Head of Design
At a glance
Director-level Product & Design Leadership role at BoostDraft. Remote, Japan · full-time.
Pay not stated Product & Design Leadership salary
remoteroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Lead early user research, using prototypes to test concepts, usability and workflows before engineering investment
- Turn scattered feedback into hypotheses and prototypes that clarify product direction and expose risks
- Set design principles and build a design system that helps teams work quickly and consistently
- Coach product designers in research-led, prototype-first work, while staying hands-on with testing and complex projects
- Work with Product and Engineering to use user learnings in roadmap choices and prioritization
What you bring
- Strong qualitative research skills, including concept tests, usability studies and workflow validation
- A track record of leading product design through early prototyping, testing and repeated iteration
- Experience coaching designers across product, marketing or external teams, plus a collaborative approach with Product and Engineering
- Practical use of AI-supported design and prototyping tools, and experience designing for web and desktop
Who this fits
This is a hands-on design leadership role for someone who develops designers while personally prototyping and testing when needed. The position is fully remote, with Japan relocation optional; Tokyo-area employees may have occasional chances to work in person. Core hours are 11:30 am to 3:00 pm, with flexible time also available.
From the employer
About BoostDraft
BoostDraft is reinventing legal drafting with a local Microsoft Word add-in that automates tedious formatting and elevates lawyers’ day-to-day work. Founded by MIT and Stanford alumni, we’ve grown to 10,000+ paying users and earned adoption at 17 of Japan’s top 20 law firms—mostly through word-of-mouth, profitability, and without external funding until January, 2025.
Company Slides: https://speakerdeck.com/boostdraft
Why you should join BoostDraft
- You can enjoy the whole process of product market fit, and scale the business
- A lot of opportunities to learn from the founders / management, including leveraging our Japan experience and product development
- International environment with significant challenges to be met every day
- Lots of opportunities to interact with industry leaders who are focused on delivering products that offer exceptional user experiences
- You will use the latest technologies and will be encouraged to bring your flair to the role
What’s your challenges
Drive user insight through rapid exploration
- Own and lead our user research practice, with a strong bias toward early, prototype-driven user testing.
- Default to using AI-assisted prototyping to quickly explore ideas, validate assumptions, and surface risks before engineering investment.
- Turn ambiguous feedback and fragmented requests into clear hypotheses, prototypes, and learnings that guide product direction.
Set the bar for product design
- Define and evolve our design philosophy and principles, including how we balance speed vs. polish and AI-enabled workflows vs. traditional processes.
- Ensure design decisions are grounded in evidence from real users, not opinions or hierarchy.
Make design a force multiplier
- Build, scale, and maintain a design system that encodes user insight and enables teams to move fast with confidence.
- Champion modern tools and workflows—especially AI—that reduce cycle time from idea → prototype → user feedback → decision.
Lead and grow the design team
- Lead and coach a team of product designers to adopt prototype-first, research-led workflows.
- Set expectations that learning happens through making, testing, and iterating—not long handoffs or static specs.
- Stay hands-on when needed: prototyping, testing flows with users, and unblocking high-impact work.
Partner deeply across the company
- Work shoulder-to-shoulder with Product and Engineering to ensure learning velocity drives roadmap and prioritization.
- Help the organization build shared understanding of users through prototypes, narratives, and clear synthesis—not just documents.
Tech Blog (Japanese & English):
https://zenn.dev/p/boostdraft
Culture Blog (Japanese):
https://note.com/boostdraft
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Ensuring a Fair and Secure Recruitment Process:
In recent years, there has been a growing number of applications submitted with fake or AI-generated profiles, including fabricated work history or impersonated identities. At BoostDraft, we are committed to providing a fair and secure hiring process for all candidates and have implemented the following measures:
- During online interviews, the use of both camera and microphone is mandatory. If we detect suspicious behavior, we may ask you to disable video filters or perform a simple on-screen action. If you are unable or unwilling to comply, the interview may be terminated on the spot.
- By applying for a position or participating in an interview, you are deemed to have agreed to these measures and to cooperate if such requests are reasonably made.
These measures are applied equally to all candidates to ensure a trustworthy and fair hiring environment. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.
If you have any concerns or questions regarding these measures, please feel free to contact our recruiting team.
Requirements
- Fluency in qualitative user research, especially concept testing, usability testing, and workflow validation
- Strong experience leading product design with a prototype-first mindset, using early artifacts to test and learn.
- Bias to action—you plan for multiple iterations to move releases forward and reduce risk, not to seek perfection.
- Design systems thinking—ability to translate learnings into scalable design systems, patterns, and principles.
- Scaling quality through the team - coaching and leading designers, both in product, marketing, and external teams.
- Hands-on experience with AI-assisted design and prototyping tools, and curiosity to continuously explore new approaches..
- Collaborative leadership style—you bring Product and Engineering along in the learning process.
- Cross platform experience, comfortable designing across web, desktop surfaces
Submission Guidelines:
- Design Process: We value the rationale and methodology behind your work as much as the final visuals. When submitting your portfolio, please ensure it includes detailed insights into your design process, challenges addressed, and the results achieved.
- Leadership & Management: We are seeking a trustworthy, autonomous leader. In your resume, please provide a clear description of your managerial philosophy and your key achievements as a leader.
Please note that applications that do not include the required materials/details above may not be eligible for further consideration.
Benefits
Visa and Relocation
Our teams are working fully remotely, and we are expanding our global presence. While our headquarters are currently in Japan, relocation to Japan is not mandatory. If you wish to relocate, we are happy to help you obtain a visa.
Working Arrangement
- Fully remote
※For employees residing near Tokyo, there may be opportunities to work in person several times a month
- Flexible working time
- Flexible time: 6:00 am - 11:30 am / 3:00 pm - 10:00 pm
- Core time: 11:30 am - 3:00 pm
- Virtual Office
- You'll have the ability to craft a character within a virtual office environment and engage with fellow colleagues through interactive experiences
Others
<Location>
Home, or any other place equivalent to home
※There is a possibility of commuting to a location designated by the company due to business reasons
<Holidays>
5-day workweek(Saturday, Sunday, Public Holidays / End of Year and New Year holidays (set by company) / others set by company)
<Employment Status>
Full-time(Fixed overtime pay included)
※permanent employment
<Probation Period>
6 months
<Prevention of Passive Smoking>
Yes
Additional Details to Follow During Hiring Process