Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer

Company: Sardine

Location: Remote - Brazil (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Florianópolis)

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / UX/UI (with strong GTM and SaaS focus)

Date Posted: 2025-09-24

Experience Level: 5+ Years (Mid to Senior Level)

Remote Status: Fully Remote (Work From Anywhere in Brazil)

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive end-to-end product design processes, from user problem identification and research to final implementation and hand-off, focusing on a user-centric SaaS dashboard for fraud prevention.

• Collaborate closely with Product Managers and Engineers to translate complex business requirements and user needs into intuitive, comprehensive, and scalable user experiences within a fast-paced startup environment.

• Champion best practices in UI/UX design, particularly in data visualization and design systems, to ensure consistency and efficiency across a sophisticated SaaS product.

• Engage directly with senior leadership (CEO, CTO, CPO) to communicate design concepts, validate solutions, and align on product strategy, demonstrating strong stakeholder management and communication skills.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Product Designer," the core responsibilities and context strongly indicate a role focused on designing the user interface and experience for a SaaS platform, with significant interaction with Go-To-Market (GTM) enablement through a functional dashboard. The emphasis on "problem-solving," "complex challenges," and "making it easy" points to a strategic design role that directly impacts user adoption and product effectiveness. The need to "proactively drive the entire design process" and "get into the bushes" suggests a senior individual contributor role expecting autonomy and initiative, rather than a purely execution-focused designer.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Independently lead the design lifecycle: conduct user research, identify pain points, conceptualize solutions, create wireframes and prototypes, conduct usability testing, and ensure successful implementation with engineering teams.

• Design for all user flows, edge cases, and UI states, ensuring a robust and seamless user experience that goes beyond the "happy path."

• Actively participate in product strategy discussions, providing design insights and recommendations that align with business objectives and user needs.

• Develop and maintain design system components and guidelines to ensure consistency, scalability, and efficiency in the SaaS dashboard.

• Clearly communicate design rationale, progress, and status updates to cross-functional teams and leadership through annotations, comments in design files, and regular reporting.

• Collaborate effectively with Product Managers to define product requirements and with Engineers to ensure accurate and high-quality design implementation.

📝 Enhancement Note: The prompt emphasizes proactive ownership and a requirement to "get into the bushes," implying that the designer will need to conduct their own discovery and research rather than receiving fully defined briefs. This necessitates a strong understanding of user research methodologies and the ability to gather requirements from various stakeholders, including senior leadership. The focus on SaaS dashboards and fraud prevention suggests a need for strong data visualization skills and an understanding of complex information architecture.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience demonstrated through a strong portfolio.

Experience: 5+ years of professional experience in UI and UX design, specifically for complex dashboards and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) products. Experience in a startup or fast-paced environment is highly valued.

Required Skills:

• Product Design Expertise: Proven ability to drive the entire design process from concept to implementation for SaaS products.

• Figma Mastery: Advanced proficiency in Figma, including Auto Layout, Components, Variants, and Prototyping for efficient and scalable design workflows.

• Design Systems: Deep understanding and practical experience in creating, maintaining, and applying design systems to ensure UI consistency and facilitate rapid development.

• User-Centered Design: Strong grasp of user-centered design principles and methodologies, with a focus on usability and user experience.

• Data Visualization: Solid understanding of best practices for data visualization to effectively present complex information within a dashboard context.

• Communication & Stakeholder Management: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with demonstrated experience in communicating design ideas and requirements to leadership (CEO, CTO, CPO) and cross-functional teams.

• Problem-Solving: Ability to independently identify complex user and business problems and propose innovative, effective design solutions.

• Agile & Fast-Paced Adaptability: Proven ability to thrive in a fast-paced startup environment, move quickly, and deliver high-quality work under tight deadlines.

• AI Awareness: Understanding of how AI is impacting design workflows and a willingness to explore new design tools and methodologies.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience working in globally distributed and remote teams.

• Prior experience designing for the Fraud, AML, Compliance, Payments, Fintech, or Banking industries.

