Service Designer - Customer Experience @ ING Bank at ING

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Service Designer - Customer Experience @ ING Bank

Company: ING

Location: Expo Business Park, Romania

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Service Design / Customer Experience Design

Date Posted: 2025-06-10T00:00:00

Experience Level: Mid-Level (Minimum 3 years)

Remote Status: Hybrid

🎨 Role Summary

Focus on enhancing the Customer Experience for Business Banking clients across all touchpoints and processes within ING Bank Romania.
Utilize Service Design and Design Thinking methodologies to identify customer pains and gains, translating insights into actionable service improvements.
Conduct comprehensive qualitative and quantitative User Research, including interviews, focus groups, and surveys, to deeply understand customer needs and behaviors.
Design and map detailed Customer Journeys, documenting the end-to-end experience blueprint and communication architecture for various products and services.

📝 Enhancement Note: Based on the title and description, this role is specifically focused on enhancing the service experience for business banking customers, indicating a need for understanding complex financial services and B2B customer needs within a regulated environment. The emphasis on "across all processes and all channels" highlights the holistic nature of the service design approach required.

🖼️ Primary Responsibilities

Lead and execute various User Research activities, including interviews, focus groups, and surveys, to uncover critical customer needs and pain points within the Business Banking segment.
Define and document detailed Customer Typologies (Personas) based on behavioral data and research findings, providing a clear representation of target users.
Design and map comprehensive Customer Journeys and Service Blueprints, illustrating the current and future state of customer interactions across digital and human channels.
Develop and refine Prototypes for screens, processes, and forms, collaborating closely with UX Designers to visualize proposed solutions.
Plan, organize, and conduct Validation Sessions with end-users and internal stakeholders, documenting findings and incorporating feedback into design iterations.
Measure and monitor key Performance Indicators related to customer experience (e.g., NPS, complaint analysis) to assess the impact of design interventions.
Contribute to and support Communication Strategies for customers, including operational, informative, and marketing-related content.
Analyze and communicate Competitive Landscape changes and offers relevant to banking processes and services.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities clearly outline a full service design lifecycle, from discovery and research through design, prototyping, validation, and performance monitoring. The emphasis on both internal and external applications suggests a need for strong stakeholder management and the ability to navigate complex organizational structures typical in a large bank.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: A Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Business, or a related field is typically preferred, although equivalent practical experience demonstrating a strong understanding of service design principles and research methodologies may be considered.

Experience: Minimum of 3 years of proven experience in a dedicated Service Designer role or a similar capacity focused on customer experience enhancement. A strong portfolio showcasing end-to-end service design projects, including research methodologies, journey mapping, and implemented solutions, is essential.

Required Skills:

Demonstrated expertise in Service Design methodologies and frameworks (e.g., Design Thinking, Double Diamond).
Proficiency in various User Research methods, including qualitative (interviews, focus groups) and quantitative (surveys, data analysis) techniques.
Experience in creating detailed Customer Journey Maps, Service Blueprints, and other service design artifacts.
Strong ability to translate research insights into actionable design recommendations and tangible service improvements.
Excellent Communication and Presentation Skills, capable of effectively communicating design concepts and research findings to diverse stakeholders in both Romanian and English.
Experience in Project Management principles as they apply to design initiatives and cross-functional collaboration.

Preferred Skills:

Knowledge of the Banking System and financial products, particularly within the Business Banking segment.
Understanding of AGILE ways of working and experience collaborating within Agile teams.
Experience with tools used for creating journey maps, service blueprints, and other design documentation (e.g., Miro, Figma, Mural).
Familiarity with prototyping tools for creating wireframes and interactive prototypes (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD).

📝 Enhancement Note: The required experience level and skills point to a role that requires practical application of service design principles within a complex industry. The preference for banking knowledge and Agile methodologies indicates that prior experience in a similar environment or the ability to quickly adapt to one is highly valued.

🎨 Portfolio & Creative Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

Showcase end-to-end Service Design Case Studies that clearly articulate the problem space, research methodologies used, insights gained, design process, proposed solutions, and measured impact.
Include examples of comprehensive Customer Journey Maps and Service Blueprints developed, highlighting the complexity of the service and the depth of analysis.
Demonstrate experience in designing for multiple channels and touchpoints within a service ecosystem.
Present artifacts from User Research, such as interview summaries, survey analysis, and persona development, illustrating the foundation of your design decisions.

