Lead Product Designer
About Karya:
Why was Karya on the cover of the Time Magazine , highlighted by Satya Nadella , and invited to present its work to Sundar Pichai one on one?
In part, because Karya is on a mission to provide AI enabled earning and learning opportunities to communities with high talent, but low access to opportunities. Karya achieves this while also delivering high quality, timely, and price competitive data to its clients.
Karya builds high quality datasets for large companies like Google and Microsoft, while providing ethical work opportunities and fair wages to its workforce.
Karya’s workers make nearly 20 times the Indian minimum wage and through our one-of-a-kind digital work platform, we have delivered over 40 million digital tasks and have positively impacted over 100 thousand workers. In the coming years, our goal is to rapidly scale our impact by bringing economic opportunities to millions of underserved users in India. With a rapidly growing global presence, we are also looking to expand our client base in the Indian market by partnering with leading Indian enterprises.
About the Role:
We are looking for a Lead Product Designer to shape how technology creates meaningful, dignified opportunities for low-income and historically excluded communities. At Karya, design is about reimagining who technology is built for, and who gets to participate in the AI economy. You will lead the design of products that work in low-resource environments, across languages, and for users with diverse levels of digital access and literacy.
This is a leadership role combining hands-on design, team building, and deep collaboration across product, technology, and field operations.
Why This Role Matters
At Karya, we are building systems where communities are not just users, but contributors to the technologies shaping the future.
Design plays a critical role in ensuring that these systems are accessible, inclusive, and truly representative.
What You Will Do
Design for Inclusion & Real-World Contexts
Design experiences that work in low-bandwidth, low-literacy, and multilingual environments
Build products that reflect the realities of low-income and underserved communities, not idealized users
Champion localization beyond translation - including cultural, linguistic, and contextual relevance
Simplify complex systems into intuitive flows that are accessible to first-time or intermittent digital users
Lead & Grow the Design Function
Set clear goals, priorities, and design direction aligned with product and impact outcomes
Manage and mentor a team of designers across UI, UX, and research
Create a culture of craft excellence, critical thinking, and continuous learning
Establish scalable design systems and processes
Drive End-to-End Product Design
Own the design of mobile-first and web-based products from concept to execution
Create flows and prototypes grounded in strong UX principles
Balance speed and quality in a fast-moving, impact-driven environment
Lead end to end design for new verticals at Karya (currently building Karya Learn)
User Research & Field Learning
Lead user research across diverse geographies and communities
Conduct usability testing, field visits, and participatory design exercises and enable junior designers to do the same
Translate insights into product decisions grounded in real user behavior
Cross-functional Collaboration
Work closely with Storytelling, Product, Engineering, and Operations teams to ship impactful solutions
Bridge the gap between product thinking and community realities
Work closely with the Design Researcher to design user research studies
Experimentation & AI-driven Design
Explore and integrate AI-assisted design workflows into product development
Design for human-in-the-loop systems and AI-enabled platforms
Continuously experiment with new approaches to improve accessibility, efficiency, and impact
What We’re Looking For
Experience & Skills
5-7 years of experience in product design, with experience leading designers
Strong portfolio demonstrating work across mobile and web applications
Deep understanding of UX principles, interaction design, and visual design
Hands-on experience with user research and usability testing
Proven ability to collaborate across disciplines
Mindset & Orientation
Strong bias toward building for inclusion, not just scale
Sensitivity to the needs of low-resource and underserved communities
Curiosity about language, culture, and how people interact with technology in constrained contexts
Comfort working in ambiguity and translating complex problems into simple, usable solutions
Interest in AI, ethical data systems, and human-centered AI workflows
Nice to Have
Experience designing for multilingual or regional-first products
Exposure to low-bandwidth or offline-first design patterns
Experience working with field teams, NGOs, or community-driven programs
Familiarity with AI products or human-in-the-loop systems
What We Offer
Flexible leave and vacation policy
Remote / hybrid work options
Insurance as per industry standards
Access to leaders in technology and social impact
Meaningful work at the intersection of AI, design, and equity
Karya celebrates diversity and is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered without regard to race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or any other protected status.