Founding Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Founding Product Designer

Company: Almedia

Location: Berlin, Germany

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / GTM Operations

Date Posted: June 26, 2026

Experience Level: 5+ Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead end-to-end product design initiatives, from initial concept and discovery through to implementation and iteration, with a strong emphasis on mobile-first experiences.

• Drive the visual and interaction design of Almedia’s platform, ensuring a seamless, intuitive, and visually compelling user journey for over 70 million users.

• Foster a collaborative design culture by working closely with Product Management, Engineering, and Data Science teams to align design strategies with ambitious business objectives and technical feasibility.

• Utilize user research, usability testing, and data analytics to rigorously validate design decisions and continuously optimize user experiences for maximum impact and engagement.

• Contribute to Almedia's strategic product direction by bringing a proactive, impact-driven approach, setting high standards for design quality and driving continuous improvement.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a "Founding Product Designer," indicating a critical early-stage hire with significant influence over the product's design direction and foundational user experience. The emphasis on "owning way more, way earlier" and "pushing harder, getting further" suggests a high-intensity environment where individuals are expected to take substantial ownership and drive results with speed and quality. This role is categorized under Product Design with a GTM Operations slant due to Almedia's business model of user acquisition for advertisers, implying a strong connection between product design and Go-To-Market success.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• End-to-End Design Ownership: Spearhead the entire product design lifecycle, from user research and ideation to wireframing, prototyping, visual design, and final implementation, ensuring a cohesive and impactful user experience.

• UI/UX Leadership: Define and elevate Almedia's visual identity and interaction patterns across all platforms, with a primary focus on mobile-first design principles and best practices.

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Act as the primary design liaison, collaborating daily with Product Managers to translate business requirements into user-centric solutions, and with Engineers to ensure accurate and efficient design implementation.

• Data-Informed Design Strategy: Integrate user research, usability testing, A/B testing results, and product analytics into the design process to validate hypotheses, iterate on designs, and measure design impact on key business metrics.

• Design System Development: Contribute to or establish design system components and guidelines to ensure consistency, scalability, and efficiency across Almedia's product suite.

• Stakeholder Communication & Advocacy: Clearly articulate design rationale, present concepts to leadership and cross-functional teams, and champion user needs throughout the product development process.

• Proactive Problem Solving: Identify opportunities for design innovation and process improvement, proactively addressing challenges and proposing solutions that enhance user engagement and business outcomes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a senior-level role requiring not just execution but also strategic input and leadership. The emphasis on "owning the design process" and "validating with research" points to a need for a designer who can operate autonomously and make data-backed decisions. The requirement to "collaborate cross-functionally" and "communicate & lead" underscores the importance of strong interpersonal and presentation skills.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, HCI, Computer Science, or a related field is often preferred for senior design roles. Equivalent practical experience will also be strongly considered.

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in Product Design, with a significant focus on designing mobile-first applications.

• Proven track record of successfully taking digital products from concept to launch, demonstrating end-to-end design ownership. Required Skills:

• Exceptional Visual Design Skills: Mastery of typography, color theory, layout, and visual hierarchy, with a keen eye for detail, aesthetics, and brand consistency.

• Advanced Interaction Design: Ability to craft intuitive, efficient, and engaging user flows and micro-interactions for complex applications.

• Comprehensive UX Design: Deep understanding of user-centered design principles, information architecture, and user journey mapping.

• User Research & Usability Testing: Proficiency in planning and conducting various forms of user research (e.g., interviews, surveys) and usability testing to gather actionable insights.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Ability to interpret user data, analytics, and A/B test results to inform design iterations and measure design effectiveness.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Demonstrated success working effectively with Product Managers, Engineers, and Data Scientists in a fast-paced environment.

• Proactive & Strategic Thinking: Ability to contribute to product strategy, identify opportunities, and drive design initiatives with a strong sense of ownership and impact.

Preferred Skills:

• Motion Design: Experience in creating engaging animations and micro-interactions to enhance user experience.

• Gamification Design: Familiarity with principles of gamification and experience in designing gamified features or systems.

• Front-end Development Awareness: Solid understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to facilitate effective communication with engineering teams and understand design feasibility constraints.

• Experience with Design Systems: Proven ability to contribute to or build and maintain design systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "5+ years of experience" and emphasis on strategic thinking and ownership suggest this is a senior or lead designer role. The "bonus" skills in motion design and gamification are particularly relevant given Almedia's business model of engaging a large user community with advertisers. The "technical awareness" of front-end development is crucial for a designer working closely with engineering.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Impactful Case Studies: Showcase 3-5 detailed case studies that highlight your end-to-end design process for mobile-first products. Each case study should clearly articulate the problem, your role, the design process, key decisions, and measurable outcomes.