• Familiarity with generative design tools (e.g., Figma Make, Gemini, v0, Loveable) or a strong interest in exploring them.

• Basic understanding of front-end development principles and technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) to facilitate better collaboration with engineering.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "5+ years of experience (or strong portfolio)" indicates flexibility where a compelling portfolio can substitute for exact years of experience. The explicit mention of AI's impact on design suggests a forward-thinking candidate is desired. The "Startup / Small Company / Founder Experience" is highlighted, suggesting a preference for individuals who understand the unique demands and pace of early-stage companies.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrate end-to-end ownership of design projects, showcasing your process from initial problem definition through user research, ideation, prototyping, testing, and final implementation.

• Include case studies focused on SaaS dashboards or complex enterprise applications, highlighting how you translated intricate requirements into intuitive user interfaces.

• Showcase your expertise in Figma, including examples of sophisticated component usage, Auto Layout, and interactive prototypes.

• Present your experience with Design Systems, illustrating how you've applied or contributed to them to maintain consistency and scale design efforts.

• Clearly articulate your approach to user research, problem identification, and solution validation, emphasizing a user-centric methodology.

Process Documentation:

• Detail your user research methodologies, including how you identify user needs, conduct interviews, and synthesize findings into actionable design insights.

• Illustrate your wireframing, prototyping, and user testing processes, explaining how you iterate on designs based on feedback.

• Showcase your hand-off process to engineering, including how you document UI states, edge cases, and interaction details to ensure accurate implementation.

• Describe your approach to contributing to or maintaining a design system, including component creation, documentation, and governance.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a senior Product Designer role, especially in a fast-paced startup, the portfolio is paramount. It needs to showcase not just visual design skills but also strategic thinking, problem-solving capabilities, and the ability to work autonomously. The emphasis on "making it easy" for complex problems means case studies should highlight simplification of complex workflows.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: R$265,000 - R$370,000 BRL per year.

Benefits:

• Generous Compensation: Competitive base salary plus Series C equity with significant upside potential.

• Equity: Early exercise for all options, including pre-vested options.

• Work Arrangement: Fully Remote ("Work from Anywhere") with a remote-first culture.

• Time Off: Flexible Paid Time Off, dedicated Year-end break, and Self-care days off.

• Health & Wellness:

  • Monthly meal stipend.
  • Monthly social meet-up stipend.
  • Annual health and wellness stipend.
  • Note: Health, dental, and vision coverage are US and Canada specific.

• Professional Development:

  • Annual Learning stipend for courses, conferences, and certifications.
  • Unlimited access to expert financial advisory services.

• Home Office Setup:

  • MacBook Pro provided.
  • One-time stipend for home office equipment (desk, chair, screen, etc.).

• Retirement:

  • Note: 4% matching in 401k / RRSP is US and Canada specific. Working Hours: While the company values performance over hours, a standard full-time commitment is expected, likely around 40 hours per week. The remote-first and flexible PTO/self-care days aim to provide work-life balance, allowing individuals to manage personal commitments.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is provided in BRL and is for the Brazilian market. The benefits package includes a mix of global and region-specific offerings. For candidates in Brazil, the health, dental, and vision coverage, as well as 401k/RRSP matching, may not apply. The "Work from Anywhere" culture, flexible PTO, and stipends are particularly attractive for remote professionals. The equity component is a significant part of the total compensation for a Series C startup. Salary will be adjusted based on candidate location within Brazil, qualifications, and interview performance.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Fraud Prevention and AML Compliance Technology (Fintech/Regtech). Sardine operates at the intersection of financial technology and security, providing critical solutions for banks, retailers, and fintechs to combat identity fraud, payment fraud, account takeovers, and social engineering scams.

Company Size: Sardine is a growing startup that has raised $145M from prominent investors, indicating significant traction and a scaling phase. The exact employee count isn't specified but is likely in the range of 100-500 employees, characteristic of a Series C funded company.

