Head of Design

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Head of Design

Company: Tandem Health

Location: Stockholm, Stockholm County, Sweden

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design Leadership / GTM Operations

Date Posted: 2026-06-22

Experience Level: 10+ years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead and elevate the product design craft, setting a high bar for quality and innovation in an AI-native healthtech environment.

• Mentor and develop product designers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and high performance within a small, impactful team.

• Collaborate closely with Product, Engineering, and company leadership to shape product principles, direction, and execution, influencing company-wide product decisions.

• Establish and refine product discovery practices, including user research, prototyping, validation, and feedback loops, to ensure user-centric product development.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role focuses on design leadership and strategy within a fast-scaling health-tech startup. While titled "Head of Design," the emphasis is on driving design excellence, mentoring, and strategic influence rather than managing a large organizational structure, reflecting an early-stage company environment. The integration of AI into both the product and design process is a key differentiator.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the overall design craft at Tandem Health, defining and evolving design standards and methodologies.

• Mentor and develop product designers through constructive feedback, collaborative coaching, and skill-building initiatives.

• Represent the design function within leadership discussions, contributing to strategic product decisions and company direction.

• Partner with Product and Engineering leadership to align on product principles, strategic roadmaps, and execution plans.

• Establish, improve, and champion robust product discovery practices, including user research, prototyping, validation, and user feedback mechanisms.

• Contribute hands-on to product and interaction design efforts as needed, ensuring high-quality execution and setting an example.

• Define and integrate how AI can enhance both user experiences and internal design processes.

• Elevate the standards for usability, product thinking, consistency, and visual quality across all Tandem Health products.

• Optimize design collaboration workflows with engineering and product teams to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.

• Create clarity and alignment around design decisions, driving momentum in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic leadership, hands-on design contribution, and process improvement. The emphasis on "AI-native design" and "AI-native design processes" suggests a need for forward-thinking individuals who can innovate at the intersection of AI and user experience within the healthcare domain.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a strong portfolio and demonstrated experience in product design are paramount.

Experience: Significant experience (10+ years) in digital product design, with a proven track record of successfully shipping meaningful products from discovery through delivery in fast-moving environments.

Required Skills:

• Exceptional product design judgment and a strong sense of user intuition.

• Proven experience in leading or informally mentoring product designers.

• Demonstrated ability to drive significant product work from discovery to final delivery.

• Deep experience in user research, prototyping, validation, and user feedback loops.

• Strong systems thinking capabilities for improving design workflows and team effectiveness.

• Comfortable collaborating closely with engineers and understanding technical constraints.

• Ability to balance strategic vision with hands-on, tactical execution.

• Excellent communication skills, with a proven ability to provide clear, actionable feedback.

• Adaptability and effectiveness in fast-moving environments with evolving priorities.

• Experience working within highly collaborative product organizations (designers, engineers, PMs).

• A strong sense of ownership and a genuine passion for the craft of product design.

• Experience in unifying design across multiple complex product lines. Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing AI-native products.

• Experience building AI-native design processes.

• Experience within the healthtech industry.

• Experience in early-stage startups or scaleups.

• Comfort engaging in technical discussions and designing within real engineering constraints.

📝 Enhancement Note: The qualifications emphasize both leadership acumen and hands-on design expertise. The preference for AI-native product and process experience is critical for this role, suggesting the company is at the forefront of integrating AI into its operations and product development.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrate a strong track record of driving meaningful product initiatives from initial concept through successful launch and iteration.

• Showcase examples of complex product discovery processes, including user research methodologies, prototyping, and validation techniques.

• Highlight contributions to improving design systems, workflows, and team effectiveness, illustrating systems thinking in practice.

• Present case studies that clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process followed, the design solutions implemented, and the measurable impact or ROI. Process Documentation:

• Provide examples of how you've established and improved product discovery workflows, detailing your approach to user research, ideation, prototyping, and validation.

• Showcase experience in refining design collaboration with engineering and product teams, demonstrating how you foster efficiency and alignment.

• Illustrate your approach to measuring and improving usability, product thinking, consistency, and visual quality across product lines.

📝 Enhancement Note: Applicants should prepare a portfolio that not only displays aesthetic and interaction design skills but also demonstrates strategic thinking, process ownership, and a data-driven approach to product development. Case studies should explicitly detail how AI was leveraged or could be leveraged.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for a "Head of Design" role with 10+ years of experience in a high-cost-of-living city like Stockholm, Sweden, and within a fast-scaling tech company, the estimated annual salary range is approximately 800,000 SEK to 1,200,000 SEK. This estimate includes base salary and potential stock options.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary and company stock options, offering significant upside potential.

