Intermediate Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Intermediate Product Designer

Company: gaiia

Location: Canada

Job Type: Full-Time, Salaried

Category: Product Design / UX/UI

Date Posted: 2026-06-22

Experience Level: Intermediate (5+ years)

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Design end-to-end user experiences for gaiia's operational platform, focusing on complex B2B workflows and transforming concepts into polished, shipped UI.

• Collaborate closely with product management and engineering teams to define scope, develop strong interaction models, and make durable design decisions for operational domains.

• Leverage user research and rapid iteration to enhance platform simplicity, speed, and trustworthiness, ensuring high-quality, accessible, and effortless user interactions.

• Contribute to the evolution of gaiia's design system, enabling consistent delivery of high-quality experiences as the product scales and incorporates AI-driven features.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role focuses on B2B operational workflows, implying a need for deep understanding of business processes, data management, and enterprise-level user needs. The emphasis on "complex operational workflows" and specific domains like Billing, CRM, and Inventory suggests the need for a designer capable of handling intricate systems and business logic, rather than purely consumer-facing applications.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design user interfaces and interaction models for gaiia's operational platform, covering complex business processes from initial ideation through to final implementation.

• Partner with Product Managers and Engineers to translate ambiguous problems into clear product scopes, user flows, and interaction designs.

• Conduct user research, including interviews and usability testing, to gather insights and drive iterative improvements in product design.

• Develop and maintain components within gaiia's design system to ensure consistency, scalability, and efficiency in product development.

• Collaborate with Quality Assurance (QA) teams to define clear specifications, edge cases, and acceptance criteria for product releases.

• Thoughtfully integrate AI tools into the design process to explore solutions, validate concepts, and enhance overall impact and efficiency.

• Champion and implement best practices in UI craft, accessibility standards, and overall design clarity to create effortless user experiences.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibility to "partner with QA to make to review, test, with clear specs, edge cases, and acceptance criteria" indicates a hands-on approach to quality and a need for meticulous documentation and collaboration beyond typical design handoffs, typical in complex B2B environments.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in User Experience Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field is a plus.

Experience: 5+ years of professional product design experience, with a demonstrated track record in designing complex B2B web applications.

Required Skills:

• Expertise in end-to-end product design, from conceptualization to polished UI, for complex operational workflows.

• Proven experience designing for B2B web applications, specifically within operational domains such as Billing & Notifications, CRM, Product Catalog, Inventory/Fulfillment, Network & Geo, and platform tooling.

• Proficiency in modern design and prototyping tools, with a strong emphasis on Figma and FigJam.

• Demonstrated ability to use AI tools (e.g., Claude) and user testing platforms effectively within a design workflow.

• Deep understanding of user-centered design principles and the ability to translate customer needs into intuitive and effective user experiences.

• Experience in planning, conducting, and synthesizing user research (interviews, usability testing) to inform design decisions.

• Familiarity with mixed-method research, experimentation (A/B testing), and agile product development methodologies.

• Clear, structured communication skills, with a proven ability to build alignment and collaborate effectively with design, product, and engineering teams.

• An ownership mindset, taking responsibility for outcomes, contributing a strong point of view, and driving projects to completion.

• Strong problem-solving capabilities and the ability to manage context switching across multiple work streams.

• Openness to feedback and a proactive approach to refining and iterating on designs. Preferred Skills:

• Experience with AI-powered product surfaces.

• Familiarity with specific operational domains like telecommunications, SaaS platforms, or enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.

• Experience contributing to or evolving design systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of specific operational domains (Billing & Notifications, CRM, Inventory/Fulfillment, etc.) and "platform tooling (including AI-powered product surfaces)" suggests that candidates with prior experience in these niche B2B areas will have a significant advantage.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A robust portfolio showcasing at least 5+ years of product design work, with a clear emphasis on complex B2B web applications and operational workflows.

• Examples demonstrating the end-to-end design process, from problem definition and user research to wireframing, prototyping, high-fidelity UI design, and final shipped product.

• Case studies that highlight your ability to simplify complex business logic and operational processes into clear, user-friendly interfaces.

• Demonstrations of your experience with specific operational domains (e.g., CRM, billing, inventory management) and how you addressed user needs within these contexts.

• Inclusion of projects where you utilized or evolved design systems, showcasing consistency and scalability.

• Evidence of your research methodologies, including user interviews, usability testing, and how insights were translated into design improvements.

