---
title: 'Head of Design at Somethings'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-design-somethings-new-york-p9eyk1vngbjt'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-08'
---

# Head of Design at Somethings

- **Company:** Somethings
- **Location:** New York, NY
- **Compensation:** $225k–$250k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-05-11
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/somethings/7c631690-baea-40cf-a92e-eab6dba895f0

## Job description

## ABOUT SOMETHINGS

Somethings is building the first social wellness platform for teens — a place where a teen can form a real relationship with a mentor who gets them, sticks with them, and helps them get better.

25 million teens in the U.S. are struggling with their mental health. Every one of the thousands of teens who downloads Somethings is struggling. Our job is to make sure they don't just show up — they stay, connect with real humans who care deeply about them, and get the support they need to thrive.

We're backed by General Catalyst and world-class healthcare + consumer investors, and we're growing like crazy — in 2025 we grew 1100%, raised our $15M Series A, and are on track to 5x in 2026.

If you want to be part of the generationally defining company in mental health, welcome home.

## ROLE OVERVIEW

We're looking for a Head of Design to lead all design ownership at Somethings — from strategy and brand identity all the way through to implementation and craft.

This is the most senior design role at the company. You will report directly to the CEO and own design across every surface: our teen mobile experience, mentor web platform, clinical tooling, and brand.

This role is equal parts visionary and builder:

You will define what Somethings looks and feels like — and then make it real.

For the first six months, this role is heavily IC — building the design system, setting the craft standard, and doing the foundational design work alongside the team. Over time, it shifts toward team leadership: hiring, coaching, and scaling a world-class design function of 3–5 designers.

This is not a "manage from above" leadership role. It is a player–coach at the highest level — someone who can set the strategic direction and then sit down and build it.

## WHAT YOU'LL DO

1. OWN DESIGN STRATEGY AND VISION ACROSS THE COMPANY

- Define and evolve a unified design vision that spans mobile, web, and brand
- Translate company strategy into a clear design roadmap
- Establish design as a first-class input in every product and business decision
- Represent design in executive and investor conversations

1. BUILD THE DESIGN SYSTEM AND BRAND IMPLEMENTATION FROM SCRATCH

- Create a scalable, well-governed design system — tokens, components, patterns, documentation
- Define the visual language of Somethings: typography, color, motion, iconography, illustration, tone
- Ensure every surface — from the teen onboarding flow to the mentor dashboard to pitch decks — reflects the same cohesive identity
- Work closely with engineering to ensure the system lives in code, not just Figma

1. ELEVATE CRAFT ACROSS EVERY PRODUCT SURFACE

- Set and uphold the quality bar across mobile, web, and clinical experiences
- Review work in progress, give direct and constructive feedback, and model great design thinking
- Ensure that shipped product matches intended design quality — working through delivery, not just handing off
- Bring emotional intelligence to every surface: designing for belonging, trust, and care, not just usability

1. LEAD, COACH, AND GROW THE DESIGN TEAM

- Manage a growing team of 3–5 designers, including mobile and web leads
- Create clarity, remove blockers, and build a culture of high craft and high agency
- Hire great designers — define what great looks like and build a pipeline
- Create the conditions for your team to do the best design work of their careers

1. PARTNER CROSS-FUNCTIONALLY AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL

- Work directly with product, engineering, clinical operations, and growth
- Partner with the CEO on brand, investor materials, and company narrative
- Help enterprise health plan partners understand and trust our platform through design quality
- Bring user insight into every conversation — ground strategy in what teens and mentors actually need

## WHO YOU ARE

- 8+ years of product design experience, with at least 3 years in a design leadership role
- A portfolio that demonstrates both exceptional visual craft and end-to-end product thinking — from ambiguous problem to beautiful, shipped solution
- Deep experience building design systems from scratch and governing them at scale
- Proven track record of managing and growing design teams — you've hired, developed, and led designers and know what great leadership looks like
- Fluency across both mobile and web — you understand the distinct nuances of each platform and design natively for both
- Experience in consumer or social products where emotional resonance is as important as usability
- You are an exceptional visual designer — typography, color, hierarchy, and motion are not afterthoughts; they are how you think
- You are still excited to be hands-on — you want to build, not just direct
- Experience in health, wellness, or mission-driven products is a plus, not a requirement

## HOW WE WORK

We're building a culture that blends high performance, deep belonging, and radical clarity:

- We care about outcomes, not theatrics
- We move quickly and learn constantly
- We speak the truth early
- We protect focus
- We hold a high bar for craft and quality
- We're small, intense, collaborative, and mission-driven
- We care about each other, and we care about the millions of teens we serve

If you're looking for a place where you can have real ownership and build something that genuinely changes lives, this is it.

## WORK ENVIRONMENT

- This is a full-time position in person 5 days per week in our NYC office in Williamsburg.
- Remote considered for truly exceptional candidates.
- Output-driven culture with flexibility where it supports life and excellence.

