Head of Design

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Head of Design

Company: InvestEngine

Location: London, United Kingdom

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Design Leadership / Operations

Date Posted: May 07, 2026

Experience Level: 5-10 years (with 3+ years in management)

Remote Status: Remote OK (Hybrid option available with London office presence)

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead and manage the Design team across both product and marketing functions, ensuring consistent high-quality output and strategic alignment.

• Drive the adoption and practical implementation of AI tools within design workflows to enhance speed, quality, and scalability of design deliverables.

• Establish and refine operational processes for the design team, including intake, Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and stakeholder satisfaction measurement.

• Foster a data-driven design culture by integrating user research, usability testing, and analytics into design decision-making and prioritization processes.

• Oversee the growth and development of the design team through strategic hiring, effective 1:1s, goal setting, and career path support.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Head of Design," the core responsibilities and emphasis on process, delivery, SLAs, and stakeholder management position this role with significant operational overlap. The role requires not just creative oversight but also the establishment and scaling of operational frameworks for a design function, making it highly relevant for professionals with a strong GTM or functional operations background who are transitioning into leadership. The emphasis on AI adoption and data-driven decision-making further highlights the operational and analytical demands of this leadership position.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Team Management & Development: Conduct structured 1:1s, set performance goals, provide continuous feedback, and champion career development for a team of designers embedded across product and marketing.

• AI Integration & Workflow Optimization: Identify, introduce, and embed AI tools (e.g., for content generation, image enhancement, workflow automation) into daily design processes to boost efficiency and output quality.

• Strategic Hiring & Team Scaling: Define hiring needs, conduct interviews, and onboard new design talent to support the company's growth trajectory.

• User-Centric Design Operations: Oversee the execution of usability tests and user research using provided tools, translating findings into actionable insights for design prioritization and decision-making.

• Design Delivery & SLA Management: Implement clear intake processes, define tiered turnaround SLAs for design requests, track on-time delivery metrics, and measure overall stakeholder satisfaction with the design function's performance.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with Product and Marketing leadership to influence work early in the ideation phase, clarify project requirements, and ensure alignment on desired business outcomes.

• Design Quality Governance: Establish and enforce quality standards, conduct design reviews, and maintain review gates to ensure consistency across the product and brand identity without directly producing individual design assets.

• Process Enhancement & Scalability: Build upon and scale existing team processes, enhance visibility into design workflows, and refine operational methodologies to support company growth.

• Design System Leadership: Drive the adoption and evolution of the design system among designers and engineers, track component reuse, identify system gaps, and ensure it accelerates overall delivery speed.

• Marketing Design Effectiveness: Support marketing designers by shaping briefs, providing strategic direction, and ensuring the production of impactful and effective creative assets.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strong operational focus. "Owning design delivery and SLAs," "Governing design quality," and "Building on and scaling the team's existing processes" are core operational functions. The emphasis on AI adoption and data-driven decision-making also points to a need for systematic implementation and measurement, typical of revenue or sales operations roles.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong educational foundation in Design, UX/UI, or a related field is implicitly expected. The focus is on demonstrated experience and skills over formal qualifications.

Experience: 5+ years in product design (or equivalent experience) with a solid understanding of design craft; 3+ years of direct people management experience, including hiring, developing, and managing designers. Proven experience in scaling design teams and embedding new technologies or processes.

Required Skills:

• Product Design Craft: A strong foundation in design principles and best practices, even if not actively creating individual designs.

• People Management: Proven experience in hiring, mentoring, setting goals, and managing the day-to-day performance of design professionals.

• AI Tool Integration: Demonstrated ability to introduce, embed, and leverage AI tools within design workflows to enhance efficiency and output.

• User Research & Usability Testing: Proficiency in conducting or overseeing usability tests and user research, with the ability to translate findings into actionable design priorities.

• Analytical & Data Interpretation: Strong aptitude for using quantitative data (e.g., journey analytics, CX metrics, NPS/CSAT, A/B test results) to inform and prioritize design decisions.

• Organizational & Delivery Management: Expertise in defining intake processes, setting and managing SLAs, tracking delivery timelines, and measuring stakeholder satisfaction.

