Senior Product Designer (12 Month Fixed-Term Contract)

Sonder.Io; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work environment

Free Sonder app access

Parental leave benefits

AI tools access (Claude, Gemini)

Job summary

Sonder seeks a Lead Product Designer to set the direction for the member experience, owning design vision and the craft across mobile and desktop. You’ll partner with Product, Engineering, and Clinical teams to shape the roadmap and ensure high usability and quality.

The role emphasizes hybrid collaboration, AI-enabled workflows, and leading design system growth while advocating for members’ needs and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of senior or staff-level product design experience.
• Strong portfolio showing full-stack product design with mobile focus.
• Design system experience and ability to extend and build components.
• Genuine curiosity about AI tools and how they sharpen design.
• Excellent design communication with engineering and leadership.
• Comfort moving between near-term ship-ready work and longer-range vision.

Responsibilities

• Set the design direction for the member experience and define a clear vision.
• Own the problems that matter most from onboarding to continuous care.
• Move between horizons, balancing ship-ready work with longer-term vision.
• Shape the roadmap with PM and Engineering leads on what to build and when.
• Raise the craft bar with high-quality standards and mentorship.
• Shape and extend the design system across mobile and desktop.
• Bring AI into the workflow using tools like Figma, Claude, Gemini.

Skills

Senior Product Designer

Mobile design craft

Design systems

AI tools curiosity

Communication with eng

Tools

Figma

Claude

Gemini

Job description

Showing 132 Senior Product Designer 12 Month Fixed Term Contract jobs in Sydney

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 Lead Product Designer to set the direction for Sonder’s member experience. You’ll own the design vision and the craft behind it, working directly with Product, Engineering, and Clinical partners.

The bulk of your work will be on mobile, though you'll bring range and craft across devices and platforms.

• Set the design direction for the member experience. Define and champion a clear vision for how members get support, and bring Product, Engineering, and leadership along with it.
• Own the problems that matter most. Your initial focus areas will be Sonder's member experience, from onboarding to getting continuous care and support for anything life and work might bring
• Move between horizons. Balance ship-ready work with longer-range vision work, and make the trade-offs explicit as priorities shift.
• Shape the roadmap. Partner with PM and Engineering leads to decide what we build, in what order, and why.
• Raise the craft bar. Set quality standards, give sharp critique, and mentor the designers you work alongside.
• Shape our design system. Set the direction for the system as it grows across mobile and desktop, building new foundations and components and extending what exists with good judgement.
• Bring AI into how we design. Use tools like Figma, Claude, and Gemini in your real workflow, and help the team find better ways to work with them.
• Be the members’ strongest advocate. Gather insight from users and internal stakeholders, and turn it into continuous improvement.

Must-haves

• 7+ 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?

• 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.

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.

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