Founded: 2020. As a relatively young company, Sardine fosters a dynamic, innovative, and fast-paced culture.

Team Structure:

• The design team likely consists of a mix of Product Designers, UX Researchers, and potentially UI Specialists, working collaboratively.

• Designers report into a Head of Design or Product leadership, then collaborate closely with Product Managers and Engineering teams.

Methodology:

• Data-driven decision-making, leveraging machine learning, AI, and device intelligence for fraud prevention. This implies a strong emphasis on data analysis and metrics within design outcomes.

• Agile development methodologies, requiring designers to be adaptable and responsive to evolving product roadmaps and user feedback.

• Emphasis on "extreme ownership" and "high growth orientation," encouraging proactive problem-solving and continuous learning.

Company Website: https://www.sardine.ai/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on fraud prevention and AML compliance means that the product design will likely involve handling sensitive data, complex workflows, and potentially high-stakes scenarios where accuracy and security are paramount. This context is crucial for designers to understand.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Mid to Senior Product Designer. The expectation of independently driving the design process, handling complex problems, and communicating with C-level executives signifies a level of autonomy and responsibility typically associated with senior individual contributors. The emphasis on "5+ years of experience (or strong portfolio)" further supports this.

Reporting Structure: The designer will report to a design lead or product management lead and collaborate extensively with product managers and engineers. Direct interaction with C-level executives (CEO, CTO, CPO) is a significant aspect, offering exposure to strategic decision-making.

Operations Impact: Product Designers at Sardine have a direct impact on the company's Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy by creating intuitive and effective SaaS dashboards. A well-designed interface can significantly improve user adoption, reduce support burdens, enhance fraud detection efficiency for clients, and ultimately contribute to Sardine's growth and market leadership in fraud prevention. The ability to "make complex products easy" is a direct driver of customer success and retention.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Specialization: Opportunity to deepen expertise in specific areas like data visualization for complex systems, advanced Figma techniques, or generative design workflows.

• Industry Expertise: Gain specialized knowledge in fraud prevention, AML, and fintech, becoming a valuable asset in a high-demand sector.

• Leadership Potential: For high performers, opportunities may arise to mentor junior designers, lead design initiatives, or even transition into management roles as the design team scales.

• Cross-Functional Exposure: Direct engagement with C-suite and various departments provides broad business understanding and networking opportunities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role offers significant growth potential due to Sardine's startup trajectory and the critical nature of its product. The emphasis on AI exploration and future design trends suggests a forward-looking environment that supports continuous learning and skill development.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Sardine operates on a remote-first model, meaning there is no central physical office for this role. The company provides resources to create effective home office setups.

Office Location(s): While Sardine has hubs in the Bay Area, NYC, Austin, and Toronto, this specific role is remote and restricted to residents within Brazil, specifically in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, and Florianópolis.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: Despite being remote, the culture emphasizes visibility and communication. Designers are expected to actively comment, annotate, and tag teammates in their files, fostering a sense of shared ownership and collaboration.

• Technology & Tools: Access to industry-standard design tools (Figma) and the provision of a MacBook Pro and home office stipend ensures a productive remote workspace.

• Team Interaction: Regular communication with product managers, engineers, and leadership is integral. This includes design reviews, status updates, and strategic discussions.

Work Schedule: The company emphasizes performance and flexibility over strict hours. While a full-time commitment is expected, individuals have the autonomy to structure their workday to accommodate personal needs, provided they maintain visibility and deliver results. This flexibility is crucial for effective remote work and managing complex design tasks.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "remote-first" culture with specific city requirements in Brazil means candidates must be comfortable with and equipped for remote collaboration. The company actively promotes tools and practices to ensure remote teams remain connected and productive.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your application, resume, and portfolio to assess experience and alignment with the role's core requirements.

• Portfolio Deep Dive: A dedicated session with a design lead or hiring manager to walk through 1-2 key case studies from your portfolio. Be prepared to discuss your process, decision-making, challenges, and outcomes in detail.

