Product Designer II

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer II
Company: Highspot
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Job Type: Full time
Category: Product Design / GTM Technology
Date Posted: 2025-09-29
Experience Level: 3-5 Years
Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the design of complex and ambiguous product areas, ensuring world-class user experiences within aggressive timelines.
• Champion customer needs through rigorous user research, persona development, and competitive analysis to inform product strategy.
• Translate intricate user journeys into intuitive wireframes, storyboards, and functional prototypes.
• Foster strong, collaborative partnerships with Product Management and Engineering to ensure seamless execution of product vision.
• Contribute to the evolution of Highspot's design language and systems, upholding visual consistency and brand integrity across all touchpoints.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Product Designer II," the responsibilities and required experience (3+ years, intermediate level) suggest a role focused on executing established design processes and contributing to feature development, rather than leading major strategic initiatives. The emphasis on "managing ambiguity" and "advocating for customers" points to a need for proactive problem-solving and strong interpersonal skills within a collaborative GTM technology environment.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Manage ambiguous and complex product areas, delivering high-quality design solutions under tight schedules.
• Juggle multiple design projects simultaneously, prioritizing effectively to meet business objectives and user needs.
• Conduct thorough customer research and competitive analysis to identify key usage scenarios and unmet needs.
• Develop detailed user personas based on synthesized user feedback and activity data to guide design decisions.
• Create comprehensive wireframes, storyboards, and user flows that clearly articulate product functionality and user journeys.
• Design and build functional prototypes to effectively test and validate interaction models and user experience flows.
• Cultivate strong, collaborative relationships with engineering and product management teams to ensure a shared vision and successful execution of product plans.
• Advocate for the customer's perspective in design discussions, balancing user needs with business and technical considerations.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of design systems and style guides to ensure visual consistency and scalability.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a blend of strategic thinking ("manage ambiguous and complex product areas") and tactical execution ("Create wireframes, storyboards, and user flows"), typical for an intermediate Product Designer in a fast-paced GTM SaaS company. The need to "advocate for the position of customers" highlights the importance of strong communication and influence skills in this role.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design, Visual Design, or a related field, or equivalent practical work experience.
Experience: Minimum of 3 years of professional experience in designing world-class software products, with a focus on user-centered design principles.

Required Skills:

• Expert knowledge of user-centered design (UCD) principles and methodologies.
• Fluency and demonstrated expertise in Figma and other industry-standard design and prototyping tools.
• Proven ability to create wireframes, storyboards, and detailed user flows to communicate design concepts.
• Strong portfolio showcasing a range of design projects, demonstrating problem-solving skills and design maturity.
• Experience working effectively within agile development environments (Agile, Scrum, Kanban).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions clearly and persuasively.
• Exceptional interpersonal and collaborative skills, essential for cross-functional teamwork.

Preferred Skills:

• Prior experience with UX for enterprise software products, SaaS platforms, or B2B marketplaces.
• Familiarity with or experience in designing for AI and agentic platforms.
• Experience contributing to or utilizing design systems.
• Understanding of sales enablement technology or GTM software.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "3+ years of experience" coupled with "Intermediate Product Designer" and the mention of "design-maturity" suggests a candidate who can operate with a degree of autonomy and influence, not just execute tasks. The preference for enterprise software UX experience is critical for a GTM technology company like Highspot.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a minimum of 3 distinct projects that demonstrate your end-to-end design process, from initial ideation to final implementation.
• Include examples of user research methodologies employed, such as customer interviews, surveys, or competitive analysis, and how findings directly informed design decisions.
• Present detailed wireframes, user flows, and interactive prototypes that illustrate complex user journeys and interaction models.
• Clearly articulate the problem statement, your role, the design challenges, and the measurable outcomes or impact of your design solutions, focusing on efficiency and user adoption.
• Demonstrate visual design proficiency, including UI elements, typography, color palettes, and adherence to design system principles.

