Freelance Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Freelance Product Designer

Company: In The Pocket

Location: Belgium

Job Type: Contract (Initial 3-month commitment)

Category: Product Design / UX/UI Design

Date Posted: May 14, 2026

Experience Level: 5+ Years

Remote Status: On-site (Hybrid flexibility may be considered based on project needs, but primary expectation is on-site presence in Belgium)

🚀 Role Summary

• Spearhead end-to-end digital product design, from initial concept and user research through to polished, developer-ready UI.

• Bridge the gap between product strategy and execution by creating user-centered, high-impact digital products for enterprise and government clients.

• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including strategists, engineers, and clients to drive innovative solutions and ensure design quality.

• Lead design decisions with confidence, leveraging a strategic mindset and a strong understanding of user needs and business objectives.

• Contribute to the growth of In The Pocket's design practice through knowledge sharing, mentorship, and staying abreast of emerging technologies like AI.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the job is listed as "Freelance" and "On-site," the description implies a strong integration into client project teams, suggesting a need for a designer who can operate with autonomy and ownership similar to an in-house team member, but with the flexibility of a contract role. The initial 3-month commitment with potential for extension points towards a project-based engagement. The primary location requirement is Belgium, indicating on-site presence is expected.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the entire product design lifecycle, encompassing discovery, user research, ideation, wireframing, prototyping, and final UI design.

• Translate complex business objectives and user needs into elegant, intuitive, and effective user experiences and interfaces.

• Present design concepts and deliverables (wireframes, prototypes, presentations) compellingly to clients and stakeholders.

• Employ analytical thinking and user testing methodologies to validate designs and drive user-centered solutions.

• Develop and maintain detailed interaction models, UI specifications, and visual design language to ensure consistency and quality across digital products.

• Critically analyze "Why" behind product initiatives, aligning design efforts with business goals and user value propositions.

• Articulate strategic narratives for design concepts, demonstrating a holistic understanding of product development beyond just aesthetics.

• Act as a proactive advocate for user needs and product quality, influencing design decisions and championing best practices.

• Effectively communicate ideas, opinions, and design rationale to ensure successful project outcomes and stakeholder alignment.

• Proactively identify and address ambiguity by designing clarifying processes or workshops when needed.

• Manage self and coordinate team collaboration to ensure accurate and high-quality translation of designs into final products.

• Contribute to the advancement of the design practice by researching and sharing insights on industry evolutions, including AI and emerging technologies.

• Cultivate and maintain strong client relationships, serving as a trusted design partner.

• Mentor junior designers, contributing to their growth and elevating the overall capabilities of the design team.

• Collaborate in pairs on projects, often taking a lead role while guiding and supporting peers.

• Share expertise to shape In The Pocket's design culture, processes, and standards.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a senior-level product designer role, emphasizing leadership, strategic thinking, and mentorship. The "4 eye principle" suggests a collaborative review process is integral to their workflow.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent practical experience and mastery of design principles is expected.

Experience: Minimum of 5 years of dedicated experience in Digital Product Design or UX/UI Design, with a proven portfolio showcasing successful delivery of impactful digital products.

Required Skills:

• Digital Product Design / UX/UI Design: 5+ years of hands-on experience with a strong portfolio.

• User Research & Discovery: Proven ability to design, lead, and translate user research findings into actionable design decisions.

• Design Tools Proficiency: Expert-level command of industry-standard tools such as Figma, Sketch.

• Prototyping Tools: Proficient with tools like Principle, ProtoPie, or Framer for creating interactive prototypes.

• User Testing Tools: Experience with platforms like Useberry, Maze, or UserTesting.com.

• Design Systems: Solid experience in building and maintaining scalable design systems and applying atomic design principles.

• Communication & Presentation: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present confidently to diverse stakeholder groups.

• Organizational Skills: Ability to effectively prioritize and manage multiple projects and tasks.

• Language Fluency: Fluent in both spoken and written Dutch and English.

• User-Centricity: Demonstrated experience designing for accessibility and inclusion, understanding diverse user needs.

• Agile Methodologies: Good working knowledge of Agile development processes (Scrum, Kanban, Lean UX).

• Strategic Thinking: Ability to connect design decisions to business outcomes and user value.

Preferred Skills:

• Brand Strategy & Visual Identity: Experience with developing and implementing brand strategy and visual identity systems.

• AI & Emerging Technologies: Interest or experience in leveraging AI and emerging technologies to enhance product design and user experiences.

• Frontend Technologies: Familiarity with HTML, CSS, React, React Native for effective collaboration with engineers.