• Design Challenge/Exercise: A practical exercise, potentially involving a specific problem related to the Sardine product or a similar SaaS dashboard. This might be a take-home assignment or a live collaborative session.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers and Engineers to assess collaboration skills, technical understanding, and ability to integrate design into development workflows.

• Leadership Interview: A discussion with C-level executives (CEO, CTO, CPO) to evaluate strategic thinking, communication skills, and cultural fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Process: Clearly articulate the "why" behind your design decisions. Showcase your problem-solving methodology, user research, and iteration process.

• Highlight Impact: Quantify results whenever possible. If you can demonstrate improvements in conversion rates, user satisfaction, efficiency, or reduction in errors, include those metrics.

• Showcase Figma Mastery: Ensure your portfolio includes examples that demonstrate advanced Figma skills like Auto Layout, robust component libraries, and interactive prototypes.

• Tailor to Sardine: If possible, include a case study or a section that addresses the challenges of designing for fraud prevention or complex SaaS dashboards. Research Sardine's product and mention how your skills align.

• Structure for Clarity: Organize your case studies logically with clear headings, visuals, and concise explanations. Prepare to present 1-2 projects in depth.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Familiarize yourself with fraud prevention, AML, and fintech concepts. Research common user needs and pain points for users of such platforms.

• Practice Problem Decomposition: Be ready to break down a complex problem into smaller, manageable parts, identify key user flows, and propose solutions.

• Data Visualization Acumen: Practice thinking about how to best visualize data for dashboards, considering different user roles and their information needs.

• Communication: Prepare to clearly articulate your thought process, design choices, and justifications, especially under time constraints.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to assess not only design skills but also strategic thinking, problem-solving capabilities, and the ability to operate autonomously in a fast-paced, remote environment. The emphasis on C-level interaction highlights the importance of strong communication and business acumen.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core design tool; mastery is explicitly required, including advanced features like Auto Layout, Components, Variants, and Prototyping.

• Design Systems: Tools and methodologies for creating and managing design systems (e.g., Zeroheight, Storybook integration, or Figma's own features).

• User Research Platforms: Potentially tools for user interviews, surveys, and usability testing (e.g., UserTesting.com, Maze, Lookback, or simply video conferencing tools).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Data Visualization Tools: While not a direct design tool, understanding how data is visualized in tools like Tableau, Power BI, or in-app analytics dashboards is beneficial. The designer will need to design interfaces that effectively display data from these sources.

• Product Analytics: Familiarity with tools like Amplitude, Mixpanel, or Google Analytics to understand user behavior and inform design decisions.

CRM & Automation:

• Collaboration Tools: Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides) for communication, documentation, and team collaboration in a remote setting.

• Project Management Tools: Tools like Jira, Asana, or Trello may be used for tracking design tasks and project progress.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit requirement for Figma mastery is a key technical skill. The mention of "AI is changing the game" suggests a willingness to explore AI-assisted design tools or workflows, which could include tools like Galileo, or AI features within Figma itself. Familiarity with front-end code is listed as a bonus, indicating that while not mandatory, it can enhance collaboration with engineering.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Extreme Ownership: Taking full responsibility for projects and outcomes, proactively identifying and solving problems without constant direction.

• High Growth Orientation: A commitment to continuous learning, personal development, and embracing challenges as opportunities for growth.

• Performance-Driven: Valuing results and impact over hours worked, encouraging efficiency and effectiveness.

• Remote-First Collaboration: Fostering a connected and communicative environment despite physical distance, emphasizing transparency and teamwork.

• User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and solving user problems, ensuring that design decisions are grounded in user needs.

Collaboration Style:

• Proactive & Visible: Designers are expected to be visible in their work, regularly communicating progress, sharing insights, and seeking feedback.

• Cross-Functional Integration: Designers work closely with Product Management and Engineering, acting as a bridge between user needs, business goals, and technical feasibility.

