Product Designer at Encora

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer Company: Encora Location: India Job Type: Full-time Category: Product Design / User Experience (UX) Operations Date Posted: 2025-08-22 Experience Level: Mid-Senior Level (5-10 years) Remote Status: Remote OK

🚀 Role Summary

Spearhead product design initiatives for cutting-edge SaaS solutions, focusing on user-centricity and innovation.
Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including Product Managers, Marketers, Data Scientists, and Developers, to deliver exceptional product experiences.
Engage directly with customers to gather requirements, conduct user research, and translate feedback into actionable design opportunities.
Drive the end-to-end design process, from concept and wireframing to high-fidelity prototyping and final visual design, ensuring accessibility and user delight.
Contribute to the evolution of design systems and pattern libraries, maintaining consistency and scalability across digital products.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the input job title is "Product Designer," the emphasis on cross-functional collaboration, customer interaction, and delivering SaaS products aligns with a role that has significant operational impact within the product development lifecycle. This role requires a blend of creative design talent and a structured, process-driven approach characteristic of operations-minded professionals in product development. The mention of "Social Media Management solution" provides specific context for the product domain.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

Lead the design process for new features and product enhancements on the Social Media Management solution.
Conduct generative and evaluative user research, including user interviews, usability testing, and surveys, to inform design decisions.
Translate complex user needs and business requirements into intuitive, accessible, and visually appealing digital product experiences.
Create wireframes, user flows, prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups using industry-standard design tools.
Collaborate with product managers to define product strategy and roadmap, ensuring design considerations are integrated early.
Partner with engineering teams to ensure accurate implementation of designs and provide ongoing design support throughout the development cycle.
Effectively document and communicate design rationale, findings, and recommendations to diverse stakeholders, including product teams, leadership, and customers.
Contribute to and maintain the company's design system, ensuring consistency and efficiency in design execution.
Evaluate existing product designs and identify areas for improvement in user experience, usability, and visual appeal.
Stay abreast of industry trends, best practices in UX/UI design, and emerging technologies relevant to SaaS product development.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strong focus on process adherence (user research, documentation, design system usage) and cross-functional operational collaboration, which are key indicators of an operations-oriented role within product design. The requirement to "translate outcomes into outputs" specifically points to a process-driven approach to design.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience:

A minimum of 5+ years of aggregated commercial experience working as a Product Designer, focusing on digital products, web applications, and SaaS platforms.
Proven track record of successfully delivering user-centered design solutions from concept to launch.
Experience working within agile development environments and collaborating with cross-functional product teams.

Required Skills:

Product Design: Expertise in the end-to-end product design lifecycle, from user research and ideation to prototyping and visual design.
User Research: Proficiency in planning, conducting, and synthesizing user research (generative and evaluative) to identify user needs and design opportunities.
Collaboration: Demonstrated ability to work effectively within cross-functional teams, fostering strong working relationships with Product Managers, Engineers, and Marketers.
Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions and present work to various stakeholders.
Visual Design: Strong aesthetic sensibility and a keen eye for detail, with a portfolio showcasing high-quality visual design execution.
Design Systems: Experience with or ability to work with established design systems and pattern libraries, ensuring design consistency and scalability.
Prototyping Tools: Proficiency in industry-standard design and prototyping tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, InVision, or similar.
SaaS Product Experience: Hands-on experience designing complex web applications and SaaS products.

Preferred Skills:

Data Visualization: A passion for and experience in designing effective data visualizations and information dashboards.
Mobile Design: Experience designing for mobile contexts and applications.
Information Architecture: Strong understanding of information architecture principles and their application in complex digital products.
Accessibility Standards: Knowledge of WCAG guidelines and experience designing accessible digital products.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of "5+ years aggregated commercial experience" and a portfolio demonstrating "process of translating outcomes into outputs" strongly implies a need for candidates who can not only design creatively but also manage the design process methodically and efficiently, a hallmark of operations-focused roles. The preference for data visualization and mobile design suggests a need for versatility and adaptability in design approaches.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

A comprehensive portfolio showcasing at least 3-5 significant product design projects.
Projects should demonstrate the candidate's end-to-end design process, from problem definition and user research to solution ideation, prototyping, visual design, and iteration.
Clear articulation of the problem statement, user needs, design challenges, and the candidate's specific contributions.
Evidence of how user research and data insights informed design decisions and led to measurable outcomes.
Examples of interaction design, user flow mapping, and wireframing.
High-fidelity mockups and interactive prototypes that illustrate the final product experience.
Demonstration of proficiency with design systems and pattern libraries.