Process Documentation:

Clearly articulate your Research and Discovery Process, explaining how you identified user needs, pain points, and opportunities.
Detail your Ideation and Iteration Methods, showing how you explored different solutions and refined designs based on feedback.
Explain your approach to Validation and Testing, including how you conducted usability testing, gathered feedback, and measured the effectiveness of your design interventions.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Service Designer role, the portfolio should heavily emphasize the strategic thinking, research capabilities, and process documentation rather than just visual design outputs. Case studies that demonstrate understanding of complex systems and the impact of design on overall service delivery will be particularly strong.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry data for Mid-Level Service Designer roles in Bucharest, Romania, and considering the banking sector, a competitive annual salary range is estimated to be between RON 90,000 and RON 150,000 (gross). This estimate is based on market research data from sources like Payscale, SalaryExpert, and Glassdoor for similar roles and experience levels in the Romanian market as of mid-2024. Actual compensation may vary based on experience, skills, and negotiation.

Benefits:

Monthly Budget on Benefit Platform: Provides flexibility for employees to choose benefits that best suit their needs, potentially including health and wellness allowances, cultural activities, or other perks.
Extra Annual Leave Days: Additional vacation days are provided based on the total length of working experience, supporting work-life balance.
Growth Opportunities: Access to various learning and development platforms (ING Learning Centre, Udemy, Bookster) and opportunities for upskilling, reskilling, and internal mobility, including international assignments.
Hybrid Way of Working: Offers a flexible work arrangement combining remote and on-site work, with options for a flexible working schedule and short week options.
Corporate Events and Social Gatherings: Opportunities for team building, networking, and fostering a collaborative work environment.
Impactful Work: The opportunity to contribute to projects that directly impact the customer experience and business outcomes.

Working Hours: Full-time position, typically 40 hours per week. The hybrid working model allows for flexibility in scheduling, accommodating creative workflows and collaboration needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on a combination of publicly available salary data for similar roles in Romania and general knowledge of compensation within the banking sector, which often offers competitive packages. The listed benefits are typical for a large financial institution and support employee well-being and professional development.

🎯Team & Company Context

🏢 Company & Design Culture

Industry: Financial Services - specifically, a leading international bank with a significant presence in Romania. The banking industry is highly regulated and focused on security, trust, and efficiency, which significantly influences the approach to service design.

Company Size: ING Group is a large international financial institution. ING Bank Romania is among the top 10 local banks by assets with over 1.8 million customers. This size implies a complex organizational structure and the need for strong collaboration across various departments.

Founded: ING Bank Romania has been active for over 30 years, pioneering and challenging the local banking industry with a focus on technology and innovation.

Team Structure:

The Service Design team likely works closely with Product Managers, UX Designers, Business Analysts, Developers, and Marketing teams within an Agile framework.
Collaboration across different business segments (Retail, SME, Mid-Corporate, Wholesale Banking) is expected to ensure a cohesive customer experience.
The team structure is likely organized around specific business areas or customer segments to focus design efforts effectively.

Methodology:

Emphasis on Design Thinking and Service Design methodologies for problem-solving and innovation.
Utilizes AGILE ways of working, implying iterative development, continuous feedback loops, and cross-functional team collaboration.
Strong focus on User Research and data analysis to inform design decisions and measure impact.

Company Website: https://ing.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/ICSGBLCOR/job/Expo-Business-Park/Service-Designer---Customer-Experience---ING-Bank_REQ-10097520

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's history of pioneering technology in the local market suggests a culture that values innovation and digital transformation. The "do your thing" tagline points towards a degree of autonomy and a focus on individual contribution within a collaborative environment. The large size and banking context indicate a need for navigating complex processes and regulations.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Design Career Level: This is presented as a Mid-Level Service Designer role (minimum 3 years of experience). The responsibilities indicate a need for independent work, leading research and design activities, and contributing significantly to service improvement initiatives. It's a role focused on execution and impact within defined project areas.

Reporting Structure: The role likely reports to a Senior Service Designer, Design Lead, or a Manager within the Customer Experience or Product department. Collaboration with various stakeholders across the bank will be crucial.