• Design Quality Governance: Ability to establish and enforce quality standards, conduct effective design reviews, and ensure brand consistency.

• Stakeholder Management: Excellent interpersonal skills to build trusted relationships, collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams (Product, Marketing), and manage expectations.

• English Communication: Superior written and spoken English, with a keen eye for clarity, context, and customer-facing language.

• Structured & Pragmatic Approach: A results-oriented mindset focused on clarity, measurable outcomes, and efficient execution.

Preferred Skills:

• Cross-Functional Design Experience: Prior experience managing design functions that span both product and marketing within a single team.

• Design System Scaling: Experience contributing to or leading the scaling of a design system, including driving adoption by engineering teams.

• UX Dashboard & Analytics Integration: Experience in setting up UX dashboards or integrating design metrics into broader product analytics platforms.

• Performance Management Frameworks: Familiarity with structured goal-setting and performance management frameworks (e.g., OKRs, KPIs).

• Fintech/Regulated Environment Experience: Previous work in fintech or other regulated industries, or a strong personal understanding of financial products and investing.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "5+ years of experience in product design (or equivalent), with a strong foundation in design craft even though this role does not involve individual design work" is crucial. It implies that candidates with a strong product or GTM operations background who have worked closely with design teams and understand design principles deeply, even without being hands-on designers, could be a strong fit. The emphasis on "analytical skills" and "using data" strongly aligns with operations roles.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Leadership Case Studies: Showcase examples of how you've led design teams to achieve specific business outcomes, highlighting process improvements, team growth, and impact on product/marketing initiatives.

• Operational Process Design: Include documented examples of intake processes, SLA frameworks, or workflow management systems you've implemented or significantly improved.

• Data-Driven Decision-Making: Present case studies demonstrating how you've used user research, usability testing, or analytics data to influence design direction, prioritize features, or resolve design challenges.

• AI Tool Implementation: If possible, illustrate instances where you've introduced and successfully integrated AI tools to enhance team efficiency, output quality, or speed.

• Design System Contribution/Scaling: Evidence of involvement in scaling a design system, including its impact on consistency, developer adoption, and delivery velocity.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design & Optimization: Demonstrations of how you map, analyze, and optimize design workflows for efficiency, clarity, and scalability.

• Implementation & Automation: Examples of how you've implemented new processes, tools (especially AI), or methodologies to automate tasks or streamline operations within a design context.

• Measurement & Performance Analysis: Evidence of how you track design performance, measure stakeholder satisfaction, and analyze key metrics (e.g., delivery time, request volume, quality scores) to drive continuous improvement.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a "Head of Design" role with operational responsibilities, a portfolio should demonstrate not just design output but also the process and management of design. This includes showing how systems were built or improved, how data was leveraged operationally, and how teams were led to achieve measurable results. A typical design portfolio will need to be augmented with operational management case studies.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for Head of Design roles in London with significant management and operational responsibilities, the estimated annual salary range is £75,000 - £100,000. This range considers the experience level (5+ years, 3+ years management), the strategic importance of the role, and the London market.

Benefits:

• Impactful Work: Opportunity to shape a critical function within a growing fintech company and directly influence product perception and customer experience.

• Growth & Development: As the company and Experience team evolve, expect opportunities to expand scope and influence marketing design strategy and operations.

• Transparent Culture: Be part of an open and communicative environment that values thoughtful challenges and clear decision-making.

• Supportive Team: Collaborate with high-calibre, experienced professionals across design, product, marketing, and support who are committed to quality and clarity.

• Flexible Working: Enjoy a flexible setup, with the option to work remotely or from the London office located at 47-51 Great Suffolk St, London, SE1 0BS.

• Competitive Package: A comprehensive benefits package is expected, likely including pension contributions, health insurance, and potential equity options, common in the fintech sector.

Working Hours: The role is full-time, with a standard expectation of approximately 40 hours per week. The company offers a flexible working setup, accommodating remote work and providing office access in London. This flexibility is beneficial for managing design operations and personal work-life balance.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary estimation is based on publicly available data for similar Head of Design roles in London, factoring in the specified experience and management requirements. The inclusion of "Fintech Knowledge" as a requirement and the company's industry suggest a competitive compensation and benefits package.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Fintech, specifically an ETF investment platform for individuals and businesses. This is a regulated environment that demands a high degree of trust, transparency, and precision in communication and product design.

