Senior Product Designer - (12 Month FTC)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer - (12 Month FTC) Company: Wise Location: London, England, United Kingdom Job Type: Full-time Category: Product Design / User Experience Date Posted: August 19, 2025 Experience Level: 5-10 Years (Mid-Senior Level) Remote Status: Remote OK (Hybrid potential within London office)

🚀 Role Summary

• This role focuses on enhancing the Business Account experience for Wise customers, leveraging deep customer empathy to design intuitive and efficient financial management tools.
• The Senior Product Designer will be instrumental in discovering, designing, and delivering innovative, user-centric solutions that simplify complex financial operations for businesses.
• You will champion design quality and creativity within your product team, ensuring that all outputs are user-friendly, visually appealing, and aligned with Wise's brand and mission.
• The position requires a strong blend of strategic thinking, user advocacy, and hands-on design execution, with an emphasis on collaborative problem-solving and influencing product direction.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "12 Month FTC" (Fixed-Term Contract) indicates a temporary position, likely to cover a specific project, parental leave, or a period of increased workload. Candidates should clarify contract duration and potential for extension during the interview process. The "Remote OK" status suggests flexibility, but potential for hybrid work at their London office should be explored.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Conduct user research and analysis to gain deep insights into the needs, pain points, and behaviors of Wise's business customers.
• Translate user insights into compelling product design concepts, user flows, wireframes, and high-fidelity prototypes for web and mobile interfaces.
• Collaborate closely with Product Managers, Engineers, and other stakeholders to define product strategy, prioritize features, and ensure seamless execution of designs.
• Champion user-centered design principles and best practices, advocating for the customer throughout the product development lifecycle.
• Elevate the overall quality of product design by setting high standards for craft, usability, and visual consistency across the Business Account experience.
• Contribute to and leverage the existing design system to ensure scalability, efficiency, and brand coherence in all design outputs.
• Participate in design critiques and provide constructive feedback to peers, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and design excellence.
• Utilize data and user feedback to iterate on designs, validate hypotheses, and measure the impact of design decisions on key business metrics.

📝 Enhancement Note: Responsibilities emphasize a hands-on design role with significant influence on product direction and team quality. The focus on "shipping work" and "owning impact" suggests a high degree of autonomy and accountability.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• A Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Graphic Design, or a related field is typically expected.
• Equivalent practical experience and a strong portfolio demonstrating design expertise can often substitute for formal education requirements in the design industry.

Experience:

• A minimum of 5-7 years of professional experience in Product Design, UX Design, or a similar role, with a proven track record of designing and shipping successful digital products.
• Experience in a fast-paced, agile technology environment, preferably within FinTech or a related industry, is highly advantageous.
• Demonstrated experience in designing for complex user journeys and financial products is a strong plus.

Required Skills:

• Product Design Expertise: Comprehensive understanding of the end-to-end product design process, from research and ideation to prototyping and final delivery.
• Prototyping Proficiency: Ability to create interactive prototypes using tools like Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, or similar, to effectively communicate design concepts and test user flows.
• Collaboration & Communication: Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with a proven ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams and articulate design rationale clearly.
• User Experience (UX) Principles: Deep knowledge of UX best practices, user-centered design methodologies, and usability testing techniques.
• Visual Design Skills: Strong aesthetic sensibility, with excellent typography, layout, and color theory skills to create visually appealing and brand-aligned interfaces.
• Design Systems: Experience working with and contributing to established design systems to ensure design consistency and efficiency across products.
• Evidence-Based Design: Ability to rationalize design decisions with data, user research findings, and clear, credible reasoning.
• Customer Empathy: A genuine passion for understanding and advocating for customer needs, translating them into user-friendly solutions.

Preferred Skills:

• FinTech Experience: Prior experience designing financial products or services, understanding the unique challenges and opportunities within the FinTech space.
• Business-to-Business (B2B) Design: Experience designing for business customers and understanding their specific workflows and financial management needs.
• Design for Web Surfaces: Proven ability to design for both desktop and mobile web experiences, ensuring responsiveness and optimal user interaction.
• Brand Integration: An eye for brand consistency and the ability to integrate brand elements effectively into product interfaces.
• Agile Methodologies: Familiarity with agile development processes and the ability to adapt design workflows within these frameworks.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "impactful work that solves real problems" and "default to prototyping" highlights the practical, results-oriented nature of this role. Experience with B2B financial services would be a significant advantage.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A curated portfolio showcasing a range of impactful product design projects, demonstrating a clear understanding of problem-solving, user empathy, and design execution.
• Projects should highlight your process, from initial research and ideation through to final design and (ideally) post-launch impact.
• Include case studies that clearly articulate the problem, your role, the design process followed, key decisions made, and the measurable outcomes or learnings.
• Demonstrations of strong visual design craft, UI detailing, and interaction design are essential.
• Evidence of working with or contributing to design systems should be clearly presented.