• Examples of how you've collaborated with product and engineering teams, illustrating your communication and alignment-building skills.

• Showcase of your proficiency with Figma/FigJam and any AI tools integrated into your workflow. Process Documentation:

• Case studies should clearly articulate the problem statement, your role, the design process undertaken, key decisions made, and the measurable outcomes or impact of your design solutions.

• Documentation of how you used research and iteration to simplify complex workflows and improve user trust.

• Examples of how you contributed to or managed design system components, ensuring consistency and scalability.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "complex operational workflows" and specific B2B domains means portfolios should not just show aesthetic appeal but also demonstrate a deep understanding of business needs, data structures, and process efficiency within an enterprise context. Quantifiable results are crucial.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• Given the role is based in Canada and requires 5+ years of experience in specialized B2B product design, a competitive salary range would be estimated between CAD $100,000 - $150,000 annually. This range is based on industry benchmarks for intermediate to senior product designers in Canada, considering the remote nature of the role and the specific technical demands of B2B operational software design. Benefits:

• Flexible 25 days of vacation, offering ample time for rest and personal pursuits.

• Stock Options Plan, providing an opportunity to share in the company's growth and success.

• Comprehensive Group Insurance coverage.

• Access to Telemedicine services for convenient healthcare consultations.

• Life Spending Account, offering flexibility for health and wellness expenses.

• Employee-sponsored RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) to support long-term financial planning.

• Flexible working hours, allowing for better work-life integration.

• Fully remote work environment, providing the autonomy and flexibility to work from anywhere in Canada.

Working Hours: 40 hours per week, with flexible scheduling options to accommodate personal needs and time zone differences within Canada.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on typical compensation for intermediate-level product designers in Canada with 5+ years of experience, particularly those specializing in complex B2B SaaS. The specific inclusion of RRSP sponsorship and a Life Spending Account are notable benefits for Canadian employees.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software / Technology (specifically B2B SaaS for Communications Service Providers - CSPs)

Company Size: While not explicitly stated, the mention of evolving a design system and scaling implies a growing company, likely a startup or scale-up with a dynamic environment. A team size of 50-200 employees is a reasonable inference.

Founded: Company founding date is not provided, but the focus on scaling and evolving products suggests a company past its initial startup phase, likely established within the last 5-10 years.

Team Structure:

• The Product Design team likely operates within a Product organization, working in close-knit squads or pods alongside Product Managers and Engineers.

• Reporting structure is expected to be to a Head of Design, Design Lead, or potentially a VP of Product.

• Cross-functional collaboration is central, with designers acting as key partners in the product development lifecycle, influencing strategy and execution. Methodology:

• The company likely employs agile development methodologies, emphasizing rapid iteration and continuous improvement.

• Data-driven decision-making is implied through the use of A/B testing and user research to validate design choices.

• A strong focus on user-centered design principles guides the development of operational workflows and platform features.

Company Website: gaiia.com

📝 Enhancement Note: Gaiia's focus on CSPs and operational workflows indicates a B2B SaaS company targeting a specific, complex industry. This implies a culture that values deep domain understanding, robust problem-solving, and building trust with enterprise clients.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as an "Intermediate Product Designer," suggesting a level of autonomy and responsibility beyond junior roles. It requires significant experience (5+ years) and the ability to handle complex projects independently, though with guidance and collaboration from senior team members or leads.

Reporting Structure: The designer will likely report to a Design Lead or Head of Design, working within cross-functional product teams (Product Manager, Engineers, QA). This structure fosters collaboration and shared ownership of product outcomes.

Operations Impact: The product designer's impact is directly tied to shaping the user experience of gaiia's operational platform. This includes improving efficiency for CSPs, reducing errors in complex workflows, enhancing user trust in the platform, and contributing to the overall adoption and success of gaiia's software. By making complex operational tasks simpler and faster, the designer directly contributes to the client's business outcomes, thereby driving gaiia's revenue and growth.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Opportunity to deepen expertise in designing for complex B2B operational domains, becoming a subject matter expert within gaiia.

• Design System Leadership: Potential to take on more responsibility in evolving and governing the design system as the product scales.

• Mentorship: As an intermediate designer, there's an opportunity to mentor junior designers and contribute to team best practices.

• Senior/Lead Roles: Successful performance and demonstrated leadership can pave the way for promotion to Senior Product Designer or Design Lead positions.

