Lead Product Designer

South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd; Hong Kong; On-site; HKD 650,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd in Hong Kong seeks a Lead Product Designer who will stay hands-on while guiding the direction of major digital products. This role spans news platforms, subscriptions, education, and new initiatives, reporting to the Director of Product Design.

Work location will be at Causeway Bay office. You will lead from idea to launch, collaborate with product, engineering, editorial and commercial teams, and use AI to create trustworthy, useful experiences that scale

Qualifications

• 8+ years in product design with a strong shipped portfolio.
• Experience across media, subscription, or education products.
• Proven track record leading complex work without a brief.
• Hands-on AI experience in design and product shipping.
• Strong craft, clear thinking, and ability to move between strategy and execution.
• Excellent communication and ability to influence without authority.

Responsibilities

• Lead design from conception to launch and iterate post-release.
• Define problems clearly and determine what to solve when unclear.
• Design AI-powered experiences that are useful and trustworthy.
• Leverage AI tools to speed up research, ideation, and prototyping.
• Ground decisions in research and data; run studies as needed.
• Collaborate with engineers early to ensure feasibility and design-system alignment.
• Set high design quality and mentor other designers.
• Engage with stakeholders including senior leadership to advance ideas.

Skills

Product design

Leadership

Communication

Research

AI in design

Design craft

System thinking

Tools

AI tools

Job description

Purpose of the position

We're looking for a Lead Product Designer who wants to stay hands-on. This is an individual contributor role for someone who does their best work on the hardest problems. You'll take on the most ambiguous, cross-product challenges, often where there isn't a clear brief yet, and help set the direction. Depending on where the business needs you most, that could be our news platforms, subscription products, education products or new initiatives. You'll report to the Director of Product Design and work closely with product, engineering, editorial and commercial teams.

In this role, you will

• Lead design from early ideas through to launch, and keep improving it after release
• Frame problems clearly and work out what's worth solving, especially when things are uncertain
• Design AI-powered experiences that are genuinely useful, trustworthy and right for a news brand
• Use AI tools to speed up your own work, from research and ideation to prototyping, and share what works with the team
• Use research and data to guide decisions, and run your own studies where needed
• Work closely with engineers from early on, so designs are feasible, well-built and fit our design system
• Set a high bar for design quality, and help other designers grow along the way
• Work with stakeholders at all levels, including senior leadership, to move ideas forward

Skills and Experience that will lead to success

• 8+ years in product design, with a strong portfolio of shipped digital products
• Experience across different types of products, such as media, subscription, education or similar
• A track record of leading complex work without a clear brief
• Hands-on experience with AI, both as a design tool and in the products you've shipped, plus a good sense of where it adds value and where it doesn't
• Strong craft, clear thinking, and comfort moving between strategy and detail
• Good communication and the ability to influence without authority

Candidate with the following skill/experience will be an advantage

• Knowledge of the Greater Bay Area market and its digital landscape
• Cantonese and/or Mandarin, spoken and written

Work location will be at Causeway Bay office.

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The South China Morning Post (SCMP) is a leading news media company reporting on China and Asia for over a century. Founded in 1903 and headquartered in Hong Kong, SCMP is the city's newspaper of record with a growing correspondent staff across Asia and the US. Our vision is to "Elevate Thought" and our mission is to "Lead the global conversation about China." SCMP champions the plurality of voices in Asia through its extensive news coverage and is committed to high-standard journalism. Besides its flagship newspaper, SCMP publishes news 24/7 on SCMP.com. In 2020, SCMP became the first Asian news organization to join the Trust Project, promoting global transparency standards for journalism.