Staff Product Designer

Sonatype is the software supply chain security company. We provide the world’s best end-to-end software supply chain security solution, combining the only proactive protection against malicious open source, the only enterprise grade SBOM management and the leading open source dependency management platform. This empowers enterprises to create and maintain secure, quality, and innovative software at scale.

As founders of Nexus Repository and stewards of Maven Central, the world’s largest repository of Java open-source software, we are software pioneers and our open source expertise is unmatched. We empower innovation with an unparalleled commitment to build faster, safer software and harness AI and data intelligence to mitigate risk, maximize efficiencies, and drive powerful software development.

More than 2,000 organizations, including 70% of the Fortune 100 and 15 million software developers, rely on Sonatype to optimize their software supply chains.

Sonatype is evolving how product design drives direction, flow intelligence, and user experience across our enterprise developer platform. As a Staff Product Designer, you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping a design model that works across agile teams. Instead of being embedded directly in sprints, you’ll collaborate with UX engineers who sit inside teams, while you focus on higher-level evaluation, conceptual design, and enablement.

This is a strategic and technical role: you’ll zoom in to spot UX/content details, zoom out to align flows with product strategy, and deliver conceptual frameworks and reviews that help teams move faster toward better outcomes. You’ll work closely with design leadership to build out this model together - not as a lone experiment, but as part of a larger evolution of how Sonatype approaches product design.

• Product Strategy & Evaluation
• Develop deep expertise in Sonatype products and enterprise developer workflows.
• Identify and prioritize UX improvements using analytics, customer insights, and product usage patterns.
• Deliver conceptual designs and mockups for new features, flow improvements, and occasionally larger redesign initiatives.

• Enablement & Influence
• Partner with PMs, engineers, and designers as a trusted advisor and co-creator.
• Mentor embedded UX engineers on best practices, UX fundamentals, and implementation context.
• Present confidently to customers and stakeholders, influencing decisions with clarity and evidence.

• Design Leadership
• Contribute to Sonatype’s style guide, accessibility standards (WCAG 2.2 AA), and navigation frameworks.
• Ensure designs tie seamlessly into existing product ecosystems while creating space for innovation.
• Champion UX content, readability, and market-appropriate communication.

• Deep understanding of enterprise developer workflows demonstrated in product reviews and demos.
• Able to present high-quality product demos that showcase strong UX and technical fluency.
• Faster enablement of UX engineers, leading to measurable improvements in product UX.
• Strong presentation, communication, and influence across teams and stakeholders.

• Background: 15+ years in design/UX with prior experience designing developer-centric products or engineering experience (required).

• Technical Skills:
• Proficiency in Figma, React, WCAG accessibility testing.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted design/dev tools (Claude, Cursor) is a plus.

• Core Strengths:
• Strategic and detail-oriented; can zoom in/out as context demands.
• Exceptional presentation and communication skills for both internal and customer contexts.
• Strong grasp of UX content, structure, and readability in enterprise developer tools.
• Collaborative, flexible, and able to mentor others without relying on heavy-handed governance.

At Sonatype, we value diversity and inclusivity. We offer perks such as parental leave, diversity and inclusion working groups, and flexible working practices to allow our employees to show up as their whole selves. We are an equal-opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please do not hesitate to let us know.