Process Documentation:

Portfolio pieces should clearly document the design process, including:
- Discovery Phase: User research methodologies employed, competitive analysis, persona development.
- Ideation Phase: Brainstorming techniques, sketching, user flow diagrams, wireframing.
- Design & Prototyping Phase: Tooling used, interaction design patterns, visual design choices, prototyping methods.
- Validation Phase: Usability testing plans and outcomes, A/B testing results, stakeholder feedback incorporation.
- Implementation Phase: Handoff processes to development, collaboration with engineers.
Emphasis on demonstrating how processes were optimized or how efficiency was gained through design methodology.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement to show the "process of translating outcomes into outputs" is a critical indicator for operations-focused candidates. The portfolio must not only display polished final designs but also the systematic approach and documentation that underpins them, highlighting efficiency and a structured workflow.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

Given the location (India) and the experience level (5-10 years), a competitive annual salary range for a Product Designer is estimated to be between ₹8,00,000 to ₹18,00,000 (Indian Rupees). This range is dependent on the specific city within India, the candidate's exact experience, the depth of their portfolio, and negotiation.

Benefits:

Health Insurance: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
Paid Time Off: Generous vacation, sick leave, and public holidays.
Professional Development: Opportunities for training, workshops, conferences, and access to learning resources for skill enhancement.
Remote Work Stipend: Potential support for home office setup and internet connectivity.
Retirement Savings Plan: Contributions to a provident fund or similar retirement savings scheme.
Performance Bonuses: Eligibility for performance-based bonuses.
Collaborative Work Environment: Access to a supportive and innovative team culture.

Working Hours:

Standard full-time working hours, typically around 40 hours per week.
Flexibility is provided, especially given the remote nature and distributed team structure, requiring excellent asynchronous work skills.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimation is based on industry benchmarks for experienced Product Designers in India, considering the company's likely scale (Encora is a large organization). The benefits listed are standard for tech companies and are tailored to attract experienced talent in the product design field. The emphasis on asynchronous work skills implies a need for structured personal time management, crucial for remote operations.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software Development / IT Services / Digital Transformation. Encora operates within the broader technology sector, focusing on providing engineering and digital transformation services to a diverse range of clients. Company Size: Encora is a large organization, employing thousands of individuals globally. This scale suggests established processes, diverse project opportunities, and a structured corporate environment. Founded: Encora was founded in 1996. This long history indicates stability, extensive experience in the IT services sector, and a mature organizational structure.

Team Structure:

The Product Designer will join one of Encora's product teams, specifically focusing on the Social Media Management solution.
This team operates as a "product trio," comprising a Product Manager, a Product Designer (this role), and several engineers. This tight-knit structure emphasizes close collaboration and shared ownership.
The design role will likely report into a Design Lead or Head of Product Design within the broader product organization.
Cross-functional collaboration is a core expectation, with regular interaction with marketing, data science, and customer success teams to ensure holistic product development.

Methodology:

Agile Development: The product teams likely follow agile methodologies (e.g., Scrum, Kanban) for iterative product development.
User-Centered Design: A strong emphasis on user advocacy and integrating user feedback into the design process.
Data-Driven Decisions: Collaboration with data scientists suggests a reliance on data analytics and user behavior metrics to inform design strategy and product improvements.
Design System Utilization: The use of established design systems points to a focus on efficiency, consistency, and scalable design solutions.

Company Website: https://www.encora.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's size and industry suggest a professional environment with established operational frameworks. Joining a "product trio" implies a highly collaborative and integrated operational model within product development, where the designer plays a crucial role in the product's operational success.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned at a Mid-Senior level, requiring significant experience and the ability to work with a high degree of autonomy within a collaborative team structure. It signifies a level where individuals are expected to mentor junior designers, influence design strategy, and drive process improvements.

Reporting Structure: The Product Designer will report to a Design Manager or Head of Product Design, working within a dedicated product team. This structure allows for specialized focus while benefiting from broader organizational design leadership and guidance.

Operations Impact: The Product Designer's impact extends beyond aesthetics; they are instrumental in shaping the user experience of SaaS products, directly influencing customer satisfaction, adoption rates, and ultimately, revenue generation. By ensuring intuitive and efficient product interfaces, they reduce user friction, improve task completion rates, and enhance overall product usability, which are critical operational metrics.

Growth Opportunities:

Design Leadership: Progression into Senior Product Designer, Lead Product Designer, or Design Manager roles, with increased responsibility for team leadership and strategic direction.
Specialization: Deepen expertise in specific areas such as UX research, interaction design, visual design, or emerging fields like AI-driven design.
Product Strategy: Contribute more significantly to product strategy and roadmap planning, leveraging design insights to drive product innovation.
Cross-Functional Mobility: Opportunities to move into Product Management or other roles that leverage design thinking and user empathy.
Learning & Development: Access to Encora's learning platforms, industry conferences, and internal training programs to continuously enhance design skills and operational understanding.