• Data-Informed: Decisions are informed by data, user research, and performance metrics, encouraging a rational and evidence-based approach to design.

• Iterative & Experimental: Willingness to experiment with new ideas, iterate based on feedback, and embrace a culture of continuous improvement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture emphasizes autonomy, initiative, and a strong sense of responsibility, which are crucial for success in a remote, fast-paced startup environment. The values directly support the company's mission in a complex and rapidly evolving industry like fraud prevention.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Complexity of Domain: Designing for fraud prevention and AML compliance involves intricate rules, sensitive data, and high-stakes decision-making, requiring careful attention to detail and user understanding.

• Remote Collaboration: Effectively collaborating, communicating, and maintaining team cohesion in a fully remote setting requires strong interpersonal and digital communication skills.

• Pace of a Startup: Working in a fast-growing startup means adapting to rapid changes, shifting priorities, and delivering high-quality work under tight deadlines.

• Balancing User Needs with Business Requirements: Effectively translating complex business logic and security requirements into user-friendly interfaces that meet both user needs and company objectives.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Industry Specialization: Gaining expertise in the Fraud, AML, Fintech, and Payments sectors, which have high demand for skilled professionals.

• Advanced Design Tool Proficiency: Exploring and mastering cutting-edge design tools and AI-assisted workflows.

• Strategic Design Leadership: Developing skills in influencing product strategy and communicating effectively with senior leadership.

• Mentorship & Growth: Opportunities to learn from experienced professionals and potentially mentor others as the team grows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are common in high-growth tech startups, particularly in specialized B2B SaaS domains. The growth opportunities are directly tied to the company's rapid expansion and the evolving nature of design and technology.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to design a complex dashboard from scratch. What was your process, what challenges did you face, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on end-to-end ownership, problem-solving, and impact.)

• "How do you approach translating intricate business rules or technical constraints into a user-friendly interface?" (Assess ability to simplify complexity and handle edge cases.)

• "Imagine we need to design a new feature for our fraud dashboard that helps analysts quickly identify suspicious patterns. How would you approach this problem?" (Evaluate your design process, user empathy, and creative problem-solving.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Sardine and our mission to prevent fraud?" (Show genuine interest and research.)

• "How do you stay visible and communicate your progress in a remote-first environment?" (Address remote collaboration strategies.)

• "Describe your experience working with Product Managers and Engineers. How do you ensure a smooth hand-off and collaborative process?" (Highlight teamwork and communication.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your role, your process, the solutions you designed, and the results achieved.

• Emphasize "Why": Don't just show what you designed; explain why you made those specific design choices. Link them back to user needs and business goals.

• Showcase Figma Skills: Point out specific examples of Auto Layout, component usage, and sophisticated prototyping within your presented work.

• Quantify Impact: If possible, present metrics or qualitative feedback that demonstrates the success of your design solutions.

• Prepare for Q&A: Anticipate questions about your design choices, challenges, and alternative solutions. Be ready to discuss them thoughtfully.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on demonstrating autonomy, strategic thinking, strong communication skills, and a deep understanding of SaaS product design within a fast-paced, remote context. The "get into the bushes" mentality means interviewers will probe for your ability to self-direct and uncover requirements.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 1-2 of your strongest case studies that best showcase your experience with complex SaaS dashboards, end-to-end design ownership, Figma mastery, and problem-solving skills. Ensure they highlight your process and impact.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight keywords from the job description, such as "Product Design," "SaaS," "Figma," "Design Systems," "Data Visualization," "User-Centered Design," and "remote collaboration." Quantify achievements where possible.

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice walking through your selected case studies, focusing on your process, rationale, and the outcomes. Be ready to discuss your experience with remote work and senior stakeholder communication.

• Research Sardine: Understand Sardine's mission, product, and the challenges of fraud prevention. Familiarize yourself with their existing platform if possible to better tailor your responses and questions.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and industry-standard assumptions tailored for a Product Designer role in a SaaS environment. All details should be verified directly with Sardine during the application and interview process.