Design Manager, Payments

Patreon is seeking a Design Manager for the Payments team to lead a small product design team. This role involves managing, coaching, and supporting designers, setting high UX and visual craft standards, planning projects, and hands-on design for key projects from problem framing to high-fidelity visuals. The manager will partner with Product and Engineering to define roadmaps, use data to inform priorities, and ensure cohesive, trustworthy payment experiences across web and mobile, contributing to design systems and fostering cross-functional alignment.

Must Have

• Manage, coach, and support product designers.
• Set high UX and visual craft standards; provide actionable feedback.
• Plan projects and delegate tasks effectively within the team.
• Own end-to-end design for key projects, from framing to visuals.
• Partner with leads to define Payments north stars, metrics, and roadmap.
• Use research, product data, and support signals to inform designs.
• Ensure core journeys are clear, trustworthy, and modern across platforms.
• Collaborate with other design leaders for cohesive experiences.
• Leverage design systems for scalable solutions.
• Build strong cross-functional alignment through clear communication.
• Communicate Payments roadmap and problems to the broader company.
• Propose and manage product vision initiatives.

Good to Have

• 7+ years product design, including 1+ year management/mentorship.
• Proven track record shipping high-impact, end-to-end product work.
• Experience in complex domains like payments, fintech, or critical systems.
• Comfortable balancing people management with hands-on IC work.
• Deep commitment to interaction and visual craft, especially for clarity.
• Ability to simplify complex systems into understandable experiences.
• Experience working with or contributing to design systems.
• Strong product intuition to define problems and guide decisions.
• Experience connecting design work to measurable outcomes.
• Skilled at building healthy, trusting relationships across teams.
• Clear, empathetic communicator tailoring detail to audiences.
• Genuine interest in helping creators with payments.

Perks & Benefits

• Competitive benefits package (salary, equity plans, healthcare, flexible time off, company holidays and recharge days, commuter benefits, lifestyle stipends, learning and development stipends, patronage, parental leave, and 401k plan with matching).
• Hybrid work model (2 days in-office).

Patreon is a media and community platform where over 300,000 creators give their biggest fans access to exclusive work and experiences. We offer creators a variety of ways to engage with their fans and build a lasting business including: paid memberships, free memberships, community chats, live video, and selling to fans directly with one-time purchases.

Ultimately our goal is simple: fund the creative class. And we're leaders in that space, with:

• $10 billion+ in revenue generated since Patreon's inception
• 100 million+ free memberships for fans who may not be ready to pay just yet, and
• 25 million+ paid memberships on Patreon today.

We're continuing to invest heavily in building the best creator platform with the best team in the creator economy and are looking for a Design Manager to lead the design team focused on Media and Community Experiences, driving intentional human connection on Patreon.

This role is based in New York or San Francisco and open to those who are able to be in-office 2 days per week on a hybrid work model.

About the Team

The Payments team makes it easy for creators to get paid, fans to pay, and everyone to trust that money is flowing reliably, transparently, and on time. The team owns core experiences across fan checkout and billing, creator payouts, tax and compliance surfaces, and the foundational payments platform that powers reliability, performance, and scale.

As Design Manager, Payments, you’ll work as a hybrid IC/manager overseeing a small product design team working across Payments Platform and Payments Core Experience. You’ll partner closely with PM, Eng, and Data to define the roadmap and deliver high‑quality, reliable payments experiences for creators and fans.

