UX Designer
Contrarian Thinking, Austin, TX, United States
About Us
Contrarian Thinking is building the infrastructure layer for modern entrepreneurs.
We already have attention.
Now we’re turning it into software.
The goal: Take someone from “I want to buy/build a business” → “I did it” faster than anyone else.
Role We're hiring a UX designer who ships.
You take fuzzy problems and turn them into clear, usable products -- fast. Most of your day is self-directed: you define the problem, make the design calls, and don't wait for a brief to tell you what good looks like. You know when to sketch on paper, when to go straight to high-fidelity, and when the right answer is a conversation instead of a mockup. No 40-slide decks. No pixel-perfect handoffs that live in Figma and die there. You treat "done and learning" as better than "perfect and pending."
When you work with leadership, you come with a recommendation, not a mood board. You translate vague instincts -- "this feels off," "we want it to feel premium" -- into design decisions you can defend. You push back when a request would make the product worse, and you can connect your design choices to business outcomes without someone asking you to. You're not waiting to be told what the product should do. You already have a theory.
The one-dimensional designer doesn't survive here. You have enough product sense to know what should be built before you design how it looks. You have enough technical fluency to know what's easy to build and what's going to cause a week of back-and-forth with an engineer. You can write a brief clear enough for an agency or an offshore team to execute without you holding their hand -- and you can tell in the first round of reviews whether they understood it or not. Your job isn't to make things pretty. It's to make things work, and then make them beautiful.
What You’ll Do
Design end-to-end user experiences across web apps and internal tools
Turn product ideas into wireframes, flows, and prototypes in hours or days, not weeks
Work directly with engineering -- no design-to-dev theater
Run fast user research and translate insights into design decisions
Define interaction patterns, information architecture, and UX standards
Iterate based on real usage data, not assumptions
Tech Environment
Design & Prototyping:
Figma (or similar)
Research & Testing:
Maze, Hotjar, Loom (or comparable)
Handoff & Collaboration:
Jira, Linear, Notion, Slack
Product Context:
React/Next.js front ends, HubSpot, internal dashboards
Tooling:
AI-assisted design and research (e.g. Claude, Perplexity, or similar)
Note:
Experience with this stack is a
strong advantage , not required.
What We’re Looking For
You’ve
actually shipped products that real people use
(portfolio > resumes)
You can move from research → wireframe → prototype without waiting on direction
You think in systems, not screens
You’re comfortable with ambiguity and opinionated about clarity
You care about outcomes — did users actually understand it? Did it convert? Did it help business owners maximize their results?
Strong Signals
Designed 0→1 products or features
Experience designing for SaaS, dashboards, or data-heavy products
Comfortable doing your own lightweight user research
Startup, agency, or high-ownership environment
Not a Fit If
You need a fully scoped brief before opening Figma
You optimize for beautiful over usable
You hand off and disappear
You've only worked in large orgs with dedicated researchers, PMs, and writers doing the work around you
Success Looks Like
Designs that reach production weekly
UX that measurably reduces confusion and drop-off
A growing design system that speeds up future work
Clear impact on activation, retention, or revenue
Why Join
High ownership, low bureaucracy
Direct line to product and engineering
Design fast with modern tooling + AI
Small team, real impact
Screening Process Fast. Practical. No theater.
Intro Call (20 min):
Alignment, background, speed check
Build Exercise (2–4 hours max)
Take a real product idea
Outline & prototype how you’d ship it
Focus: speed, clarity, decisions
Deep Dive (45 min):
Walk through your thinking live
Follow-Up Interview(s)
Founder Conversation: Final alignment on ownership + expectations
Benefits
Health Coverage:
Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans to support you and your family
401(k) with Company Match:
Competitive match to help you build long-term financial security
Flexible Time Off:
Take the time you need to perform at a high level—no unnecessary constraints
Ownership & Upside:
Compensation is structured to reward impact, with meaningful performance-based upside tied to the success of the products and business
Build Your Own Lane:
Opportunity to take on increasing responsibility, lead initiatives, and shape the direction of the company as it grows
#J-18808-Ljbffr
We already have attention.
