About Our Client

Developing a peer-to-peer resale marketplace designed as the "trading post for country America." We serve a dedicated, underserved audience of country and outdoor lifestyle families, hunters, anglers, country music fans, and horse enthusiasts who need a platform built for western wear, workwear, and outdoor gear. We are currently executing a clean rebuild of our mobile application to resolve critical technical and security issues identified in a recent audit. We are pushing toward a hard 90-day launch target for our MVP. We need a designer who can move fast, make decisive calls, and ensure our core experience is launch-ready without over-engineering.

The Role

We are looking for a hands-on UI/UX designer to own the core buyer and seller experience. This is not a "hand off a Figma file" role; you will work directly with our engineering team to refine the product in real time as we build.

What You'll Own

• Core User Flows: Designing optimized mobile-first flows for browsing, buying, and listing items.

• Distinctive Features: Shaping the UI for "Snap-to-List" (AI-assisted listing), AI negotiation agents, and multi-item bundling.

• Design System: Establishing a lightweight, on-brand design system (colors, type, components) to ensure a cohesive identity.

• Rapid Iteration: Refining screens based on real feedback once our beta group begins testing.

• Trust Signals: Implementing critical buyer/seller protection UI, reviews, and condition reporting to build community trust.

What Is Out of Scope

• Building out a full design team or design ops function.

• Deep personalization or complex ML-driven UX beyond the MVP scope.

• Heavy brand or marketing design work separate from the in-app product.

What We're Looking For

• Generalist Expertise: A designer comfortable owning both UX (flows, wireframes) and UI (visual design).

• MVP Experience: Proven track record of shipping early-stage products and making pragmatic calls under tight deadlines.

• Marketplace Familiarity: Deep understanding of e-commerce dynamics, including checkout, escrow-based payments, and dispute/return flows.

• Technical Fluency: Ability to collaborate with developers working in a modern JavaScript stack (Express.js/PostgreSQL).

• Category & Culture Fluency: Genuine familiarity with western, ranching, hunting, and fishing culture, or a clear ability to design authentically for it. You should know the difference between Carhartt and Cinch, understand why a rancher and a rodeo athlete have different trust concerns as sellers, and design visuals and copy that read as credible to this audience rather than generic or borrowed from mainstream fashion resale apps. Direct experience in this world (personal or professional) is a strong plus.

What Success Looks Like

By the end of this 6-8 week engagement, and within our 90-day launch window:

1. Seamless Flows: A user can complete a full buy and sell flow (including AI listing and bundling) without outside explanation.

2. Visual Maturity: The app has a consistent, professional visual identity that reflects a rugged adventure and strong country brand that feels authentic to our target audience.

3. Build Readiness: Core screens are documented and ready to support our initial beta launch.

4. On-Time Launch: We launch to our beta group on schedule, having resolved the critical user-impact issues from our previous audit.

How to Apply

Please provide the following items to

CultureTeam@Droplight.com

1. Portfolio/Case Studies: Highlighting relevant marketplace or e-commerce work.

2. MVP Summary: A short note on your experience taking a product from prototype to a launched MVP.

3. Availability: Your earliest start date and confirmed rate for a 6-8 week engagement.