Company Size: InvestEngine is a growing company, likely in the scale-up phase, indicated by the need to scale a design team and processes. This implies a dynamic environment with opportunities for significant impact.

Founded: While the founding date is not explicitly provided, the company's focus on modernizing investment platforms suggests a relatively recent establishment, likely within the last decade, aligning with the growth of neo-brokers and fintech innovation.

Team Structure:

• The Design team is embedded across different functional streams (Product and Marketing).

• The Head of Design will manage this dispersed team, ensuring cohesion and consistent output.

• Close collaboration is expected with Product and Marketing leadership.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Decision-Making: A core tenet, emphasizing the use of user research, analytics, and CX metrics to inform design choices.

• Process-Oriented Operations: Focus on establishing clear intake processes, SLAs, and quality governance to ensure efficient and predictable delivery.

• AI Leverage: Proactive integration of AI tools to enhance design speed, quality, and scalability.

• User-Centricity: A strong emphasis on customer experience and making the investment platform enjoyable and easy to use.

Company Website: https://careers.investengine.com

📝 Enhancement Note: The fintech industry context is critical. It implies a need for robust operational processes, clear communication, and a deep understanding of regulatory compliance. The "growing" nature of the company suggests opportunities for innovation and process development, which will appeal to operations-minded individuals.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role represents a significant step into Design Leadership with a strong operational component. It's a mid-to-senior level position that requires strategic thinking, people management, and process optimization skills. It bridges the gap between hands-on design and functional operations leadership.

Reporting Structure: The Head of Design will likely report to a Chief Product Officer, VP of Product, or Head of Experience, overseeing a team of designers who may be embedded within Product and Marketing squads. This structure necessitates strong collaboration and communication skills to influence across departments.

Operations Impact: The Head of Design is pivotal in ensuring that InvestEngine's product and brand are perceived as high-quality, user-friendly, and trustworthy. By optimizing design delivery, enhancing user experience through data-informed decisions, and scaling the design system, this role directly impacts customer acquisition, retention, and overall brand perception, contributing significantly to the company's growth and revenue objectives.

Growth Opportunities:

• Expanded Leadership Scope: Potential to grow into a broader Head of Experience or VP of Design role, overseeing more functions or teams as the company scales.

• Strategic Influence: Opportunity to shape the future of InvestEngine's product and brand by driving design strategy, process innovation, and the adoption of cutting-edge technologies like AI.

• Cross-Functional Expertise: Deepen expertise in fintech operations, product development, and marketing strategy through close collaboration with senior leaders in these areas.

• Process & Systems Development: Lead the creation and refinement of operational frameworks for design, establishing best practices that can be adopted by other functions.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a unique blend of creative leadership and operational rigor. For someone with an operations background, it's a chance to leverage system-thinking and process optimization skills in a creative domain, leading to significant career growth and impact.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: InvestEngine offers a hybrid working setup. While remote work is supported, there is an office presence in London (47-51 Great Suffolk St, London, SE1 0BS) for those who prefer or need to work from a physical location. This allows for a blend of focused remote work and collaborative in-office sessions.

Office Location(s): The primary office is located in London, a major hub for tech and finance, offering good accessibility. This location is ideal for team meetups, key stakeholder meetings, and fostering team cohesion.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: Encourages interaction with a supportive, high-calibre team across Design, Product, Marketing, and Support. The hybrid model necessitates intentional efforts to maintain team connection.

• Tools & Technology: Access to modern design tools and a commitment to leveraging AI and other technologies to enhance workflows. The company provides tools for usability testing and user research.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for direct collaboration with designers embedded in product and marketing streams, as well as with senior leaders, fostering a dynamic and interconnected work environment.

Work Schedule: The role is full-time (approx. 40 hours/week) with a flexible working setup. This allows operations professionals to structure their workdays to accommodate design process management, data analysis, and team collaboration, while also maintaining work-life balance.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Remote OK" status with a London office presence is a key draw. It allows for flexibility while maintaining essential in-person collaboration opportunities, crucial for a leadership role and for team cohesion.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Application Review: Initial screening of CV and portfolio, focusing on design leadership, operational experience, and relevant case studies.

