Founding Product Designer

About Parrot

Parrot is building the TikTok for language learning - real native videos, interactive subtitles, and AI-generated activities that help people learn the same way they learned their first language.

We believe in immersion-first learning, grounded in second-language acquisition research and comprehensible input. Our goal is to make learning natural, fun, and effective - powered by real content, not artificial drills.

We launched in February 2025, already have thousands of active users, and are now hiring our first Founding Product Designer to join the core team and help us scale to millions.

Why This Role Matters

Design at Parrot is not a support function. It is core to how the product works, feels, and grows.

As our Founding Product Designer, you will:

• Redesign and elevate the core product experience
• Work directly with the CPO and founders to shape product direction
• Influence activation, retention, and meaningful progress through thoughtful UX
• Establish the foundations of our design system
• Set the visual and experiential standard for the company

This is a high-ownership role with real authorship.

What You’ll Work On

You will work across the full product lifecycle:

• Conduct user research and translate insights into product direction
• Design complete user journeys and reusable patterns
• Create wireframes and interactive prototypes
• Craft high-fidelity mobile UI
• Partner with engineering through implementation to ensure quality
• Iterate based on usage data and qualitative feedback

We believe learning can be both fun and effective. Design should reduce friction, not add noise and every element should serve real progress.

What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for a designer who combines strong product thinking with exceptional visual craft and cares deeply about building something simple, accessible, and effective.

Core Strengths

• Strong mobile portfolio (iOS/Android experience preferred)
• Exceptional eye for layout, hierarchy, typography, spacing, and color
• Deep UX thinking → you understand behavior, not just screens
• Fluent in Figma (components, auto-layout, variants, prototyping)
• Comfortable leading work independently in a fast-moving environment

Product & Analytical Mindset

You’re curious about what actually works.

• You care about retention, learning progress, and long-term user success
• You’re comfortable forming hypotheses and iterating based on data
• You can articulate why a design decision improves a metric or reduces friction

Design decisions should be intentional, measurable, and thoughtful.

Prototyping & Modern Tools

We move quickly and value designers who can accelerate feedback loops.

You can:

• Build interactive prototypes that mirror real product behavior
• Validate ideas early through realistic, testable demos
• Use AI tools to explore variations and iterate quickly

Expected tools:

• Figma
• Vibe coding

You don’t need to be an engineer, but you should work efficiently and stay current with modern design workflows.

The Kind of Designer Who Thrives Here

You likely:

• Have strong taste and high standards
• Sweat the details
• Think in systems, not just screens
• Care about simplicity and real user progress
• Want meaningful ownership in an early-stage product

We value thoughtful collaboration, humility, and ambition.

Bonus

• Experience at a venture-backed company
• Background in consumer mobile apps
• Interest in language learning or education

1. Initial call (30 mins)
2. Case study presentation (45 mins)
3. Whiteboarding Exercise (1.5 hr)
4. Meet rest of team (30 mins)