Product Designer - AU

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer
Company: Neara
Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Job Type: FULL_TIME
Category: Product Design / UX/UI
Date Posted: 2025-08-19
Experience Level: Mid-Senior Level (4+ years)
Remote Status: Hybrid (with a Sydney office available)

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead end-to-end product discovery and design processes, from user research and ideation to prototyping and implementation, within a high-growth technology startup environment.
• Drive solution delivery and product development by collaborating cross-functionally with Product Managers, Engineers, and UI/UX teams to shape product vision and strategic direction.
• Enhance usability across diverse product verticals, particularly those previously under-serviced, by conducting user research, stakeholder interviews, and usability testing.
• Contribute to and improve the master design system by establishing new patterns and ensuring consistency, while mentoring team members to elevate overall design maturity.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the core function is Product Design, the emphasis on "shaping product strategy," "championing user needs," and "driving solution delivery" indicates a strategic partnership role, moving beyond purely execution. The mention of "enhancing usability across product verticals that have been previously under-serviced" suggests a focus on improving existing user experiences and potentially identifying new market opportunities through design.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead product discovery initiatives, employing user research methodologies, stakeholder interviews, and usability testing to gather actionable insights and inform design decisions.
• Develop comprehensive user journeys, wireframes, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity designs to effectively solve complex user problems and translate business requirements into intuitive user experiences.
• Collaborate closely with Product Management to define product strategy, roadmap, and feature prioritization, ensuring alignment between user needs and business objectives.
• Partner with Engineering teams to ensure seamless implementation of designs, providing clear specifications, interaction flows, and design rationale for technical execution.
• Contribute to the evolution of Neara's master design system by creating new components, patterns, and guidelines, ensuring design consistency and scalability across all product verticals.
• Take ownership of specific product areas or user journeys, proactively identifying opportunities for improvement and driving design-led innovation.
• Mentor junior designers and stakeholders, fostering a culture of design excellence and elevating design maturity across the organization.
• Communicate design rationale, user insights, and recommendations effectively to diverse stakeholder groups, including leadership, product, and engineering.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities clearly outline a senior-level contributor who not only executes design tasks but also influences product strategy and mentors others. The emphasis on "leading product discovery," "shaping product vision," and "taking ownership of specific product areas" suggests a significant degree of autonomy and strategic input.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: A Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, or a related field is typically preferred for Product Design roles, though equivalent practical experience is highly valued in startup environments.

Experience: Minimum of 4+ years of professional experience in UX Design or Product Design roles, with a proven track record of delivering user-centered digital products. Experience in fast-paced startup or consulting environments with iterative workflows is highly advantageous.

Required Skills:

• Demonstrated expertise in user research methodologies, including user interviews, survey design, usability testing, product metric analysis, and comparative reviews.
• Proficiency in solution design activities such as wireframing, prototyping (low-fidelity to high-fidelity), and creating detailed design specifications.
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively within cross-functional teams, working closely with Product Managers, Engineers, and other designers.
• Strong problem decomposition skills and the capacity to identify and navigate unknowns within complex projects.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions and rationale to stakeholders at all levels.
• Strategic thinking capabilities, allowing for an understanding of both tactical design execution and broader business needs.
• A collaborative mindset, with openness to feedback and the ability to defend design decisions with user data and research findings.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in contributing to and evolving design systems, including the creation of new patterns and ensuring consistency.
• Familiarity with agile development methodologies and iterative design processes.
• Experience in mentoring or guiding junior design team members.
• A portfolio showcasing a strong understanding of user-centered design principles and a diverse range of design projects.
• Experience designing for complex technical domains or B2B SaaS platforms.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for 4+ years of experience, coupled with the emphasis on strategic thinking, problem decomposition, and mentoring, positions this as a mid-to-senior level Product Designer role. The preference for startup or consulting experience highlights the need for adaptability and comfort with ambiguity.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio demonstrating end-to-end product design process, from problem definition and user research to solution ideation, prototyping, and final UI.
• Case studies that clearly articulate the user problem, your design approach, the tools and methods used, your specific contributions, and the measurable impact of your design solutions.
• Examples of how you have conducted user research, usability testing, and incorporated feedback into iterative design improvements.
• Demonstrations of your ability to create wireframes, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups using industry-standard design tools.
• Evidence of contribution to or creation of design systems, showcasing pattern libraries, style guides, and component documentation.

Process Documentation:

• Showcase your process for conducting user interviews, synthesizing research findings, and translating insights into design requirements.
• Provide examples of your workflow for ideation and concept development, including brainstorming techniques and user flow mapping.
• Detail your approach to prototyping and user testing, including methodology, participant recruitment, and analysis of results.
• Illustrate how you collaborate with engineering and product teams, including handoff processes and design spec documentation.