• Visual Design Excellence: Include high-fidelity mockups and prototypes demonstrating exceptional visual design skills, attention to detail, and a strong understanding of UI patterns.

• Interaction Design Examples: Provide examples or prototypes that illustrate your ability to design intuitive and engaging user interactions.

• User-Centric Approach: Demonstrate how user research and data informed your design decisions and led to successful product outcomes.

• Problem-Solving Focus: Clearly outline the challenges you faced and how your design solutions addressed them effectively.

Process Documentation:

• Design Workflow: Articulate your typical design process, from discovery and ideation through to implementation and iteration, highlighting your approach to collaboration and feedback loops.

• Research & Validation Methods: Detail the methodologies you employ for user research, usability testing, and data analysis to validate design concepts and measure success.

• System Thinking: If applicable, showcase contributions to or experience with design systems, demonstrating an understanding of scalability and consistency.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a "Founding Product Designer" role, the portfolio is paramount. It needs to showcase not just aesthetic skills but also a deep understanding of the product development lifecycle, strategic thinking, and the ability to drive tangible business impact through design. The emphasis on "mobile-first" and "data-driven" needs to be evident throughout the portfolio.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: €90,000 - €120,000 per year. This range is competitive for a senior Product Designer role in Berlin, reflecting the significant responsibility and founding nature of the position.

Benefits:

• Equity: All Berlin-based employees receive equity, offering a direct stake in Almedia's success and growth.

• Transport Subsidy: Financial assistance for commuting to the office.

• Daily Meals: Provided breakfasts and lunches, fostering a collaborative and convenient work environment.

• Language Learning: Opportunities to support professional development through language courses.

• Urban Sports Club: Access to a wide range of sports and fitness facilities.

• Professional Development: A culture that supports talent growth and provides clear paths for advancement.

Working Hours: While not explicitly stated, the company emphasizes "push harder, get further" and "not a 9-5," suggesting a demanding work schedule that rewards intensity. A standard full-time commitment is expected, likely around 40 hours per week, with the understanding that extra effort may be required to meet ambitious goals.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range aligns with senior-level design positions in major European tech hubs like Berlin. The inclusion of equity is a significant differentiator for a "founding" role, aligning employee incentives with company growth. The benefits package is comprehensive, supporting employee well-being and professional development within a high-intensity startup environment.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Marketing Technology (MarTech) / User Acquisition Platforms. Almedia operates at the intersection of marketing technology and user engagement, building a platform that rewards users for interacting with advertisers. This positions them in a rapidly evolving space focused on innovative digital marketing strategies.

Company Size: While not explicitly stated, Almedia is described as "Europe's #3 fastest-growing company in 2025 (FT1000)" and is aiming to become a "bootstrapped unicorn," suggesting a rapidly scaling, dynamic startup environment. The presence of a "Founding Product Designer" implies a relatively lean but growing team, likely in the early to mid-stage of scaling.

Founded: Almedia was founded with a vision to revolutionize marketing by leveraging user engagement and rewards. The company's bootstrapped nature indicates organic growth and profitability from inception, suggesting a strong focus on sustainable business models and efficient operations.

Team Structure:

• The Product Design team is likely small but strategically important, reporting to a Head of Design.

• This role requires close daily collaboration with Product Management, Engineering, and Data Science teams, indicating a highly cross-functional and integrated product development process.

• The "Founding" nature of this role means the designer will be instrumental in shaping not just the product but also the early design team culture and processes. Methodology:

• Iterative & Agile: The emphasis on "fast-moving, iterative environment" and "speed, quality, and impact" points to an agile development methodology where rapid prototyping and continuous improvement are key.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: User research, usability testing, and data analysis are core to informing design decisions, suggesting a scientific approach to product development.

• High-Ownership Culture: The company actively promotes high levels of responsibility and autonomy for its employees, encouraging proactive problem-solving and initiative.

Company Website: https://www.almedia.co/

📝 Enhancement Note: Almedia's positioning as a fast-growing, bootstrapped company in the MarTech space suggests a culture that values innovation, efficiency, and rapid execution. The "founding" aspect of the designer role implies a significant opportunity to shape product direction and establish design best practices within a high-performance environment.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a "Founding" Product Designer role, placing it at a senior or lead level. It signifies a critical early hire with the potential to grow into a leadership position as the design team expands. The responsibilities extend beyond typical design tasks to include strategic input and process definition.

Reporting Structure: The role reports to the Head of Design. This implies a clear reporting line within a design function that is likely still developing, offering opportunities to influence its structure and direction. Collaboration will be extensive with Product Managers, Engineering Leads, and Data Scientists.

Operations Impact: As a Founding Product Designer, your impact will be profound. You will directly shape the user experience for millions of users, influencing engagement, advertiser satisfaction, and ultimately, Almedia's core business metrics. Your work will be foundational to the company's growth trajectory and its ability to achieve its goal of becoming a bootstrapped unicorn. The design's effectiveness will be directly tied to user acquisition and retention, crucial for the Go-To-Market strategy.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Potential to grow into a Design Lead or Manager role as the company scales and hires more designers.

