Head of Design

Head of Design 

Role:

Head of Design 

Reports to:

CEO, Otel AI 

Location:

On-Site

Mission 

Join Otel AI at the ground floor as our first design hire. You'll define how hotel operators experience AI—transforming complex data into intuitive interfaces that feel native to their daily workflow. Working directly with our CEO and design partner hotels, you'll craft the visual and interaction language that makes sophisticated revenue intelligence feel effortless. We're a startup with global ambitions—you'll have autonomy, responsibility, and the chance to shape how the hospitality industry interacts with AI. 

Core Responsibilities 

1. Product Design & UX Strategy 

2. Design end-to-end experiences for web and mobile applications, from information architecture to pixel-perfect UI. 

3. Create intuitive dashboards, alert systems, and data visualizations that surface actionable insights for hotel operators working at pace. 

4. Establish and evolve Otel AI's design system—components, patterns, and principles that scale across the product. 

5. User Research & Validation 

6. Work directly with design partner hotels to observe workflows, understand pain points, and validate design solutions in real operational contexts. 

7. Conduct user testing sessions with GMs, revenue managers, and operations teams to iterate on designs rapidly. 

8. Translate qualitative insights into design requirements that drive measurable improvements in user efficiency and satisfaction. 

9. Product Collaboration 

10. Partner with engineering to ensure designs are technically feasible and deliver on time without compromising quality.

11. Work with the Data Integration & Insights Lead to design how complex hotel data becomes clear, scannable, and immediately useful. 

12. Contribute to product roadmap decisions by bringing user perspective and design thinking to feature prioritization. 

13. Domain-Driven Design 

14. Build deep fluency in hotel operations—understand the daily rituals of revenue managers, the urgency of pickup alerts, and the cognitive load of multi-property oversight. 

15. Design for the realities of hospitality: mobile-first use cases, interruption-driven workflows, and decision-making under time pressure. 

16. Create design solutions that respect industry conventions while pushing the boundaries of what hotel tech can feel like. 

17. Brand & Marketing Design 

18. Own the visual identity of Otel AI across product, marketing, and sales materials. - Create compelling design assets for pitch decks, customer success stories, and product demonstrations. 

19. Ensure brand consistency and excellence across every customer touchpoint. 

What We're Looking For 

We're early-stage, so this isn't a role for someone who needs perfect specs and infinite resources. 

We want someone who: 

-
Moves from rough to refined fast

—you can sketch concepts in the morning and ship polished designs by evening. 

-
Designs with data literacy

—you understand what makes a chart clear vs. cluttered, and can visualize complex information hierarchies. 

-
Doesn't wait for permission

—you see what needs designing and do it, from product features to internal tools. 

-
Thrives on feedback loops

—user insights excite you, and you iterate relentlessly based on what you learn. 

-
Can work in ambiguity

—you're comfortable when the product direction shifts, and you help make the path forward clear through design.

Experience & Skills 

-
5+ years

in product design roles, ideally with B2B SaaS, data-heavy products, or operational software. 

-
Proven portfolio

demonstrating end-to-end product design, with examples of complex data visualization and mobile-responsive interfaces. 

-
Proficiency

in Figma (or equivalent), with experience building and maintaining design systems. 

-
Experience working directly with engineers

—you understand technical constraints and can advocate for users while being pragmatic about implementation. 

-
Bonus:

Background in hospitality tech, fintech, or other domain-specific B2B tools where UX makes or breaks adoption. 

-
Strong communication skills

—can articulate design decisions to engineers, justify trade-offs to leadership, and present concepts to customers. 

Our Core Values 

Sweep the Sheds

– Own the basics. No task is too small; we take pride in every detail. 

Good Is the Enemy of Great

– Never settle. We push past "good" to reach real excellence. 

The Score Takes Care of Itself

– Trust the process. Do the work right; results will follow. 

Move Fast. Learn Faster

– Ship and learn. Act quickly, test hard, iterate fast. 

We expect every hire to live these values daily—they're not slogans, they're our operating system. 

Success in 12 Months Looks Like 

-
Complete design system

delivered and adopted across the product, enabling consistent, rapid feature development. 

-
10+ major product features

designed, tested with users, and shipped to production. 

-
Design partner NPS of 9+

driven by interface clarity and workflow efficiency. -
Sales enablement materials

that win deals—pitch decks, product demos, and case studies that showcase our design excellence.

-
Reduced time-to-value

for new users by 50% through intuitive onboarding and progressive disclosure patterns. 

Why This Role is Critical 

This role will define how thousands of hotel operators experience AI. You'll work directly with our CEO and engineering team, shaping not just how the product looks, but how it works and feels. The design decisions you make in the next 12 months will establish patterns that scale globally—influencing everything from our mobile alert system to our multi-property dashboards. Your work won't just make the product usable—it will make sophisticated AI accessible to an industry that's been underserved by technology for too long.