Product Design Contractor

<h2><strong>About Unify America</strong></h2><p>We’re on a mission to replace political fighting with collaborative problem-solving. Yeah, we know it sounds audacious. It is. But we’re doing it—by creating civic experiences that reduce polarization, teaching essential civic skills, and inviting Americans to use their differences to better solve common problems together.</p><p>Where we work:</p><ul><li><p><strong>Higher Education (Civic Gym):</strong> The Civic Gym allows college students to engage in meaningful cross-partisan conversations. Think of it as training for democracy—reps, sweat, and all. We partner with colleges and universities across the country to pair students for productive, skill-building dialogue across differences. So far, over 40,000 college students have paired up with strangers across the country to solve the country's most pressing issues. <br></p></li><li><p><strong>Cities (Democracy Leagues):</strong> We partner with communities to run Civic Assemblies, where residents—across the ideological spectrum—solve shared problems together. Our first pilot is thriving in Akron, OH. We’re consulting with the City of Dayton, and we’ll likely will add another Ohio location by the end of the year.<br></p></li></ul><hr><h2><strong>About the Role</strong></h2><p>We’re looking for a Product Designer to help us shape a new kind of user experience: a web-based report that reflects back to someone how they showed up in a real conversation.</p><p>This is not a branding or marketing role. It’s a product problem.</p><p>You’ll work closely with our Creative and UX teams to design something that takes messy, human behavior and turns it into something clear, credible, and actually useful. In other words, it should be something an actual person (specifically, a college student) would read, understand, and act on.</p><p>This is early-stage work. We’re exploring different directions, testing them with real users, and iterating based on what we learn.</p><p></p><hr><h2><strong>What We’re Building</strong></h2><p>In our Civic Gyn program, students engage in one-on-one conversations about complex civic topics—things like free speech, immigration, or public health.</p><p>We’re building a way to reflect those conversations back to participants in a way that answers a simple but difficult question: <em>How did I actually show up in that conversation?</em></p><p>We’re exploring how to surface moments like:</p><ul><li><p>Where someone expressed a view clearly</p></li><li><p>Where they asked meaningful questions</p></li><li><p>Where they engaged with a different perspective</p></li><li><p>Where they began to think through trade-offs</p></li></ul><p>We’re not trying to score or grade people. We’re trying to reflect something back that feels accurate, fair, understandable, and worth paying attention to.</p><p>We’re doing this using transcripts, AI-generated analysis, and thoughtful product design.</p><p>Most people will skim something like this once (if at all) and never return. The challenge is to design something they actually read, understand, and use.</p><p></p><hr><h2><strong>What You’ll Do</strong></h2><ul><li><p>Design report experiences that present complex qualitative information clearly and simply</p></li><li><p>Make decisions about hierarchy, pacing, and emphasis so users can quickly understand what matters</p></li><li><p>Explore different ways of structuring and prioritizing content</p></li><li><p>Create lightweight prototypes for user testing</p></li><li><p>Iterate quickly based on feedback and observed behavior</p></li><li><p>Collaborate closely with UX research to ensure designs are grounded in real usage</p></li></ul><p></p><hr><h2><strong>What You Won’t Do</strong></h2><ul><li><p>Build full design systems</p></li><li><p>Work on marketing or brand campaigns</p></li><li><p>Over-polish early concepts</p></li></ul><p></p><hr><h2><strong>Qualities and Experience You Have, Ideally</strong></h2><ul><li><p>Strong product design experience (UX/UI)</p></li><li><p>Excellent judgment about hierarchy, clarity, and readability</p></li><li><p>Ability to simplify complex ideas into intuitive interfaces</p></li><li><p>Experience designing for real user behavior, not just aesthetics</p></li><li><p>Comfortable working in early-stage, exploratory environments</p></li><li><p>Collaborative, thoughtful, and open to iteration</p></li></ul><p></p><hr><h2><strong>What Success Looks Like</strong></h2><ul><li><p>Users quickly understand what they’re looking at and why it matters</p></li><li><p>Reports feel clear, credible, and worth reading</p></li><li><p>Design decisions are grounded in real user behavior, not assumptions</p></li><li><p>We move quickly from concept → test → insight → iteration</p></li></ul><p></p><hr><h2><strong>Role Details</strong></h2><ul><li><p>Flexible hours based on project needs</p></li><li><p>Likely 40-60 hours initially, with potential for more</p></li><li><p>Remote, U.S.-based</p></li></ul><p></p><hr><h2><strong>To Apply</strong></h2><ul><li><p>Submit portfolio (required)</p></li><li><p>Include 1–2 examples of work where you improved clarity or usability</p></li><li><p>Optional: brief note on how you approach designing something people actually use, not just something that looks good</p></li></ul><p><br></p>