Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer Company: Pet Circle Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Job Type: Full-Time Category: Product Design / UX/UI Date Posted: 2025-05-09 Experience Level: Mid-Senior (2-5 years) Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Spearhead the complete product design lifecycle for critical customer journeys across web and mobile platforms, encompassing research, discovery, high-fidelity design, and delivery.
• Foster close collaboration with cross-functional teams, including Product Management, Engineering, Marketing, and Operations, to gain a profound understanding of customer needs and business objectives.
• Proactively plan and execute user research initiatives to rigorously test assumptions, validate concepts, and identify emergent opportunities.
• Develop intuitive flows, wireframes, and interactive prototypes to effectively explore and communicate design solutions.
• Contribute to the ongoing development and evolution of the company's design system to guarantee a cohesive and high-quality user experience across all digital touchpoints.
• Articulate design thinking and rationale clearly, actively engaging stakeholders in the design process and decision-making.
• Act as a champion for user-centered design principles and advocate for UX best practices throughout the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role is described as "mid–senior level" with an AI-identified experience range of 2-5 years. This suggests a role that requires a solid foundation in product design but also offers significant growth potential for individuals ready to step into more senior responsibilities. The emphasis on owning the end-to-end process and collaborating with various departments indicates a strategic and impactful design position.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end design process for key customer journeys across web and mobile, from initial research and discovery through to high-fidelity design and successful delivery.
• Collaborate intimately with cross-functional squads (Product, Engineering, Marketing, Ops) to achieve a deep understanding of customer needs and overarching business goals.
• Plan and conduct user research, both qualitative and quantitative, to rigorously test assumptions, validate ideas, and uncover new strategic opportunities.
• Create detailed user flows, intuitive wireframes, and interactive prototypes to effectively explore design concepts and communicate ideas to stakeholders.
• Actively contribute to and help evolve the company's established design system, ensuring consistency and a high-quality user experience across all digital products.
• Clearly articulate design thinking and rationale, engaging stakeholders in the design process and fostering buy-in for key decisions.
• Champion user-centered design principles and advocate for UX best practices across all business functions, influencing product strategy and execution.
• (Bonus) Mentor junior designers or contribute to improving design team rituals and processes, fostering a collaborative and efficient design environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strong emphasis on user research and design system contribution, which are critical for scalable and user-centric product development in a growing e-commerce environment like Pet Circle. The mention of "Ops" in cross-functional collaboration suggests potential interaction with operations teams for internal tool design or process optimization.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, or a related field is often preferred for product design roles. Equivalent practical experience will also be considered.

Experience: 3–5+ years of experience as a UX/UI or Product Designer, specifically within a high-traffic B2C or D2C digital product or e-commerce environment. This experience should demonstrate a track record of designing and delivering successful digital products.

Required Skills:

• Proven experience in end-to-end product design, covering user research, ideation, wireframing, prototyping, and high-fidelity UI design.
• Strong portfolio showcasing impactful design work across responsive web and/or native mobile applications.
• Proficiency in design and prototyping tools, with a strong emphasis on Figma.
• Experience with collaboration and ideation tools such as Miro.
• Familiarity with project management and documentation tools like Jira or Confluence.
• Ability to conduct and leverage user research, including both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.
• Experience working with and contributing to design systems to ensure consistency and scalability.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions clearly and collaborate effectively with diverse teams.
• Aptitude for navigating ambiguity, simplifying complex problems, and balancing detailed execution with a strategic, big-picture perspective.
• A user-centered mindset, with a passion for advocating for the user and championing UX best practices.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience mentoring junior designers or leading design initiatives.
• Prior experience in improving design team rituals, processes, or workflows.
• Familiarity with service design principles and methodologies.
• Basic understanding of front-end development technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) to facilitate better collaboration with engineering teams.
• Experience in the pet industry or a related consumer goods e-commerce sector.

