Design Lead

Company: Highnote
Location: San Francisco
Posted on: February 16, 2026

Job Description:

Job Description Job Description About Highnote Founded in 2020 by a team of leaders from Braintree, PayPal, and Lending Club, Highnote is an embedded finance company that sets the standard in modern card platform management. As an all-in-one card issuer processor and program management platform, we provide digital-first organizations with the flexibility to seamlessly issue and process payment cards, embed virtual and physical card payments, and integrate ledger and wallet functionalities—empowering businesses to drive growth and profitability. We've raised $145M and have grown our team to 125 employees. Headquartered in San Francisco, we've managed to build one of the most advanced payments teams in the industry, with team members in 25 US states. Operating through our core values of customer obsession, executional excellence, intentional inclusion, we're helping businesses grow for the future by creating the payment products demanded by tomorrow, with the ability to solve for use cases that don't exist yet. We are fast-moving, hands-on, and strongly believe everyone deserves a seat at the table. We believe we're unlocking incredible opportunities that can change the future of payments, as long as we have the right people to make it happen. Job Description Highnote is seeking a Design Lead to help build and shape the future of our embedded finance platform. This is a senior, hands-on leadership role for a designer who thrives at the intersection of product design, brand vision, and team leadership. You'll blend execution with strategy by owning design across product, brand, and go-to-market surfaces, while also managing and mentoring other designers. This role will play a critical role in defining how Highnote's products are experienced, understood, and adopted. This position offers high autonomy, deep trust, and the opportunity to help scale design at a fast-growing fintech. This role is open to senior levels. A portfolio or links to relevant design work is required for consideration. What we are looking for 10 years of experience in product design both leading and building teams. 2 years of experience managing and growing a design team. Expertise in product systems, user experience, and technical design, ideally within financial or payments domains. Demonstrated impact on product strategy, user experience, and business outcomes in high-scale environments. Experience working closely with Product, Engineering, and Marketing leaders to define vision, strategy, and metrics for success. Exceptional communication and storytelling skills, with the ability to connect design vision to customer and business impact. Excited to work on and lead a broad range of products from developer platforms to marketing campaigns. Must have great taste and a high bar for quality. Why Highnote? We're a startup that allows for our employees to truly build from the ground up and impact every layer of our organization. We're a team of payments obsessed individuals. While some of us come from the fintech world, some of us don't. We value the varied backgrounds and the diverse perspectives of our employees. We're small on hierarchy and big on growth. We're a flat organization that allows everyone to have direct exposure to our leadership team. We are looking for builders who thrive in ambiguity. We're backed by Oak HC/FT, Costanoa Ventures, Adams Street Partners, Westcap, and Pinegrove Venture Partners. Angel Investors include Bill Ready (CEO at Pinterest) and Renaud Laplanche (Co-Founder & CEO of Upgrade). Highnote benefits Flexible Paid Time Off 100% healthcare coverage 75% coverage for dependents 401k program Paid Parental Leave: Up to 16 weeks paid leave for the birth parent, and up to 6 weeks paid leave for the non-birth parent Equity in Highnote Stipend to build out your home office; internet reimbursement At Highnote we have built a total rewards philosophy that includes fair, equitable, geo-based compensation that is performance and potential based. Our compensation packages are competitive based on robust market research and are a combination of a cash salary, equity, and benefits. In compliance with the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, the annual salary range for applicants is $180,000-$220,000. Please note that positions located in San Francisco are hybrid and include core working days of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday in office. We provide flexible work options based on distance from our downtown SF office. Highnote believes in the power of face-to-face, personal connection. As a result, we prioritize in-person candidates. Highnote is a diverse and inclusive company committed to growing a diverse and inclusive team. We invite people from all backgrounds and identities to apply. We do not discriminate based on gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race, religion, age, national origin, citizenship, disability, pregnancy status, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected by US federal state or local laws, or the laws of the country or jurisdiction where you work. Additionally, we encourage everyone to share which pronouns you wish for us to use when addressing you (i.e.: she/her, he/him, they/them, etc).

Keywords: Highnote, Milpitas , Design Lead, Accounting, Auditing , San Francisco, California