Founding Product Designer (London)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Founding Product Designer

Company: Edra

Location: London, England, United Kingdom

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / GTM Operations

Date Posted: 2026-08-10

Experience Level: 5+ Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Spearhead the end-to-end product design lifecycle for critical areas within Edra's enterprise AI platform, transforming ambiguous challenges into elegant, user-centric solutions.

• Drive user research initiatives to deeply understand customer needs, pain points, and real-world usage patterns, informing design decisions with actionable insights.

• Develop comprehensive design artifacts, including wireframes, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity interfaces, to effectively explore, validate, and communicate design concepts.

• Foster close collaboration with engineering and product management teams to ensure seamless implementation of designs and facilitate iterative improvements post-launch.

• Establish and maintain a scalable design system, defining core patterns and components to ensure product consistency and efficient future development.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Product Designer," the emphasis on "AI agents that learn how processes actually run, and then run their operations" and the need to "partner directly with engineers to bring your work to life" strongly suggests a critical role in defining the user experience of operational processes. This role will likely interface heavily with GTM operations and revenue operations teams by designing the tools and interfaces that enable them to leverage AI for process optimization. Therefore, the "Category" has been broadened to include "GTM Operations."

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the design strategy and execution for key product features and modules, translating complex enterprise AI functionalities into intuitive and efficient user experiences.

• Conduct qualitative and quantitative user research, including interviews, surveys, and usability testing, to gather insights that directly inform product strategy and design iterations.

• Create detailed user flows, wireframes, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups using modern design tools like Figma to effectively communicate design intent and facilitate stakeholder alignment.

• Collaborate closely with engineering teams throughout the development lifecycle, providing clear design specifications, conducting design reviews, and iterating on designs based on technical feasibility and user feedback.

• Contribute to the development and evolution of Edra's design system, ensuring consistency, scalability, and efficiency across the product suite by defining reusable components, patterns, and guidelines.

• Partner with Product Management to define product requirements, prioritize features, and ensure that design efforts are aligned with business objectives and market needs.

• Act as a user advocate, championing user needs and best practices in design to ensure the delivery of high-quality, impactful user experiences.

• Participate in cross-functional team meetings, providing design perspectives and contributing to strategic discussions regarding product direction and operational efficiency.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities have been expanded to reflect the "founding" nature of the role, implying a significant degree of autonomy, strategic input, and the need to establish foundational design practices. The focus on "enterprise AI" and "processes" suggests a need to translate complex technical concepts into user-friendly interfaces, which is a critical aspect of operational technology.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience: 5+ years of professional experience in digital product design, with a proven track record of designing complex applications, preferably in B2B or enterprise software environments.

Required Skills:

• Demonstrated end-to-end product thinking capabilities, evidenced by a strong portfolio showcasing the ability to solve ambiguous problems and deliver elegant solutions.

• Proficiency in modern design and prototyping tools, with a strong preference for Figma.

• Expertise in conducting user research, including user interviews, usability testing, and heuristic evaluations, to inform design decisions.

• Ability to create detailed wireframes, user flows, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity visual designs.

• Experience in developing and maintaining design systems, establishing reusable components and patterns.

• Strong collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions and advocate for user needs to cross-functional teams, including engineering and product management.

• Comfort with ambiguity and a proactive approach to tackling open-ended problems in a fast-paced startup environment.

• Ability to provide and receive constructive feedback, engaging in healthy debate to arrive at the best solutions. Preferred Skills:

• Familiarity with front-end development constraints and capabilities, enabling effective collaboration with engineering teams.

• Experience in designing for AI-powered products or complex enterprise software solutions.

• Understanding of operational processes and how technology can be leveraged to optimize them.

• Experience working in a startup environment, particularly at the Series A stage.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirements have been detailed to emphasize the "founding" aspect and the specific context of Edra's enterprise AI focus. The portfolio requirement has been specifically called out as needing to demonstrate "end-to-end product thinking," which is crucial for a foundational role. Familiarity with front-end constraints and enterprise AI is listed as preferred, aligning with the company's technical domain.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Comprehensive case studies demonstrating the entire design process, from initial problem definition and user research through to final shipped product and iteration.

• Examples of how you've translated complex or ambiguous problems into clear, user-centered design solutions for digital products.

• Evidence of your ability to conduct user research and incorporate findings into design iterations and strategic product decisions.

• Prototypes and high-fidelity designs that showcase your UI design skills and ability to create intuitive interfaces.

• Examples of contributions to or creation of design systems, illustrating your understanding of scalability and consistency. Process Documentation:

• Showcase your approach to problem definition and ideation, detailing how you identify and frame design challenges.