Now we’re turning it into software.
The goal: Take someone from “I want to buy/build a business” → “I did it” faster than anyone else.
Role We're hiring a UX designer who ships.
You take fuzzy problems and turn them into clear, usable products -- fast. Most of your day is self-directed: you define the problem, make the design calls, and don't wait for a brief to tell you what good looks like. You know when to sketch on paper, when to go straight to high-fidelity, and when the right answer is a conversation instead of a mockup. No 40-slide decks. No pixel-perfect handoffs that live in Figma and die there. You treat "done and learning" as better than "perfect and pending."
When you work with leadership, you come with a recommendation, not a mood board. You translate vague instincts -- "this feels off," "we want it to feel premium" -- into design decisions you can defend. You push back when a request would make the product worse, and you can connect your design choices to business outcomes without someone asking you to. You're not waiting to be told what the product should do. You already have a theory.
The one-dimensional designer doesn't survive here. You have enough product sense to know what should be built before you design how it looks. You have enough technical fluency to know what's easy to build and what's going to cause a week of back-and-forth with an engineer. You can write a brief clear enough for an agency or an offshore team to execute without you holding their hand -- and you can tell in the first round of reviews whether they understood it or not. Your job isn't to make things pretty. It's to make things work, and then make them beautiful.
What You’ll Do
Design end-to-end user experiences across web apps and internal tools
Turn product ideas into wireframes, flows, and prototypes in hours or days, not weeks
Work directly with engineering -- no design-to-dev theater
Run fast user research and translate insights into design decisions
Define interaction patterns, information architecture, and UX standards
Iterate based on real usage data, not assumptions
Tech Environment
Design & Prototyping:
Figma (or similar)
Research & Testing:
Maze, Hotjar, Loom (or comparable)
Handoff & Collaboration:
Jira, Linear, Notion, Slack
Product Context:
React/Next.js front ends, HubSpot, internal dashboards
Tooling:
AI-assisted design and research (e.g. Claude, Perplexity, or similar)
Note:
Experience with this stack is a
strong advantage , not required.
What We’re Looking For
You’ve
actually shipped products that real people use
(portfolio > resumes)
You can move from research → wireframe → prototype without waiting on direction
You think in systems, not screens
You’re comfortable with ambiguity and opinionated about clarity
You care about outcomes — did users actually understand it? Did it convert? Did it help business owners maximize their results?
Strong Signals
Designed 0→1 products or features
Experience designing for SaaS, dashboards, or data-heavy products
Comfortable doing your own lightweight user research
Startup, agency, or high-ownership environment
Not a Fit If
You need a fully scoped brief before opening Figma
You optimize for beautiful over usable
You hand off and disappear
You've only worked in large orgs with dedicated researchers, PMs, and writers doing the work around you
Success Looks Like
Designs that reach production weekly
UX that measurably reduces confusion and drop-off
A growing design system that speeds up future work
Clear impact on activation, retention, or revenue
Why Join
High ownership, low bureaucracy
Direct line to product and engineering
Design fast with modern tooling + AI
Small team, real impact
Screening Process Fast. Practical. No theater.
Intro Call (20 min):
Alignment, background, speed check
Build Exercise (2–4 hours max)
Take a real product idea
Outline & prototype how you’d ship it
Focus: speed, clarity, decisions
Deep Dive (45 min):
Walk through your thinking live
Follow-Up Interview(s)
Founder Conversation: Final alignment on ownership + expectations
Benefits
Health Coverage:
Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans to support you and your family
401(k) with Company Match:
Competitive match to help you build long-term financial security
Flexible Time Off:
Take the time you need to perform at a high level—no unnecessary constraints
Ownership & Upside:
Compensation is structured to reward impact, with meaningful performance-based upside tied to the success of the products and business
Build Your Own Lane:
Opportunity to take on increasing responsibility, lead initiatives, and shape the direction of the company as it grows
#J-18808-Ljbffr