• Generous 30 days of paid vacation annually, promoting work-life balance.

• Comprehensive pension plan.

• Annual wellness allowance of 5,000 SEK (friskvårdsbidrag) to support employee well-being.

• Parental top-up benefits, supporting new parents.

• Regular social and team-building activities, including off-sites, after-work gatherings, and seasonal parties, fostering a strong team culture.

• An impactful opportunity to contribute to positive change in healthcare.

• Opportunity to work with leading professionals in AI, healthcare, and engineering.

Working Hours: While not explicitly stated, a full-time role in Sweden typically involves around 40 hours per week. The company culture emphasizes momentum and ownership, suggesting a focus on results and efficient work practices rather than strict adherence to hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on research of senior design leadership roles in Stockholm's tech sector, considering the company's stage (fast-scaling health-tech) and investor backing. Benefits are comprehensive and align with Swedish employment standards and startup culture.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Healthtech, specifically focused on improving clinician workflows and patient care through an AI-native platform. Tandem Health aims to reduce administrative burden on clinicians and enhance patient engagement, addressing critical pain points in modern healthcare delivery.

Company Size: Tandem Health is described as "fast-scaling," indicating a growth phase beyond seed stage, likely employing between 50-200 individuals. This size suggests a dynamic environment with opportunities for significant impact but also demands agility and adaptability.

Founded: The founding date is not provided, but the "fast-scaling" nature and backing by top investors suggest a relatively recent establishment, likely within the last 5-7 years, positioning it as a modern, innovative player in the healthtech landscape.

Team Structure:

• The design team is currently small, implying a close-knit group where the Head of Design will have direct, hands-on involvement.

• The reporting structure likely places the Head of Design at a senior level, reporting to C-suite executives (e.g., CEO, CPO, or CTO) and participating in leadership discussions.

• Cross-functional collaboration is heavily emphasized, with close partnerships expected between Design, Product, and Engineering teams to drive product development. Methodology:

• Data analysis and insights are crucial, particularly in understanding user needs and validating product hypotheses within the healthcare context.

• Workflow planning and optimization are core to the company's mission, aiming to streamline clinician tasks and improve patient journeys.

• Automation and efficiency are key drivers, especially with the integration of AI, aiming to reduce manual effort and enhance scalability.

Company Website: https://tandemhealth.ai

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is characterized by speed, innovation, and a strong focus on impact within healthcare. Being in a "fast-scaling" environment means opportunities for growth but also requires individuals comfortable with ambiguity and rapid change. The emphasis on AI is a fundamental aspect of their strategy and operations.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role represents a senior leadership position within the design function. It's a pivotal role for an experienced product designer who can not only shape design strategy and craft but also mentor and grow a small team. It’s a blend of individual contributor excellence and leadership influence, typical of early-stage companies where founders and early hires wear multiple hats.

Reporting Structure: The Head of Design will likely report directly to a co-founder or a C-level executive (e.g., Chief Product Officer, CTO, or CEO). This close proximity to leadership facilitates direct influence on product strategy and company direction.

Operations Impact: The Head of Design will have a profound impact on Tandem Health's success by ensuring the product is intuitive, effective, and desirable for clinicians and patients. This directly influences user adoption, retention, operational efficiency within healthcare settings, and ultimately, the company's market position and revenue potential. Their work will define the user experience of an AI-first healthcare platform.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership Expansion: As Tandem Health scales, there's a clear path to build out and lead a larger, more specialized design team, potentially across different product areas or disciplines (UX Research, UI Design, Design Systems).

• Strategic Product Influence: Continued involvement in leadership discussions provides opportunities to influence broader product strategy, company vision, and market positioning within the healthtech and AI sectors.

• Innovation in AI-Native Design: The opportunity to pioneer new design paradigms for AI-driven healthcare applications offers significant professional development and industry recognition potential.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a unique opportunity for a design leader to shape a company's design identity from an early stage. The growth potential is tied to the company's scaling trajectory and the individual's ability to drive strategic impact and build a high-performing design function within an AI-first context.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is based in Stockholm, Sweden, at the Epicenter building. This suggests a modern, tech-focused co-working or office environment designed to foster collaboration and innovation.

Office Location(s): Primarily in Stockholm, Sweden, at the Epicenter building. This location is central and likely offers excellent accessibility for local employees.

