Core Product Designer
Role summary
We are seeking a Core Product Designer to own and evolve the heart of our consumer mobile experience. You will be responsible for designing daily challenges, streaks, games, onboarding, and more, focusing on creating emotional loops and reward systems to drive engagement. The role involves end-to-end ownership from concept to shipped feature, working closely with founders and engineers to rapidly bring ideas to life. We are looking for someone with a strong portfolio showcasing taste, restraint, and interaction thinking, deep understanding of mobile UX and emotional design, and proficiency in Figma. Experience with prototyping tools and a passion for user psychology are key. Bonus points for experience in social, gaming, or habit-forming products, or for having shipped your own app.
**Own core surfaces.**
Design and evolve the heart of the Candle experience. This includes the daily challenges, streaks, games, onboarding, discovery, notifications, and more.
**Think in systems.**
Craft emotional loops, streak mechanics, reward systems, and connection rituals that drive daily engagement.
**Ship end-to-end.**
From concept → prototype → polished UI → shipped feature. You’ll work directly with founders and engineers to bring ideas live fast.
**Invent new formats, design to market**
Design new interaction patterns for connection and marketing: collaborative canvases, async voice, micro-games, emotional check-ins, rituals, etc.
**Obsess over details.**
Typography, motion, haptics, micro-interactions, empty states, streak animations, the small things matter here a lot. Every pixel is questioned.
**What We’re Looking For**
* 2+ years designing and shipping consumer mobile products
* A portfolio that shows taste, restraint, and strong interaction thinking
* Deep understanding of mobile UX patterns and emotional design
* Strong Figma skills (components, systems, prototyping)
* Ability to prototype interactive flows (bonus: React Native, SwiftUI, Framer, ProtoPie, etc.)
* High product intuition, you can think like a PM when needed
* You care about user psychology
Bonus if:
* You’ve worked on social, gaming, or habit-forming products
* You’ve built and shipped your own app
* Have done animations with Rive
**Why This Is Different**
* You’ll work directly with founders and exited founders (Apple, Twitter, NASA engineers, Forbes 30u30 )
* Your work will be seen by hundreds of thousands within days
* We ship fast, experiments go live weekly
* We care deeply about emotional impact, not vanity metrics
* You’ll help define the design language of a generational consumer brand
If you want to design something people use every single day with someone they love, this is that opportunity.