Process Documentation:

• Evidence of creating and iterating on user flows and journey maps to optimize user experience.
• Examples of how you’ve translated user feedback and analytics into actionable design improvements.
• Documentation or examples of collaboration with engineering and product management to define and execute product roadmaps.
• Case studies that highlight your approach to managing ambiguity and delivering design solutions on tight schedules.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Product Designer role within a GTM SaaS company, the portfolio should not only display visual polish but also a robust process for problem-solving, user advocacy, and collaboration with technical teams. The emphasis on "managing ambiguity" and "tight schedules" means portfolio pieces should implicitly or explicitly demonstrate how these challenges were overcome.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $107,000 - $144,000 USD per year.
Estimated Vancouver Cost of Living Adjustment: Given the Vancouver location, this range aligns with industry standards for intermediate Product Designers. Local market research indicates competitive compensation for this level of experience in the Greater Vancouver Area, considering factors like cost of living and tech industry demand.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance.
• Group Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) with immediate vesting, including matching employer contributions (DPSP).
• Flexible Paid Time Off (PTO) policy.
• Generous Holiday Schedule, including 5 additional days for an annual holiday week.
• Quarterly Recharge Fridays designed for mental health and well-being.
• Flexible work schedules to support work-life balance.
• Access to mental health support through Modern Health, including coaches and therapists.
• 2 paid Volunteer days per year to encourage community engagement.
• Monthly transportation allowance for employees based at the Vancouver Hub.

Working Hours: 40 hours per week, with flexible scheduling options available.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is in USD. For a Vancouver, BC location, it's crucial to note that this would typically be converted to CAD. The listed benefits are robust and align with competitive tech offerings. The "flexible work schedules" is a key perk for operations and design roles.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software / Sales Enablement Technology (GTM Technology). Highspot operates in the rapidly growing sales enablement market, providing a platform that enhances sales team performance through content management, training, and buyer engagement tools. This context means the design team is integral to driving user adoption and effectiveness for sales professionals.
Company Size: Highspot is a well-established, high-growth company, likely falling into the "500-1000 employees" or more category, indicating a mature organization with defined processes but still retaining a dynamic startup culture. This size suggests opportunities for impact and visibility for designers.
Founded: Highspot was founded in 2014. This relatively recent founding, coupled with rapid growth, suggests a forward-thinking, innovative culture that values agility and continuous improvement in its product and operations.

Team Structure:

• The Design team is described as a "collective of global makers," implying a distributed but collaborative structure.
• Designers contribute across a wide spectrum of creative functions, from product R&D to brand initiatives.
• This role will likely be embedded within a product squad, working closely with Product Managers and Engineers.
• The team values "design excellence" and aims to "transform themselves, their workplace, and their world."

Methodology:

• The company emphasizes building "breakthrough software with a spark of magic."
• Design efforts are focused on creating the "best Highspot Experience," with a commitment to customer impact.
• The culture fosters "belonging" and empowers employees to be "agents of change."
• Design processes likely involve a blend of user research, iterative design, and agile development practices.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Highspot's focus on sales enablement means the design team plays a critical role in enhancing sales productivity. Understanding the GTM sales process and the needs of sales professionals will be key for this designer. The company's emphasis on culture and "spark of magic" suggests a creative and employee-centric environment.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as an "Intermediate Product Designer" (Product Designer II), suitable for individuals with 3-5 years of relevant experience. It implies a level of autonomy in executing design tasks, contributing to feature development, and collaborating within a product team, but likely not yet leading major strategic design initiatives or managing other designers.
Reporting Structure: The designer will report to a Design Lead or Manager, working within cross-functional product teams comprising Product Managers and Engineers. The emphasis on "strong partnership with engineering and product management" highlights the collaborative nature of the reporting structure.
Operations Impact: As a Product Designer within a SaaS company, the impact is directly tied to enhancing user experience, driving product adoption, and contributing to customer satisfaction and retention. For Highspot, this translates to improving sales team productivity, which is a core value proposition of their platform. Designers influence the usability, efficiency, and overall effectiveness of the sales enablement tools.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Advancement: Opportunity to deepen expertise in specific areas like enterprise UX, interaction design, or contribute to advanced design systems. Exposure to AI/agentic platform design is a noted plus.
• Career Progression: Potential to advance to Senior Product Designer roles through demonstrated design excellence, leadership in complex projects, and mentorship.
• Cross-Functional Learning: Gaining in-depth knowledge of sales enablement strategies, GTM operations, and product development lifecycles by working closely with PM and Engineering.
• Leadership Potential: Opportunities to lead design for specific features or product areas, influencing product strategy and mentoring junior designers as experience grows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "II" in the title and the 3+ years of experience indicate a mid-level role. Growth is likely focused on deepening design craft, taking on more complex projects, and potentially moving towards a senior individual contributor role or a team lead position within product design.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is listed as "On-site" in Vancouver, BC, suggesting a physical office environment. Highspot emphasizes creating "equitable workspaces" and a "deep sense of belonging," indicating a well-designed and inclusive office setting.
Office Location(s): Vancouver, BC Hub. Specific details about the office's amenities and accessibility would need to be confirmed, but the mention of a "monthly transportation allowance" suggests a dedicated physical presence.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The role requires strong interpersonal and collaborative skills, indicating an environment that encourages teamwork and open communication between designers, product managers, and engineers.
• Tools & Technology: Access to industry-standard design tools like Figma, along with necessary hardware and software for prototyping and user research.
• Team Interaction: Daily interaction with cross-functional teams, regular design critiques, and team meetings are expected.