• Service Design & Business Design: Strong affinity with broader design disciplines beyond UI/UX.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on both Dutch and English fluency is a critical requirement for client-facing roles in Belgium. The "5+ years" experience combined with the mentorship expectation points towards a senior or lead designer profile.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio showcasing a minimum of 5 years of impactful digital product design work.

• Evidence of end-to-end design process, from initial problem definition and user research to final UI implementation and iterative improvements.

• Case studies demonstrating a strategic approach, clearly articulating the "Why" behind design decisions, user needs addressed, and business objectives met.

• Examples of complex digital challenges solved through thoughtful UX and elegant UI design.

• Detailed documentation of interaction models, UI specifications, and visual language, highlighting design consistency.

• Demonstrations of work with scalable design systems and adherence to atomic design principles.

• Examples of user research conducted, including methodology and how findings informed design decisions.

• Proof of collaboration with engineering teams and understanding of technical constraints.

Process Documentation:

• Showcase your process for conducting user research and discovery activities, including methodologies and output.

• Demonstrate your approach to translating business objectives and user needs into tangible design solutions.

• Provide examples of how you document and present design specifications to development teams.

• Illustrate your process for incorporating feedback and iterating on designs based on user testing or stakeholder input.

• Highlight any experience or approach to designing workshops or processes to bring clarity to ambiguous project requirements.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a senior product designer role, the portfolio is paramount. It should not only showcase visual design skills but also strategic thinking, problem-solving capabilities, and a deep understanding of the entire product development lifecycle and user-centered design methodologies.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: As this is a freelance, contract position with an initial 3-month commitment in Belgium, compensation will be negotiated based on experience, skill set, and project scope. Industry benchmarks for senior freelance product designers in Belgium typically range from €500 to €800 per day, or an equivalent monthly rate.

Benefits:

• Opportunity to work on diverse, market-defining digital products for leading European enterprises and governments.

• Exposure to cutting-edge technologies, including AI and augmented reality experiences.

• Collaborative and independent work environment within autonomous project teams.

• Potential for long-term engagement based on project success and client needs.

• Professional development through exposure to varied projects and a team focused on continuous learning.

• Contribution to shaping the design practice and culture of a reputable digital product studio.

Working Hours: Full-time commitment, 5 days per week. While the role is initially on-site in Belgium, flexibility may be discussed based on project exigencies and team agreements.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is an estimate based on typical freelance rates for experienced product designers in Western Europe, particularly Belgium. Specific compensation will be determined through direct negotiation. Benefits are primarily tied to the professional experience and project engagement rather than traditional employment benefits.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Digital Product Studio / Technology Consulting. In The Pocket operates within the digital product development sector, serving a wide array of industries including enterprise, government, healthcare, and finance.

Company Size: Approximately 200 employees across three countries. This size suggests a structure that balances established processes with agility and a close-knit feel, allowing for significant individual impact.

Founded: Founded with a vision to deliver market-defining strategies and products, In The Pocket has built a strong reputation for its premium AI capabilities and its ability to define, design, and ship high-quality digital solutions.

Team Structure:

• Client project teams are typically small, autonomous, and cross-functional, comprising strategists, engineers, and product designers.

• Designers often work in pairs, with one taking a lead role while the other supports and guides.

• There is an established design function that fosters collaboration, knowledge sharing, and mentorship across peers.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: Strong emphasis on user research, analytical mindset, and critical thinking to validate solutions and measure success.

• End-to-End Ownership: Commitment to owning the full product lifecycle from strategy to execution.

• Collaborative Development: Fostering close collaboration between design, strategy, and engineering.

• Agile Practices: Integration of Agile development processes for iterative and efficient product delivery.

• Innovation Focus: Active exploration and integration of emerging technologies like AI into product design.

Company Website: [In The Pocket Company Website - URL not provided in input, assumed to be inthepocket.com based on domain_derived]

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture appears to be a blend of agency-like client focus and in-house studio quality, emphasizing autonomy, collaboration, and continuous learning within a professional yet innovative environment.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Senior Freelance Product Designer, requiring over 5 years of experience. It involves end-to-end ownership, client-facing responsibilities, and mentorship, indicating a high level of autonomy and expertise.

Reporting Structure: While operating as a freelancer, the designer will report to project leads or client stakeholders within the project team structure. Within the broader In The Pocket design function, there's an expectation of contributing to team growth and sharing expertise.

Operations Impact: The designer's impact is measured by their ability to connect product strategy to execution, solve complex digital challenges, boost usability and effectiveness, and ultimately define the success of digital products through user-centered design. They are expected to influence product strategy and shape client decisions.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Specialization: Deepen expertise in areas like AI-driven design, accessibility, service design, or specific industry verticals.

