--- title: 'Product Designer at Instead' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/product-designer-instead-bengaluru-fdma1zmvnbbb' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-07' --- # Product Designer at Instead - **Company:** Instead - **Location:** Bengaluru, India - **Work type:** remote - **Posted:** 2025-07-19 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/instead/jobs/6654481003 ## Job description ## About Instead Instead is where tax work gets done. Our AI agent orchestrates the entirety of how work gets done in tax, from preparation and compliance to filing and advisory. It’s a fundamentally new way of doing tax work, and it’s why top 500 firms, Big Four teams, and enterprise corporate tax departments are choosing Instead. What makes us unique: we hold full government approvals with the IRS, 48 states, and all cities to e-file 1040, 1041, 1120, 1120S, and 1065, with 706, 709, 990, 5500, and 2290 coming for tax year 2026. No one else can offer this, and no one else will for years as it takes that long to pass government approvals. This lets us build product experiences that are simply unmatched in the market. Instead is backed by Conviction, IRIS (the largest tax software provider in the UK), Skylark, and many of our partners and customers. Our team includes leaders from Intuit, Thomson Reuters, Wolters Kluwer, Gusto, PwC, BDO, RSM, and KPMG. The national publication Accounting Today, twice recognized me as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in the Accounting Profession - Ones To Watch”. ## About the role At Instead, we’re unlocking millions in tax savings for businesses and individuals—and we’re looking for a creative and talented Product Designer who is eager to contribute to our mission. You’ll join forces with our Head of Design and US-based design team, product managers, and engineers to design and refine our flagship Instead platform—guiding taxpayers and tax advisors from tax strategy discovery through to filing their tax returns. As you follow and contribute to our design system to craft intuitive, user-friendly interfaces that balance user needs with engineering requirements and sprint timelines. You’ll also collaborate closely with customer support, cross-functional product teams, and our US-based design team to ensure every interaction effortlessly empowers our users navigating a complex domain. ## What you'll do - Design user-friendly interfaces for the Instead platform that guide taxpayers through complex tax-saving strategies through rapid iterations - Showcase your designs through rapid prototyping to stakeholders and customers - Follow and evolve our design system, ensuring consistency across the product and simplify the design process - Work closely with cross-functional teams (engineering, product, marketing) to create designs that are both user-friendly and technically feasible - Coordinate with customer support and product teams to ensure designs meet user needs and customer expectations - Regularly meet and collaborate with our US-based design team to to ideate, uphold design quality and maintain consistency - Ensure engineering team output matches the quality and specifications of your designs - Utilize a design toolkit to connect-the-dots across different product areas to solve design challenges ## What you'll need - 2+ years of experience in Product Design, UI, or a related visual design field - An innovative portfolio demonstrating Product Design, UX/UI design, problem-solving, and successful project outcomes through a keen eye for detail - An interest and exploration of AI design tools and practices - Expert knowledge of UI design principles and techniques - Knowledge of design systems and component libraries - The ability and desire to keep learning, fail fast, and pivot - Strong attention to detail and ability to defend user-centric design thinking - Excellent communication and collaboration skills - Proficient in Figma and knowledgeable or eager to use emerging AI design tools. ## Nice to have - Experience working with distributed global teams - User research and testing methodologies - Knowledgeable about front-end UI frameworks - Experience designing for financial or tax-related products - Familiarity with tax processes or financial services ## Why join us - Ability to work with next-gen AI in all stages of the design and software development lifecycle - Direct design to code tooling for faster exploration - Work on a cutting-edge tax tech platform that's transforming the industry - Be part of a collaborative, mission-driven team - Competitive compensation and benefits - Opportunity to directly impact how users interact with complex tax strategies - Work with innovative technology and contribute to meaningful user experiences ## Equal Opportunity Employer - M/F/D/V As a global business, we rely on diversity of culture and thought to deliver on our goals. To ensure we can do that, we seek talented, qualified employees in all our operations around the world regardless of race, color, sex/gender, including pregnancy, gender identity and expression, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, citizen status, veteran status, or any other protected classification under applicable law. We also make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and for sincerely held religious beliefs in accordance with applicable law. We trust our team with sensitive information, so all candidates who receive and accept employment offers must complete a background check before joining us. ## About Instead ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Instead builds an AI agent that orchestrates end-to-end tax preparation, compliance, filing, and advisory for CPA firms, corporate