Workspace Context:

• The Epicenter environment is designed for collaboration, suggesting ample opportunities for face-to-face interaction with colleagues from design, product, and engineering.

• As a health-tech company backed by investors, it's expected that modern design tools and technologies will be available to support the team's work.

• The small design team size and emphasis on collaboration mean frequent interaction and knowledge sharing with immediate colleagues and cross-functional partners.

Work Schedule: The position is full-time, based on-site in Stockholm. While core hours are expected, the company culture of "momentum, ownership, and iteration" suggests flexibility in how work is accomplished, prioritizing outcomes over strict time-tracking, within the context of being office-based for collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement in Stockholm, coupled with the description of the Epicenter building, points to a collaborative, modern, and dynamic work setting. This environment is conducive to the hands-on leadership and team interaction expected in this role.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Screening Interview (Talent Acquisition): Focus on cultural fit, motivation, high-level experience, and alignment with the company's mission and values. Be prepared to articulate your passion for healthtech and AI.

• Design Focused Interview: In-depth discussion of your design philosophy, approach to product discovery, mentorship style, and experience with complex digital products, particularly AI-native ones. Expect to dive into specific case studies from your portfolio.

• Follow-up Interview (CTO & Co-founder): Strategic conversation about product vision, leadership approach, technical understanding, and how you envision shaping Tandem Health's design future. Assess your ability to contribute to high-level product decisions.

• Home Case & Presentation: You will be given a design challenge to complete remotely. This will be followed by an on-site presentation at the Stockholm office, including a lunch with the team. This stage assesses your problem-solving skills, design execution, presentation abilities, and cultural fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-5 of your most impactful projects that best showcase your leadership, strategic thinking, hands-on design skills, and experience with complex challenges, especially those involving AI or healthcare.

• Structure for Impact: For each project, clearly outline the problem statement, your specific role and responsibilities, the design process employed (discovery, ideation, prototyping, validation, iteration), key design decisions and rationale, and measurable outcomes/impact.

• Highlight AI Integration: If applicable, explicitly detail how AI was a factor in the problem or solution, or how you envisioned its use. Discuss how you approach designing for AI-driven features or processes.

• Demonstrate Leadership: Showcase instances where you mentored others, influenced product strategy, or improved team processes. Quantify impact where possible (e.g., "improved user satisfaction by X%", "reduced design cycle time by Y%").

• Be Prepared to Discuss: Be ready to walk through your portfolio in detail, answer questions about your process, and defend your design decisions.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Context: Thoroughly research Tandem Health, its mission, the healthtech industry, and the role of AI in healthcare.

• Embrace Ambiguity: The home case will likely involve a degree of ambiguity; focus on making sound assumptions, clearly stating them, and defining a logical approach to address the problem.

• Process Over Perfection: Demonstrate a robust, user-centered design process. The ability to articulate your methodology and rationale is as important as the final deliverable.

• Presentation Skills: Practice presenting your case study clearly and concisely. Be ready to engage with the team, answer questions, and receive feedback constructively.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is rigorous and multi-faceted, emphasizing strategic thinking, hands-on design capability, leadership potential, and cultural fit. The inclusion of an on-site presentation with lunch is a strong indicator of the company's desire for personal connection and cultural integration.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (highly probable for collaborative design), Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop).

• User Research & Validation: Tools for user interviews, surveys, usability testing (e.g., UserTesting.com, Maze, Hotjar).

• Project Management & Collaboration: Jira, Asana, Trello, Slack.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics: Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics (or similar platforms for tracking user behavior and product performance).

• Data Visualization: Tableau, Power BI, or in-product dashboards for reporting key metrics.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly a design tool, familiarity with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) and marketing automation platforms can be beneficial for understanding the broader GTM context and user journeys.

• Integration Tools: Understanding how design impacts integrated systems and workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in industry-standard design and prototyping tools like Figma is essential. The role also requires a strong understanding of user research methodologies and tools, as well as the ability to interpret product analytics to inform design decisions. Familiarity with AI-specific design considerations and tools will be a significant advantage.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Impact: A deep commitment to making a tangible positive difference in healthcare, prioritizing user needs and patient well-being.

• Ownership: Taking full responsibility for projects and outcomes, driving initiatives forward with a proactive mindset.

• Momentum: A fast-paced, action-oriented approach that values progress and iteration, avoiding analysis paralysis.

• Curiosity & Learning: A continuous drive to explore new ideas, technologies (especially AI), and methodologies, fostering personal and professional growth.

