Application Guide
How to Apply for Head of Product Design (m/f/d)
at 1KOMMA5°
🏢 About 1KOMMA5°
1KOMMA5° is a mission-driven startup decarbonizing buildings through integrated clean energy solutions. You'll work on products that directly impact the climate crisis while being part of a fast-growing, ambitious team.
About This Role
As Head of Product Design, you'll build and lead the design org from scratch, shaping the user experience of both customer-facing and internal products (Heartbeat). Your work will define how homeowners interact with clean energy, making sustainability intuitive and accessible.
💡 A Day in the Life
You'll start with a stand-up with your design team, review prototypes for an AI-driven energy dashboard, then meet with product and engineering to align on roadmap priorities. Afternoons might involve mentoring a junior designer, reviewing design system updates, and sketching concepts for a new customer onboarding flow.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who 1KOMMA5° Is Looking For
- A seasoned design leader (9+ years) who has scaled a design team and can mentor designers while maintaining hands-on strategic involvement.
- AI-native: you actively use generative design tools (e.g., Midjourney, Runway) and can envision how AI transforms product experiences, not just workflows.
- Systems thinker with a portfolio showcasing design systems that ensure coherence across web, mobile, and hardware touchpoints.
- Comfortable with ambiguity: you thrive in a startup where strategy evolves rapidly, and you can influence product roadmap and company strategy as a senior cross-functional leader.
📝 Tips for Applying to 1KOMMA5°
Tailor your portfolio to include projects that demonstrate AI integration in design (e.g., using AI for user research, prototyping, or personalization).
Highlight any experience with energy, IoT, or hardware-software products to show domain relevance.
In your resume, explicitly mention the size of teams you've led and how you scaled design operations.
Prepare a brief case study on how you'd embed AI into the Heartbeat product (e.g., AI-driven energy insights for homeowners).
Showcase your design system work with concrete examples of how it improved cross-product consistency and team velocity.
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
['Your passion for climate tech and how product design can accelerate the energy transition.', 'Your experience leading design teams and scaling design orgs, with specific metrics (e.g., reduced time-to-market, improved NPS).', 'Your fluency with AI tools and vision for AI-powered product experiences.', 'Your ability to operate as a strategic partner to product and engineering leadership.']
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → Understand 1KOMMA5°'s core product: 'Heartbeat' – their energy management system. Read about its features and user reviews.
- → Explore their investor deck or press releases to grasp their growth trajectory and market position.
- → Look into their competitors (e.g., Sonnen, Tesla) to understand the design landscape in clean energy.
- → Check their careers page and social media to gauge company culture and recent achievements.
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Don't submit a generic portfolio without AI-related projects or design system examples – this role demands both.
- Avoid being too theoretical; they want a leader who can execute. Provide concrete examples of impact.
- Don't underestimate the cross-functional aspect: failing to show strategic influence in past roles is a red flag.
📅 Application Timeline
This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.
Typical hiring timeline:
Application Review
1-2 weeks
Initial Screening
Phone call or written assessment
Interviews
1-2 rounds, usually virtual
Offer
Congratulations!