Head of Product & Design

Cathay Pacific; Hong Kong; On-site; HKD 1,200,000 - 2,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Cathay Pacific is seeking a Head of Product & Design to lead the integrated Product, Design, Research and Insight function for Digital Experience. You will set the direction for Cathay’s digital portfolio and ensure customer needs, business priorities and evidence translate into clear product choices and high-quality experiences.

You will shape how Product and Design operate at scale, partnering with Technology, Commercial, Customer and Operations to drive measurable outcomes and commercially

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of relevant experience in product/UX roles, with at least 7 years in people leadership.
• Proven track record leading multidisciplinary Product, Design, Research and Insight teams.
• Strong ability to translate customer needs into portfolio priorities, roadmaps and measurable outcomes.
• Experience influencing senior stakeholders in a complex digital organisation.
• Experience in airlines, travel, loyalty, or similar customer‑critical environments is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead the integrated Product and Design function across Digital Experience and translate strategy into direction and execution.
• Set the product and experience vision across Cathay’s portfolio in line with business priorities.
• Define principles for product decisions based on customer insight, value, feasibility and outcomes.
• Guide product leaders and teams in shaping journeys, propositions, features and platform capabilities.
• Partner with Technology, Commercial, Customer and Operations to align direction and investment decisions.
• Lead the Design function to ensure consistency, usability and high-quality experiences across the portfolio.
• Oversee user research and product insight to ensure evidence-led decisions and continuous improvement.

Skills

Product Management

Leadership

Digital Experience

Stakeholder management

Job description

Role Introduction

Reports to: General Manager Digital Experience

The Digital Experience Department (DEX) is focused on creating high-impact digital experiences for travelers, members and the business across customer journeys and channels.

As the Head of Product & Design, you will lead the integrated Product, Design, Research and Insight function for Digital Experience. You will set the product and experience direction across Cathay’s digital portfolio and ensures customer needs, business priorities and evidence are translated into clear product choices and high-quality experiences.

This is an opportunity to shape how Product and Design operate at scale, influence the direction of Cathay’s digital portfolio and build strong multidisciplinary capabilities. You will work closely with senior leaders across Technology, Commercial, Customer and Operations, connecting strategy with execution and creating digital products and experiences that are useful, coherent, measurable and commercially meaningful.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the integrated Product and Design function across Digital Experience, translating product strategy, customer needs, experience quality and commercial priorities into clear direction and execution
• Set the product and experience vision across the portfolio in alignment with Cathay’s digital, customer and business strategies
• Set clear principles for product decision-making based on customer insight, business value, feasibility and measurable outcomes
• Ensure portfolio priorities and delivery sequencing translate strategy into focused execution
• Establish and continuously improve the product management discipline across Digital Experience, including discovery, prioritisation, value definition, roadmaps, experimentation and outcome tracking
• Guide product leaders and teams in shaping journeys, propositions, features and platform capabilities that deliver customer and business outcomes
• Provide portfolio-level leadership to align priorities, make trade-offs visible and focus resources on the highest-value opportunities
• Partner with Technology, Commercial, Customer, Operations and other business stakeholders to align product direction, delivery priorities and investment decisions
• Lead the Design function across Digital Experience, covering customer, enterprise and specialist design capabilities, and set standards for craft, consistency and usability across the portfolio
• Oversee user research and product insight capabilities to ensure product and design decisions are evidence-led
• Embed research, analytics, experimentation and design evaluation to frame opportunities, validate solutions and continuously improve live products
• Champion accessible, inclusive and consistent experience design aligned with Cathay’s brand, customer expectations and operational requirements
• Build and lead high-performing Product and Design teams with clear mandates, accountabilities, development and career pathways
• Define decision rights, ways of working and collaboration models across Product, Design, Research, Technology and delivery teams
• Strengthen Product and Design capability through standards, coaching, communities of practice and professional leadership
• Foster an inclusive, collaborative and evidence-led culture that values customer understanding, sound judgement, constructive challenge and continuous improvement
• Act as the senior Product and Design partner to Digital Experience leadership and key enterprise stakeholders
• Communicate product direction, portfolio choices, customer and business rationale, and experience priorities to senior stakeholders
• Influence cross-functional decisions to protect customer value, experience quality and product integrity
• Represent the function in senior forums, balancing strategic direction with practical delivery considerations

Requirements

• Minimum 10 years of relevant experience across customer, commercial, airline, or related business functions, with at least 7 years of managerial and people leadership experience
• Significant leadership experience in Product Management, Digital Product, Service Design, Experience Design or a comparable function within a complex digital organisation
• Demonstrated success in leading multidisciplinary teams across Product, Design, Research and Insight
• Proven experience in shaping product strategy and translating it into portfolio priorities, roadmaps and measurable outcomes
• Strong understanding of customer-centred design, product discovery, experimentation and evidence-led decision‑making
• Experience working in a complex stakeholder environment and influencing senior business and technology leaders
• Strong people leadership capability, including organisation design, capability building, coaching, talent development and performance management
• Excellent communication, facilitation and judgement, with the ability to move between strategic direction and practical operating decisions
• Experience in airlines, travel, loyalty, digital commerce or another operationally complex and customer‑critical environment is advantageous.

Equal Opportunity

Cathay Pacific is committed to fostering an environment that values Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to attracting and hiring qualified individuals from diverse backgrounds, experiences and abilities. We strive to create a respectful, inclusive workplace free from discrimination, harassment and bullying.

Personal data provided by job applicants will be used strictly in accordance with our Applicant Personal Information Collection Statement and for recruitment purposes only. Candidates not notified within eight weeks may consider their application unsuccessful. We keep records of your data for no longer than is necessary for the purpose for which we obtained them and any other permitted linked purposes. If your application is unsuccessful, we will keep your details on file for as long as is necessary to process your application or for the purposes of further job opportunities if you agree to such longer periods.