Technical Product Designer

Jem; Wes-Kaap; On-site; ZAR 500,000 - 800,000; Full time

Job summary

Jem is looking for a Technical Product Designer to craft and lead their design system across multiple platforms. This role will oversee the creation of a streamlined user experience and design automation, playing a key part in the organization's fast growth and innovation. Ideal candidates will possess robust UX skills and a strong technical foundation, working collaboratively with diverse teams to enhance user interaction and product clarity.

Qualifications

• 4+ years in Product Design with strong systems thinking.
• Experience in creating and shipping scalable design systems.
• Ability to work autonomously across teams.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve a robust design system.
• Deliver elegant, implementation-ready designs.
• Champion and mature the design process.

Skills

Systems thinking

Technical UX design

Usability measurement

Collaborative communication

Problem-solving

Tools

Figma

HTML/CSS/JS

Job description

About the Role

Jem is looking for a Technical Product Designer to lead the creation of ourdesign systemand elevate the technical UX foundation across our platform. You’ll shape theuser experienceforweb products,WhatsApp-based workflows, andonboarding journeys, while building a scalable, maintainable design system from scratch.

This role spans across all our core product verticals — HR, Employee Benefits, and Platform — and is ideal for a systems thinker with a strong UX craft and technical intuition. You’ll collaborate closely with engineers, product managers, and marketers, bringing clarity and consistency to every interaction our users have with Jem.

If you’re a systems thinker with deep UX craft, strong technical intuition, and the drive to lead from the front, read on.

Responsibilities

• Design System Ownership– Define and evolve a robust design system to support a fast-growing suite of products
• UX & UI Execution– Deliver elegant, implementation-ready designs across web, WhatsApp, and internal tooling
• Messaging & Flow Design– Build conversational UIs using structured formats like JSON for WhatsApp-based workflows
• Cross-Team Collaboration– Work with PMs, Engineers, and Customer Success to unify and elevate the user experience
• Process Leadership– Champion and mature Jem’s design process, tooling, and cross-functional delivery model
• Usability Ownership– Define, measure, and improve UX quality across all product surfaces
• Marketing Support– Align key product touchpoints with marketing visuals and messaging
• Design Automation and AI- Develop and own our Design Automation and AI process

️ Requirements

• 4+ years in Product Design with strong systems thinking and technical UX foundations
• Experience in SaaS or early-stage startups
• Proven experience in creating and shipping scalable design systems
• Proficient in Figma or competitive alternative (libraries, tokens, components, etc.)
• Working knowledge of HTML/CSS/JS. Coding experience is a bonus.
• Able to design and configure structured formats like JSON (for WhatsApp flows)
• Able to work autonomously across multiple teams and product areas
• Comfortable working within an dynamic environment, and being able to adapt accordingly
• Experience using AI to prototype designs early and speed up delivery using AI enabled design tools

Who You Are (Jem Principles)

People Matter

• You give thoughtful, kind feedback and welcome it in return
• You elevate others, share your work early, and communicate clearly across roles
• You care about the impact your design has on real people, not just pixels

Take Ownership

• You close loops, drive decisions, and follow through without needing to be asked
• You take pride in your craft,not just in design outputs, but in usability and delivery
• You spot gaps and step up to fill them, whether it’s a broken UI or an unclear handoff

️ Customer Obsession

• You care deeply about users, especially those often underserved by tech
• You build with empathy for the deskless worker: clear, inclusive, no-friction interfaces
• You obsess over clarity, usability, and the small things that earn user trust

Find Solutions

• You’re a natural problem-solver and love designing for complexity
• You use tools (including AI) to work smarter and faster
• You start somewhere, iterate quickly, and never get stuck waiting for perfect

You’re not just a designer -you’re a system builder, a simplifier, and someone who knows how to turn ambiguity into clarity.

What Success Looks Like

• A reusable design system adopted across at least two teams within six months
• WhatsApp flows delivered via design (not PMs), with clearer handoff and consistency
• UI patterns and design tokens established across all Jem surfaces
• Usability metrics defined and tracked with consistent improvements
• Engineers feel confident implementing design specs with fewer clarification cycles

Why Join Us

You’ll be the designer that makes scale possible, creating the foundation for how we design, spec, and deliver at Jem.Your work will touch thousands of lives, simplify messy workflows, and shape how South African tech supports those who keep the country running. You’ll be joining a team that builds fast, values clarity, and uses AI as a multiplier.

You’ll be the first designer focused entirely on systems, technical UX, and execution, shaping a design culture that is deeply rooted in empathy, ownership, and innovation. Your work will be foundational and high-impact.

If this sounds like your kind of challenge, we’d love to hear from you.