📝 Enhancement Note: A strong portfolio is critical for this role, as it will be the primary method of evaluating a candidate's process, problem-solving skills, and impact. The emphasis on "measurable impact" and "user data" suggests a data-driven approach to design is highly valued.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: For a Product Designer with 4+ years of experience in Sydney, Australia, a competitive salary range would typically be AUD $100,000 - $140,000 per annum. This estimate is based on industry benchmarks for similar roles in the Sydney tech market, considering the company's growth stage and funding.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary package.
• Meaningful Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP), offering equity participation in a high-growth company.
• Flexible working arrangements, allowing for a hybrid work model.
• Access to a fully stocked office in Redfern, Sydney, for collaborative work and team engagement.
• Opportunity for rapid professional growth and direct influence on product strategy and user experience.
• The chance to work on an innovative, industry-leading product with a significant real-world impact.

Working Hours: While a standard full-time work week is expected (approximately 40 hours), Neara emphasizes flexible working arrangements. This suggests a results-oriented approach where focus is on deliverables and collaboration rather than strict adherence to a 9-to-5 schedule, allowing for effective management of iterative design processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is an estimate based on typical market rates for experienced Product Designers in Sydney. The ESOP is a significant benefit for a startup, indicating a desire to align employee success with company growth. Flexibility is highlighted, which is common in tech startups.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software (SaaS), Critical Infrastructure Technology, 3D Digital Modeling. Neara operates within a rapidly evolving tech sector, focusing on applying advanced software solutions to modernize and optimize critical infrastructure, such as electricity grids, telecommunications, and rail. This industry context implies a need for designers who can grasp complex technical concepts and translate them into user-friendly interfaces.

Company Size: Neara is described as a "high-growth technology company." While specific employee numbers aren't provided in the input, the mention of backing by significant VC/PE investors and achieving ~90% market share in ANZ suggests a company that has moved beyond the very early startup phase and is scaling rapidly, likely employing dozens to hundreds of people. This size typically means a dynamic environment with evolving processes and opportunities for impact.

Founded: The foundational date is not explicitly stated, but the company's rapid growth, market share achievement, and recognition by Time Magazine (2024) indicate it's a relatively young but highly successful and impactful organization. This suggests a culture that is likely innovative, fast-paced, and driven by ambitious goals.

Team Structure:

• The Product Designer will work within a product development team, likely comprising Product Managers, Engineers (frontend and backend), and other UI/UX team members.
• Collaboration is explicitly stated with Product Managers/Owners on strategy/discovery and with Engineering on technical implementation.
• The UI/UX Team is mentioned, suggesting a dedicated design function that the Product Designer will collaborate with for consistency and system improvement.
• Reporting lines are not explicitly stated but would likely be to a Head of Product, Design Lead, or similar senior role.

Methodology:

• Product development likely follows agile or hybrid agile methodologies, given the startup environment and iterative workflows mentioned.
• Design processes emphasize user research, discovery, prototyping, and iterative improvement, all driven by user data and feedback.
• A focus on "engineering-grade 3D digital models" and "complex user problems" suggests a methodical approach to design, grounded in understanding technical constraints and user workflows.

Company Website: https://neara.com

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's mission to "change how the world designs, builds and operates critical infrastructure" and its recognition as a Time Magazine Most Influential Company highlight its significant impact and innovative nature. This context is crucial for understanding the user problems and the technical depth required in the design role.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a mid-to-senior level Product Designer. The responsibilities involve leading discovery, influencing strategy, and mentoring, which are characteristic of experienced professionals who are moving beyond individual contribution to strategic impact and team development.

Reporting Structure: The Product Designer will likely report into a Product or Design leadership role. They will work closely with Product Managers and Engineering Leads, indicating a collaborative, cross-functional reporting dynamic rather than a strict hierarchical structure typical of larger, more established companies.

Operations Impact: The Product Designer's impact will be directly tied to enhancing the usability and effectiveness of Neara's SaaS platform. By solving complex user problems and improving user journeys, the designer will contribute to increased customer adoption, satisfaction, and retention, ultimately driving the value customers derive from the platform and supporting Neara's overall growth and market penetration.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Advancement: Opportunities to deepen expertise in user research, interaction design, and design systems, potentially specializing in specific product verticals.
• Leadership Development: Potential to take on more significant product ownership, lead design initiatives, and mentor junior team members, developing leadership capabilities.
• Strategic Influence: Contribute to shaping product strategy and roadmap, gaining experience in product-led growth and market expansion.
• Industry Exposure: Work with cutting-edge technology in the critical infrastructure sector, gaining valuable domain expertise.
• Career Progression: Path to Senior Product Designer, Lead Product Designer, or Product Management roles within a scaling organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "rapid professional growth" and "direct influence on product strategy" strongly suggests that Neara offers significant opportunities for career advancement and skill development, particularly for individuals who are proactive and ambitious.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Neara offers a "fully stocked office in Redfern." This suggests a modern, well-equipped workspace designed to facilitate collaboration and productivity. Given the "flexible working arrangements," it's likely a hybrid model where employees can choose to work from the office for specific activities like team meetings, brainstorming sessions, or focused collaborative work.

