Embark Veterinary
Who we are
Join Embark on our mission to bring joy to dog lovers by offering the world’s best products and services to strengthen their bonds with the dogs in their lives. Our canine DNA test — named the best by The New York Times — enables us to make scientific advances in personalized pet care. Designed by world leaders in dog genetics (in partnership with Cornell University), the Embark Dog DNA Test provides information on genetic health risks and breed make-up, allowing dog owners, breeders, and veterinarians to drive personalized care plans based on a dog’s unique genetic profile.
Join our pack! At Embark, our People First culture is centered around building an amazing team and giving everyone an opportunity to have a voice and make an impact. We are looking for highly motivated and mission-driven employees who will join us as Embark leads the cutting edge of creativity and innovation in the fast-growing consumer genetics space.
About the role We are looking for an Associate Director, Design to drive strategy, execution, and leadership as both a player and coach. You’ll shape how design empowers pet parents to turn genetic insights into everyday actions, while fostering community and long-term engagement.
This role requires strong strategic thinking, creative facilitation, and the ability to synthesize complex research into clear product direction. You’ll guide our design team, influence cross-company initiatives, and champion partnerships with brand, marketing, and e-commerce to oversee our design system and product ecosystem.
What you’ll do
Strategic discovery, research & facilitation
Define and champion Embark's design strategy for personalized pet care experiences
Leading strategic discovery and user research to understand pain points and validate opportunities
Facilitating cross-functional workshops to align Product, Science, Marketing, and Engineering around user-centered solutions
Synthesizing research findings, user feedback, and scientific insights into actionable product opportunities that drive behavioral change, engagement and community
Systems Thinking & Design Governance
Govern the design system across product, marketing, and brand touchpoints
Ensure cohesive user experience, brand cohesion and design quality across our product portfolio, app and web surfaces
Hands-On Design & Execution
Act as a player-coach: contributing hands-on design work while mentoring and guiding your team
Design and prototype AI/LLM-powered experiences, crafting a variety of UIs and interaction patterns to deliver adaptive interfaces and journeys
Work closely with Product Management and Engineering to translate designs into scalable, performant implementations and manage tradeoffs
Collaboration & Leadership
Partner with Product and Engineering to track key outcomes and iteratively refine solutions
Connect insights to product roadmap decisions and business outcomes through ongoing leadership collaboration
Mentor, coach, and grow design talent—setting a culture of curiosity, craft excellence, and collaboration
Build trusted partnerships with leaders across Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Science to ensure alignment of design with business and customer outcomes
Experience we’re looking for Core Competencies
Strong strategic thinking: Ability to lead discovery, synthesize complex information, and facilitate alignment around product direction
Systems thinking: Work across touchpoints and teams to create cohesive experiences and understand design impact on the broader journey
Design Craft: UX strategy, research, interaction, and visual design
Technical literacy: Ability to collaborate with engineering and understand implementation constraints
Core Experience
7 years of professional design experience, with a minimum of 2 years in a leadership role
Track record of leading strategic discovery and facilitating collaborative problem-solving with cross-functional teams
Portfolio demonstrating ability to design and ship engaging consumer experiences with measurable behavioral impact
Experience in growth-focused product design and leading habit-forming product strategies
Strong communication skills, able to present design solutions and inspire confidence among executives and non-design stakeholders
Experience hiring, structuring, or scaling a design team
Familiarity with freemium or trial-to-paid monetization models and balancing engagement vs. premium value
Demonstrated capacity to learn and design for emerging technologies, such as AI/LLM
Nice-to-Haves
Health, wellness, or science-based consumer product experience
DTC subscription, e-commerce, or freemium SaaS background
Prior startup experience
Why join the pack! At Embark, we’re passionate about people and building an inclusive culture where all employees can thrive. Here are some of our benefits and perks:
Flexible vacation policy – take the time you need, when you need it.
Paid parental leave – plus paw-ternity leave for new pet parents!
Every other Friday off in the summer – long weekends.
Subsidized pet insurance – because our pets are family.
Big-company benefits with a startup feel – including a 401k match, semi-annual bonus, commuter benefits, and premium healthcare
Competitive salaries and stock options – be an owner in what we’re building.
New MacBook Pros or Windows devices – the tools you need to succeed.
Continuing education support – conferences, learning resources, and career growth opportunities.