About the Role

• Manage, coach, and support a small team of product designers working across Payments Platform and Payments Core Experience
• Set a high bar for UX and visual craft across payments flows and tools, and give clear, actionable feedback on work in progress
• Plan projects and determine how to delegate amongst your team
• Be hands on, owning end‑to‑end design for key projects, from problem framing and flows through interaction design, prototypes, and high‑fidelity visuals
• Partner with Product and Engineering leads to define Payments north stars, success metrics, and roadmap sequencing for H1/H2
• Use research, product data, and support signals to inform priorities and iterate on designs
• Ensure the core journeys your teams own feel clear, trustworthy, and modern across web and mobile
• Collaborate with other design leaders so payments and tax experiences feel cohesive across Insights, Creator Success, and other surfaces product areas
• Contribute to and leverage design systems and shared patterns to deliver scalable, consistent payments solutions
• Build strong cross‑functional alignment by clearly communicating design decisions, trade‑offs, and recommendations to working teams and leadership
• Help the broader company understand the “why” behind the Payments roadmap and the creator and fan problems we’re solving
• Get out ahead of the near-term roadmap and discover future opportunities through product vision initiatives that you propose and manage

About You

• 7+ years of product design experience, including at least 1 year of managing designers or leading them informally with strong mentorship responsibilities
• Proven track record shipping high‑impact, end‑to‑end product work in complex domains (ideally payments, fintech, or other mission‑critical systems)
• Comfortable in a “player‑coach” setup, balancing people management with hands‑on IC work
• Deep commitment to interaction and visual craft, especially in flows where clarity, trust, and correctness are critical
• Ability to simplify complex systems into clear, understandable experiences
• Experience working with or contributing to design systems to deliver scalable, consistent solutions
• Strong product intuition; able to define problems, form hypotheses, and use qualitative and quantitative signals to guide decisions
• Experience connecting design work to measurable outcomes (such as reduced support tickets, improved checkout conversion, or higher payout satisfaction)
• Skilled at building healthy, trusting relationships across Design, Product, Engineering, and business partners
• Clear, empathetic communicator who can tailor level of detail and story to different audiences, from ICs to execs
• Genuine interest in helping creators run sustainable businesses and in making payments, payouts, and taxes radically simpler for them

About Patreon

Patreon powers creators to do what they love and get paid by the people who love what they do. Our team is passionate about making this mission and our core values come to life every day in our work. Through this work, our Patronauts:

• Put Creators First | They’re the reason we’re here. When creators win, we win.
• Build with Craft | We sign our name to every deliverable, just like the creators we serve.
• Make it Happen | We don’t quit. We learn and deliver.
• Win Together | We grow as individuals. We win as a team.

We hire talented and passionate people from different backgrounds because workplace diversity and inclusion is critical to our ability to serve creators worldwide. If you’re excited about a role but your past experience doesn’t match with every bullet point outlined above, we strongly encourage you to apply anyway. If you’re a creator at heart, are energized by our mission, and share our company values, we’d love to hear from you.

Patreon is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We provide employment opportunities without regard to age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other protected class. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the interview process, please let us know via email at accomodations@patreon.

[US] Patreon offers a competitive benefits package including and not limited to salary, equity plans, healthcare, flexible time off, company holidays and recharge days, commuter benefits, lifestyle stipends, learning and development stipends, patronage, parental leave, and 401k plan with matching.

[Portugal] Patreon offers a competitive benefits package including and not limited to salary, equity plans, healthcare, vacation leave, company holidays and recharge days, lifestyle stipends, learning and development stipends, patronage, parental leave and sick leave, and pension with an employer contribution.

Patreon operates under a hybrid work model, where employees based in office locations are expected to come into the office two days per week, excluding sick time and paid leave. The goal of this policy is to be intentional about the in-person time we spend together to strengthen the feeling of community at Patreon. Candidates hired into remote-eligible roles are not expected to meet the same requirements.

At Patreon, we believe in fair and transparent pay. In compliance with New York and California pay transparency laws, we are sharing the expected salary range for this role.

The posted salary range is dependent on the location and the level. This range may encompass multiple levels within the role’s job family. The final offer will be based on candidate’s experience, skills, competencies, and geographic location, aligning with the appropriate job level within Patreon’s leveling framework. For remote employees located outside CA and NY, salary may vary based on location and local market conditions.

Patreon reserves the right to modify or update compensation and benefits at any time.