Design Impact: Service Designers at ING Bank Romania have a direct impact on the customer experience by identifying pain points, designing improved services, and validating solutions. Their work influences product development, process optimization, and overall customer satisfaction within the Business Banking segment.

Growth Opportunities:

Potential for advancement to a Senior Service Designer role, taking on more complex projects, mentoring junior designers, and contributing to strategic design initiatives.
Opportunities to specialize in specific areas of service design within the banking sector (e.g., digital transformation, specific product lines).
Access to extensive internal and external training programs to enhance skills in service design, research, and leadership.
Possibility of exploring roles in related fields like UX Strategy, Product Management, or Customer Strategy within ING Group, potentially through international assignments.

📝 Enhancement Note: The combination of a large organization and a focus on innovation provides ample opportunities for career progression and skill development. The availability of internal mobility and international assignments further enhances the long-term growth potential for a successful Service Designer in this role.

🌐 Work Environment

Studio Type: The job is based at Expo Business Park in Bucharest, suggesting a modern office environment. The description mentions "Open-concept offices designed for both team work and relaxation," indicating a workspace that encourages collaboration and provides areas for focused work or breaks.

Office Location(s): Expo Business Park, Bucharest, Romania. This is a known business hub, suggesting good accessibility.

Design Workspace Context:

The open-concept layout likely facilitates easy communication and spontaneous collaboration among team members.
Availability of dedicated spaces for team meetings, brainstorming sessions, and potentially user research activities.
Access to necessary tools and technology for design work, collaboration, and prototyping.

Work Schedule: Full-time with a hybrid work model. This offers flexibility to balance on-site collaboration with remote work, allowing designers to manage their time effectively for research, design, and validation activities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The description of the office environment suggests a focus on modern collaboration and employee well-being, which is increasingly common in forward-thinking organizations. The hybrid model provides a good balance between in-person teamwork and the flexibility of remote work.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Design Interview Process:

Initial screening call to assess basic qualifications and fit.
Interview(s) with the hiring manager and potentially other team members to discuss experience, understanding of service design, and behavioral fit. Be prepared to discuss your approach to complex problems and collaboration.
Portfolio review and presentation where you will walk through selected case studies, explaining your process, methodologies, and the impact of your work. Focus on articulating your strategic thinking and research skills.
Potentially a design exercise or case study to assess problem-solving skills and ability to apply service design principles to a specific banking context.
Final interview(s) with senior stakeholders to discuss strategic alignment and overall fit within the team and organization.

Portfolio Review Tips:

Curate 2-3 strong Service Design Case Studies that are most relevant to the banking or financial services sector, if possible.
For each case study, clearly outline the problem statement, your role, the research conducted (methodologies, findings), the design process (journey mapping, blueprinting, ideation), the final solution, and the measured impact (qualitative and quantitative).
Emphasize your ability to work with complex systems and design for multiple touchpoints and channels.
Be prepared to discuss the challenges you faced and how you overcame them, highlighting your problem-solving skills and adaptability.

Challenge Preparation:

If given a design task, take the time to understand the problem deeply. Approach it with a service design lens, considering the end-to-end customer journey and the underlying processes.
Clearly articulate your process and rationale behind your design decisions during the presentation.
Focus on demonstrating your strategic thinking, research capabilities (even if hypothetical), and ability to design holistic service solutions.

ATS Keywords: Service Design, Customer Experience, CX, User Research, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, Interviews, Focus Groups, Surveys, Personas, Customer Journeys, Journey Mapping, Service Blueprints, Design Thinking, Agile, Project Management, Stakeholder Communication, Banking, Financial Services, Prototyping, Validation, Performance Measurement, NPS, Process Improvement, Communication Strategy, Competitive Analysis, Romanian, English, Collaboration, Problem Solving, Innovation, Digital Transformation.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process for a Service Designer typically involves a deep dive into past projects and methodologies. The emphasis on portfolio review and potentially a design challenge is standard practice to assess practical skills and strategic thinking. Preparing specific case studies that demonstrate relevant experience is crucial.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Design Tools:

Tools for creating Customer Journey Maps and Service Blueprints (e.g., Miro, Mural, Figma). Proficiency in at least one such tool is likely required.
Prototyping tools like Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD for creating wireframes and interactive prototypes to visualize proposed solutions.
Presentation software (e.g., PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides) for presenting research findings and design concepts.

