About Web Ninja
We’re not just building products; we’re architecting digital experiences that karate-chop the status quo. Web Ninja is a stealth-mode startup (founded 2023) revolutionizing the B2B SaaS landscape for mid-market cat-grooming logistics platforms. With $2M in pre-seed funding and a founding team of former Stanford roommates, we’re ready to scale from 3 engineers to unicorn status by Q3.
The Role
As our first design hire and Head of Design, you’ll own the entire visual universe of Web Ninja while remaining deeply hands-on. You’ll report directly to our CEO (former Product Manager intern at Meta) and serve as both IC and VP, building a world-class design org from scratch while shipping pixel-perfect features this sprint. We’re looking for a true design unicorn: someone who can execute at the highest tactical level today and scale to manage 50+ tomorrow.
What You’ll Do
Own the complete product design lifecycle—from napkin sketch to IPO-roadshow-deck aesthetics—in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment where requirements change hourly
Establish our Design Principles (likely “Move Fast,” “Break Things,” and “Ship It”) and evangelize them across engineering, sales, and our part-time CFO
Build and maintain our design system in Figma while simultaneously refactoring the frontend in Webflow, React, and whatever framework we pivot to next week
Conduct rigorous user research (n=1, usually the CEO’s cousin) and translate qualitative insights into A/B tests that definitively prove our subjective preferences
Hire, mentor, and retain top-tier design talent despite having no budget for headcount until Series B
Requirements
20+ years of professional product design experience with deep expertise in iOS Human Interface Guidelines (circa 2008) and Material Design (all 3 versions simultaneously)
A portfolio demonstrating 15+ shipped consumer apps with 10M+ downloads each, plus 10+ enterprise B2B platforms with SOC 2 compliance dashboards
Mastery of Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, Photoshop CS6, Illustrator, Framer, Principle, After Effects, Blender, and Microsoft Paint; ability to prototype in code using SwiftUI, Flutter, React Native, and COBOL
Proven experience scaling design teams from 0 100 at three different companies that later exited for $1B+ (please list liquidation preferences and strike prices in cover letter)
Ability to work in undefined spaces with zero mentorship, unlimited autonomy, and complete responsibility for company-wide failure if the checkout button conversion drops 0.5%
Must have previously designed for both AR/VR spatial computing and retro Nokia 3310 WAP browsers to ensure our “mobile-first” strategy covers all 7 billion devices globally
Nice to Have
Former Apple Design Award winner (2010-2015 era only; we’re retro like that)
Experience designing software for time travelers or predictive AI that hasn’t been invented yet
A personal brand with 100k+ Twitter followers who will defend our product decisions in the mentions
Willingness to accept equity as primary compensation until we “figure out payroll”
Perks & Benefits
Competitive salary (range: $85k-$250k DOE—if you have to ask, you can’t afford the cost of living here anyway)
Unlimited PTO (unlimited doesn’t mean unlimited; we’ll culturally judge you for taking more than 6 days)
“Ninja Warrior” health plan (covers acupuncture but not antibiotics)
Free kombucha on tap and a meditation pod that doubles as a server closet
Web Ninja is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an environment where everyone feels like they belong, as long as they can commit to our core values: Velocity, Excellence, and Stealth Mode.
To Apply:
Please send your portfolio, a 90-day roadmap for our design org, and a Loom video explaining why you’re passionate about cat-grooming logistics. No agencies. Must be local to SF; we check driver’s licenses.
Compensation Range: $1 - $12