## WHAT WE OFFER

- 💰 The annual salary range for this position is $225,000–$250,000.
- 📈 Significant equity compensation, reflecting your foundational role and impact.
- 🏥 Comprehensive health insurance coverage.
- 🎯 Full ownership of design strategy, brand, and team building.
- 🎉 Unlimited days off.

Job level and actual compensation will be determined by factors including, but not limited to, individual qualifications objectively assessed during the interview process, market demands, and specific work location. The listed range is a guideline and may be modified.

## EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

At Somethings, we're committed to building a workplace where diversity is not just welcomed, it's celebrated. We believe that innovation thrives on teams where everyone can be their authentic selves, bringing unique perspectives and backgrounds to the table. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. This means all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. Our commitment to inclusivity is woven into the fabric of our corporate culture, ensuring everyone has the opportunity to succeed, learn, and grow with us.

## About Somethings

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Somethings connects teens and young adults (13–26) with Certified Peer Specialist mentors via a HIPAA-compliant mobile app for on-demand, relatable mental health support.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series A‑II, total raised $36.72M)
- **Headquarters**: New York, New York, United States (424 Broadway, Unit 602)
- **Founded**: 2021
- **Founders**: Patrick Gilligan (Founder & CEO)

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Digital mental health / telehealth for youth
- Target customers: B2B – states, Medicaid managed care plans, schools, and community organizations (services are free to end users)
- Mission/purpose: “To help every teen build the genuine human connections they need to feel their best” – by reinventing how teens access mental health care through peer connection, early intervention, and technology.

## Products & Services
- **Near‑Peer Mentorship (Somethings app)**: Teens connect 1:1 with a Certified Peer Specialist mentor (age 21+) who has lived experience with mental health challenges. Mentors are trained and supervised by licensed clinicians. Available after school and into evening hours. Includes AI‑powered safety screening and rapid clinical escalation.
- **Clinical Therapy (stepped care)**: For youth who need or prefer traditional therapy, Somethings also offers licensed clinical services within a stepped‑care model.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of $36.72M (latest Series A of $19.2M closed Feb 2026)  
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Catalio Capital (lead), General Catalyst, Tusk Ventures. Partners include NCDHHS (North Carolina), Alliance Health, 200+ schools, 250+ community organizations.
- **Growth Signals**: 1,100x user growth over the past year; supported 11,000+ teens; 65% reduction in depression and 60% reduction in suicidal ideation among participants (Sept 2025 outcomes report); 150,000+ teen social‑media audience driving thousands of sign‑ups per month; 69 employees with 8.9% monthly headcount growth.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Near‑peer model**: Teens often disengage from traditional therapy because they don’t feel understood; Somethings’ mentors are young adults who “get it” – relatable, trained, and clinically supervised.
- **Real‑time access**: No waitlists, no transportation barriers – mentors available when teens need them most (after school, evenings).
- **AI as an amplifier, not a replacement**: Proprietary AI supports mentors with engagement, safety screening, and risk escalation but never interacts directly with youth.
- **Free to users + stable state contracts**: Removes cost barriers; partners with states and Medicaid plans (fee‑for‑service or per‑member arrangements), positioning the service as essential rather than discretionary.

## Strategic Focus
- **Team growth**: Hiring for critical product and commercial roles to scale platform and enter new states.
- **Rural health expansion**: Strong traction with state rural health transformation programs; app designed for low‑access environments.
- **Deepening Medicaid & school partnerships**: Expanding into additional states while demonstrating clinical and economic value.
- **Product co‑creation with teens**: Building features based directly on youth feedback.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission‑driven culture**: Work at the intersection of mental health, technology, and social impact – “every teen deserves someone to talk to.”
- **Growth‑stage momentum**: Recent $19.2M Series A, rapid user growth, and a small (69‑person) team where impact is visible.
- **Engineering & product philosophy**: “Hybrid product design and clinical approach” – tech amplifies human connection, not replaces it. AI tools are built to support mentors, not to interact with teens.
- **Work environment**: Based in New York (Brooklyn/Manhattan). Remote/hybrid policy not publicly specified, but the team appears to be US‑based. The company emphasizes building “alongside teen voices” and values clinical rigor.
- **Leadership**: Founder Patrick Gilligan (Stanford product design/CS), Medical Director Dr. Nick Nissen (Harvard psychiatrist), and advisors with deep policy/Medicaid experience.

## Sources
1. [somethings.com](https://www.somethings.com/) (homepage and About page)
2. [somethings.com/about](https://www.somethings.com/about)
3. [cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/somethings)
4. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/somethingsmentorship)
5. [alleywatch.com](https://alleywatch.com/2026/02/somethings-teen-peer-mentorship-platform-youth-suicide-prevention-medicaid-mental-health-patrick-gilligan/)
6. [jobs.ashbyhq.com](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/somethings) (careers page)

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