• Leadership Development: Take on lead roles in more complex projects, mentor junior designers, and contribute to shaping design processes and standards.

• Client Relationship Management: Develop strong, trusted partnerships with high-profile clients.

• Industry Exposure: Gain experience with a diverse portfolio of international clients and cutting-edge technologies.

• Continuous Learning: Stay at the forefront of design trends, AI, and emerging technologies through company-supported learning and knowledge sharing.

📝 Enhancement Note: The freelance nature combined with the mentorship and leadership expectations offers a unique growth path, allowing for specialized project work while contributing to the broader design community.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: In The Pocket is a digital product studio with offices in multiple countries. The work environment is likely modern, collaborative, and technology-focused, supporting creative and analytical work.

Office Location(s): The role is based in Belgium. Specific office locations within Belgium are not detailed but would likely be in major tech hubs.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: Offices are designed to facilitate teamwork, workshops, and client presentations.

• Technology Enabled: Access to necessary design software, hardware, and digital collaboration tools is standard.

• Cross-Functional Interaction: Opportunities to work closely with strategists, engineers, and project managers, fostering a dynamic learning environment.

• Client Engagement: The role involves direct interaction with clients, often in their environments or through dedicated client workshops.

Work Schedule: The role requires a full-time commitment (5 days/week). While the primary expectation is on-site presence in Belgium, the freelance nature might allow for some discussion around hybrid arrangements or remote work for specific phases, subject to project and client needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on on-site presence in Belgium suggests that in-person collaboration, client meetings, and team integration are highly valued for this specific project.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of application, resume, and portfolio to assess experience and fit.

• Portfolio Presentation & Discussion: A deep dive into your portfolio, presenting case studies, discussing your design process, strategic thinking, and problem-solving approach. Expect to be asked about your role in specific projects, challenges faced, and outcomes.

• Skills Assessment/Challenge: Potentially a design exercise or case study to evaluate your practical skills, analytical thinking, and ability to address a specific design problem within a given timeframe.

• Team & Client Fit: Interviews with potential project leads, team members, and possibly client representatives to assess collaboration style, communication skills, and cultural alignment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select case studies that best demonstrate your 5+ years of experience, end-to-end process, strategic thinking, and impact. Prioritize projects that align with the types of clients and challenges In The Pocket tackles (enterprise, government, complex digital products).

• Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process you followed, the decisions you made (and why), the solutions you designed, and the measurable outcomes or impact.

• Highlight Process & Strategy: Go beyond visuals. Detail your research methods, ideation techniques, and how you translated user needs and business goals into your designs. Emphasize your analytical mindset and ability to see the bigger picture.

• Showcase Tool Proficiency: Briefly mention the tools used (Figma, prototyping tools, testing tools) and how they facilitated your work.

• Demonstrate Collaboration: If possible, illustrate how you collaborated with engineers, strategists, and stakeholders, and how you managed feedback.

• Accessibility & Inclusion: Ensure at least one case study clearly demonstrates your commitment to designing for accessibility and inclusion.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Brief: If given a design challenge, thoroughly read and understand the problem statement, target audience, and objectives.

• Embrace Ambiguity: Remember the company values thriving in uncertainty; be prepared to ask clarifying questions or make well-reasoned assumptions.

• Focus on Process: Demonstrate your thought process, not just the final solution. Explain your approach to research, ideation, and iteration.

• Strategic Rationale: Connect your design choices back to user needs and business goals.

• Time Management: Practice working within time constraints and structuring your presentation effectively.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will heavily rely on the portfolio. Candidates should be prepared to articulate their design philosophy, strategic thinking, and ability to lead and mentor.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Wireframing: Figma (expert proficiency), Sketch.

• Prototyping: Principle, ProtoPie, Framer.

• User Testing: Useberry, Maze, UserTesting.com.

• Design Systems: Experience with building and maintaining scalable design systems and atomic design principles.

Analytics & Reporting: While not explicitly listed, a strong designer should be comfortable interpreting analytics and using data to inform design decisions. Familiarity with tools that provide user behavior insights would be beneficial.

CRM & Automation: No specific CRM tools are mentioned as primary for this role, but understanding how designs integrate into broader product ecosystems is key.

Collaboration Tools: Expect to use project management and communication tools common in Agile environments (e.g., Jira, Confluence, Slack, Miro).

