---
title: 'Principal Designer at Modern Life'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/principal-designer-modern-life-new-york-bx5kanvfpzd8'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-08'
---

# Principal Designer at Modern Life

- **Company:** Modern Life
- **Location:** New York, NY
- **Compensation:** $220k–$260k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-11-05
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-08
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/modernlife/3cad3727-9c69-4ef7-8d33-e7ede58140b6

## Job description

Life insurance is a complex and consequential purchase that impacts hundreds of millions of Americans. With our powerful and integrated digital tools, expert support, and leading insurance products, we empower advisors to better serve their clients, grow their businesses, and bring the future of the industry to life. We are a high-growth, AI-driven brokerage backed by $35M from top-tier investors, including Thrive Capital (major investors in OpenAI, Stripe, Instagram, Spotify, Slack, and SpaceX), New York Life, and Northwestern Mutual. Join a passionate team of product-minded technologists and insurance professionals who are at the leading edge of a massive industry. Make a tangible difference in people's lives and help deliver our mission to help everyone protect what matters most through advanced technology and tailored advice. This is a hands-on, senior individual contributor role. As our only designer, you'll own design across Modern Life's product and brand, set the standards, and direct a bench of specialty contractors. This isn't a people management role to start. For the next 6 to 12 months, the focus is doing the work at a high bar and building the foundation a future design team will grow on.

## What You'll Do

- Own design end to end across product, brand, and marketing, from research to shipped work
- Set the quality bar and design standards, including our Figma library and design system
- Direct our specialty contractors (brand, illustration, graphic, UI/UX): scoping, briefing, reviewing, and shipping
- Shape how design partners with product and engineering, including how we run user research
- Prototype fast with AI-native tools and push how we use them as capabilities evolve

## Your Impact

- Make complex insurance workflows clear and usable for advisors and their clients
- Influence product and company direction by tying design decisions to business priorities
- Build the practices a future design team will inherit, and help shape that team as we scale

## About You

- 8+ years of experience in digital product design, ideally including time as a solo designer or on a small team
- A portfolio that shows both product depth and visual and brand range
- Experience setting design standards across domains, not just executing within them
- Comfortable directing contractors and working without a design leader above you
- Based in NYC and open to working from our SoHo office, in person hybrid 4 days a week

Bonus Points

- Experience with complex B2B, fintech, or insurance workflows
- Prior design leadership experience and a preference for hands-on IC work

## About Modern Life

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Modern Life is an AI-powered life insurance brokerage that enables financial professionals to serve their clients’ protection needs with faster quoting, expert support, and a digital platform.
- **Entity Type**: Private, Series A ($20M raised November 2025, total $35M)
- **Headquarters**: New York, NY, USA
- **Founded**: 2021
- **Founders**: Michael Konialian (CEO) and Ryan Pripstein (Board Member)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Life insurance brokerage (financial services)
- **Target customers**: B2B – financial advisors, insurance agents, brokerage managers
- **Mission**: Help everyone protect what matters most

## Products & Services
- **Platform (AI-driven brokerage)**: SaaS-based quoting, case management, and underwriting tools that integrate with 30+ national carriers. Includes features like an online client fact finder, e-HIPAA, digital trial app, and integrated case management.
- **Term Life Insurance**: Fixed-period coverage (10–30 years) for income protection, mortgage, and key person insurance.
- **Permanent Life Insurance**: Lifetime coverage with a tax-advantaged savings component for estate planning, retirement, and wealth transfer.
- **Long-Term Care Insurance**: Protection against care expenses due to old age or disability; available as standalone or as a rider.
- **Disability Insurance**: Income replacement in case of disability.
- **Annuities**: Fixed, variable, or indexed products for retirement income and wealth transfer.
- **Express Decision**: Proprietary capability that delivers instant coverage decisions (quote to approved in minutes).

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding $35M (Seed + Series A); 35 employees
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Thrive Capital (led both Seed & Series A), New York Life Ventures, Northwestern Mutual
- **Growth Signals**:
  - November 2025: $20M Series A announced, building on rapid progress since seed.
  - Platform delivers +30% higher placement rate and +20% average cost savings for advisors.
  - Licensing in all 50 states.
  - Expanding strategic partnerships nationwide and accelerating product development.

## Competitive Advantages
- **AI-driven underwriting and quoting** that reduces friction and speeds time-to-approval (Express Decision).
- **Concierge expert support** from advanced planning specialists, underwriters, and case designers – especially for impaired risks, jumbo cases, and complex scenarios.
- **30+ carrier partnerships** providing broad product selection and competitive pricing.
- **Data analytics** for thorough risk assessment, helping advisors find the best offer for the right coverage.
- **Integrated platform** that cuts quote-to-approval time by up to 50% vs. traditional processes.

## Strategic Focus
- Expand distribution network and deepen partnerships with national carriers.
- Continue to develop proprietary AI/ML capabilities for underwriting and client matching.
- Grow headcount (currently 35) and scale operations to serve a larger advisor base.
- Enhance end-to-end agency management features on the platform.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Impact-driven, curious, entrepreneurial, with an ownership mindset. Described as “a team of entrepreneurs, technologists, and insurance experts.”
- **Hybrid office**: 4 days/week in-office in New York City (per current job listings); balance of modern office environment with flexibility.
- **Perks**: Unlimited PTO, quality health/insurance benefits (including life insurance), team meals, events, happy hours, and offsites.
- **Mission-oriented**: Opportunity to transform a massive industry and help people protect what matters most.
- **Growth stage**: Well-funded Series A – early enough for high impact, with strong backing from top-tier investors.

## Sources
1. [modernlife.com](https://www.modernlife.com/) – Main site, product descriptions
2. [modernlife.com/careers](https://www.modernlife.com/careers) – Careers page, culture, benefits
3. [modernlife.com/about](https://www.modernlife.com/about) – About, founders, mission
4. [modernlife.com/press-kit](https://www.modernlife.com/press-kit) – Press kit with Series A announcement, headcount, funding total
5. [jobs.lever.co/modernlife](https://jobs.lever.co/modernlife) – Current job openings, office policy

## Other roles at Modern Life

- [General Manager, Workspace](https://feeny.ai/job/general-manager-workspace-modern-life-new-york-3a24kqyf0ef5) — New York, NY
- [Director of Growth Marketing](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-growth-marketing-modern-life-new-york-a50ncysgpd8f) — New York, NY
- [Design Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/design-lead-modern-life-new-york-4epmcny3rfby) — New York, NY
- [Private Client Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/private-client-manager-modern-life-united-states-ss6n6t0qccve) — United States
- [Life Insurance Brokerage Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/life-insurance-brokerage-manager-modern-life-united-states-ycch949nmtn4) — United States
- [Principal Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-designer-faculty-london-278e03a0mmfg) — London, United Kingdom
- [Principal Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-designer-the-trade-desk-new-york-76xre0frzv61) — New York, NY
- [Principal Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-designer-uipath-bellevue-y2ghxt5966yk) — Bellevue, WA
- [Principal Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-designer-avantos-ai-new-york-kpawsw2nyrye) — New York, NY