Work Schedule: 40 hours per week with "flexible work schedules" offered. This flexibility is beneficial for managing design workflows, allowing for focused work time and accommodating personal needs while ensuring availability for team collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "On-site" designation for Vancouver is a key detail, indicating a preference for in-person collaboration, which can foster stronger team cohesion and faster problem-solving in design. The flexible work schedule within an on-site environment offers a good balance.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will review your application and portfolio. Focus on tailoring your resume and portfolio to highlight relevant experience.
• Portfolio Presentation & Technical Interview: You will likely present a curated selection of your work, detailing your process, problem-solving approach, and impact. Expect questions about your design philosophy, how you handle ambiguity, and your collaboration with PM/Eng.
• Hiring Manager Interview: In-depth discussion about your experience, team fit, and how you align with Highspot's values and culture.
• Team/Stakeholder Interviews: Conversations with potential peers (other designers, PMs, Engineers) to assess collaboration skills and cultural alignment.
• Final Round: Potentially with senior leadership to discuss strategic thinking and overall fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Wisely: Select 2-3 of your strongest projects that best showcase your process for solving complex problems, especially those involving ambiguity or tight deadlines.
• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your specific role, the design process followed, key decisions made, and measurable outcomes or learnings. Use visuals effectively to illustrate your points.
• Highlight Process: Emphasize your user-centered approach, research methodologies, and how you collaborated with stakeholders (PM, Eng).
• Demonstrate Tool Proficiency: Be ready to discuss your use of Figma and other tools, and how they enabled your design solutions.
• Address AI/Enterprise: If you have relevant experience in AI or enterprise software design, be prepared to discuss it in detail.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design Exercise: Be prepared for a design challenge, which could be a take-home assignment or an in-interview exercise focused on a hypothetical product problem. Practice breaking down problems, ideating quickly, and articulating your rationale.
• Collaboration Scenarios: Prepare to discuss how you would collaborate with Product Management and Engineering on a new feature or to resolve a design conflict.
• Ambiguity Management: Think of specific examples where you navigated unclear requirements or complex problems and how you approached them to deliver a solution.

📝 Enhancement Note: The application process for a Product Designer role often heavily relies on the portfolio. Candidates should prepare to walk through their projects in detail, focusing on the 'why' and 'how' behind their design decisions, rather than just the final visuals.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential for UI design, prototyping, and collaboration. Fluency is a strict requirement.
• Prototyping Tools: Beyond Figma, familiarity with tools like InVision, Principle, or similar for creating interactive prototypes.
• User Research Platforms: Experience with tools for conducting user interviews, surveys, and usability testing (e.g., UserTesting.com, Maze, Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics Tools: Familiarity with tools like Amplitude, Mixpanel, or Pendo to understand user behavior and inform design iterations.
• Data Visualization Tools: Ability to interpret data from dashboards (e.g., Tableau, Looker) to inform design decisions.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Familiarity: Understanding of how CRM systems (like Salesforce, though not explicitly mentioned) integrate with sales enablement platforms.
• Collaboration Tools: Proficiency with project management and communication tools such as Jira, Confluence, Slack, and Microsoft Teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma is explicitly called out as a required tool. For a Product Designer at a GTM SaaS company, understanding how design impacts user adoption and sales productivity metrics will be crucial, suggesting familiarity with product analytics tools is highly beneficial.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Design Excellence: A commitment to high-quality, impactful design solutions that meet rigorous standards.
• Customer Focus: Deep empathy for users and a dedication to advocating for their needs in product development.
• Collaboration: Strong belief in teamwork, open communication, and cross-functional partnership to achieve shared goals.
• Innovation & Impact: A drive to create "breakthrough software" and make a tangible difference for customers and the company.
• Belonging & Empowerment: Fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to drive change.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Designers work closely with Product Managers and Engineers, participating in sprint planning, backlog grooming, and agile ceremonies.
• Design Critiques: Regular opportunities for peer feedback and constructive criticism within the design team to elevate work.
• Open Communication: Encouraging transparent dialogue and proactive problem-solving across disciplines.
• Data-Informed Design: Using user research and product analytics to guide decision-making and validate design hypotheses.

