Lead Product Designer

Xero; London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in technology is seeking a Lead Product Designer to create beautiful and effective user experiences. This role requires collaboration with diverse teams, conducting research, and ensuring that design solutions meet user needs, making an impact across the business.

Benefits

Generous paid leave

Mental health support

Private medical insurance

Gym passes

Flexible working

Paid parental leave

Employee share plans

Qualifications

• Experience in product design, preferably for web/mobile.
• Ability to create designs that are accessible and user-centered.
• Strong communication skills to effectively present ideas.

Responsibilities

• Design meaningful experiences to solve genuine customer problems.
• Lead design initiatives and collaborate with cross-functional teams.
• Engage in user research to understand customer needs.

Skills

Design practice

Collaboration

Research analysis

Prototyping

User testing

Communication

Inclusive design

Job description

Our Purpose

At Xero, we’re here to help you supercharge your business. We do this by automating routine tasks, surfacing actionable insights, and connecting businesses with the right data, advisors, and apps. When that happens, we’re not only making life better for small businesses, but also building a stronger economy that can change the world.

At Xero, we’re here to make running a business beautiful. By making small businesses more efficient every day, connecting them with big business technology, and empowering a community behind them, their potential is limitless. When that happens, we’re not only helping small businesses, but also building a stronger economy that can change the world.

How You'll Make Impact

• Lead Product Designer at Xero is responsible for designing beautiful, enabling, and meaningful experiences that solve genuine customer problems. As a seasoned designer, you’ll work closely with Product and Technology on mid-to-large scale projects within a product area of a portfolio.

What You'll Do:

• Design practice and thinking
• Work with the Design Director, Lead, and/or Principal Designer within your portfolio and product area to understand the Product Design vision and direction and ensure consistency and quality of execution within your product design delivery.
• Promote the value of design and collaborative practice across spheres of influence and participation.
• Conduct desk research including domain and competitor analysis, interaction/design trends, and 'best of' examples.
• Analyse relevant considerations such as research insights (when not directly involved), product strategy and roadmaps, technical environment, and constraints.
• Contribute to the definition and articulation of ‘the problem’ – challenging assumptions and pre-set thinking around solutions, and agreeing on the purpose, principles, and vision.
• Create frameworks (e.g., wireframes, visual frameworks, content/data models) which articulate the components, journeys, and elements required to solve 'the problem.'
• Explore ideal future concepts and identify new interaction solutions and patterns that meet customer needs more effectively.
• Develop phased design solutions that bridge the gap between a future state and current patterns, XUI design system, and other relevant constraints.
• Create prototypes to tangibly demonstrate proposed concepts or solutions.
• Collaborate with other designers to test ideas, share challenges, and provide feedback to enhance quality.
• Collaborate with content designers to ensure content within an experience is consistent, fit for purpose, and meets customer needs.
• Design for accessible and inclusive experiences that meet or exceed best practices and internal standards.
• Develop detailed interactions and interfaces that are smart and contextually relevant.
• Present and communicate design work to various audiences.
• Create effective handover materials that clearly communicate how the design should behave throughout interaction flows and journeys.
• Participate in research opportunities, planning, and testing relevant to your product area.
• Engage in user research to understand customer goals, needs, behaviors, and pain points.
• Synthesize research data and draw insights.
• Conduct or support user testing as necessary.
• Influence, challenge, and support other designers within your product area to deliver high-quality experiences.
• Work with your Product Design Director on strategic product initiatives.
• Facilitate cross-functional team workshops to align on key decisions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure solutions balance user needs, business strategy, and technical constraints.
• Collaborate with development teams during sprints for design QA and problem-solving.

What Success Looks like:

• You’re delivering great product design.
• You’re respected by peers, the design team, and Product leaders.
• You meet deadlines and maintain high quality standards.
• You create inspiring and innovative solutions.
• You communicate effectively with colleagues, especially within Design.

Why Xero?

Offering generous paid leave, mental health support, private medical insurance, gym passes, employee resource groups, paid parental leave, employee share plans, flexible working, and other benefits that reflect our human values, you’ll do your best work at Xero.

Research shows women and underrepresented groups are less likely to apply unless they meet all criteria. If you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly, we encourage you to apply. If you have support or access requirements, please inform us during your application and interview process.