📝 Enhancement Note: The required experience level and the emphasis on specific tools like Figma and Miro, alongside a strong portfolio, indicate that Pet Circle is looking for a designer who can hit the ground running and contribute significantly from day one. The "bonus" skills point towards opportunities for growth in leadership and specialized design areas.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A curated portfolio demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of the end-to-end product design process, from problem definition to final solution.
• Case studies that clearly articulate the user problem, design process, your specific contributions, the solutions developed, and the measurable impact or outcomes.
• Visual examples of wireframes, user flows, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity UI designs for both web and mobile platforms.
• Evidence of user research methodologies applied, including how insights informed design decisions.
• Examples of contributions to or utilization of design systems, highlighting consistency and scalability.
• Demonstrations of collaboration with cross-functional teams (Product, Engineering, etc.) and how you managed feedback.

Process Documentation:

• Showcase how you document your design process, including user research plans, journey maps, wireframe annotations, and prototyping specifications.
• Provide examples of how you have contributed to or maintained design system documentation, ensuring clarity and accessibility for other team members.
• Present how you track and measure the success of your designs, linking them to business objectives and user satisfaction metrics where possible.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Product Designer role, especially at a mid-to-senior level, the portfolio is paramount. It needs to go beyond just showcasing aesthetics and demonstrate a deep understanding of the design process, user-centric problem-solving, and the ability to deliver tangible business value. The inclusion of "internal tools" in the role description suggests portfolio pieces might also include examples of designing for operational efficiency.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for a Product Designer (Mid-Senior level) in Sydney, Australia, with 3-5 years of experience in e-commerce, the estimated salary range is AUD $90,000 - $130,000 per annum. This range accounts for the cost of living in Sydney, the company's scale, and the required skill set.

Benefits:

• Significant development opportunities, including stretch projects, secondments, and unlimited access to learning courses via Go1.
• A flexible working environment that supports work-life balance.
• An attractive employee discount of up to 50% on Pet Circle products.
• Regular product sample giveaways.
• Specialized leave policies including Pawrental leave and wellbeing leave.
• Opportunities for team engagement through charity volunteer days.
• A Classpass subsidy to support employee health and wellness.

Working Hours: This is a full-time role, typically assuming a standard 40-hour work week. Pet Circle offers a flexible working environment, allowing for some autonomy in managing work hours within the needs of the team and business, especially given the hybrid work arrangement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on market data for similar roles in Sydney. The comprehensive list of perks provided by Pet Circle indicates a strong focus on employee wellbeing, professional development, and a positive work culture, which are significant draws for experienced professionals.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: E-commerce, Pet Care, Retail Technology. Pet Circle operates within the rapidly growing pet industry, leveraging technology to disrupt traditional retail models and build a leading online destination for pet parents.

Company Size: 500+ employees. This indicates a well-established company with significant scale, offering opportunities for structured career growth and cross-functional collaboration, while still maintaining a dynamic and agile environment.

Founded: Founded in Sydney, Pet Circle has grown to become one of Australia's top five e-commerce companies and the number one online pet store. This history implies a strong foundation in innovation and customer focus, with a clear trajectory for continued expansion.

Team Structure:

• The Product Design team likely operates within a product-led organization, working in cross-functional "squads" composed of Product Managers, Engineers, Designers, and potentially Marketing or Operations representatives.
• Designers report into a Design Lead or Head of Product Design, with a clear hierarchy that supports both individual contribution and team alignment.
• Collaboration is highly emphasized, with designers expected to work closely with Product Managers to define strategy and Engineers to ensure feasible and high-quality implementation.

Methodology:

• Pet Circle likely employs agile methodologies, with iterative design and development cycles.
• Data-driven decision-making is a core component, with a focus on understanding customer behavior through analytics and user research to inform design improvements.
• Emphasis on a customer-centric approach, ensuring that user needs and feedback are at the forefront of all design and product decisions.
• A strong focus on building and maintaining a robust design system to ensure consistency and efficiency across a growing digital product suite.