Emerging Technologies: Familiarity with AI tools and their application in design is a plus.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma and common prototyping/testing tools is non-negotiable. The ability to work with and contribute to design systems is also a critical requirement.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity: The end-user is the ultimate arbiter of success; designs must prioritize usability and effectiveness.

• Excellence & Quality: Commitment to delivering best-in-class product design and high-quality digital solutions.

• Collaboration: Strong emphasis on working closely with strategists, engineers, and clients in a team-oriented environment.

• Ownership & Responsibility: High degree of accountability for project outcomes and design quality.

• Innovation & Learning: Continuous pursuit of knowledge, experimentation with new technologies (like AI), and a desire for skill development.

• Strategic Thinking: Connecting design to business objectives and user value, seeing the bigger picture.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Seamless collaboration with strategists and engineers to ensure alignment between strategy, design, and development.

• Client Partnership: Acting as a trusted design partner, building strong relationships and communicating effectively.

• Mentorship & Peer Support: A culture of shared learning, with experienced designers mentoring juniors and working collaboratively using principles like the "4 eye principle."

• Open Communication: Encouraging the effective communication of ideas, opinions, and design decisions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture emphasizes both individual contribution and collective growth, valuing a proactive, user-focused, and collaborative approach to digital product development.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Complex Client Problems: Tackling diverse and challenging digital problems for large enterprises and governments, requiring innovative and robust design solutions.

• Balancing User Needs & Business Objectives: Navigating the inherent tension between what users want and what businesses need to achieve.

• Rapid Technological Evolution: Staying current with emerging technologies like AI and integrating them effectively into product design.

• Stakeholder Management: Effectively communicating, influencing, and managing expectations with a variety of stakeholders, including clients.

• Ambiguity in Project Scope: Designing processes and solutions in situations where initial project requirements may be unclear.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI & Emerging Tech: Opportunities to explore and apply AI and other emerging technologies in product design.

• Cross-Disciplinary Exposure: Working with strategists and engineers provides insights into broader product development disciplines.

• Mentorship: Formal and informal opportunities to mentor junior designers and learn from experienced peers and leads.

• Diverse Projects: Exposure to a wide range of clients and industries, broadening expertise and portfolio.

• Design Practice Contribution: Active role in shaping In The Pocket's design culture, processes, and standards.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are inherent to high-impact design roles in a leading digital product studio, offering significant opportunities for professional growth and skill enhancement.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you connected product strategy to product execution. What was your process and the outcome?" (Focus on how you translated business goals into user-centered designs.)

• "How do you approach understanding user needs and business objectives simultaneously? Provide an example." (Highlight your analytical mindset and ability to balance competing priorities.)

• "Walk us through a complex digital product you designed from discovery to UI. What were the key challenges and how did you overcome them?" (This is where your portfolio case studies shine.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about In The Pocket's mission and the types of clients you work with?" (Research their portfolio and recent projects.)

• "How do you contribute to a design team's growth and culture, especially in a mentoring capacity?" (Share examples of your leadership and knowledge-sharing initiatives.)

• "Describe your experience working in Agile environments. How do you integrate design into Scrum or Kanban workflows?" (Show your adaptability to development processes.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, ensure a clear flow: Problem -> Your Role -> Process -> Solution -> Outcome/Impact.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use metrics (e.g., increased conversion, reduced task time, improved satisfaction scores) to demonstrate the effectiveness of your designs.

• Focus on "Why": Be prepared to articulate the strategic reasoning behind every significant design decision you made.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals effectively, but supplement them with clear explanations of your thought process.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Expect detailed questions about your process, tools, and decision-making. Be honest about challenges and what you learned.

• Highlight Collaboration: If possible, show how you worked with others and managed feedback.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will heavily scrutinize your portfolio and your ability to articulate your strategic thinking and design process. Be prepared to discuss your experience with AI and emerging technologies.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this freelance product designer position:

• Submit your application through the Greenhouse portal, ensuring your resume and portfolio link are clearly visible.

• Tailor your Resume: Highlight your 5+ years of experience in Digital Product Design, specifically mentioning your proficiency in Figma, prototyping tools, user research, and design systems. Quantify achievements where possible.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 3-4 of your strongest case studies that showcase end-to-end product design, strategic thinking, user research, and collaboration. Ensure it clearly demonstrates your ability to solve complex digital challenges and adhere to accessibility standards.

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice walking through your portfolio case studies, focusing on the strategic "why" behind your design decisions and the measurable impact. Be ready to discuss your experience with AI and emerging technologies.

• Research In The Pocket: Familiarize yourself with their work, client portfolio, and company values to articulate your interest and cultural fit.

⚠️ 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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