Salary: $180,000 - $210,000 depending on experience and qualifications
Embark is an equal opportunity workplace and values diversity. We are committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship status, sexual orientation, age, disability status, marital status, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected by federal, state or local laws.
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Join our pack! At Embark, our People First culture is centered around building an amazing team and giving everyone an opportunity to have a voice and make an impact. We are looking for highly motivated and mission-driven employees who will join us as Embark leads the cutting edge of creativity and innovation in the fast-growing consumer genetics space.
About the role We are looking for an Associate Director, Design to drive strategy, execution, and leadership as both a player and coach. You’ll shape how design empowers pet parents to turn genetic insights into everyday actions, while fostering community and long-term engagement.
This role requires strong strategic thinking, creative facilitation, and the ability to synthesize complex research into clear product direction. You’ll guide our design team, influence cross-company initiatives, and champion partnerships with brand, marketing, and e-commerce to oversee our design system and product ecosystem.
What you’ll do
Strategic discovery, research & facilitation
Define and champion Embark's design strategy for personalized pet care experiences
Leading strategic discovery and user research to understand pain points and validate opportunities
Facilitating cross-functional workshops to align Product, Science, Marketing, and Engineering around user-centered solutions
Synthesizing research findings, user feedback, and scientific insights into actionable product opportunities that drive behavioral change, engagement and community
Systems Thinking & Design Governance
Govern the design system across product, marketing, and brand touchpoints
Ensure cohesive user experience, brand cohesion and design quality across our product portfolio, app and web surfaces
Hands-On Design & Execution
Act as a player-coach: contributing hands-on design work while mentoring and guiding your team
Design and prototype AI/LLM-powered experiences, crafting a variety of UIs and interaction patterns to deliver adaptive interfaces and journeys
Work closely with Product Management and Engineering to translate designs into scalable, performant implementations and manage tradeoffs
Collaboration & Leadership
Partner with Product and Engineering to track key outcomes and iteratively refine solutions
Connect insights to product roadmap decisions and business outcomes through ongoing leadership collaboration
Mentor, coach, and grow design talent—setting a culture of curiosity, craft excellence, and collaboration
Build trusted partnerships with leaders across Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Science to ensure alignment of design with business and customer outcomes
Experience we’re looking for Core Competencies
Strong strategic thinking: Ability to lead discovery, synthesize complex information, and facilitate alignment around product direction
Systems thinking: Work across touchpoints and teams to create cohesive experiences and understand design impact on the broader journey
Design Craft: UX strategy, research, interaction, and visual design
Technical literacy: Ability to collaborate with engineering and understand implementation constraints
Core Experience
7 years of professional design experience, with a minimum of 2 years in a leadership role
Track record of leading strategic discovery and facilitating collaborative problem-solving with cross-functional teams
Portfolio demonstrating ability to design and ship engaging consumer experiences with measurable behavioral impact
Experience in growth-focused product design and leading habit-forming product strategies
Strong communication skills, able to present design solutions and inspire confidence among executives and non-design stakeholders
Experience hiring, structuring, or scaling a design team
Familiarity with freemium or trial-to-paid monetization models and balancing engagement vs. premium value
Demonstrated capacity to learn and design for emerging technologies, such as AI/LLM
Nice-to-Haves
Health, wellness, or science-based consumer product experience
DTC subscription, e-commerce, or freemium SaaS background
Prior startup experience
Why join the pack! At Embark, we’re passionate about people and building an inclusive culture where all employees can thrive. Here are some of our benefits and perks:
Flexible vacation policy – take the time you need, when you need it.
Paid parental leave – plus paw-ternity leave for new pet parents!
Every other Friday off in the summer – long weekends.
Subsidized pet insurance – because our pets are family.
Big-company benefits with a startup feel – including a 401k match, semi-annual bonus, commuter benefits, and premium healthcare
Competitive salaries and stock options – be an owner in what we’re building.
New MacBook Pros or Windows devices – the tools you need to succeed.
Continuing education support – conferences, learning resources, and career growth opportunities.
Salary: $180,000 - $210,000 depending on experience and qualifications
Embark is an equal opportunity workplace and values diversity. We are committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship status, sexual orientation, age, disability status, marital status, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected by federal, state or local laws.
#J-18808-Ljbffr