Director, Product Design

Funding Circle UK; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Barista coffee

Subsidised Just Eat lunches

Award-winning parental leave policies

Flexible-first employer

Job summary

Funding Circle is evolving its design leadership in London, seeking a senior design leader to reset how design operates with product and engineering, guiding strategy and execution. You will shape discovery, elevate design thinking, and mentor teams in a fintech environment.

You’ll work in a hybrid London setting, partnering with VPs to deliver on strategic bets, hire top talent, and drive measurable business outcomes while navigating regulatory requirements.

Qualifications

• Experience leading design in fintech environments with regulatory considerations.
• Ability to translate complex Risk/Compliance rules into intuitive journeys.
• Strong partner for senior Product and Engineering leaders to shape strategy and roadmaps.
• Exceptional hands-on craft and ability to coach senior talent.
• Commercial mindset with data-driven design to drive business outcomes.
• Track record of building and developing design teams and design operations.
• Ability to redesign departmental workflows and harness AI to improve efficiency.
• Identify high-impact AI use cases and implement prompting techniques.

Responsibilities

• Partner with VP of Product and VP of Engineering to reset operating model and joint accountability for customer-focused solutions.
• Own the most challenging experience problems within regulatory constraints to simplify lending journeys.
• Elevate design upstream to influence discovery and strategy and demonstrate value of design thinking.
• Set standards for design excellence across the company including formats, cadence, and ownership.
• Support, nurture, and hire top design talent to execute strategy.
• Act as a senior hands-on leader to steer and deliver on strategic bets.
• Drive significant improvements in solving customer problems and delivering measurable business outcomes.

Skills

Design leadership

Fintech experience

Regulatory-aware UX

AI prompting / workflows

Job description

We’re on a mission to back the UK’s small businesses like no one else

Small businesses are the backbone of the economy, and we’re here to help them win. We’ve built a platform that uses clever data to get them the funding they need in minutes, not weeks.

At Funding Circle, we have the restless energy of a fintech start-up with the stability of a public company. It’s a unique mix that gives Circlers the autonomy to take ownership and the scale to make an impact that truly counts.

We’re a high-performing team that chooses to lift each other up. We challenge, we champion, and we have each other’s backs – because we know that when we stand together, we move faster and build better.

The impact is real

Last year alone, the businesses on our platform generated £7.2bn for the UK economy

[Read our Impact Report] | [See our Trustpilot]

The role

London (Hybrid) | 3 days in the office | Competitive Salary + Benefits

We’re looking to evolve Design at Funding Circle. Moving forward, Design will be one of three core voices setting what we build and how we build. This is a senior leadership role designed to reset what Design does at Funding Circle, how it executes, and how it partners with the rest of the company.

• Partner alongside our VP of Product and VP of Engineering to reset our operating model, taking joint accountability for how we build great solutions for our customers
• Take ownership of our hardest experience problems, working within heavy regulatory constraints to make the complex lending journey from application to servicing feel simple, honest, and joined up for time-pressured business owners
• Move design upstream to ensure it has a powerful voice in discovery and strategy, demonstrating the true value of design thinking rather than just rendering decisions that have already been taken
• Set the standard and mechanisms for design excellence across the company defining the format, cadence, and ownership needed to ensure we are proud of the experience we give to our customers
• Support, nurture, and hire the best design talent to successfully execute our strategy
• Act as a senior, hands‑on leader who is able to actively steer, shape and deliver on our most important strategic bets
• Drive a significant improvement in how we solve our customers’ problems and deliver the tangible business results that follow

What we’re looking for

• Experience leading design in complex, highly regulated environments like fintech
• Skills in turning dense rules, Risk, and Compliance constraints into simple, intuitive journeys
• A strong partner to senior Product and Engineering leaders to shape strategy, scope work, and influence roadmaps
• Exceptional hands‑on craft. You know what ‘good’ looks like and can coach senior talent to achieve it
• Commercial focus, using data and research to tie design directly to business outcomes
• A track record of building and developing design teams while evolving design operations
• Ability to take ownership of redesigning departmental workflows, using AI to automate complex tasks and drive operational efficiency
• Competently able to Identify high‑impact AI use cases and implement advanced prompting techniques to solve multi‑layered business challenges

We’re building a place where everyone truly feels they belong. Even if your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every requirement, we'd still love to hear from you.

Why join us?

We back you to build an incredible career and by joining us, you'll be part of one of The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For 2026! As a flexible‑first employer, we use a \"best of both\" approach. We’ll see you in our London office to collaborate – with barista coffee and subsidised Just Eat lunches on us!

We also have award‑winning parental leave policies. We're here to support you through the big life moments, from fertility treatments to new additions to the family.

Our Circler Proposition Focuses On Five Areas

• Flexibility: We provide a benefit allowance you can tailor to your own life and family.
• Health: This includes private medical and dental, health assessments, and access to a digital GP.
• Wealth: We offer life assurance, share schemes, and financial coaching.
• Development: You get a dedicated annual learning allowance to help you level up.
• Lifestyle: We have electric car and cycle‑to‑work schemes, plus season ticket loans.