• Provide examples of your user research methodologies and how you synthesize findings into actionable design insights.

• Illustrate your workflow for creating and iterating on wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity designs.

• Demonstrate how you collaborate with engineering and product teams, including your process for handoff and post-launch iteration.

• Examples of how you've contributed to or established design patterns and components within a design system.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are tailored to emphasize the "founding" nature of the role, requiring a demonstration of end-to-end ownership and strategic thinking. The focus on process documentation highlights the need for candidates to articulate their methodologies clearly, a key skill for operations-adjacent roles.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: £80,000 - £120,000 per annum (estimated).

Benefits:

• Competitive base salary, reflecting the seniority and impact of a founding team member.

• Meaningful equity in a rapidly growing Series A startup, aligning your success with the company's growth.

• Top-tier private medical and dental coverage in the UK, with a comprehensive benefits package.

• Flexible paid time off, allowing for work-life balance and personal well-being.

• Daily catered lunch provided in the office, along with snacks and drinks to support a productive work environment.

• A stipend to set up your home workspace, ensuring comfort and productivity if needed for specific tasks.

Working Hours: Full-time, typically 40 hours per week. The company operates on a five-day in-office policy, encouraging collaborative work.

📝 Enhancement Note: Based on industry benchmarks for Senior/Founding Product Designers in London with 5+ years of experience in a Series A tech startup, a salary range of £80,000-£120,000 is estimated. This accounts for the competitive market, the critical nature of a "founding" role, and the company's backing by prominent VC firms. Benefits have been detailed as provided in the job description.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Enterprise AI / AI Agents / SaaS. Edra is positioned at the forefront of applying AI to solve complex business process challenges, aiming to revolutionize how companies operate by automating and optimizing specific workflows. This industry context implies a fast-paced, innovation-driven environment with a strong emphasis on technical expertise and problem-solving.

Company Size: Series A Startup (likely 20-60 employees, based on typical Series A stage and the presence of co-founders with significant prior experience). This size indicates a lean, agile team where individual contributions have a significant impact, and cross-functional collaboration is essential.

Founded: Edra was founded by individuals with deep experience in AI engineering from Palantir, suggesting a culture built on rigorous engineering principles, data-driven decision-making, and a commitment to solving challenging, real-world problems.

Team Structure:

• The core team comprises highly technical individuals, including engineers, AI researchers, and strategists, all with a high bar for talent.

• The Product Design function will likely be integrated closely with Product Management and Engineering, forming agile pods focused on specific product areas or customer journeys.

• As a "Founding Product Designer," you will be instrumental in shaping the initial structure and processes of the design team. Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: Emphasis on user research and data analysis to validate design decisions and measure impact.

• Agile Development: Close collaboration with engineering to iterate rapidly and deliver value incrementally.

• Problem-Solving Focus: A culture that thrives on tackling complex, ambiguous problems, particularly those related to enterprise operations and AI implementation.

• High Talent Bar: A commitment to hiring exceptional individuals who can contribute to building a world-class product.

Company Website: https://www.edra.ai/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is inferred from its Series A status, the background of its founders (Palantir alumni), and its focus on "enterprise AI." This suggests a highly technical, results-oriented, and collaborative environment. The "Founding Product Designer" role implies a significant opportunity to shape not just the product but also the design culture.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a "Founding Product Designer," indicating a senior-level position with significant influence and responsibility. It is the primary design role within the company at this stage, suggesting a leadership trajectory. The focus on designing "AI agents that learn how processes actually run" places this role at the intersection of user experience and operational efficiency, making it a critical component of the Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy by defining how users interact with and benefit from Edra's AI solutions.

Reporting Structure: As the Founding Product Designer, you will likely report directly to a co-founder or Head of Product. You will be responsible for establishing the design function and will work collaboratively with engineering and product leadership.

Operations Impact: Your work will directly influence how customers understand, adopt, and utilize Edra's AI platform to optimize their business processes. Successful design implementation will be critical for customer acquisition, retention, and overall GTM success by making complex AI capabilities accessible and actionable for enterprise users.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Opportunity to build and lead the design team as the company scales, potentially growing into a Head of Design or VP of Design role.

• Product Strategy Influence: Significant input into product strategy, roadmap planning, and the overall direction of Edra's AI solutions.

• Deep Domain Expertise: Develop specialized knowledge in enterprise AI, AI agents, and business process optimization, becoming a subject matter expert.

• Startup Equity Growth: Potential for significant financial upside through equity as the company grows and potentially achieves a successful exit.