tax teams, and family offices. - **Entity Type**: Private (Seed‑II) - **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, United States - **Founded**: 2023 - **Founders**: Not publicly available ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: AI‑powered tax software / financial technology (tax preparation and filing) - **Target customers**: B2B – CPA firms, Big Four teams, enterprise corporate tax departments, family offices, high‑net‑worth individuals, and tax preparers - **Mission or purpose statement**: “Build the AI agent for accountants. We start with tax, the most complex and highest‑stakes service line, and expand into every area where intelligent agents can help professionals deliver more for their clients.” ## Products & Services - **Instead Agent** (SaaS / AI Agent): A dedicated AI agent assigned to each client that handles research, planning, preparation, filing, and defense across all entity types (1040, 1041, 1120, 1120S, 1065). Supports e‑file to IRS and 48 states, document extraction, tax research from 1,500+ sources, and voice interaction. - **Instead Platform** (SaaS): The underlying infrastructure that powers tax workflows, multi‑entity compliance, report generation, workpapers, and tax planning. Includes free tier with unlimited users and entities; paid via credits used only when the agent performs work. - **Tax Research & Planning Tools**: Integrated research engine and strategy memo generation, designed to replace manual offshore prep and seasonal contractors. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed - **Key Metric**: Total funding raised – $15M (Seed‑II) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Conviction, IRIS (largest tax software provider in the UK), Skylark, and several partner/customer firms - **Growth Signals**: - First company in decades to receive IRS approval to e‑file across all five entity types. - Authorized e‑file provider for 140+ government jurisdictions. - SOC 2 Type II certified. - Used by top 500 firms, Big Four teams, and enterprise corporate tax departments. - Expanding to additional form types (706, 709, 990, 5500, 2290) for tax year 2026. ## Competitive Advantages - **Regulatory moat**: Full government approvals from the IRS, 48 states, and all cities for e‑filing – a barrier that takes years for competitors to replicate. - **End‑to‑end AI agent**: One agent that owns the entire tax workflow, from research and planning to preparation, filing, and defense, rather than piecemeal tools. - **Multi‑entity support**: Handles individuals, trusts, partnerships, S‑corps, and C‑corps within a single platform. - **Pricing model**: Free access to the platform; only pay credits when the agent performs work, enabling firms to scale without adding headcount. ## Strategic Focus - **Current priorities**: Deepening the AI agent’s capabilities, expanding e‑file approvals to additional form types, and scaling the platform to serve more CPA firms and corporate tax departments. - **Growth direction**: Moving beyond tax preparation into advisory and strategic work, positioning accountants as “orchestrators” of AI agents. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Mission‑driven, focused on transforming the accounting profession; team includes leaders from Intuit, Thomson Reuters, Wolters Kluwer, Gusto, PwC, BDO, RSM, and KPMG. - **Remote/hybrid policy**: Remote‑friendly with offices in San Francisco, CA (515 Folsom Street). “Work where you do your best work.” - **Notable perks**: - Medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents. - Competitive salary, equity, and performance bonuses. - Annual learning budget for conferences, courses, and books. - Generous PTO and flexible schedules. - MacBook Pro, monitor, and equipment provided. - **Engineering culture**: Building an AI‑first product; hiring across platform engineering, software engineering (SF and Bangalore), and product design. ## Sources 1. [instead.com](https://www.instead.com/) 2. [instead.com/resources/careers](https://www.instead.com/resources/careers) 3. [job-boards.greenhouse.io/instead](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/instead) 4. [cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/instead) 5. [linkedin.com/company/tryinstead](https://www.linkedin.com/company/tryinstead) ## Other roles at Instead - [Senior Director of Data Analytics & Business Systems](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-director-of-data-analytics-business-systems-instead-san-francisco-1w6tfmtwnam8) — San Francisco, CA - [Software Engineering Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineering-intern-instead-san-francisco-fdaj4k7njge7) — San Francisco, CA - [Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-instead-san-francisco-8xchcf3kcaf2) — San Francisco, CA - [Tax Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/tax-manager-instead-salt-lake-city-q4vhxs4bv2qp) — Salt Lake City, UT - [Tax Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/tax-manager-instead-san-francisco-5z10g7110a9t) — San Francisco, CA - [Product Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/product-manager-instead-san-francisco-8hs5y46hmeyx) — San Francisco, CA - [Engagement Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/engagement-manager-instead-lehi-esxz64f61psh) — Lehi, UT - [Software Engineer (Bangalore)](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-bangalore-instead-bengaluru-m2agqqf3qcye) — Bengaluru, India - [Director of Talent Acquisition](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-talent-acquisition-instead-bengaluru-9cty014apmas) — Bengaluru, India - [Forms Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/forms-specialist-instead-hyderabad-qj69ab2g1hqa) — Hyderabad, India