Senior Product Designer Lead - Openfn Automation Platform

Open Function (Openfn); Gauteng; Remote; ZAR 200 000 - 300 000; Part time

Job summary

A global tech firm is seeking a Senior UX / UI Designer Lead to drive design processes independently within a remote framework. The ideal candidate will have over 4 years of B2B/SaaS design experience and expertise in creating user-centered designs. This role emphasizes collaboration with technical and non-technical teams to innovate solutions impacting 40+ countries, focusing on automation platforms that improve service delivery. Join a mission-driven team with the freedom to shape real-world user experiences.

Benefits

Work with a mission-driven team

Modern async/remote culture

Opportunity to influence global impact

Qualifications

• Experience in dual-audience design serving technical and non-technical users.
• Ability to facilitate cross-functional communication between teams.
• Proficiency in documentation discipline for design specs.

Responsibilities

• Build an intelligent automation platform for tech teams.
• Collaborate with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Translate customer pain points into actionable design.

Skills

User advocacy

Design system leadership

Technical design expertise

Customer voice translation

Collaboration

Education

4+ years designing complex B2B/SaaS platforms

Tools

Figma

GitHub

Job description

Overview

Senior UX / UI Designer Lead at OpenFn.

This is a highly hands‑on leadership role as a solo designer where the successful candidate will drive the design process and execute all design work independently, requiring a clear strategic vision coupled with strong implementation capabilities.

Location: Remote.

Type: Part‑time or Full‑time / Freelance.

Important: This role is for someone working within European or African Timezones.

About Open Function Group: We are a diverse, global team (22 staff in 11 countries) helping governments and NGOs automate workflows and scale their impact.

Our core product, OpenFn, is an open‑source automation platform (and recognized Digital Public Good) that streamlines data exchange and repetitive tasks.

OpenFn powers mission‑critical workflows like hospital record sharing, vaccine supply chain delivery, and emergency crisis response.

We are a fully‑remote, lean team that uses AI, automation, and cutting‑edge technologies to drive efficiency where it matters most.

Responsibilities

As a Senior UX / UI Designer Lead, build an intelligent automation platform that helps tech teams in governments and NGOs in 40+ countries.

Be technical and value the importance of developer experience.

Collaborate between technical and non‑technical stakeholders to translate real‑world needs into design that delivers value (e.g., generating birth certificates for children in Ghana, analyzing wildlife protection data, optimizing vaccine cold chain).

Contribute to all interfaces from marketing website to docs page to CLI; act as the design bridge between Services and Product Engineering teams.

Lead design conversations rather than deliver pixel‑perfect handoffs; guide both users and engineers toward feasible, delightful solutions within tight budgets and timelines.

Translate customer pain points into actionable design solutions built alongside engineers.

Help finish OpenFn's evolution by simplifying and improving information architecture and user interfaces.

Engage in holistic product thinking that encompasses marketing, onboarding, platform interfaces, and developer documentation.

Collaborate with the Services team to ensure a consistent, user‑centric experience across all touchpoints.

Your Unique Value

Customer voice translation: Convert Services team insights into design requirements and user stories.

Cross‑team design strategy: Align design decisions with immediate customer needs and long‑term platform evolution.

User advocacy: Champion UX improvements from real‑world usage patterns.

Design consistency: Maintain unified UX across customer‑facing tools and core platform features.

What We're Looking For

Design Experience

4+ years designing complex B2B / SaaS platforms with portfolios showcasing workflow tools, automation interfaces, or developer‑focused products.

Dual‑audience design expertise: Ability to serve both technical and non‑technical users.

Design system leadership: 3+ years building and scaling design systems including component libraries and tokens.

Technical & Agile Skills

Experience delivering in sprint‑based agile environments with ability to estimate design effort and deliver within sprint cycles.

Familiarity with API integrations, workflow builders, or automation platforms; bonus for JSON, webhooks, or integration concepts.

Collaboration & Communication

Cross‑functional facilitation between services, product, and engineering teams.

Ability to conduct lightweight usability testing and translate feedback into design improvements within agile constraints.

Strong written communication for GitHub issues, Slack collaboration, and Figma handoffs.

Tools & Process

Expert Figma proficiency with advanced features (auto‑layout, components, variants, dev handoff).

GitHub proficiency for design asset management and cross‑team collaboration.

Documentation discipline: Clear design specs and component guidelines that enable team independence.

Bonus Points

Experience building B2B apps for technical consulting shops or with Digital Public Goods, GovTech, or open‑source projects.

Deep understanding of data integration tools or data interoperability in health or humanitarian sectors.

Benefits

Why Join Us?

Work on a product with global impact in health, payments, and social services.

Join a mission‑driven team with a modern async / remote culture.

Have the freedom to shape user experiences that directly improve real‑world service delivery.

Seniority level

Mid‑Senior level

Employment type

Part‑time

Full‑time

Freelance

Job function

Other

Industries

IT Services and IT Consulting