Process Documentation:

• Showcase examples of how you approach user research and synthesize findings into actionable design insights.
• Present wireframes, user flows, and prototypes that illustrate your ability to structure complex information and design intuitive navigation.
• Include examples of how you iterate on designs based on feedback, usability testing, and data analysis.
• Demonstrate how you collaborate with cross-functional teams, showing examples of communication and integration with engineering and product management.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio is critical for this role. It should not just showcase aesthetics but a robust design process, problem-solving capabilities, and demonstrable impact. Projects should clearly articulate the "why" behind design decisions.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• For a Senior Product Designer with 5-10 years of experience in London, the typical salary range is approximately £65,000 - £90,000 per annum.
• This estimate is based on industry benchmarks for similar roles in London, considering the cost of living and the demand for skilled product designers in the FinTech sector.

Benefits:

• Competitive Salary: As outlined above, reflecting experience and market value.
• 12 Month Fixed-Term Contract: Providing a defined period of employment.
• Pension Scheme: Contribution towards a workplace pension.
• Health and Wellness: Access to private medical insurance and wellness programs.
• Generous Holiday Allowance: Typically 25-30 days per year, plus bank holidays.
• Professional Development: Opportunities for training, workshops, and attending industry conferences.
• Flexible Working: Potential for remote work and flexible hours, supporting work-life balance.
• Stock Options/Bonuses: May be offered depending on performance and contract terms.
• Life Insurance: Standard benefit for employees.
• Employee Assistance Program: Support for personal and professional well-being.

Working Hours:

• Standard full-time working hours are typically 40 hours per week.
• Wise is known for offering flexibility, so while core hours may apply, there's likely scope for arranging working patterns that suit both the individual and the team's needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary is an estimate based on London market data for senior-level product design roles. The "FTC" nature might influence the exact benefits package compared to a permanent role. Candidates should clarify the specific terms and benefits upfront.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Financial Technology (FinTech). Wise operates in a highly competitive and innovative sector focused on disrupting traditional financial services with technology. Company Size: Wise is a large, publicly traded company with a significant global presence, employing over 4,000 people. This scale offers stability and opportunities for impact, but also requires navigating larger organizational structures. Founded: Wise was founded in 2011 by Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann. Its mission is to make international money transfer cheaper, fairer, and simpler. This founding principle of challenging the status quo is deeply embedded in its culture.

Team Structure:

• The Senior Product Designer will be part of the Business Account Experience team, which is likely composed of Product Managers, other Product Designers, UX Researchers, Engineers (frontend and backend), and potentially QA testers.
• The team operates within a broader Product organization, which is structured around customer journeys or product areas.
• Reporting likely goes to a Design Lead or Head of Product/Design within the Business segment, with close collaboration across various functional groups.

Methodology:

• Customer-Centricity: A core tenet of Wise's operations is a deep focus on understanding and serving customer needs.
• Agile Development: Teams likely utilize agile methodologies (e.g., Scrum, Kanban) for iterative product development, allowing for rapid prototyping and feedback loops.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Design and product decisions are heavily informed by user data, A/B testing, and performance metrics.
• Design as a Strategic Partner: Design is integrated early in the product development process, influencing strategy and problem definition, not just execution.
• Continuous Improvement: A culture of learning and iteration, encouraging experimentation and refinement of processes and products.

Company Website: Wise.com

📝 Enhancement Note: Wise's culture is described as international, diverse, equitable, and inclusive. The emphasis on "people building money without borders" suggests a global mindset and a commitment to fairness. The "fixing a broken, greedy system" ethos indicates a mission-driven environment.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior-level individual contributor role within the Product Design function. It implies a high degree of autonomy, ownership, and the ability to influence product direction and team quality. The "Senior" title suggests leadership in design thinking and execution, mentoring junior designers, and leading complex design initiatives.

Reporting Structure:

• The Senior Product Designer will likely report to a Design Lead, Product Design Manager, or potentially a Head of Product for the Business segment.
• They will work closely with Product Managers and Engineering Leads within their specific product team.
• Collaboration extends to UX Researchers, other designers, and potentially marketing and customer support teams.