• Cross-functional Skill Development: Gain extensive experience working closely with engineering and product leadership, enhancing skills in strategic thinking, cross-functional collaboration, and business acumen.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Founding" title and the nature of Edra's product (AI for business processes) highlight the role's strategic importance beyond traditional product design. It's a GTM-critical role that influences product adoption and customer success, offering substantial growth into leadership and strategic product development.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Edra operates with a strong emphasis on in-person collaboration, requiring employees to work from their offices five days a week. This suggests a vibrant, interactive workspace designed to foster teamwork and spontaneous idea exchange.

Office Location(s): The role is based in London, specifically in the Holborn area, known for its central location and accessibility. This provides a professional setting conducive to focused work and client interactions.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hub: The office environment is designed to facilitate close collaboration between design, engineering, and product teams, enabling rapid iteration and problem-solving.

• Resource-Rich: Expect access to modern design tools (Figma), necessary hardware, and a supportive atmosphere for creative work. The company also provides a stipend for home workspace setup, acknowledging potential needs for focused deep work outside the office.

• Team Interaction: The five-day in-office policy ensures regular face-to-face interaction, team lunches, and opportunities for informal knowledge sharing, which are crucial for a fast-paced startup environment.

Work Schedule: A standard full-time work schedule is expected, typically around 40 hours per week, with the emphasis on in-office presence to maximize team synergy and productivity.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "five days a week in person" requirement is a key differentiator. This suggests a company culture that values direct collaboration, team cohesion, and the benefits of spontaneous interactions, which can be particularly important in a startup environment shaping a new product category.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess foundational skills and experience.

• Portfolio Presentation & Discussion: A session where you'll present your case studies, demonstrating your end-to-end product thinking, research methodologies, and design solutions. Expect in-depth questions about your process, decision-making, and impact.

• Design Challenge/Workshop: You may be asked to participate in a design exercise or workshop, either individually or collaboratively, to assess your problem-solving approach, creative thinking, and ability to work under pressure. This might involve tackling a specific design problem relevant to Edra's product.

• Cross-functional Interviews: Meetings with engineering leads, product managers, and potentially co-founders to evaluate your collaboration style, technical understanding, and cultural fit.

• Final Round: Discussions with senior leadership to assess strategic alignment and overall suitability for a founding team role.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Process, Not Just Polish: Clearly articulate the problem you were solving, your research methods, your design iterations, and the rationale behind your decisions. Highlight the impact of your work.

• Demonstrate End-to-End Ownership: Showcase projects where you took initiative from discovery through to implementation and iteration.

• Quantify Impact: Where possible, use metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced task completion time, increased user satisfaction).

• Tailor to Edra: Highlight experience relevant to enterprise software, AI, or complex operational processes. Show an understanding of the challenges Edra is solving.

• Be Prepared for Questions: Anticipate questions about your design philosophy, how you handle ambiguity, your collaboration style, and your thoughts on Edra's product and market.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Problem Space: Research Edra's product, their target market (enterprise AI, process automation), and the types of problems their AI agents solve.

• Think Operationally: Consider how users (likely business operations professionals) would interact with AI agents designed to manage or optimize processes. What are their pain points? What information do they need?

• Structure Your Approach: Be ready to outline your design process clearly, including how you would approach research, ideation, and solutioning within a given timeframe.

• Articulate Trade-offs: Be prepared to discuss potential design trade-offs and justify your choices based on user needs, business goals, and technical feasibility.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process and portfolio review tips are tailored to a senior, "founding" role in a technical startup. The emphasis is on strategic thinking, end-to-end ownership, and the ability to translate complex technical concepts into user-friendly operational tools.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The primary tool for wireframing, prototyping, UI design, and collaboration. Proficiency is essential.

• Design System Tools: Familiarity with tools and methodologies for building and maintaining scalable design systems.

Analytics & Reporting:

• User Analytics Platforms: Experience with tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, or similar, to track user behavior and measure the impact of design changes.

• A/B Testing Tools: Familiarity with platforms for running A/B tests to validate design hypotheses.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly a designer's tool, understanding how CRM systems (like Salesforce) and automation platforms are used in enterprise settings can provide valuable context for designing operational tools that integrate with or complement these systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The technology stack focuses on core design tools. Understanding analytics platforms is crucial for a data-informed design approach, and awareness of enterprise CRM and automation contexts can inform the design of operational tools within Edra's ecosystem.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Excellence & High Bar: A commitment to delivering exceptional quality in both product and team performance, reflecting the Palantir heritage.

• Impact & Ownership: A focus on driving tangible business outcomes and taking full responsibility for one's work, especially critical for a founding team member.

• Collaboration & Debate: An environment that encourages open communication, constructive debate, and mutual respect among team members from diverse technical backgrounds.

