Product Designer

**Zero Homes** Product Designer; $70K–$165K base + meaningful equity + optional annual bonus; Denver, CO (Hybrid)

**About Company** Zero Homes is a Denver-based, Series A climate tech company on a mission to electrify America's homes for healthy, sustainable living. Residential electrification is one of the biggest decarbonization opportunities in the U.S. — the country's 145 million homes account for 20% of its climate emissions — but today the process of upgrading to heat pumps, induction cooktops, and EV chargers is complicated, slow, and expensive. Zero replaces the in-person sales visit with a mobile-first digital experience: homeowners scan their home, get a design and quote, and coordinate installation, while contractors and utilities get the tools to execute.

Founded in 2021 by CEO Grant Gunnison — an MIT-trained engineer who left a career in satellite communications and remote imaging at NASA, with prior experience running his family's general contracting business — Zero raised a $16.8M Series A led by Prelude Ventures, with participation from SJF Ventures, Exelon Foundation, VoLo Earth Ventures, Overture VC, and FJ Labs.

The team is organized into small, six-week-cycle pods (1 designer + 1-2 engineers) that ship end-to-end features with high autonomy and minimal standing meetings. Zero is based out of an industrial office in Denver's RiNo neighborhood.

**About the Role** The second of two Product Designer seats opening together (alongside Senior Product Designer) — Zero is casting a wide net since candidates tend to self-select by level. Product Designers are ICs reporting to the Lead Designer, owning product design end-to-end (PM, UX, UI) on six-week-cycle teams. Current design work spans a redesign of the homeowner scan app, a new contractor mobile app, a web-based HVAC design tool, and B2B productivity tools for contractors and utilities. Per the client, which project a new hire lands on first depends entirely on their experience, skills, and passion — someone drawn to native mobile work gets a different assignment than someone with an architecture/CAD background.

**Responsibilities** - Own projects end-to-end: user research, concept brainstorming, prototyping, and shipped UI. - Build early prototypes (Figma, AI tools, and front-end code) that bring new features to life. - Partner with 1-2 engineers in a six-week-cycle team to take loosely-defined projects to shipped features. - Meet users where they work — homeowners and field contractors — to ground design decisions in real needs.

**Required Skills** A. 1+ years of professional product design experience, owning projects end-to-end. B. Proficient in Figma, plus comfort using AI tools (Claude, Lovable, Figma Make) to accelerate ideation and prototyping. C. Working knowledge of front-end code (HTML/CSS/JS) to build prototypes. D. Generalist range across product management, UX, and UI design.

**Bonus Skills** - Experience with large-scale consumer or B2B products. - Native mobile app design experience. - Graphic design, illustration, or video production skills. - Industry experience: residential construction, electrification, HVAC, CAD, Solar, or Energy. - Early-stage startup experience.

**Logistical Info** - Location: Denver, CO (RiNo office). Hybrid — in-office Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday minimum, flexible hours. Open to relocation within ~50 miles of Denver. - Compensation: $70K–$165K base + meaningful equity + optional annual bonus. - Number of openings: Multiple - **Other:** No visa sponsorship (must be authorized to work in the US); medical, dental & vision; 4 weeks PTO (expected to be taken) + unlimited sick days; workstation stipend; industrial RiNo office with snacks, coffee, and community events

**Ideal Background** - Generalist product designers who've owned early-stage feature work end to end, even if scope was smaller. - Comfortable executing within a shaped approach — bringing options/questions and vetting with senior team members. - Client guidance: background comps are inconclusive so far — prioritize candidates from small, fast-moving teams with strong product culture over specific industry experience. - Two levels (Senior + Product Designer) are open concurrently — level by YOE and scope of ownership; borderline candidates can be routed to either req. - Comp note: Product Designer band $70K–$165K overlaps the Senior band ($115K–$205K) between $115K–$165K — route accordingly. - Client guidance: leveling is flexible and easy to adjust mid-process — prioritize candidate caliber over precise level-matching. - Client guidance: confirm with every candidate, before submission, whether they've applied to Zero Homes directly in the past (via careers site or a prior Squad submission) — must be asked explicitly, not assumed. 2 candidates slipped through without this check; going forward this is a mandatory pre-submission step (see processForSubmission).

**Green Flags** - Has shipped consumer or B2B product work, even narrow in scope, with visible ownership. - Comfortable with AI-assisted design tools (Claude, Figma Make, Lovable). - Enjoys in-person, whiteboard-style collaboration.

**Red Flags** - Weak visual/UI craft — portfolio doesn't hold up visually or reads as AI-generated (client's #1 rejection reason so far). - Short-stint/role-hopping history without at least one 3-4 year tenure commitment — especially disqualifying at the Senior level (client has been explicit about this). - Consulting-heavy background with limited in-house, end-to-end product ownership. - No hands-on ownership of any shipped feature (only pure execution with no input). - Not open to in-person work Mon/Tue/Thu in Denver or relocating within ~50 miles. - Not authorized to work in the US (no visa sponsorship available).

**Interview Process** 1. 30-minute screen with the CTO — in-person at Zero's office, no prep required, come with questions. 2. 60-minute screen with the hiring manager — half behavioral, half a discipline-specific problem-solving exercise. 3. Final-round loop — a full day on-site (9:30am–4:30pm) including candidate prep work, a discipline-specific collaborative session, a teammate behavioral interview, and a meeting with the founder. Lunch, coffee, and snacks provided throughout.