📝 Enhancement Note: The career progression outlined emphasizes not just design skill development but also strategic influence and leadership, aligning with the growth trajectory of operations-focused roles that drive business impact. The ability to influence product strategy and potentially move into management roles are key indicators of operational career growth.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: While the role is listed as "Remote OK," Encora is a large, established company. This may imply access to physical office spaces in various locations, offering a hybrid work option if desired by employees, though the current listing emphasizes remote flexibility.

Office Location(s): Encora has a global presence, with significant operations in India. Specific office locations would vary, but the primary focus for this role is remote work within India.

Workspace Context:

Remote Collaboration: Emphasis on strong asynchronous communication skills and tools (e.g., Slack, Microsoft Teams, Jira, Confluence) to facilitate seamless collaboration across time zones and locations.
Digital Tooling: Access to a suite of modern design and collaboration tools essential for remote product development.
Team Interaction: Regular virtual team meetings, design critiques, and collaborative sessions to foster a sense of team cohesion and shared purpose despite the remote setup.
Flexibility: The remote arrangement offers flexibility in managing work hours, provided deadlines and collaboration needs are met, allowing for better work-life integration.

Work Schedule:

Standard full-time commitment (approximately 40 hours per week).
The distributed nature of the teams necessitates flexibility and strong time management to accommodate various work schedules and ensure effective asynchronous communication and collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Remote OK" status with an emphasis on asynchronous work highlights the need for self-discipline, proactive communication, and robust organizational skills, which are critical for effective remote operations. The potential for hybrid work in a large organization like Encora offers flexibility that appeals to professionals seeking work-life balance.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

Application Screening: Initial review of resumes and portfolios to assess qualifications and alignment with role requirements.
Hiring Manager/Recruiter Screen: A preliminary call to discuss experience, motivation, and cultural fit.
Portfolio Presentation & Design Challenge: A session where candidates present their portfolio, discussing their design process, problem-solving approach, and impact. This may be followed by a take-home design challenge or an in-person/virtual design exercise.
Cross-functional Team Interviews: Interviews with Product Managers, Engineers, and potentially other designers to evaluate collaboration skills, technical understanding, and ability to work within a product team.
Final Interview: Typically with senior leadership (e.g., Head of Product Design, VP of Product) to assess strategic thinking, leadership potential, and overall fit with the company culture.

Portfolio Review Tips:

Tell a Story: Structure your portfolio presentations as narratives, clearly outlining the problem, your process, your solutions, and the outcomes.
Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals (wireframes, mockups, prototypes, user flows) to illustrate your design thinking and execution.
Highlight Your Process: Emphasize the "how" and "why" behind your design decisions, focusing on user research, iteration, and collaboration.
Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use metrics and data to demonstrate the positive impact of your designs on user behavior or business goals.
Tailor to the Role: Select projects that best showcase your experience with SaaS products, user research, and collaboration within cross-functional teams.
Be Ready for Questions: Anticipate questions about your design choices, challenges faced, and how you handle feedback.

Challenge Preparation:

Understand the Context: If given a take-home challenge, thoroughly understand the problem statement and the target user.
Focus on Process: Demonstrate a clear and logical design process, even within a limited timeframe.
Prioritize: Make strategic decisions about which aspects of the design process to focus on, given time constraints.
Communicate Assumptions: Clearly state any assumptions you make during the challenge.
Present Clearly: Prepare a concise and well-structured presentation of your solution, highlighting key design decisions and rationale.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes a rigorous evaluation of design process and collaboration, which are critical for operations-oriented roles. Preparing a portfolio that clearly articulates the methodology and outcomes is paramount for success.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

Design & Prototyping: Figma (highly probable and industry standard), Sketch, Adobe XD, InVision.
Collaboration & Communication: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Workspace.
Project Management & Workflow: Jira, Confluence, Asana, Trello.

Analytics & Reporting:

User Analytics: Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, Hotjar (for understanding user behavior and product performance).
Data Visualization: Tableau, Power BI (if involved in data-driven insights or dashboard design).