• Introductory Call: A 30-minute call with HR to assess initial fit, understand motivations, and clarify role expectations.

• Cognitive Assessment: A short online test to evaluate analytical and problem-solving capabilities, likely with a focus on logical reasoning or situational judgment relevant to operations.

• Stakeholder Interviews: Two to three in-depth interviews with key stakeholders (e.g., Head of Product, Head of Marketing, potential direct reports) to assess strategic thinking, leadership style, operational acumen, and cultural fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Showcase Operational Leadership: Highlight projects where you implemented new processes, scaled teams, managed SLAs, or used data to drive significant improvements. Quantify impact wherever possible.

• Structure for Operations Roles: Organize your portfolio to clearly demonstrate your ability to manage workflows, stakeholders, and deliverables under pressure. Use clear headings and concise descriptions for operational achievements.

• Data & AI Case Studies: Emphasize instances where you leveraged user research, analytics, or AI tools to solve complex problems, improve efficiency, and achieve measurable outcomes. Detail the "how" and the "what."

• Team Development Examples: Include examples of how you've mentored designers, fostered team growth, and improved team performance through structured management practices.

• Tailor to InvestEngine: Research InvestEngine's product, brand, and customer base. Frame your experience in the context of fintech, regulated environments, and their specific challenges.

Challenge Preparation:

• Operational Case Study: Be prepared for a hypothetical scenario where you need to diagnose a design team's operational challenges (e.g., slow delivery, inconsistent quality, poor stakeholder satisfaction) and propose a structured plan for improvement, incorporating data and AI.

• Process Design Exercise: You might be asked to outline a process for handling design requests, defining SLAs, or establishing a design quality review framework.

• Stakeholder Management Scenarios: Practice articulating your approach to managing competing priorities from Product and Marketing, and how you would gather and act on feedback.

📝 Enhancement Note: The recruitment process includes a cognitive test and emphasizes stakeholder interviews, suggesting a rigorous evaluation of analytical and interpersonal skills beyond traditional design capabilities. The portfolio review needs to balance design excellence with operational rigor.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design Software: Proficiency in industry-standard design tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop).

• Prototyping Tools: Experience with tools like InVision, ProtoPie, or Figma's built-in prototyping capabilities for user testing.

• User Research & Testing Platforms: Familiarity with tools like UserTesting.com, Maze, Lookback, or Hotjar for conducting and analyzing usability tests and gathering user feedback.

• AI Design Assistants: Experience with or openness to adopting AI tools for tasks like content generation, image editing, workflow automation, or design exploration (e.g., Midjourney, DALL-E, AI-powered copywriting tools).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Web Analytics: Proficiency with tools like Google Analytics or Amplitude to track user behavior, conversion rates, and product engagement.

• Product Analytics: Experience with platforms that provide deeper insights into user journeys and feature adoption.

• Dashboarding Tools: Ability to interpret data from tools like Tableau, Power BI, or Looker (or internal dashboards) and translate it into actionable insights for design decisions.

CRM & Automation:

• Project Management Software: Experience with tools like Jira, Asana, Trello, or Monday.com for managing design tasks, workflows, and team collaboration.

• Collaboration Platforms: Proficient use of Slack, Microsoft Teams, or similar for team communication and asynchronous collaboration.

• Design System Management: Tools or platforms for managing and documenting design systems (e.g., Zeroheight, Storybook for engineering integration).

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "AI Tools" and "Data" suggests a modern tech stack. Candidates should be prepared to discuss their experience with these technologies and their strategic implementation within a design context.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Data-Driven: Decisions are informed by evidence from user research, analytics, and performance metrics, ensuring design efforts are aligned with business goals and user needs.

• Efficiency & Scalability: A commitment to optimizing processes, leveraging technology (especially AI), and building scalable systems to support company growth without compromising quality.

• Clarity & Transparency: Open communication, clear articulation of requirements and feedback, and transparent decision-making processes are highly valued.

• Collaboration: A strong emphasis on working effectively with cross-functional teams (Product, Marketing, Engineering) to achieve shared objectives.