Company Website: https://www.petcircle.com.au/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's mission and rapid growth trajectory in the booming pet industry provide a compelling context for a Product Designer. The culture appears to be a blend of growth-oriented ambition with a strong emphasis on collaboration, user-centricity, and employee wellbeing, all within a structured yet agile environment.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This Product Designer role is positioned at a mid-to-senior level, requiring a blend of independent ownership over design projects and the ability to contribute strategically to product direction. Candidates are expected to manage the full design lifecycle for key features and customer journeys, demonstrating leadership in their design approach.

Reporting Structure: Product Designers typically report to a Lead Product Designer or Head of Design. They work within cross-functional squads, collaborating closely with Product Managers and Engineers. This structure allows for direct impact on product outcomes while benefiting from mentorship and peer support within the design team.

Operations Impact: The role has a direct and significant impact on the customer experience, influencing user engagement, conversion rates, customer loyalty, and overall brand perception. By designing intuitive and effective digital products, this role directly contributes to Pet Circle's e-commerce success and its mission to help the world "Pet Better." Designing internal tools can also streamline operational efficiencies, indirectly boosting overall business performance.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Advancement: Opportunities to deepen expertise in UX research, UI design, interaction design, and design systems. Potential to gain experience in emerging areas like service design or front-end development.
• Leadership Development: Potential to mentor junior designers, lead design initiatives for major product areas, and contribute to the evolution of design processes and team rituals.
• Career Progression: A clear path to Senior Product Designer, Lead Product Designer, or specialized roles within design or product management, driven by performance and demonstrated impact. The company's rapid growth also presents opportunities for lateral moves or expanding responsibilities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "mid–senior level" designation, coupled with the responsibility to "own the end-to-end design process," suggests a role that offers substantial autonomy and the chance to make a significant mark. The growth opportunities are framed around both deepening design expertise and developing leadership capabilities, aligning with typical career trajectories in product design.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Pet Circle operates with a hybrid work model, requiring 3 days per week in their Sydney office. This suggests a collaborative office environment designed to foster team connection and innovation, while acknowledging the benefits of remote flexibility. The office is described as "pet friendly," indicating a unique and welcoming culture.

Office Location(s): The role is based in Sydney, Australia, with a specific address mentioned as 7/9 Castlereagh St. This central Sydney location likely offers good accessibility for employees.

Workspace Context:

• The office environment is designed to encourage collaboration and connection, essential for cross-functional teamwork in a hybrid model.
• Access to necessary design tools and technology, including Figma, Miro, Jira, and Confluence, will be provided to facilitate efficient workflow and project execution.
• Opportunities for regular interaction with product managers, engineers, fellow designers, and other stakeholders to share ideas, receive feedback, and align on project goals.