Operations Impact:

• The role has a direct impact on the user experience and satisfaction of Wise's business customers, which in turn influences customer acquisition, retention, and overall business growth.
• By simplifying financial management, the designer contributes to Wise's mission of empowering businesses and fostering loyalty.
• Improved product design can lead to increased adoption of new features, higher conversion rates for business accounts, and reduced customer support inquiries.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership in Design: Potential to take on lead roles on larger, more complex projects or product areas.
• Mentorship: Opportunity to mentor and guide junior designers, developing leadership and coaching skills.
• Specialization: Deepen expertise in FinTech product design, B2B experiences, or specific areas of financial management.
• Cross-Functional Mobility: Potential to move into Product Management or UX Research roles, leveraging design understanding.
• Impact on Global Products: Contribute to products used by businesses worldwide, offering significant professional visibility and experience.
• Potential for Permanent Role: While a 12-month FTC, successful performance and business needs could lead to conversion to a permanent position.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" title and the focus on influencing team quality and product direction indicate a role with significant growth potential beyond individual contribution, including leadership and mentorship.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Wise operates with a hybrid work model. While the role states "Remote OK," the company maintains physical office spaces in key locations, including London. This suggests that while remote work is supported, there may be opportunities or expectations for occasional in-office collaboration. Office Location(s): The primary London office is located at Worship Square, 65 Clifton Street, London. This location serves as a hub for teams and provides facilities for in-person collaboration, meetings, and team events.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: Offices are designed to foster collaboration, with meeting rooms, breakout areas, and open-plan workspaces.
• Technology & Tools: Employees have access to modern technology and design tools necessary for their roles, supporting efficient workflow and creativity.
• Team Interaction: Opportunities for informal and formal interaction with colleagues across different disciplines, promoting a shared understanding and integrated approach to product development.
• Flexible Work Environment: Support for remote work arrangements means designers can set up their ideal working environment, whether at home or in a co-working space, balanced with potential office visits.

Work Schedule:

• Standard full-time hours (approx. 40 hours/week) apply.
• Wise promotes a culture of flexibility, allowing employees to structure their workdays to best suit their productivity and personal commitments, provided team collaboration needs are met. This flexibility is crucial for designers who often need focused time for deep work.

📝 Enhancement Note: The balance between remote flexibility and the existence of a physical office implies that while remote work is a primary option, opportunities for in-person collaboration might exist or be preferred for certain team activities.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Application & Portfolio Review: Submission of resume and a strong portfolio. Recruiters and hiring managers will assess for relevant experience, design craft, and problem-solving skills demonstrated in the portfolio.
• Hiring Manager/Team Interview: A conversation with the hiring manager and potentially a senior member of the design or product team to discuss your background, motivations, and initial fit.
• Design Challenge / Case Study Presentation: Candidates are typically given a design problem to solve or asked to present a deep dive into one of their portfolio projects. This assesses your design process, critical thinking, communication, and ability to articulate design decisions.
• Cross-Functional Interviews: Interviews with Product Managers, Engineers, or other stakeholders to evaluate collaboration skills, technical understanding, and ability to work within a team.
• Final Interview: May involve a more senior leader or a panel to discuss cultural fit, strategic thinking, and overall suitability for the role and company.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Tell a Story: Structure your case studies to tell a compelling narrative about the problem, your process, your contributions, and the impact.
• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals effectively – mockups, user flows, prototypes, and data visualizations – to illustrate your points.
• Highlight Your Process: Clearly articulate how you arrived at your solutions. Explain your research methods, design iterations, and rationale behind key decisions.
• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, include metrics or qualitative feedback that demonstrate the success or learnings from your projects. What problem did you solve, and to what measurable effect?
• Be Concise: Focus on the most relevant projects and details. Respect the reviewer's time by being clear and to the point.
• Demonstrate Collaboration: If possible, highlight how you worked with others and incorporated their feedback.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Problem: Listen carefully to the brief. Ask clarifying questions to ensure you fully grasp the scope and objectives.
• Outline Your Approach: Before diving into specifics, articulate your intended design process (e.g., research, ideation, prototyping, testing).
• Prioritize: Focus on key aspects of the problem. You may not have time to solve everything; demonstrate how you would prioritize and tackle the most critical elements.
• Think Out Loud: Explain your thought process as you work through the challenge. This is as important as the final solution.
• Consider Edge Cases: Show that you think about different user scenarios, technical constraints, and future scalability.
• Prepare for Q&A: Be ready to defend your design choices and discuss trade-offs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is rigorous and heavily weighted towards portfolio assessment and practical design problem-solving. Demonstrating a structured, user-centric process and clear communication skills is paramount.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (highly likely, industry standard), Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop), InVision, Principle.
• User Research: UserTesting.com, Maze, Hotjar, Lookback, Google Analytics, Amplitude, Mixpanel.
• Collaboration & Project Management: Jira, Confluence, Slack, Asana, Trello.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Web Analytics: Google Analytics.
• Product Analytics: Amplitude, Mixpanel, Pendo.
• Dashboarding: Tableau, Looker, Power BI (for understanding business performance metrics).