• Product Strategy Influence: Opportunity to significantly influence the product roadmap and long-term vision through design insights and strategic contributions.

• Skill Specialization: Chance to deepen expertise in areas like mobile-first design, gamification, or motion design, driven by the company's needs and user engagement strategies.

• Building Design Processes: Play a key role in defining and refining Almedia's design processes, tools, and team culture from the ground up.

• Equity Growth: As a founding employee, the equity stake offers significant upside potential as the company scales and achieves its ambitious growth targets.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Founding" title is a strong indicator of significant growth potential, both in terms of responsibility and compensation via equity. The role offers a unique opportunity to build and scale a design function within a rapidly growing, profitable company.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Almedia has a central Berlin office explicitly built for collaboration. The description emphasizes it is "fully-stocked" and "modern," suggesting a comfortable and well-equipped workspace designed to foster teamwork and productivity.

Office Location(s): The office is located in central Berlin, making it accessible from various parts of the city. This strategic location is beneficial for attracting talent and facilitating easy commutes.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The office is designed to encourage interaction and teamwork, crucial for the cross-functional nature of this role. Expect dedicated spaces for brainstorming, design critiques, and team meetings.

• Tools and Technology: As a design role, access to industry-standard design software (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite) and prototyping tools will be essential. The company likely invests in the necessary technology to support its design and development teams.

• Team Interaction: The 5-days-a-week in-office policy ensures constant opportunities for direct interaction with colleagues across Product, Engineering, and Data Science, fostering a dynamic and energizing work atmosphere.

Work Schedule: The company emphasizes intensity and rewarding high effort ("Push harder, get further - this isn’t a 9-5"). While a standard full-time commitment is expected, the culture suggests a willingness to dedicate extra hours when necessary to achieve ambitious goals. The 5-day in-office requirement supports this high-touch, collaborative approach.

📝 Enhancement Note: The mandatory 5-days-a-week in-office policy is a key aspect of the work environment, indicating a preference for in-person collaboration and a culture that thrives on immediate synergy. This is crucial for a "founding" role where rapid iteration and close teamwork are paramount.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess qualifications and alignment with the role's requirements.

• Portfolio Deep Dive: A session with the Head of Design or other senior team members to thoroughly review your portfolio, focusing on your process, problem-solving skills, and impact. Be prepared to discuss specific case studies in detail.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers, Engineers, and Data Scientists to evaluate collaboration style, technical understanding, and ability to integrate design with business and technical objectives.

• Design Challenge/Exercise: You may be given a small design problem or case study to solve, either as a take-home assignment or an in-session exercise, to assess your design thinking and execution under timed conditions.

• Cultural Fit & Vision Alignment: Discussions to assess your alignment with Almedia's high-intensity, high-ownership culture and your vision for design at the company.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Tell a Story: Structure your case studies to narrate a clear journey from problem identification to solution and impact.

• Highlight Your Role: Be explicit about your contributions, especially in team projects. Use "I" when describing your specific actions and "we" when discussing team efforts.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use high-fidelity mockups, interactive prototypes, and clear visuals to demonstrate your design skills.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, include metrics and data to demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., conversion rate improvements, user engagement increases, task completion rates).

• Address Mobile-First: Ensure your portfolio clearly showcases your expertise in designing for mobile platforms.

• Demonstrate Process: Explain your decision-making process, including how you incorporated user feedback and data.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Business: Research Almedia's business model, target audience (advertisers and users), and competitive landscape.

• Focus on Mobile: If given a challenge, prioritize a mobile-first approach.

• Think Strategically: Consider how your design solution aligns with business goals and user needs.

• Communicate Clearly: Be prepared to articulate your thought process, design rationale, and potential trade-offs.

• Iterate and Justify: Show a willingness to iterate and explain the reasoning behind your design choices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes a deep dive into the portfolio and cross-functional collaboration. Candidates should prepare to articulate their design process, demonstrate strategic thinking, and clearly quantify the impact of their work, particularly in the context of mobile-first design and user engagement.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma is the industry standard and highly probable for this role, given its collaborative features and widespread adoption. Sketch and Adobe XD are also possible.

• User Research & Testing: Tools like UserTesting.com, Maze, Lookback, or internal survey tools will likely be used to gather user feedback and validate designs.

• Collaboration & Project Management: Tools such as Jira, Asana, Trello, or Slack will be used for task management, team communication, and workflow coordination.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics: Tools like Amplitude, Mixpanel, or Google Analytics will be crucial for understanding user behavior, tracking key metrics, and informing design decisions.