Office Location(s): The primary office is located in Redfern, a well-connected inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. This location is typically accessible via public transport and is part of a vibrant business and creative hub.

Workspace Context:

• The office environment is likely to be dynamic and collaborative, supporting the "high-growth technology company" culture.
• Expect a focus on teamwork and cross-functional interaction, with designers working closely alongside product managers and engineers.
• Access to modern design tools and technology is implied by the nature of the company and the role.
• The "fully stocked" nature of the office suggests amenities that support employee comfort and productivity.

Work Schedule: The company offers "flexible working arrangements." While standard full-time hours are expected, the emphasis is on autonomy and results. This allows designers to manage their schedules effectively, balancing in-office collaboration with remote work, and optimizing their workflow for peak productivity, which is crucial for iterative design processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid work model, combined with a physical office presence, aims to balance the benefits of remote flexibility with the advantages of in-person collaboration and team cohesion. The Redfern location is a prime spot within Sydney's tech scene.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Application Screening: Initial review of resume and portfolio to assess qualifications and design experience.
• Hiring Manager/Recruiter Call: A preliminary conversation to discuss experience, motivations, and cultural fit.
• Design Challenge/Portfolio Presentation: A practical exercise or a deep dive into the candidate's portfolio, focusing on their process, problem-solving skills, and impact. This is likely to involve presenting case studies and discussing design decisions.
• Cross-functional Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers, Engineers, and potentially other designers to assess collaboration skills and technical understanding.
• Final Interview: Potentially with senior leadership to discuss strategic alignment and long-term fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Structure Your Case Studies: Clearly outline the problem, your role, process, key decisions, challenges, and outcomes. Quantify impact where possible.
• Showcase Your Process: Detail your research, ideation, prototyping, and iteration methods. Explain why you made certain choices.
• Highlight Collaboration: Provide examples of how you worked with cross-functional teams and incorporated feedback.
• Demonstrate Design System Contribution: If applicable, show how you've contributed to or built design systems.
• Tailor to Neara: Understand Neara's product (critical infrastructure, 3D modeling) and try to align your examples or highlight relevant skills, even if not directly in the same industry.
• Be Prepared to Discuss: Anticipate questions about your design philosophy, how you handle ambiguity, and how you measure success.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Product: Familiarize yourself with Neara's platform, its users (infrastructure owners/operators), and the problems it solves.
• Review Core Design Principles: Be ready to discuss principles of user-centered design, usability heuristics, and design thinking.
• Practice Explaining Your Work: Rehearse articulating your design process and decision-making for your portfolio projects. Focus on clarity and conciseness.
• Prepare for Problem-Solving: Think about how you would approach designing for complex technical systems or for users who might have highly specialized workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to thoroughly evaluate a candidate's design skills, process, strategic thinking, and ability to collaborate. The portfolio review is paramount, so candidates should invest significant time in preparing and presenting their best work.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop), InVision, Axure, or similar industry-standard tools for wireframing, prototyping, and high-fidelity design. Figma is a prevalent choice in modern design teams.
• User Research & Testing: Tools like UserTesting.com, Maze, Lookback, or survey platforms (e.g., SurveyMonkey, Typeform) for conducting usability tests and gathering user feedback.
• Collaboration & Project Management: Jira, Confluence, Asana, Trello, or similar tools for tracking design tasks, project progress, and collaborating with engineering and product teams.
• Design Systems: Experience with or ability to contribute to a design system framework, often managed within tools like Figma or dedicated design system platforms.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not directly a designer’s primary tool, familiarity with product analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics, Amplitude, Mixpanel) can be beneficial for understanding user behavior and product performance.