📝 Enhancement Note: Highspot's stated values around "belonging," "empowerment," and "agent of change" suggest a culture that encourages initiative and inclusivity, which is attractive for designers looking to make an impact.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Managing Ambiguity: Tackling complex product areas with unclear requirements or evolving priorities requires strong problem-solving skills and the ability to define scope and direction.
• Balancing Stakeholder Needs: Navigating competing priorities between customer needs, product management goals, and engineering constraints requires diplomatic skill and clear communication.
• Fast-Paced Environment: Delivering "world-class" designs on "tight schedules" demands efficient workflow, strong prioritization, and effective time management.
• Enterprise UX Complexity: Designing intuitive solutions for complex enterprise software that cater to diverse user roles and workflows.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deepen Design Craft: Opportunities to hone skills in interaction design, visual design, and user research through challenging projects.
• AI & Agentic Platforms: Exposure to designing for emerging technologies like AI, as mentioned in the preferred qualifications.
• Sales Enablement Domain: Gaining expertise in the sales enablement space, understanding the nuances of GTM operations and sales team needs.
• Design System Contribution: Potential to contribute to or lead initiatives within Highspot's design system, ensuring consistency and scalability.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary challenge highlighted is managing ambiguity and complexity, a common trait in fast-growing SaaS companies. This presents a significant growth opportunity for designers to develop strategic thinking and leadership skills.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to manage a project with ambiguous requirements. How did you define the problem and what was the outcome?" (Focus on your process for clarity and decision-making.)
• "How do you balance the needs of the customer with the priorities of product management and engineering?" (Highlight your advocacy skills and collaborative approach.)
• "Walk me through a complex user flow you designed. What were the key challenges and how did you simplify it?" (Be ready to demonstrate your problem-solving and simplification abilities.)
• "How do you ensure design consistency across multiple features or products?" (Discuss your experience with design systems or style guides.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Highspot and our mission in sales enablement?" (Research Highspot's product, market position, and recent news.)
• "How do you contribute to a collaborative team environment?" (Provide examples of your teamwork and communication style.)
• "Our values include 'Design Excellence' and 'Customer Focus.' How have you demonstrated these in your past roles?" (Connect your experiences to Highspot's stated values.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: Begin with a high-level overview of your career, then dive into 2-3 key projects. For each project, clearly state the problem, your role, the process, your contributions, and the results.
• Visuals: Use clear, high-fidelity mockups and prototypes. Show the evolution of your design, including wireframes and user flows where relevant.
• Storytelling: Frame your projects as narratives. What was the challenge? How did you overcome it? What was the impact?
• Metrics: If possible, quantify the impact of your designs (e.g., increased user engagement, improved task completion rates, reduced support tickets).
• Q&A Readiness: Anticipate questions about your design choices, trade-offs, and how you would approach future challenges at Highspot.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparing specific examples for handling ambiguity and balancing stakeholder needs will be crucial. The portfolio presentation should not just be a showcase of visuals but a demonstration of critical thinking and process.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer II position:

• Submit your application through the Lever portal: https://jobs.lever.co/highspot/89137958-0bd4-49b4-bf93-cd45ca95faec
• Craft a compelling resume: Highlight 3+ years of software design experience, proficiency in Figma, user-centered design principles, and experience with agile development. Quantify achievements where possible.
• Curate your portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest projects that best showcase your end-to-end design process, problem-solving skills, and ability to manage complex or ambiguous product areas. Ensure it's easily accessible (e.g., via a link).
• Prepare your portfolio presentation: Practice walking through your selected projects, focusing on your role, process, decisions, and impact. Be ready to discuss how you handle feedback and collaborate.
• Research Highspot: Understand their product, target audience (sales teams), and company values to tailor your application and interview responses.

⚠️ 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.