• Collaboration: Working effectively across disciplines, valuing diverse perspectives, and building strong, supportive relationships.

Collaboration Style:

• Highly cross-functional, with designers working in tight integration with Product Managers and Engineers from discovery through delivery.

• Emphasis on open communication, constructive feedback, and shared problem-solving.

• A culture of continuous improvement where processes and workflows are regularly reviewed and refined.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company values align with a high-performing startup culture focused on mission-driven work, speed, and continuous improvement. The Head of Design will be instrumental in embedding these values within the design team and championing user-centricity across the organization.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Leadership and Execution: As a small team, the Head of Design will need to effectively balance strategic leadership, team mentoring, and hands-on design work.

• Navigating Ambiguity: Operating in a fast-scaling startup means priorities can shift. Adapting to changing requirements and driving clarity amidst ambiguity will be key.

• Defining AI-Native Design: Establishing best practices and design patterns for AI-driven healthcare products, a relatively nascent field, presents a unique challenge.

• Scaling Design Processes: As the company grows, the challenge will be to scale design systems, workflows, and team structure while maintaining quality and agility.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI Design Specialization: Deepen expertise in designing for AI, including ethical considerations, user trust, and explainability in healthcare contexts.

• Leadership Development: Grow leadership skills through direct mentorship, strategic involvement, and potential future team expansion.

• Healthtech & AI Domain Expertise: Gain in-depth knowledge of the healthcare industry, regulatory landscapes, and the evolving role of AI in patient care and clinical operations.

• Startup Growth Experience: Contribute to and learn from the rapid growth trajectory of a venture-backed healthtech company.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are common in early-stage, high-growth companies, particularly those at the forefront of technological innovation like AI in healthtech. The growth opportunities are substantial for individuals looking to make a significant impact and advance their careers in a dynamic environment.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach defining and evolving the overall design craft at Tandem Health, considering our AI-native focus?" (Prepare to discuss design principles, quality standards, and process evolution.)

• "Describe your philosophy on mentoring product designers. How do you foster growth and maintain a high bar for quality within a small team?" (Prepare examples of feedback, coaching techniques, and talent development.)

• "Walk us through a time you influenced product direction at a leadership level. How did you collaborate with Product and Engineering to shape strategy and execution?" (Prepare a case study highlighting strategic influence and cross-functional partnership.)

• "How do you establish and improve product discovery practices? What are your key methods for user research, prototyping, and validation, especially in a fast-moving environment?" (Prepare to detail your process and specific tool/methodology examples.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Tandem Health's mission and our approach to reimagining healthcare with an AI-native platform?" (Research the company's mission, values, and recent developments.)

• "How do you see the role of design evolving in AI-first companies, particularly within the healthtech sector?" (Prepare to discuss future trends and your vision.)

• "Describe your experience working in fast-moving environments with evolving priorities. How do you maintain momentum and create clarity for your team?" (Prepare examples of adaptability and leadership in dynamic settings.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Storytelling with Data: Structure your case studies as compelling narratives. Clearly define the problem, your role, the user, the solution, and most importantly, the measurable impact and outcomes achieved.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals (screenshots, mockups, prototypes) effectively to illustrate your design process and final solutions.

• Highlight AI Relevance: Explicitly discuss any AI components, challenges, or opportunities within your presented projects. Explain your thought process for designing AI-powered features or user experiences.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use metrics (e.g., conversion rates, user satisfaction scores, efficiency gains, time saved) to demonstrate the value of your design work.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your design decisions, trade-offs, and the rationale behind your choices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to assess not only design skills but also strategic thinking, leadership potential, cultural fit, and the ability to innovate in the AI and healthtech space. Preparing specific examples that highlight these aspects will be crucial for success.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Head of Design position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby. Ensure your CV is in English as requested.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 3-5 of your most impactful projects that best demonstrate your leadership, strategic thinking, hands-on design expertise, and experience with complex products, especially those involving AI or healthcare. Tailor your portfolio to highlight your ability to mentor and drive design quality.

• Optimize Your Resume: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your 10+ years of experience, leadership responsibilities, and achievements in product design. Use keywords relevant to AI-native design, healthtech, product discovery, and team mentorship.

• Prepare for the Interview Stages: Practice articulating your design philosophy, leadership approach, and experience with AI-driven products. Prepare specific examples for each interview stage, focusing on how you would address Tandem Health's challenges.

• Research Tandem Health: Thoroughly understand the company's mission, product, target users (clinicians and patients), and its position in the healthtech market. Familiarize yourself with their AI-native approach and company 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.