Overview

Join to apply for the Product Design Director role at Intercom.

Intercom is the AI Customer Service company on a mission to help businesses provide incredible customer experiences. Our AI agent Fin lets businesses deliver always-on, impeccable customer service and, when combined with our Helpdesk, provides AI-enhanced support through the Intercom Customer Service Suite. Intercom is trusted by thousands of global businesses and aims to push boundaries, build with speed, and deliver incredible value to customers.

We are a design-driven, AI-first technology company. Fin, our AI Agent, is the best-performing and most widely adopted AI service agent, and our product is used by millions. Our design team plays a critical role in making it world-class.

Why you should join Intercom today: AI is transforming everything—fast. We’re at the forefront, shaping the AI Agent category and redefining customer service with Fin. Design is changing rapidly in the age of AI, and our designers are at the forefront of defining this new role.

At Intercom, design is in our DNA. With 60+ designers across R&D and Brand, you’ll lead from the start, shaping products that millions of people interact with daily. If you want to work on cutting-edge AI experiences that push the boundaries of product design, this is a great place to be.

Role purpose

This year, we’re doubling down on craft, execution, and design leadership. We’re hiring a Product Design Director to lead the centralised design team focused on building Fin. This is a build-and-scale role aimed at breakout success in the major new category of AI Agents for Customer Support. You’ll partner with product and engineering leaders to define and ship what’s next.

Must Have Experience

• Leading and growing high-performing design teams in product-first companies.
• Hiring, coaching, and developing designers at all levels—from IC to leaders/managers.
• Owning execution across a primary product line and a portfolio of features; driving design excellence in every detail.
• Partnering deeply with Product and Engineering leadership to align on priorities, make tradeoffs, and move fast.
• Thriving in ambiguous, fast-changing environments and turning chaos into clarity.
• A track record of driving a team to ship great software, not just making decks about it.
• Strong visual sensibility, high standards for craft, and an eye for detail.
• Demonstrated product taste—helping teams achieve great design outcomes.

Who This Role Is Not For

• People who need certainty, full specs, or clear org charts to get started.
• Leaders who lean back and wait for direction, rather than leaning in and making things happen.
• Those who settle for “good enough”—this role seeks the extra 10% that makes a product unforgettable.
• Anyone wedded to structures and systems from five years ago; we’re rewriting how software is built and you’ll help shape the next decade.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and inspire a team of designers and design leaders across multiple product surfaces.
• Partner with Product and Engineering leadership to lead a product division—aligning strategy, guiding decisions, and unblocking delivery.
• Set and uphold a high bar for craft—from UX flow to pixels to polish.
• Solve problems from first principles, not templates.
• Help the team make hard decisions, move fast, and focus on outcomes over process.
• Be a design quality amplifier—notice details others miss and push the work to where it needs to be.
• Build a healthy, high-trust team culture grounded in feedback, growth, and ownership.
• Stay hands-on in the work—review designs, participate in critiques, and drive clarity.

What Success Looks Like

• Your team delivers high-quality product work at speed—consistently.
• You hire exceptional talent and help your team grow.
• You’ve partnered with other design leaders and operations to implement the right level of structure and rigor for success.
• Product and engineering leadership enjoy partnering with you, unlocking forward progress and raising ambition.
• Designers solve meaningful customer problems and push the final 10% of craft.
• You’re a key player in shaping how the entire company builds product in the AI era—creating new playbooks, not simply following existing ones.

Interview Process

We aim to be thorough, speedy, and transparent. The interview process is designed to be completed in about 4 weeks from start to finish, with opportunities to meet various team members and thoroughly validate fit.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and equity in a fast-growing startup
• Lunch provided on weekdays, snacks, and a fully stocked kitchen
• Regular compensation reviews
• Pension scheme with matching up to 4%
• Health and dental insurance for you and dependents
• Flexible paid time off
• Paid maternity leave and 6 weeks of paternity leave
• Cycle-to-Work scheme with secure bike storage
• MacBooks standard; Windows available for certain roles

Policies

Intercom has a hybrid working policy. We expect in-office presence at least three days per week to stay connected and collaborative, while still offering flexibility for remote work. We maintain a radically open and accepting culture and focus on doing incredible work. Intercom values diversity and is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, creed, national origin, sex, gender, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, or any other protected basis under applicable law.

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