• Continuous Improvement: A proactive approach to identifying areas for enhancement in processes, tools, and team performance.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Design is seen as a partner to Product and Marketing, involved early in strategy and execution, with a focus on clear communication and alignment.

• Constructive Feedback Culture: Openness to providing and receiving feedback on designs, processes, and team performance to foster growth and improve outcomes.

• Knowledge Sharing: Encouraging the sharing of best practices, learnings, and insights across the design team and with other departments.

📝 Enhancement Note: The values described align closely with those typically found in successful operations teams: data-driven, efficient, collaborative, and focused on continuous improvement, applied here within a design leadership context.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Scaling a Dispersed Team: Effectively managing and fostering cohesion within a design team that is embedded across different functional areas and potentially working remotely requires strong organizational and communication skills.

• Balancing Quality and Speed: Meeting the demands for high-quality design output while maintaining rapid delivery pace in a fast-growing fintech environment.

• Demonstrating Measurable Impact: Clearly articulating and quantifying the ROI of design initiatives to stakeholders, moving beyond subjective appreciation to data-backed value.

• Integrating AI Effectively: Moving beyond experimental use of AI to embedding it strategically within established workflows to drive tangible improvements in efficiency and output.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Strategic Leadership Development: Gaining experience in high-level decision-making, cross-functional strategy, and operational framework development within a growing company.

• Fintech Industry Expertise: Deepening understanding of the financial services sector, its regulatory landscape, and the unique design challenges it presents.

• Operational Excellence in Design: Becoming a leader in applying operational best practices and modern technologies (like AI) to creative functions.

• Mentorship & Team Building: Developing skills in attracting, retaining, and growing top design talent, building a high-performing and motivated team.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are common in fast-growing tech companies, particularly those in regulated industries. The growth opportunities are substantial for someone looking to combine creative leadership with operational impact.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you assess the current operational efficiency of a design team and identify areas for improvement?" (Focus on your process mapping, data analysis, and problem-solving approach.)

• "Describe your strategy for embedding AI tools into a design team's workflow. What are the key considerations for successful adoption and measurement?" (Highlight your understanding of change management, tool selection, and impact assessment.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What do you know about InvestEngine and the fintech industry? How would your design leadership approach align with a regulated environment?" (Demonstrate your research and understanding of the business context.)

• "How would you foster a strong sense of team identity and collaboration among designers who are embedded across different product and marketing streams?" (Explain your approach to team building, communication, and shared goals.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Lead with Operational Impact: Start your portfolio walkthrough by highlighting a key project where you implemented significant operational improvements, scaled a team, or drove measurable efficiency gains.

• Quantify Everything: For each case study, present clear metrics demonstrating the impact of your leadership and process improvements (e.g., % reduction in turnaround time, % increase in stakeholder satisfaction, adoption rate of new tools/systems).

• Showcase Process Flow: Use visual aids or clear descriptions to illustrate the processes you've designed or optimized. Explain the "before" and "after" to highlight the value of your operational contributions.

• Articulate AI Strategy: Be ready to explain your philosophy on AI in design, sharing specific examples of tools you've used and the tangible benefits they delivered.

• Focus on Leadership, Not Just Craft: While design examples are important, frame them through the lens of your leadership and operational management. How did you guide the team, ensure quality, and drive outcomes?

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to assess not just design thinking but also operational capability, leadership potential, and strategic alignment with the company's goals and industry.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Head of Design position:

• Submit your application through the InvestEngine careers portal, including your CV and a link to your portfolio.

• Curate Your Portfolio for Operations: Ensure your portfolio prominently features case studies demonstrating your leadership in managing design teams, implementing operational processes (like SLAs or intake systems), and leveraging data or AI to achieve measurable outcomes. Quantify your achievements.

• Tailor Your CV: Highlight your people management experience, experience scaling teams, success with AI integration, and any experience in fintech or regulated environments. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare for the Cognitive Test: Brush up on logical reasoning and problem-solving skills. Practice articulating your thought process clearly and concisely.

• Research InvestEngine Thoroughly: Understand their product, target audience, brand messaging, and the competitive fintech landscape. Prepare to discuss how your operational approach to design will benefit specific business objectives.

⚠️ 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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