Head of Product Design | JetBrains

JetBrains is an iconic company. As they say it themselves: "it's a Way of Life."

JetBrains builds intelligent tools for software developers and teams. It all started when engineers created IDEs for their own use, acting as engineers, product managers, and testers simultaneously. This short feedback loop has proven highly effective.

They are now famous for a range of products like TeamCity, YouTrack, and others. They also invented the Kotlin programming language, which Google chose as the preferred language for Android app developers.

In some numbers:

• 15M developers consistently use and trust JetBrains' tools

• 287K business customers

• 2,800+ employees worldwide

And with all of that, the company is 100% private and hugely profitable!

JetBrains is building a major new platform that consolidates its core products and new AI capabilities into a single offering — an enterprise console for managing AI agents, tracking resource and cost usage, and overseeing AI tool adoption within organizations. Think: agent-first software development lifecycle.

As the Head of Product Design, you will define and lead the design vision for this new platform. You'll own the end-to-end user experience — from agent orchestration flows and human-in-the-loop verification to enterprise governance and control surfaces. You'll lead a team of ~20 designers, working closely with Product and Engineering leadership.

This is a genuine zero-to-one opportunity: you'll be shaping how enterprises adopt, govern, and scale AI-driven development — one of the most consequential design challenges in tech right now.

• Product Design Leadership:

  • Design agent orchestration flows: how developers delegate, inspect, and steer AI systems

  • Define human-in-the-loop verification: how AI output is trusted, reviewed, and shipped

  • Build enterprise control surfaces: permissions, policy, auditability, and governance UX

  • Enable team-level coordination: hybrid human-agent collaboration workflows

  • Turn fragmented capabilities (LLMs, tools, infrastructure) into coherent, end-to-end product experiences

• Team Building & Management:

  • Lead and inspire a design team of ~20 people across multiple product areas

  • Build a central design function that ensures consistency across all platform products

  • Set a high bar for craft and execution; lead by example — hands-on when needed

• Stakeholder Management & Communication:

  • Work closely with Product and Engineering leadership

  • Present, defend, and align design decisions with non-designer stakeholders

  • Build trust-based relationships across the organization

• Strategic Vision:

  • Set, sell, and execute a design vision for the agent-first SDLC

  • Understand how AI fundamentally changes interaction models in HCI

  • Operate comfortably in ambiguity — this is a new product area with evolving priorities

• Hands-on design leader — you can work with your hands AND manage people and stakeholders. Not just a manager who delegates — someone who ships.

• Track record of shipping systems-heavy products — enterprise platforms, developer tools, complex B2B products. Not consumer/mass-market apps.

• Experience building and managing design teams of 10+ — ideally has scaled or built a design org.

• Strong stakeholder management — can present to and align with engineering and product leadership, defend design decisions, manage expectations.

• Decisive and fast-moving — startup mentality. Can make hard calls quickly. The platform is moving fast; there's no time for prolonged deliberation.

• Technical curiosity or background — must be comfortable with highly technical products (IDEs, AI agents, developer workflows, enterprise infrastructure). Ideally has programming experience or a deep interest in how software development works.

• Comfort with ambiguity — zero-to-one product, shifting priorities, a new platform that is still forming.

• Understanding of AI's impact on interaction models — this is an AI-native product; you must have a point of view on how AI changes UX/HCI.

What Would Be a Plus

• Experience in a top-tier product design organization

• Experience with developer tools or B2B platforms

• Agency or startup background demonstrating speed and resourcefulness

• Portfolio that demonstrates consistent craft across shipped products

• Experience working with internationally distributed teams

• Build Something New: Shape a design organization for a brand-new platform at a company that serves 15M+ developers worldwide. This is a rare opportunity to define a new product category with executive-level visibility and direct impact.

• Unique Company Culture: JetBrains is 100% private, profitable, and driven by engineering excellence. No VC pressure, no artificial growth targets — just the freedom to do great work.

• Collaboration with Top Technical Minds: Work alongside some of the brightest software creators in the industry in a company where the product is the mission.

• Competitive Compensation: Generous salary and bonus structure in a financially strong, profitable company.