Lead Product Designer (12 Month Fixed-Term Contract)

Sonder; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work environment

Free Sonder app access 24/7 support

Parental leave with return-to-work政策

AI tools access (Claude, Gemini)

Study leave

Wellbeing fund

Salary packaging

Dog-friendly office

Volunteer leave

Job summary

Sonder is seeking a Lead Product Designer for a 12-month fixed-term contract in Sydney. You will lead design across the member experience, taking work from discovery to shipped product, primarily on mobile, with collaboration across Product and Engineering.

Ideal candidates bring 5+ years in senior design roles, a strong portfolio with mobile craft, design systems experience, and comfort presenting to leadership. AI integration experience is a plus.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of senior or staff-level product design experience.
• A strong portfolio showing full-stack product design, from discovery through to shipped product, with particularly strong mobile interaction craft and visual polish.
• Design system experience — comfortable extending what already exists with good judgement, and helping build out new parts from the ground up.
• Genuine curiosity about AI tools and how they can sharpen your design process.
• Excellent design communication — confident presenting your thinking to a range of audiences, from engineering partners through to leadership.
• Comfortable moving between near-term, ship-ready work and longer-range vision work as priorities shift.
• Experience as a design lead in a fast-moving startup environment.
• Experience building a design system from the ground up, not just extending one.
• Experience embedding AI tools directly into your day-to-day design process.
• Experience designing in regulated, high-trust or health and safety-adjacent spaces, working with clinical, safety or trust and safety stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead design across Sonder's member experience from discovery through to shipped, polished product.
• Collaborate closely with Product and Engineering on day-to-day execution, with a strong mobile focus but range across devices and platforms.
• Present and communicate design decisions effectively to stakeholders including leadership and engineering partners.

Job description

Lead Product Designer (12 Month Fixed-Term Contract)

At Sonder, we believe every person deserves to feel safe, supported, and empowered to be at their best, wherever they are. We're redefining workplace health, safety, and wellbeing through a seamless blend of technology and human expertise. Sonder's mobile platform provides 24/7, real-time support from a dedicated team of safety, medical, and mental health professionals, ensuring members receive immediate care when they need it most.

Since our founding in 2017, we've grown rapidly across Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. Backed by Seek and Blackbird, we now support over one million members and 200+ team members globally. We're well-capitalised, scaling fast, and actively building toward an AI-native organisation.

About the role
We're looking for a Senior Product Designer to join us on a 12-month fixed-term engagement, leading design across Sonder's member experience. Reporting to our CPTO, you'll take work from early discovery through to shipped, polished product, working closely with Product and Engineering day to day. The bulk of the role sits on mobile, though you'll bring range and craft across devices and platforms.

Must-haves

• 5+ years of senior or staff-level product design experience.
• A strong portfolio showing full-stack product design, from discovery through to shipped product, with particularly strong mobile interaction craft and visual polish.
• Design system experience — comfortable extending what already exists with good judgement, and helping build out new parts from the ground up.
• Genuine curiosity about AI tools and how they can sharpen your design process.
• Excellent design communication — confident presenting your thinking to a range of audiences, from engineering partners through to leadership.
• Comfortable moving between near-term, ship-ready work and longer-range vision work as priorities shift.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience as a design lead in a fast-moving startup environment.
• Experience building a design system from the ground up, not just extending one.
• Experience embedding AI tools directly into your day-to-day design process.
• Experience designing in regulated, high-trust or health and safety-adjacent spaces, working with clinical, safety or trust and safety stakeholders.

Why join Sonder?
At Sonder, we thrive in a fast-paced, high-performance environment with a strong commitment to our people. Our team is a collaborative, vibrant group of passionate professionals, dedicated to making a real impact on people's lives every day.

• Hybrid and flexible working environment. Enjoy the perfect balance of in-office collaboration and work from home flexibility, empowering you to optimise your productivity and work-life balance.
• Our employees and their families get free access to the Sonder app with 24/7 support.
• Paid parental leave with an attractive return to work policy, 12 weeks for Primary Carers and 4 weeks for Secondary Carers, plus our Primary Carers return to work at 80% for the first 3 months at full pay.
• True AI Native organisation with access to Claude, Gemini and other tools to encourage you to experiment, automate and get those real efficiency gains, no matter the role.
• 2 days of study leave to invest in your professional growth.
• Salary Packaging and novated leasing.
• Access $250 annually to a fund to invest in your wellbeing, empowering you to choose the support that best fits your needs.
• Free coffee.
• Dog-friendly office in our Sydney HQ.
• Volunteer leave. 2 days per year to participate in meaningful causes and contribute back to the community.

Check out our life page for more info - https://www.linkedin.com/company/sondersafe/life/

At Sonder, we are committed to fostering a workplace that reflects the rich diversity of the communities we serve. Our members come from all backgrounds, and we know that a diverse team helps us better understand and support their needs. We encourage applications from people of all ages, abilities, cultural backgrounds, gender identities, sexual orientations, and religious beliefs. We are proud to be an inclusive employer and strongly encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to apply. We are an equal opportunity employer and all hiring decisions are based on merit, capability, and alignment with the role.