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly a "designer" tool, understanding how customer data is managed in CRM systems (like Salesforce) and how marketing automation tools work can provide valuable context for designing user experiences that integrate with business processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma is almost a given for modern product design roles. Familiarity with product analytics tools is crucial for evidence-based design and understanding user behavior post-launch.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Focus: Deeply understanding and prioritizing the needs of Wise's customers.
• Transparency: Open communication and clarity in processes and decisions.
• Efficiency: Streamlining processes and finding optimal solutions.
• Innovation: Continuously seeking better ways to serve customers and improve products.
• Ownership: Taking responsibility for tasks and driving them to completion.
• Collaboration: Working effectively with diverse teams to achieve shared goals.
• Integrity: Upholding ethical standards in all aspects of work.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Designers are expected to work seamlessly with Product Managers, Engineers, Researchers, and other departments, acting as a bridge between user needs and technical implementation.
• Open Design Critiques: A culture that encourages constructive feedback and peer review to elevate design quality.
• Shared Ownership: Product teams often share ownership of outcomes, fostering a sense of collective responsibility.
• Data-Informed Dialogue: Discussions are grounded in user data and insights, facilitating objective decision-making.

📝 Enhancement Note: Wise's values likely emphasize a strong sense of mission, customer advocacy, and a collaborative, data-driven approach to product development. Designers are expected to be proactive communicators and integrators within their teams.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing User Needs with Business Goals: Effectively navigating potential conflicts between ideal user experiences and business constraints or technical feasibility.
• Designing for Scale: Ensuring designs are scalable and maintainable within a large, growing product ecosystem and design system.
• Fixed-Term Contract: Adapting to a temporary role, focusing on delivering significant impact within the 12-month timeframe, and managing career transition planning.
• Complex Financial Workflows: Simplifying intricate financial processes for business users without sacrificing functionality or clarity.
• Remote Collaboration: Maintaining strong team cohesion and effective collaboration when working remotely.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Mastering FinTech Design: Gaining deep expertise in designing for the financial technology sector.
• Advanced Design System Usage: Contributing to or leading aspects of a mature design system.
• Cross-Functional Skill Development: Enhancing understanding of product management, engineering principles, and business strategy.
• Mentorship: Learning from experienced designers and potentially mentoring less experienced team members.
• Industry Exposure: Working on a globally recognized product that is making a significant impact in the financial services industry.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary challenge will be delivering tangible results and impact within the fixed-term contract. Opportunities for growth are substantial, particularly in gaining specialized FinTech design experience and developing leadership skills.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Tell me about a time you had to balance conflicting stakeholder needs while designing a product feature." (Focus on your negotiation, communication, and compromise skills.)
• "How do you approach designing for a complex financial process, and what methods do you use to ensure clarity and usability?" (Highlight your systematic approach, user research, and prototyping skills.)
• "Describe a situation where user feedback or data led you to significantly change your initial design direction. What was your process?" (Showcase your adaptability, data-driven approach, and willingness to iterate.)
• "How do you contribute to a design system, and what are the key principles you follow to ensure its effectiveness?" (Demonstrate your understanding of scalability, consistency, and collaborative design.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Wise's mission and its impact on the financial world?" (Align your personal values with Wise's mission.)
• "How do you ensure customer empathy is integrated into your design process, especially when working remotely?" (Discuss your research methods and how you stay connected to the user.)
• "Describe your ideal collaboration style with product managers and engineers." (Emphasize proactive communication, shared ownership, and mutual respect.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: Organize your presentation logically: Introduction -> Problem -> Your Role -> Process -> Solutions -> Impact -> Learnings.
• Focus on Impact: Clearly articulate the "so what?" for each project. What was the business or user outcome?
• Showcase Process: Don't just show final screens; walk through your journey – sketches, wireframes, user flows, prototypes, and testing results.
• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Know your projects inside and out. Be ready to answer detailed questions about your decisions and challenges.
• Practice Your Narrative: Rehearse your presentation to ensure it flows well, stays within the allotted time, and highlights your key strengths.
• Engage Your Audience: Make it a conversation. Ask for feedback and be receptive to questions.

📝 Enhancement Note: Prepare to deeply discuss your portfolio projects, demonstrating not just the final output but the strategic thinking, user empathy, and rigorous process behind them. Be ready to articulate how your work aligns with Wise's mission and values.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on SmartRecruiters.
• Craft a compelling resume: Tailor your resume to highlight your experience in product design, UX, prototyping, user research, and collaboration, using keywords from the job description. Quantify achievements where possible.
• Prepare your portfolio: Ensure your portfolio is up-to-date, showcases your best work with clear case studies, and is easily accessible (e.g., via a website link). Focus on projects demonstrating problem-solving, user empathy, and impactful outcomes.
• Research Wise: Familiarize yourself with Wise's mission, products, values, and recent news. Understand their position in the FinTech market and their commitment to customer empowerment.
• Practice your presentation: Rehearse presenting your portfolio case studies, focusing on clear articulation of your design process, decision-making, and the impact of your work. Be ready to discuss your approach to a hypothetical design challenge.

⚠️ 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.