Head of Design

At Coast, we're building the financial infrastructure powering America's fleets. AI is fundamentally changing how fleets run their financial operations, and we're shaping the tools this new era requires.Founded in 2020, Coast has become the payments and expense management platform of choice for the 500,000 fleets and 40 million vehicles that keep the country moving - giving fleet owners and operators control, visibility, and trust over how their businesses spend.Simplicity is our competitive advantage. In an industry where complexity is the norm, we're building something opinionated and focused: software that field workers and fleet managers actually want to use. Every member of our fully co-located team is a builder who cares deeply about bringing modern, well-crafted tools to the trades - an industry that's been underserved for too long. This mindset drives everything we do, from product decisions to hiring choices.We're looking for a Head of Design to join the team.In this role, you will lead by making, not managing. Someone who sets direction, establishes standards, and grows a team while staying close to the work. This is a true player-coach role: you'll lead a small but talented design team while also acting as the primary designer on one of our product squads. We don't need a design politician or a gatekeeper. We need someone in builder mode - opinionated, hands-on, and excited to shape what great looks like at Coast from the inside out.Location & work modeCoast is an in-person company. This role is based out of our New York City office, where our full team works together day to day. We believe great products are built by people who are in the room together - collaborating closely, moving fast, and holding each other to a high bar.What you'll doPair closely with engineering and product to initiate and complete roadmap projects, no hand-offsSpot opportunities to redesign or refine key screens and flows, as well as smaller quality issues and "paper cuts" as you use CoastCreate mockups, prototypes, and high-fidelity visuals to communicate ideas and describe their executionGuide and inspire fellow designers through collaborative critique of work-in-progressUse and improve our lightweight design system componentsHelp with hiring new teammates that can elevate our team and productWhat we're looking for10+ years designing software, with at least 3+ years leading a design teamA track-record of demonstrating both systems thinking and exceptional craftAbility to drive quality, business impact, and delight across a portfolio of productsA player-coach mentality - you lead by doing, not just directingCourage to ask questions, experiment, and advocate for what you feel is rightHumility to accept feedback, adapt your thinking, and iterate toward the best solutionExperience with prototyping in Figma (and beyond with tools like AI, HTML/CSS)Ability to distill problems and feedback, then design clear, focused solutionsCapable of transforming existing design processes into AI-assisted workflowsEffective written and verbal communication skillsWhat we offerYou'll have a high-impact role with real ownership and the opportunity to shape the future of Coast's products and servicesCompetitive salary and equityCompany-sponsored 401(k)Medical, dental, and vision insuranceFlexible paid time off (vacation, personal well being, paid holidays)Paid parental leave$400 accessories allowance (a keyboard, mouse, headphones, etc.)Education stipendTools to help manage your financial wellness, including webinar, and access to an equity tax advisory serviceFree lunch on FridaysLearn how we think* The $40M push to modernize fleet payments podcast with our founder and CEO, Daniel Simon* Fueling the Financial Operating System for Fleets: Our Partnership with Coast ICONIQ Series B blog post