-native tool stack and global collaboration across 16+ nationalities.
• Professional development and learning opportunities.
• Recognition programs including eligibility for elite leadership memberships, company-wide celebrations, and monthly awards with gift vouchers.

Location and Work Setup

This is a fully remote role with optional on-site work from Puffy's Dubai headquarters, which offers zero percent income tax. Relocation assistance and visa sponsorship will be provided if desired.