• Data Visualization: While not explicitly mentioned, familiarity with data visualization principles is beneficial. Tools like Tableau or internal dashboards might be used by the Data Science team.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly a designer's primary tool, understanding how CRM systems (like Salesforce, HubSpot) and marketing automation platforms function can provide context for user journeys and campaign integrations.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in modern design and prototyping tools like Figma is essential. The role also requires a strong understanding of how to leverage product analytics and user research tools to drive data-informed design decisions. Awareness of the broader tech stack, including CRM and marketing platforms, is beneficial for understanding the full user acquisition funnel.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• High Ownership: Employees are expected to take full responsibility for their work, drive initiatives proactively, and operate with a sense of urgency.

• Intensity & Ambition: The culture rewards high effort and a drive to achieve ambitious goals ("Push harder, get further"). This is not a 9-5 environment.

• Speed & Iteration: A fast-paced, lean, and iterative approach is core to Almedia's development process, prioritizing rapid learning and adaptation.

• Data-Driven: Decisions are grounded in data and user insights, ensuring that design and product development are focused on measurable impact.

• Collaboration: Strong cross-functional teamwork is essential, with designers working closely with Product, Engineering, and Data Science.

Collaboration Style:

• Integrated Teams: Designers are embedded within product teams, working side-by-side with Product Managers and Engineers.

• Direct Communication: Emphasis on clear, direct communication, likely facilitated by daily in-office presence.

• Feedback Culture: Openness to giving and receiving constructive feedback is implied by the iterative nature of the work and the need for continuous improvement.

• Strategic Partnership: Designers are expected to be strategic partners, contributing to product direction and not just executing tasks.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is clearly defined by high intensity, ownership, and a results-driven mindset. Potential candidates should be comfortable with a demanding work environment where ambition and proactive problem-solving are highly valued and rewarded.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Speed and Quality: The core challenge will be delivering high-quality, impactful designs rapidly in a fast-paced, iterative environment.

• Defining Foundational Design: As a founding designer, you'll face the challenge of establishing initial design systems, processes, and best practices for a growing company.

• High-Intensity Environment: Adapting to and thriving in a culture that demands significant effort and continuous high performance.

• Scaling User Experience: Designing for a rapidly growing user base (70M+) while maintaining a seamless and engaging experience.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Leadership Development: Significant potential to grow into a leadership role, shaping the design team and its strategy.

• Product Strategy Influence: Direct impact on the company's product direction and user acquisition strategies through design.

• Building from Scratch: The opportunity to define and implement design processes, tools, and culture in a growing organization.

• Industry Exposure: Working on cutting-edge marketing technology and user engagement strategies.

• Mentorship: Potential to learn from experienced leadership within a fast-growing startup environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to a founding role in a high-growth startup. The opportunities for growth are substantial, particularly for those aspiring to leadership and strategic influence in product development.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach designing a new onboarding flow for a user base of 70 million, considering both speed of implementation and user engagement?"

• "Describe a time you had to balance conflicting priorities between Product, Engineering, and Design. How did you resolve it?"

• "Given our focus on user acquisition and rewards, how would you integrate gamification principles into our core product experience?"

• "What is your process for ensuring design quality and consistency when working under tight deadlines?" Company & Culture Questions:

• "What aspects of Almedia's mission and growth trajectory appeal to you most?"

• "How do you see your role as a 'Founding' Product Designer contributing beyond just design execution?"

• "Describe your ideal work environment and how you thrive in high-intensity, high-ownership settings."

• "How do you approach providing and receiving constructive feedback within a team?" Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your specific role and contributions, the design process, key decisions (and the rationale behind them), and the measurable outcomes.

• Quantify Your Impact: Use data and metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs. If exact numbers aren't available, use reasonable estimations or focus on the process of measurement.

• Showcase Mobile-First: Ensure your presentation clearly highlights your expertise in mobile-first design principles.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your design choices, trade-offs, and the user research that informed your work.

• Articulate Process and Collaboration: Explain how you worked with cross-functional teams, managed feedback, and iterated on designs.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating a blend of strategic thinking, strong design execution, data-driven decision-making, and cultural fit for a high-intensity, collaborative environment. The portfolio presentation is a critical component, requiring clear storytelling and quantifiable results.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Founding Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 3-5 of your most impactful case studies, focusing on mobile-first product design, end-to-end ownership, and demonstrable results. Ensure each case study clearly outlines the problem, your process, design decisions, and outcomes.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight your 5+ years of experience in product design, specifically mentioning mobile-first projects, UI/UX leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and data-driven approaches. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice articulating your design process, strategic thinking, and the impact of your work. Be ready to discuss specific projects from your portfolio and how they align with Almedia's goals.

• Research Almedia: Understand their business model, growth trajectory, target users, and company values. Prepare thoughtful questions about their product vision, design challenges, and team culture.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.