Work Schedule: The standard work schedule is full-time (approximately 40 hours per week). The hybrid arrangement provides flexibility, allowing employees to balance in-office collaboration with remote work. This structure aims to support productivity while maintaining team cohesion and operational needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model with 3 days in the office is a key aspect of the work environment. The "pet friendly" office is a unique cultural differentiator that speaks to the company's core identity and commitment to its mission. This setup aims to balance the benefits of in-person collaboration with the flexibility modern professionals expect.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Application Submission: Submit resume and portfolio via the TeamTailor platform.
• Portfolio Review: Initial screening will heavily involve reviewing your portfolio for end-to-end design process, problem-solving skills, and UI/UX execution.
• Hiring Manager/Recruiter Call: A brief introductory call to discuss your background, interest in Pet Circle, and high-level fit for the role.
• Design Exercise/Case Study Presentation: You may be asked to complete a take-home design challenge or present a case study from your portfolio. This will focus on your design thinking, problem-solving approach, and ability to articulate your process and rationale.
• Team Interviews: Interviews with Product Managers, Engineers, and potentially other Designers to assess collaboration skills, technical proficiency, and cultural fit.
• Final Interview: Potentially with a senior leader (e.g., Head of Product or Design) to discuss strategic thinking and overall fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Showcase Process: Clearly articulate the problem, your role, the steps you took (research, ideation, iteration), and the rationale behind your design decisions.
• Highlight Impact: Quantify results whenever possible (e.g., increased conversion rates, reduced error rates, improved user satisfaction scores).
• Tailor to Role: Emphasize projects that align with e-commerce, B2C/D2C digital products, and responsive web/mobile design. Include examples of contributing to or utilizing design systems.
• Visual Clarity: Ensure your portfolio is well-organized, visually appealing, and easy to navigate. Use high-fidelity mockups and interactive prototypes where appropriate.
• Be Concise: Focus on the most relevant and impactful projects. Aim for 2-4 detailed case studies.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Brief: If given a design challenge, thoroughly understand the problem statement, target users, and business goals.
• Structure Your Approach: Outline your process before diving into solutions. This might include user empathy, defining requirements, ideation, prototyping, and testing.
• Focus on Rationale: Be prepared to explain why you made specific design choices, referencing user needs, business goals, and design principles.
• Time Management: Be mindful of time constraints. Prioritize delivering a well-reasoned solution over an overly polished final deliverable if time is limited.
• Presentation Skills: Practice presenting your work clearly and confidently, anticipating questions about your process and decisions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a portfolio review and potential design exercise highlights the practical, skills-based nature of this role. Candidates should prepare to not only showcase their visual design skills but also their strategic thinking, problem-solving abilities, and understanding of the full product development lifecycle within an e-commerce context.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core tool for UI design, wireframing, prototyping, and collaboration. Expect to use it extensively for creating high-fidelity designs and interactive prototypes.
• Miro: A virtual whiteboard tool essential for brainstorming, user journey mapping, collaborative ideation sessions, and workshop facilitation.
• Jira: A project management tool used for tracking tasks, sprints, and project progress. Familiarity with Jira workflows is crucial for collaborating with engineering teams.
• Confluence: A documentation and knowledge-sharing platform. Likely used for design specifications, research findings, and team documentation.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly listed as primary design tools, designers are expected to work with data. Familiarity with tools like Google Analytics, Amplitude, or similar product analytics platforms would be beneficial for understanding user behavior and measuring design impact.

CRM & Automation:

• Not directly applicable to the core design responsibilities, but understanding how design impacts user journeys within a CRM context (e.g., customer onboarding, loyalty programs) is valuable for a B2C/D2C e-commerce role.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma and Miro are explicitly called out as essential. The inclusion of Jira and Confluence indicates a need for designers to integrate seamlessly into agile development workflows and documentation practices common in tech companies. Understanding how design impacts customer journeys within a CRM context is a plus for a D2C e-commerce environment.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Better Together: Fosters a collaborative environment where teamwork and shared success are paramount. Designers are expected to contribute to a positive team dynamic and support colleagues.
• Humble Hearts and Hungry Minds: Encourages continuous learning, curiosity, and a willingness to both share knowledge and seek new insights. This translates to an environment where designers are encouraged to experiment and learn from both successes and failures.
• Pets Matter: This core value underscores a deep commitment to understanding and serving pet parents and their pets. Designers should approach their work with empathy for the end-user, ensuring that their needs are always prioritized.
• Instinctively Curious. Always.: Drives a culture of inquiry, innovation, and continuous improvement. Designers are expected to ask questions, explore new possibilities, and challenge the status quo to find better solutions.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Designers work closely within agile squads, fostering tight collaboration with Product Managers and Engineers to ensure alignment and efficient execution.
• Open Feedback Culture: The company values feedback from teammates and stakeholders, suggesting an environment where constructive criticism is welcomed and used for design improvement.
• Knowledge Sharing: Encourages the sharing of design thinking, research findings, and best practices across the team and broader organization to elevate design quality and consistency.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company’s values are strongly aligned with a user-centric, collaborative, and growth-oriented culture. For a designer, this means opportunities to work in a supportive environment where user needs are central, and continuous learning and teamwork are highly valued. The "Pets Matter" value is a unique differentiator that permeates the company's ethos.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing User Needs with Business Goals: Effectively synthesizing diverse stakeholder requirements and user feedback into cohesive, impactful design solutions within an e-commerce context.
• Scaling Design Systems: Contributing to and evolving a design system for a rapidly growing platform, ensuring it remains robust, scalable, and easy for multiple teams to adopt.
• Navigating Ambiguity: Thriving in a fast-paced, evolving e-commerce environment where priorities can shift, requiring adaptability and proactive problem-solving.
• Driving User-Centricity: Continuously championing user needs and best practices across different departments, especially when balancing with technical constraints or business expediency.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced UX/UI Techniques: Opportunity to hone skills in areas like advanced prototyping, interaction design, and user research methodologies.
• Design Leadership: Potential to develop mentorship skills, lead design critiques, and influence product strategy through demonstrated expertise and impact.
• Industry Trends: Exposure to best practices in e-commerce design, D2C strategies, and evolving digital product trends.
• Cross-Functional Learning: Gaining deeper insights into product management, engineering processes, and marketing strategies through close collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges identified are typical for a growing e-commerce company and a mid-to-senior designer role. They present significant opportunities for professional growth, particularly in strategic thinking, leadership, and adaptability within a dynamic industry.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• How would you approach designing a new feature for a customer's loyalty program to increase engagement? (Focus on user needs, business goals, and metrics).
• Describe a time you had to balance conflicting feedback from stakeholders. How did you navigate it and reach a resolution? (Assess collaboration and negotiation skills).
• If tasked with redesigning a critical part of the checkout flow, what would be your first steps, and what key metrics would you track? (Evaluate problem-solving and data-driven approach).

Company & Culture Questions:

• What excites you about Pet Circle's mission and the pet industry? (Gauge cultural fit and genuine interest).
• How do you embody the value of being "Instinctively Curious. Always." in your design work? (Assess alignment with company values).
• Describe your experience working in a hybrid or remote team environment. How do you ensure effective collaboration? (Evaluate adaptability to work arrangements).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your specific role and contributions, the design process undertaken, key decisions and rationale, and the final outcome/impact.
• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals (wireframes, prototypes, final UIs) to illustrate your process and solutions. Be ready to walk through prototypes interactively.
• Quantify Impact: Highlight any measurable results achieved by your designs. If direct metrics aren't available, discuss the intended impact and how you would measure it.
• Focus on Collaboration: Explain how you worked with Product Managers, Engineers, and other stakeholders, and how you incorporated their feedback.
• Be Prepared for Questions: Anticipate questions about your design choices, challenges faced, and alternative solutions considered.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparing specific, data-driven examples for strategy questions and clearly articulating the "why" behind design decisions in portfolio presentations will be crucial. Demonstrating an understanding of Pet Circle's mission and values will also be key to a successful application.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the Pet Circle careers portal (TeamTailor).
• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-4 of your most relevant and impactful projects that best showcase your end-to-end product design process, focusing on B2C/D2C e-commerce, web, and mobile. Ensure each case study clearly outlines the problem, your role, process, solutions, and outcomes.
• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight experience and skills directly relevant to the job description, using keywords such as UX/UI Design, Product Design, Figma, Miro, User Research, Design Systems, and E-commerce. Quantify achievements where possible.
• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice walking through your portfolio case studies, focusing on clear articulation of your design thinking, problem-solving approach, and collaborative skills. Be ready to discuss how your work aligns with Pet Circle's mission and values.
• Research Pet Circle: Familiarize yourself with Pet Circle's website, products, brand, and company mission. Understand their customer base and their position in the pet industry to better tailor your responses and demonstrate genuine interest.

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