Ascend Group is hiring: Product Designer in San Francisco

Ascend is transforming the $10T global insurance industry by combining AI automation with embedded fintech. While insurance makes up 7.2% of global GDP, outdated financial infrastructure—PDFs, emails, and manual reconciliation—slows the industry down. Ascend is the first and market-leading finance automation platform built specifically for insurance, driving its rapid digital transformation. In just three years, we’ve: Processed billions in transactions annually, growing 200%+ per year. Built a world-class team of 50+ people in our San Francisco and Columbus offices. How we do it Ascend automates the entire insurance financial lifecycle—from collections and accounting to reconciliations and disbursements—helping businesses streamline operations and increase profitability. In the AI era, software alone is no longer enough. For decades, software costs have declined, and with AI, they are now in free fall. As both software buyers and builders, we fully embrace this shift—it makes technology more powerful and accessible. However, businesses must also maximize monetization, and the future belongs to those that embed themselves into financial flows rather than simply selling SaaS. That’s why AI + fintech is our edge—seamlessly integrating financial automation into transactions to create real, lasting value. Customers don’t just buy software; they unlock powerful financial efficiencies with a 5-7x ROI. Why we do it Insurance is a $10T+ industry running on legacy systems. AI alone won’t fix it, but AI-powered automation embedded into payments and transactions will. Ascend’s mission is to become the leading financial automation platform for insurance by 2030—powering the entire industry’s financial operations while transforming the way trillions of dollars move. Your role As a Product Design team member, you will play a crucial role in building out the design function at Ascend. You will work on both 0-1 products and improving our existing product offering. Working closely with customers and cross-functional teams, you will be responsible for creating intuitive, visually appealing, and functional designs that solve problems for our customers. Responsibilities will include Objective #1: In your first 30 days, you will: Form strong relationships with the rest of the Ascend product, design, and engineering teams. Develop a deep understanding of the Ascend product and market landscape. Closely interact with customers to understand pain points and needs. Develop and present your first set of wireframes, prototypes, and specs that effectively communicate product features and functionality. Objective #2: In your first 60 days you will: Lead design of 1-2 features per week together with your engineering and product counterparts. Objective #3: In your first 90 days, and beyond, you will: Own end-to-end design for a functional area of the Ascend product. Contribute to the development and maintenance of a design system to ensure consistency across all products and platforms. You might be a good fit if you have 3+ years experience as a Product Designer, with a strong portfolio showcasing a range of design projects. Proficiency in design tools such as Figma, Sketch, Axure, or similar. Strong understanding of UX principles and interaction design. Comfortable with the ambiguity and pace of an early stage startup. Nice to have Brand design experience. Excellent communication and collaboration skills. Ability to balance creativity with practicality, considering technical constraints and business objectives. Very detail-oriented and maintain a high caliber of organization. Base Salary Range: $120,000 - $160,000 Competitive base salary and meaningful equity in a fast-growing company. 100% health premiums covered for you and your dependents. 401k with employer matching options. Unlimited PTO. Monthly company-paid commuter benefit options, and fitness stipends. Parental and family leave. Lunch provided when in office. Company outings and off-sites. Dog-friendly office! Join Ascend and be part of our mission to revolutionize the insurance industry and contribute to global financial modernization. Your leadership can make a significant impact on improving the $1T+ insurance industry. We are committed to equal opportunity employment and embrace diversity within our organization. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We encourage candidates to apply even if their experience doesn't precisely match this opportunity. We value diversity and are dedicated to equal opportunity employment. Apply for this job * indicates a required field First Name * Last Name * Email * Phone * Resume/CV * Enter manually Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf LinkedIn Profile * Website #J-18808-Ljbffr