Collaboration & Handoff:

Collaboration platforms like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or similar for team communication and knowledge sharing.
Project management tools such as Jira or Trello are likely used within the Agile framework.
Documentation platforms for maintaining design specifications and guidelines.

Research & Testing:

Survey tools (e.g., SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, Qualtrics) for quantitative data collection.
Tools for conducting remote interviews or focus groups (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft Teams).
Potentially tools for analyzing customer feedback and complaints data.

📝 Enhancement Note: While specific tools are not explicitly listed, the nature of the role implies the use of industry-standard software for mapping, prototyping, research, and collaboration. Highlighting proficiency in widely used tools like Miro, Figma, and collaboration platforms will be beneficial.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Design Values:

Customer Centricity: A strong focus on understanding and meeting the needs of Business Banking clients, driving design decisions based on customer insights.
Collaboration: Emphasis on working effectively with cross-functional teams (Product, Tech, Marketing, etc.) to deliver holistic service solutions.
Innovation: Encouragement to challenge the status quo and explore new and better ways to improve the customer experience in the banking sector.
Impact: Focus on delivering tangible improvements that positively affect customer satisfaction, efficiency, and business outcomes.

Collaboration Style:

Likely involves a collaborative and iterative approach within Agile teams.
Regular design critiques and feedback sessions to refine ideas and solutions.
Strong emphasis on clear communication and documentation to ensure alignment across teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's tagline "do your thing" combined with the emphasis on collaboration and innovation suggests a culture that values individual contribution within a supportive team environment. The focus on customer experience aligns with a user-centered design approach.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Design Challenges:

Navigating the complexities and regulations inherent in the banking industry while designing innovative service solutions.
Designing for a diverse range of Business Banking clients with varying needs and technical proficiencies.
Collaborating effectively with multiple stakeholders across different departments and levels within a large organization.
Measuring the impact of service design interventions in a quantifiable way within a complex service ecosystem.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

Opportunities to deepen expertise in service design methodologies and apply them to the unique challenges of the financial sector.
Access to training and resources to enhance skills in user research, data analysis, and strategic thinking.
Exposure to complex business problems and the opportunity to develop solutions with significant impact.
Mentorship opportunities from experienced design leaders within the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges in a banking environment often revolve around regulation, complexity, and diverse user needs. These challenges also present significant opportunities for a Service Designer to develop specialized skills and have a substantial impact on a large user base.

💡 Interview Preparation

Design Process Questions:

Be prepared to discuss your end-to-end service design process, from initial problem framing and research to ideation, prototyping, testing, and implementation. Use specific examples from your portfolio.
Articulate how you choose appropriate research methodologies for different projects and how you synthesize findings into actionable insights.
Explain how you collaborate with UX Designers, Product Managers, and other stakeholders throughout the design process.

Company Culture Questions:

Research ING's values and business strategy, particularly in the Business Banking sector. Be ready to discuss how your skills and experience align with their mission and approach.
Ask questions about the design team structure, collaboration style, and how design is integrated into the overall business strategy.
Demonstrate an understanding of the challenges and opportunities in designing for the banking industry.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

Select 2-3 case studies that best showcase your service design skills, focusing on your research, process, and the impact of your work.
For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the methodologies used, key insights, your design approach, and the outcomes.
Practice presenting your case studies concisely and compellingly, highlighting your strategic thinking and ability to solve complex problems.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating a strong understanding of service design principles and the ability to apply them in a complex, regulated environment like banking. Highlighting relevant experience and showcasing a robust design process through portfolio walkthroughs will be key.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this design position:

Submit your application through this link
Tailor your resume and cover letter to highlight your experience in service design, user research, and working within complex organizations, specifically mentioning any relevant experience in the banking or financial services sector.
Prepare a portfolio showcasing your best service design case studies, focusing on the process, methodologies, and impact of your work. Ensure your portfolio is easily accessible online.
Research ING Bank Romania and its Business Banking services to understand their target audience and potential areas for service improvement.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and design industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

Service Designer - Customer Experience @ ING Bank