CRM & Automation:

While not directly a designer's primary tool, familiarity with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) and marketing automation platforms can provide context for user journeys and customer data.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in core design tools like Figma is essential. Familiarity with project management and analytics tools is beneficial as it demonstrates an understanding of the broader product development operations and data-driven decision-making processes.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and advocating for the user's needs throughout the design and development lifecycle.
Collaboration: Fostering a team environment where open communication, knowledge sharing, and mutual support are prioritized.
Excellence: Striving for high-quality design outcomes and continuous improvement in processes and product experiences.
Innovation: Encouraging creative problem-solving and embracing new ideas to push the boundaries of product design.
Efficiency: Valuing streamlined processes, effective tool utilization, and timely delivery of design solutions.

Collaboration Style:

Cross-functional Integration: Working closely with Product Managers, Engineers, and Marketing to ensure a unified approach to product development and go-to-market strategies.
Iterative Feedback: Actively participating in design reviews and feedback sessions, providing constructive criticism and being open to receiving it.
Knowledge Sharing: Contributing to a culture of learning by sharing insights from user research, design trends, and best practices.
Proactive Communication: Maintaining clear and consistent communication to keep stakeholders informed and aligned on design progress and decisions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The values and collaboration style emphasize a professional, process-oriented, and team-driven approach, typical of well-functioning operations teams within product development.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

Balancing User Needs with Business Goals: Effectively navigating the often-competing demands of user experience and business objectives.
Managing Distributed Teams: Ensuring seamless collaboration and communication within a remote, potentially globally distributed team.
Translating Complex Requirements: Distilling intricate technical or business requirements into simple, intuitive user interfaces.
Keeping Pace with Technology: Staying current with evolving design tools, methodologies, and user expectations in the dynamic tech landscape.
Driving Design Influence: Advocating for design best practices and user-centricity within a fast-paced development environment.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

Advanced Design Skills: Access to training on cutting-edge design techniques, prototyping tools, and UX research methodologies.
Industry Trends: Exposure to current trends in SaaS product design, data visualization, and user experience innovation.
Cross-functional Exposure: Opportunities to learn about product management, engineering processes, and marketing strategies.
Mentorship Programs: Potential for mentorship from senior designers or product leaders within Encora.
Certification: Support for pursuing relevant design certifications or attending industry conferences.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are common in operations-focused product roles, requiring adaptability, strong problem-solving skills, and a commitment to continuous learning. The growth opportunities highlight a clear path for skill enhancement and career advancement.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

Process-Oriented: "Walk me through a project where you had to translate complex requirements into a user-friendly interface. What was your process, and what challenges did you face?"
Collaboration-Focused: "Describe a time you disagreed with a Product Manager or Engineer on a design decision. How did you handle it, and what was the outcome?"
Problem-Solving: "Imagine you're tasked with redesigning a dashboard for social media analytics. What are the key considerations, and how would you approach the design process?"
User Research: "How do you typically plan and conduct user research for a new feature? Can you share an example of how research findings directly influenced your design?"
Design Systems: "What is your experience with design systems? How do you ensure consistency when working with existing systems or contributing to them?"

Company & Culture Questions:

"What attracts you to Encora and this specific role?"
"How do you stay updated on the latest design trends and best practices?"
"Describe your ideal team environment and how you contribute to a positive culture."
"How do you handle constructive criticism or feedback on your designs?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

Structure: Organize your presentation logically, starting with the problem, moving through your process (research, ideation, design, testing), and concluding with the solution and impact.
Highlight Key Decisions: For each project, clearly explain why you made specific design choices, referencing user research or business goals.
Showcase Process: Be prepared to discuss your wireframes, user flows, and prototypes in detail, explaining the thought process behind them.
Quantify Impact: If possible, present metrics that demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., increased conversion rates, reduced task completion time, improved user satisfaction scores).
Engagement: Be interactive, ask clarifying questions, and be open to discussion during your presentation.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparing specific examples that demonstrate your process, collaboration skills, and problem-solving abilities will be crucial. Focusing on the "how" and "why" of your design decisions, rather than just the final output, is key for operations-minded roles.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer position:

Submit your application through the provided link on the Encora careers portal.
Portfolio Customization: Tailor your resume and portfolio to highlight your experience with SaaS products, user research methodologies, and cross-functional collaboration, aligning with the responsibilities outlined in this description.
Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your 5+ years of experience, focusing on quantifiable achievements and projects that demonstrate your impact on product success. Use keywords relevant to product design, UX, SaaS, and agile methodologies.
Interview Preparation: Practice presenting your portfolio with a clear narrative structure. Be ready to discuss your design process in detail, articulate your problem-solving approach, and provide examples of how you collaborate effectively within teams.
Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Encora's work, their client portfolio, and their company culture. Understanding their business context will help you tailor your responses and demonstrate genuine interest.

⚠️ 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.

Product Designer