• Cross-functional Influence: Growing influence on product strategy and roadmap through strong design contributions and advocacy.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Intermediate" title with a 5+ year requirement suggests this role is a stepping stone to Senior Designer. Growth will likely involve taking on larger, more ambiguous problems and demonstrating leadership in design thinking and execution.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully Remote. This means there is no central physical office location for day-to-day work.

Office Location(s): Canada. The role is open to candidates residing anywhere within Canada, allowing for flexibility in location.

Workspace Context:

• The remote nature necessitates a self-disciplined work environment, with strong reliance on digital collaboration tools.

• The company emphasizes accessible technologies, suggesting a commitment to inclusive tools and platforms that support remote work for all employees.

• Opportunities for team interaction will primarily be through virtual meetings, Slack, and collaborative design sessions using tools like Figma and FigJam.

Work Schedule: Flexible working hours are offered, alongside the remote work arrangement. This allows designers to structure their day to maximize productivity and work-life balance, while still ensuring availability for core collaboration times with teams in potentially different Canadian time zones.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "all-remote work" and "flexible working hours" are key aspects. This environment requires strong self-management skills, proactive communication, and comfort with asynchronous collaboration.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess alignment with the required experience and skills.

• Portfolio Presentation/Design Challenge: Typically involves presenting a selection of your best work from your portfolio, focusing on how you approach complex problems, your design process, and the impact of your solutions. A design challenge (e.g., a take-home exercise or a live whiteboarding session) may be included to assess your problem-solving and design skills in real-time.

• Team Interviews: Discussions with Product Managers, Engineers, and potentially other designers to evaluate collaboration style, communication, technical understanding, and cultural fit.

• Hiring Manager/Leadership Interview: A final conversation to assess overall fit, career aspirations, and strategic thinking.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 projects that best showcase your experience with complex B2B operational workflows and your end-to-end design process. Highlight your problem-solving skills and the impact of your work.

• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the constraints, your design process (research, ideation, iteration), key decisions, and the final outcomes (quantifiable if possible).

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals effectively (wireframes, prototypes, final UI) to illustrate your design thinking and craft.

• Address B2B Nuances: For projects in operational domains, emphasize how you handled complexity, data, user roles, and business logic.

• Demonstrate Tool Proficiency: Mention and show examples of how you use Figma, FigJam, and AI tools.

• Explain Collaboration: Describe how you partnered with product and engineering, and how you handled feedback.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Context: If given a take-home challenge, ensure you fully grasp the problem statement and business context.

• Focus on Process: Even if an ideal solution isn't reached, demonstrate a strong, logical design process.

• Communicate Clearly: Articulate your assumptions, design decisions, and rationale clearly, especially if presenting live.

• Consider Constraints: Be mindful of time and scope when working on challenges.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "complex operational workflows" and "AI-powered product surfaces" means interviewers will likely probe deeply into how you handle intricate systems, data relationships, and novel technologies within a business context. Portfolio projects should reflect this.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (primary), FigJam (for collaboration, ideation).

• AI Integration: Comfort with AI tools like Claude, likely for research synthesis, idea generation, or content creation within designs.

• User Research Tools: Experience with platforms for conducting user interviews and usability testing.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Familiarity with analytics tools (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics) to understand user behavior and product performance.

• Ability to interpret data and use it to inform design decisions and measure the impact of design changes. CRM & Automation:

• While not a direct responsibility, understanding the principles of CRM and automation workflows is beneficial given the B2B operational context. Experience with platforms like Salesforce or HubSpot could be advantageous.

• Familiarity with how design decisions impact downstream processes like billing, notifications, or fulfillment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Figma, FigJam, and AI tools like Claude indicates these are core to the role's workflow. Proficiency in these specific tools will be a significant advantage.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and serving the needs of CSPs and their operational challenges.

• Craftsmanship & Quality: A dedication to high standards in design execution, accessibility, and user experience, ensuring software feels effortless.

• Collaboration & Alignment: Valuing open dialogue, shared work, and building consensus across product, engineering, and design.

• Data-Driven Iteration: Using research, testing, and analytics to inform decisions and continuously improve the product.

• Ownership & Impact: Taking responsibility for outcomes, driving projects forward, and ensuring designs deliver tangible business value.

• Efficiency & Simplicity: Striving to make complex operational workflows simpler, faster, and more trustworthy.

