Substack is doing something new. If it works, it will be consequential for us and for the world at large, but it's going to take a lot of doing. We can get into what this is, exactly, and especially how it will work, but we already know, to some extent, what we're looking for.
This new thing is going to be pursued by a company-in-a-company. You'll be the design function for this company, and also the design consultant for the writers (and other creatives) it serves. You'll need to work with them effectively, while being able to help them reason about product and platform possibilities within the space. It'll be highly useful if you can build things, or at least work in the front-end somewhat effectively.
Beyond this, it's a regular Substack Product Design role, the description of which follows:
Experienced designers know that business realities shape the possibility spaces of product strategy. If "what works" for a product or platform is defined ultimately by "what sells more ads at better prices," designers may achieve a lovely user interface or ideal typography, but everything will be in service of producing the same strange, often-nightmarish dynamics we all know from the many scaled platforms of the past decade.
Substack does not have silver bullets for the problems of human nature and we will not avoid all of the costs of creating scaled platforms. But we do have a different model, one in which we make money only when writers, musicians, artists, journalists, cooks, students, and people of all kinds earn money from audiences who value them enough to consistently pay them. Crucially, in this model, all scales are reduced: one needs thousands, not millions, of fans, and this difference alone changes the dynamics of the platform, and thus what's possible with e.g. product architecture. As fundamental, though, is the level of trust and interest involved in paid subscriptions. "What works" for Substack is what leads people to make long-term and real investments in independent creators of all kinds, and we hope this will lead to improved outcomes in aggregate across many types of features.
If you're interested in working on this model, we'd love to chat! Design at Substack is somewhat wild, and we're looking for rigorous, robust, high-output designers who are comfortable with the pros and cons of startup life. We are not a "best practices" shop; we have little process; we work closely with executives and other functions and we're not territorial or precious. But we get to shape the development of the most promising platform for creators, we have a lovely and weird little team, and we have a lot of fun in our quite-free and friendly company. If this sounds compelling, hit us up!
Substack's compensation package includes a market-competitive salary, equity for all full-time roles, and exceptional benefits. Our cash compensation salary range for this role is $150,000 - $215,000. Multiple factors, including candidate experience and expertise, determine final offer amounts and may vary from the amounts listed above.
Substack is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or transgender status), age, national origin, veteran or disability status. We’re seeking people passionate about enabling independent expression and building a better business model for creators. If you want to see what media, communities, and content can become when unmoored from advertising models, and you have the skills and experience to contribute, we’d love to meet you.