• Curiosity & Learning: A drive to continuously learn, explore new technologies (especially in AI), and understand user needs deeply.

• Pragmatism: A focus on solving real-world problems effectively and efficiently, balancing innovation with practical implementation.

Collaboration Style:

• Deep Integration: Designers will work extremely closely with engineers and product managers, operating as a cohesive unit rather than in silos.

• Iterative & Feedback-Driven: A culture that embraces continuous feedback loops, both within the design team and across disciplines, to refine solutions.

• Transparent Communication: Open sharing of ideas, challenges, and progress, fostering a sense of collective ownership.

• Cross-functional Problem-Solving: Encouragement to leverage diverse perspectives from across the company to tackle complex challenges.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture and values are inferred from the company's background (Palantir founders), its stage (Series A startup), and its mission (enterprise AI for processes). The emphasis is on high performance, deep collaboration, and a results-oriented approach, which are key for early-stage startups.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Defining a New Category: Helping to establish Edra's unique position in the market for AI agents that learn and run business processes requires clear, intuitive design that educates users.

• Balancing Ambiguity and Structure: Navigating the inherent ambiguity of a rapidly evolving startup while establishing foundational design systems and processes.

• Translating Complex AI: Designing user interfaces that make sophisticated AI capabilities accessible and understandable to enterprise users who may not be AI experts.

• Scaling Design Practices: As the company grows, the challenge will be to scale the design function and its processes effectively without sacrificing quality or agility.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Leadership Development: The opportunity to shape and grow the design function from its inception, gaining invaluable leadership experience.

• Domain Expertise in AI & Operations: Deep dive into the intricacies of enterprise AI, AI agents, and the operational challenges faced by businesses, becoming a specialist in a high-demand field.

• Strategic Product Input: Direct involvement in product strategy and roadmap planning, influencing the direction of a cutting-edge technology company.

• Exposure to Venture Capital: Working closely with investors and understanding the dynamics of high-growth startups.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are framed around the unique aspects of Edra's product and its early-stage status. Growth opportunities are focused on leadership, domain specialization, and strategic influence, reflecting the senior nature of the role.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you took an ambiguous problem and turned it into a clear, elegant design solution. What was your process?" (Focus on your end-to-end design methodology, research, and problem-solving skills).

• "How would you approach designing an interface for an AI agent that learns and executes business processes? What are the key considerations for user trust and understanding?" (Demonstrate your understanding of Edra's product and your ability to translate complex AI into user-friendly experiences).

• "How do you balance the need for a scalable design system with the need for rapid iteration in a startup environment?" (Show your understanding of design operations and agile development).

• "Walk us through a project where you conducted significant user research. How did the research findings influence your design decisions and the final outcome?" (Highlight your research skills and data-informed approach). Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you most about Edra's mission and the problems we're solving?" (Research Edra's blog posts, announcements, and the backgrounds of the founders).

• "How do you approach collaboration with engineering and product management teams, especially when there are differing opinions?" (Emphasize your communication, debate, and consensus-building skills).

• "Given your experience, what do you see as the biggest design challenges and opportunities for Edra in the next 1-2 years?" (Show strategic thinking and proactive engagement). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Storytelling: Frame each case study as a narrative: the problem, your approach, the solution, and the impact.

• Visual Clarity: Ensure your visuals are clean, well-organized, and effectively communicate your design decisions.

• Highlight Your Role: Clearly articulate your specific contributions to each project, especially in team-based work.

• Prepare for Deep Dives: Be ready to answer detailed questions about any aspect of your process, from initial research methods to specific UI choices.

• Connect to Edra: Whenever possible, draw parallels between your past work and the challenges Edra is facing, demonstrating your suitability for this specific role.

📝 Enhancement Note: These questions and preparation tips are designed to probe the candidate's strategic thinking, problem-solving capabilities, collaboration style, and understanding of Edra's unique product and market position, all critical for a founding role.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations-adjacent design position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Customize Your Resume: Highlight experience in end-to-end product design, user research, design systems, and B2B/enterprise software. Quantify achievements where possible, focusing on impact.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 strong case studies that best demonstrate your ability to tackle ambiguous problems, conduct user research, and deliver elegant, impactful design solutions. Ensure each case study clearly outlines the problem, your process, your role, and the outcome.

• Research Edra Thoroughly: Understand their mission, product (AI agents for business processes), target market, and the backgrounds of their founding team. Prepare to discuss why you are excited about their specific challenges.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Be ready to articulate your design philosophy, your approach to collaboration, and how your skills align with the requirements of a "Founding Product Designer" role in a fast-paced AI startup. Practice presenting your portfolio case studies clearly and concisely.

⚠️ 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.

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