Collaboration Style:

• Partnership-Oriented: Designers work as integral partners with Product Managers and Engineers, involved from problem definition to shipped solution.

• Iterative & Experimental: Embracing rapid iteration, open dialogue, and a willingness to test and refine ideas.

• Transparent & Communicative: Clear, structured communication is essential, especially in a remote, fast-moving environment.

• Feedback-Rich: Openness to receiving and giving constructive feedback to elevate the quality of work.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture appears to value a blend of deep technical understanding (for B2B operations), strong design craft, and collaborative execution, all within a fast-paced, remote setting.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Complexity of B2B Operational Workflows: Designing for intricate business processes in domains like billing, inventory, and CRM requires significant analytical thinking and domain understanding.

• Balancing Scale and Simplicity: Evolving a design system while ensuring complex business needs are met requires careful trade-offs.

• AI Integration: Thoughtfully incorporating AI into user interfaces without creating confusion or adding unnecessary complexity.

• Remote Collaboration: Maintaining strong team cohesion, clear communication, and efficient collaboration in a fully remote environment.

• Fast-Paced Environment: Adapting to rapid iteration cycles and evolving requirements common in growing tech companies.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Domain Expertise: Opportunity to gain deep knowledge of the Communications Service Provider (CSP) industry and its operational challenges.

• Advanced Design Skills: Further development in designing complex enterprise software, interaction models, and scalable design systems.

• AI in Design: Hands-on experience and learning in leveraging AI tools for design exploration and validation.

• Cross-functional Acumen: Enhanced ability to influence product strategy and collaborate effectively with engineering and product management.

• Leadership Potential: Growth opportunities towards senior individual contributor or leadership roles within the design team.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary challenge will be mastering the complexity of B2B operational domains and translating them into usable, efficient designs, especially with the added layer of AI integration.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you designed an end-to-end experience for a complex B2B operational workflow. What were the key challenges, and how did you address them?" (Focus on your process, decision-making, and impact.)

• "How do you approach translating ambiguous problems into clear product scopes and interaction models in collaboration with product and engineering?" (Highlight your communication, alignment, and scoping skills.)

• "Walk us through a project where you used user research and rapid iteration to simplify a complex process. What were the insights, and what was the outcome?" (Emphasize your research methodology and iterative design approach.)

• "How would you contribute to and evolve gaiia's design system? What are the key considerations for a B2B operational platform?" (Showcase your understanding of design systems and scalability.)

• "How do you thoughtfully integrate AI tools into your design workflow? Provide an example." (Demonstrate your practical approach to AI in design.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about gaiia and our focus on the CSP industry?" (Research gaiia's mission, values, and the challenges faced by CSPs.)

• "How do you ensure clarity, accessibility, and a high level of craft in your designs, especially for enterprise software?" (Connect your design philosophy to the company's values.)

• "Describe your experience working in a fast-moving, iterative, and fully remote environment. How do you maintain productivity and collaboration?" (Showcase your adaptability and remote work skills.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Select Wisely: Choose 2-3 projects that best highlight your experience with complex B2B operational workflows and your end-to-end design process. Prioritize projects with demonstrable impact.

• Structure Your Narrative: For each project, clearly outline the context, problem, your role, the process (research, ideation, iteration), key decisions, and the measurable outcomes.

• Emphasize B2B & Operations: Specifically address how you handled complexity, user roles, data, and business logic within operational domains.

• Showcase AI Integration: If you have relevant examples, be prepared to discuss how you've used AI tools.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your design decisions, rationale, and collaboration with stakeholders.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interviewers will be looking for a designer who can handle significant complexity, understand business needs deeply, and collaborate effectively in a remote, agile setting. Your portfolio and responses should clearly demonstrate these capabilities.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Intermediate Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on gaiia's careers page or the ATS portal.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight 2-3 of your most relevant projects. Specifically, showcase experience with complex B2B operational workflows, end-to-end design processes, and any work involving AI-assisted design or complex enterprise domains.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your 5+ years of experience and lists your proficiency with Figma, FigJam, and your experience in user research, B2B design, and agile methodologies. Quantify achievements where possible.

• Interview Preparation: Practice presenting your portfolio, focusing on the story of each project and your problem-solving approach. Prepare for questions about your experience with complex B2B applications, design systems, and remote collaboration.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with gaiia's mission, its target market (CSPs), and the challenges they aim to solve. Understand their commitment to remote work and their values.

⚠️ 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.