CRM & Automation:

• Understanding of CRM systems (like Salesforce, HubSpot) and marketing automation tools is generally not a core requirement for a Product Designer, but awareness of how user data flows through the business can be helpful.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in modern design and prototyping tools, particularly Figma, is expected. The ability to integrate with engineering workflows and understand user data through analytics tools will be advantageous for a Product Designer aiming to influence product strategy.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and solving user problems through empathetic design and rigorous research.
• Innovation & Ambition: A drive to push boundaries, develop cutting-edge solutions, and achieve ambitious goals, as evidenced by the company's rapid growth and mission.
• Collaboration: A belief in the power of cross-functional teamwork, open communication, and shared problem-solving to achieve the best outcomes.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Utilizing user data, research insights, and performance metrics to inform design choices and measure impact.
• Continuous Improvement: A culture of learning, iteration, and refinement, both in product design and within team processes.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Designers are expected to be integral members of product teams, working closely with Product Managers and Engineers throughout the product development lifecycle.
• Open Feedback: A culture that encourages constructive feedback and open dialogue to refine designs and processes.
• Knowledge Sharing: Encouraging the sharing of best practices, research findings, and design techniques across the team and organization.
• Agile & Iterative: Embracing a flexible and adaptable approach to design, willing to iterate based on feedback and new information.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's culture likely fosters a dynamic, collaborative, and results-oriented environment. Designers are expected to be proactive, communicative, and comfortable working in a fast-paced, evolving setting.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Complexity of Infrastructure: Designing for critical infrastructure domains (electricity grids, rail) requires understanding complex technical systems and specialized user workflows, which can be a steep learning curve.
• Balancing User Needs with Technical Constraints: Finding design solutions that are both user-friendly and technically feasible within the constraints of the platform's engineering.
• Rapid Growth Environment: Navigating a rapidly scaling startup means adapting to evolving processes, tools, and team structures.
• Under-serviced Verticals: Enhancing usability for previously under-serviced product areas may involve tackling more challenging UX problems with less established user patterns.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Domain Expertise: Opportunity to become an expert in the critical infrastructure technology sector.
• Design System Mastery: Contribute significantly to a growing design system, enhancing skills in scalability, consistency, and pattern creation.
• Product Strategy Influence: Gain experience in shaping product roadmaps and influencing strategic business decisions through design leadership.
• Mentorship: Provide mentorship to other designers, honing leadership and communication skills.
• Industry Exposure: Work with leading investors and technology, gaining exposure to high-level business strategy and innovation.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are typical of high-growth tech companies and roles that involve complex domains. These challenges also directly translate into significant growth opportunities for ambitious individuals.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach designing a new feature for our platform to help infrastructure operators better manage the impact of climate change on their networks, given our 3D modeling capabilities?" (Focus on discovery, user needs, technical considerations.)
• "Describe a time you had to influence a product decision with data. What was the situation, what data did you use, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on data-driven design and stakeholder influence.)
• "How do you balance the need for design consistency with the desire to innovate and create unique user experiences for different product verticals?" (Focus on design systems and strategic design thinking.)
• "Walk us through a challenging UX problem you solved. What was the problem, your process, and the impact of your solution?" (Focus on portfolio deep dive, problem-solving methodology.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Neara's mission to transform critical infrastructure?" (Focus on alignment with company vision.)
• "How do you approach collaboration with engineering and product management teams?" (Focus on teamwork and communication styles.)
• "How do you handle constructive criticism on your designs?" (Focus on collaboration and adaptability.)
• "What are your thoughts on working in a fast-paced, high-growth startup environment?" (Focus on cultural fit and adaptability.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Storytelling: Frame each case study as a narrative. Start with the problem, introduce your role and process, highlight key decisions and challenges, and conclude with the impact and learnings.
• Visual Clarity: Ensure your slides are clean, visually appealing, and easy to follow. Use mockups and prototypes effectively.
• Focus on Process: Clearly articulate your design process and the rationale behind your decisions. Show, don't just tell.
• Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, use metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced task completion time, increased user satisfaction).
• Be Prepared for Questions: Anticipate deep dives into specific design choices, research methodologies, and how you handled trade-offs.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should prepare to articulate their design process, demonstrate problem-solving skills with concrete examples from their portfolio, and show how they can integrate into a collaborative, fast-paced team environment. Understanding Neara's mission and product is key.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided online application link.
• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio is up-to-date and clearly showcases your best work, focusing on case studies that demonstrate your end-to-end design process, research capabilities, and problem-solving skills. Tailor any accompanying cover letter to highlight your interest in Neara's mission and how your skills align with the role's requirements.
• Resume Optimization: Refine your resume to emphasize relevant experience, particularly in UX/Product Design, user research, prototyping, and cross-functional collaboration. Use keywords from the job description and quantify your achievements with metrics where possible.
• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process and rationale for key portfolio projects. Be ready to discuss your approach to user research, problem-solving, and collaboration. Research Neara's products and mission thoroughly.
• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Neara's company values, product offerings, and recent achievements (e.g., Time Magazine recognition). Understand the critical infrastructure industry to better contextualize your design approach.

⚠️ 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.

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