Head of Design

ELMO Software; Sydney; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid Parental leave - 12 weeks

Birthday leave and YOU day

In-house Learning and Development

ELMO Social and Diversity clubs

Mental Health/EAP programs

Flare Benefits

Job summary

ELMO Software Pty Ltd is seeking a hands-on Head of Design to lead our design practice, own the design system, and champion top-tier UX across HR, Payroll & AI platforms. You’ll manage a tight-knit team of 5 designers embedded in cross-functional squads, split between strategy, craft, and people leadership, shaping the big picture while staying close to high-impact AI work.

You’ll mentor, stay hands-on, and own the UX system, ensuring usability and WCAG AA compliance, while bridging UI with AI

Qualifications

• Proven leadership of embedded product designers without creating bottlenecks.
• Hands-on design craft with ability to dive into complex product problems.
• Experience scaling design systems and ensuring accessibility standards like WCAG AA.
• Strong interest in AI-native design practices and multi-modal interfaces.
• Ability to tie design decisions to product performance and business outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of 5 designers within cross-functional squads.
• Stay hands-on directing design on high-impact AI features.
• Own the UX and design system, with final sign-off on usability and accessibility.
• Bridge UI and AI across web interfaces, conversational AI, and automation workflows.
• Manage design tools, headcount, and budget aligning with Product and Engineering.

Skills

Leadership

User Experience

AI UI design

Design Systems

Business Acumen

Job description

We are looking for our first hands-on Head of Design to lead our design practice, own our design system, and champion top-tier UX across our HR, Payroll & AI platforms.

You’ll be managing a tight-knit team of 5 Mid & Senior Product Designers embedded in cross-functional squads. This is a balanced role split between strategy, hands-on craft and people management. You’ll get to shape the big picture while staying close to the work on high-impact AI initiatives.

What you’ll be doing:

• Lead & Mentor: Line-manage 5 talented designers, set career paths, and guide the team in AI-native design practices.
• Stay Hands-On: Personally direct design on complex, next-gen AI features and set high craft standards.
• Own the UX & System: Strategic owner of the ELMO design system. You'll hold final sign-off on usability, WCAG AA accessibility, and design-to-code pipelines.
• Bridge UI & AI: Craft smooth experiences across traditional web interfaces, conversational AI, and automated workflows.
• Ops & Strategy: Manage design tools, headcount, and budget while keeping design tightly aligned with Product and Engineering.

What we’re looking for:

• Design Leadership: Experience leading embedded product designers without creating bottlenecks.
• Strong Craft: You're still a top-tier practitioner who loves getting into the weeds on complex product problems.
• AI & Multi-Modal Interest: Solid grip on conversational UI, modern AI design tools, or AI-to-code workflows (or super keen to drive it).
• Systems & Research: Deep experience scaling design systems, UX research methods, and accessibility standards.
• Business Savvy: Able to tie design decisions back to product performance and business outcomes.

Why ELMO?

At ELMO, you will be joining an epic team with the opportunity to make a big impact. We foster an authentic, collaborative, fun working environment and being an ELMOnian means you're part of an amazing team that will push you to grow, support you with challenges, and allow you to shine.

• Paid Parental leave - 12 weeks primary, 6 weeks secondary
• Birthday leave, YOU day each year, as well as connecting people leave (up to 2 weeks working from anywhere)
• In-house Learning and Development initiatives
• ELMO Social and Diversity clubs
• Mental Health/EAP programs
• Flare Benefits (great discounts, novated leasing, salary sacrifice)

Our Values:

• Reimagine What's Possible - We believe innovation is human at its core. By staying open, fearless, and adaptive, we continuously push boundaries - while keeping people at the heart of everything we do.
• Obsess over Customers - Everything we do is designed to positively impact our customers.
• Help Others Thrive - Be they colleagues, communities or customers, we champion ways to help others thrive.
• Be Fearlessly Optimistic - We bring unwavering positivity to any challenge, as we know it will drive meaningful change.

ELMO Software Pty Ltd is an equal opportunity employer, and we encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to join our team - a commitment reflected in our Reconciliation Action Plan.

As the first software company in Australia and New Zealand to achieve ISO 42001:2023 Certification, we're passionate about responsible, secure and safe AI. Key to this role is an awareness of data privacy and security, as you'll be working with sensitive employee data in accordance with our ISO 27001:2022 Certified security policies.

Please Note: Our internal Talent Acquisition team has got this covered; we are not open to using an agency for this role.