Head of Design
Leads the design function: vision, quality standards, hiring and design's weight in product decisions.
Why this hire matters.
The Head of Design decides whether design is a strategic function or an execution service in your company. Their first challenge is the bar: hiring exceptional designers (the best only join leaders they respect), setting a quality standard and holding it under delivery pressure. Their second is influence: carrying the user's and the brand's voice into executive trade-offs, where it usually loses to short-term metrics. A design team without a senior leader produces decent screens and a product without soul or coherence. The classic hiring trap: promoting your best designer without management appetite, or hiring an art director without product culture. Look for both legs — craft excellence and the ability to build a team.
Key missions.
- Define the design vision and quality standards
- Hire, grow and retain the design team
- Structure the org (staffing, seniority, specializations)
- Carry design into executive decisions
- Guarantee experience and product-brand coherence
- Install critique and collaboration processes
- Drive design system and tooling with engineering
Skills.
Technical skills
- Product design excellence
- Design system direction
- Designer hiring
- Research and data culture
Expected qualities
- Leadership
- Demanding kindness
- Executive influence
- Vision
Common stack
Salaries 2025-2026
| Level | Experience | Annual gross base |
|---|---|---|
| Head of Design (first team) | 8-12 yrs | 75–95 k€ |
| Head/VP Design (scale-up) | 12+ yrs | 95–130 k€ |
Paris market ranges, 2025-2026.
Outside the Paris region, expect 10 to 15 % less.
Sources : Licorne Society 2026 (>80k, scale-up >100k) · The Product Crew 2025
Hiring this profile.
Typical background
A senior/lead product designer who has already managed, often 10+ years. The portfolio of teams built counts as much as the products.
When to hire
From 4-6 designers, or earlier if experience is your central differentiator — often Series B.
Career path
Head of Design → VP Design → CDO/CPO, or founder.