Senior Product Designer - (VPN)

Proton; Barcelona; On-site; EUR 49,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage

Stock options

Lunch & snacks

Transport support

Flexible working

Job summary

Proton's Design Team is seeking an experienced designer to own visual and interaction quality across Proton products. You will work from early concepts through production, crafting intuitive interfaces that balance privacy and usability.

The role emphasizes scalable visual systems, motion design, and close collaboration with engineers and product managers. Proton offers strong benefits and a culture of autonomy, with offices in Barcelona and other global locations.

Qualifications

• 5+ years designing and shipping consumer digital products with a portfolio demonstrating exceptional visual craft across typography, layout, color, and motion.
• Ability to simplify complex problems into intuitive interfaces.
• Experience building and evolving design systems with consistency and flexibility.
• Proficiency in Figma with ability to create interactive prototypes.
• Strong ownership and attention to quality across product surfaces.

Responsibilities

• Own the visual and interaction quality of Proton products from concept to production.
• Design interfaces that convey privacy features intuitively without oversimplifying underneath.
• Develop scalable visual systems across products.
• Design motion, micro-interactions, and transitions to add meaning.
• Create icons and visuals that reinforce Proton's visual language.
• Collaborate with Product Managers and engineers from early framing through implementation.

Skills

5+ years designing digital products

Portfolio

Figma proficiency

Design systems

Motion design

Ownership & quality

Tools

HTML/CSS basics

Job description

Join Proton and build a better internet where privacy is the default

Proton was founded in 2014 by scientists from CERN on a simple truth: privacy is a fundamental human right.

Since then, we've built the world's largest encrypted email service (Proton Mail) and expanded into Proton VPN, Proton Drive, Proton Pass, and Proton Calendar - tools used by millions globally to protect their freedom, fight censorship, and keep their data safe. In some situations, Proton has literally helped save lives.

We are profitable, independent (no VC control), and selectively hire from the top :1% of applicants. Our 700+ team members across 50+ countries come from leading organizations and elite academic backgrounds. We move fast, keep hierarchy light, and prioritize impact over optics. If you want to do meaningful work with exceptionally high-caliber people, this is it. Check our open-source projects here.

The Design Team

Proton's Design team shapes the visual and interaction layer across Mail, Drive, VPN, Pass, and Calendar - products used by millions of people, many of whom rely on them in high-stakes moments. We work at the intersection of security and simplicity: our products must inspire trust without feeling intimidating, and feel refined without sacrificing clarity. Designers are embedded within engineering teams and involved from the very beginning - problem framing, planning, implementation, and quality assurance - not brought in at the mockup stage. The team is organized as a guild: high autonomy, shared standards, and real influence over how design is practiced across Proton.

We hold a high craft bar. Typography, layout, spacing, color, iconography, motion - the details most companies treat as polish, we treat as the product. If your best work is the work itself - pixels you're proud to sign - you'll be in good company here.

What You'll Do

• Own the visual and interaction quality of one or more Proton products - from early concepts through production, until what ships matches the design intent
• Design interfaces that make sophisticated privacy and security features feel intuitive and trustworthy - without oversimplifying what's underneath
• Craft visual systems - typography, hierarchy, spacing, color, iconography - that scale across millions of users
• Design motion, transitions, and micro-interactions that add meaning, not decoration
• Create icons, illustrations, and visual assets that strengthen Proton's visual language and stay consistent across products
• Raise the team's craft bar through your own execution, design critiques, and contributions to the shared design system
• Partner with Product Managers and engineers to shape solutions early, surface constraints, and stay hands-on through implementation

Who You Are

• 5+ years designing and shipping consumer (B2C and ideally B2B) digital products, with a portfolio demonstrating exceptional visual craft across real products - typography, layout, hierarchy, spacing, color, interaction, and motion (portfolio required with application)
• Proven ability to simplify genuinely complex problems into interfaces that feel obvious in hindsight
• Experience building and evolving design systems - not just consuming them - and understanding how consistency and flexibility work together
• Experience designing motion and micro-interactions as integral parts of production UI, not afterthoughts
• Highly proficient in Figma - moving fluidly from exploration to high-fidelity designs and interactive prototypes
• Ownership beyond your immediate work - you notice quality issues and inconsistencies, and you act on them

Nice to Have

• Background in visual communication, graphic design, typography, illustration, or motion design
• Portfolio showcasing illustration, iconography, or visual identity work
• Familiarity with front-end implementation and the practical constraints of HTML and CSS

What We Offer

• Work that Matters: Millions of people trust Proton with their privacy. We answer only to our users - not advertisers, not investors with conflicting agendas, not governments.
• A Great Team: Diverse, collaborative, and tight-knit, with people from MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Caltech, Cambridge, ETH, and more.
• Technology: The right hardware and software to do your best work.
• Learning & Development: We invest in your growth. Proton is one of the fastest ways to accelerate your career - real challenges, real ownership, from day one.
• Employee Benefits: Strong health coverage, solid retirement options, generous leave, and wellness support.
• Stock Options: From day one, you have a real stake in what we're building. When Proton wins, you win.
• In-Person Collaboration: Offices across Geneva, Zürich, Barcelona, London, and more. You'll spend most of your time collaborating face-to-face.
• Food: Lunch and snacks on us every day in the office.
• Transport: We cover public transport, bike allowances, or parking - whichever works for you.
• Flexible Working: You own your schedule. Outcomes matter more than clock-in times.
• Compensation range Barcelona: 49,000 - 80,000 EUR gross annually* Other locations: Compensation will be discussed during the interview process
• Final compensation will be determined based on the candidate's qualifications, skills, and previous experience

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At Proton, we believe diversity drives innovation and strengthens our mission to provide privacy as a default for all. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all individuals - regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical ability, or socio-economic background - feel valued and empowered.

If you need any extra support or reasonable adjustments during the hiring process, please let your talent partner know.

Candidate Privacy Notice

When you apply for a position at Proton Technologies AG, your information is stored in Greenhouse in accordance with its Service Privacy Policy. This information is used to evaluate your suitability for the posted position and may be retained for future roles.

If we no longer have a legitimate business need to process your information, we will either delete or anonymise it. For questions about your data, contact: [e-mail]

Proton does not accept unsolicited CVs from any sources other than directly from candidates.