Senior Product Designer – Acquisition
📍 Job Overview
Job Title: Senior Product Designer – Acquisition Company: Intact FC Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada & Montréal, Quebec, Canada Job Type: Full-Time Category: Product Design / UX/UI Date Posted: 2025-10-30 Experience Level: 6+ Years Remote Status: Hybrid
🚀 Role Summary
- Drive the end-to-end design of digital acquisition products, focusing on user-centric experiences for online quoters and purchase journeys.
- Translate complex user needs and business requirements into intuitive, visually appealing, and functional digital features across multiple brands within the Intact FC ecosystem.
- Collaborate closely with agile, multidisciplinary teams, including Product Owners, Engineers, Researchers, and Marketers, to define strategy and deliver high-quality interfaces from conception through iteration.
- Utilize data analytics, user research insights, and A/B testing to continuously assess and optimize feature performance, identifying key areas for improvement and innovation.
📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned within the "Acquisition" team, specifically focusing on the online customer journey from initial quote to purchase. The emphasis on "insurtech" and "digital innovation hub" suggests a forward-thinking environment leveraging technology to simplify insurance. The need to adapt design for "multiple brands" indicates a complex ecosystem requiring a strong understanding of brand consistency and user segmentation.
📈 Primary Responsibilities
- Champion user needs by applying user-centric design practices, transforming user insights and business objectives into compelling digital features and functionalities.
- Develop and refine human-centered digital experiences that are not only intuitive and aesthetically pleasing but also effectively meet defined business goals.
- Actively contribute to strategic planning, roadmap definition, and the overall product development lifecycle in collaboration with Product Owners and cross-functional agile teams.
- Facilitate design workshops, present creative concepts, and articulate design rationale to diverse audiences, including executive leadership and key stakeholders, to gain alignment and drive forward new digital experiences.
- Partner with Product Managers, Product Owners, Engineers, Researchers, Copywriters, and Marketers to align on strategic direction, ensuring the seamless production of delightful and high-quality interfaces.
- Lead the design process from initial concept through to launch and subsequent iterations, ensuring a cohesive and effective user experience.
- Analyze and optimize feature performance using analytics data and design research methodologies, proactively identifying opportunities for enhancement and innovation.
- Effectively leverage and contribute to Design System libraries and brand-specific design guidelines, while also advocating for improvements within the broader design community.
- Create all necessary design assets for conceptualization, communication, and delivery of the user experience, working closely with engineering teams to ensure accurate and efficient implementation.
- Foster a collaborative design environment by providing and soliciting constructive feedback, actively contributing to raising the team's overall design quality and standards.
- Support the growth of fellow designers through guidance, coaching, and mentorship, sharing expertise and best practices.
- Contribute to the evolution of the design discipline by elevating design practices, methodologies, and processes, acting as a champion for user-centered and data-driven design principles.
📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic contribution (roadmap, strategy), hands-on design execution (wireframes, prototypes, interfaces), and team leadership/mentorship. The explicit mention of "end-to-end design solution from conception until launch, and iteration" underscores the full-cycle involvement expected from this senior role.
🎓 Skills & Qualifications
Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent knowledge and practical application of design principles is expected. A degree in Design, HCI, Computer Science, or a related field would be beneficial.
Experience:
- Minimum of 6 years of relevant professional experience in designing digital products that have successfully launched in the market.
- Proven track record of delivering impactful design solutions and driving user engagement.
- Demonstrated experience in leading design initiatives for complex problems within cross-functional, agile team environments.
- Experience in delivering end-to-end digital solutions from initial brief through to launch and subsequent iterations, utilizing iterative approaches and quantitative/qualitative measurement.
Required Skills:
- User-Centric Design: Deep understanding and application of user-centered design (UCD) principles and methodologies.
- Digital Product Design: Expertise in the full lifecycle of digital product design, from ideation to implementation.
- Agile Methodologies: Experience working effectively within agile development frameworks and cross-functional teams.
- Collaboration & Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a strong ability to present creative concepts and work to diverse audiences, including executives.
- Design Research & Analytics: Ability to leverage quantitative and qualitative data, including user research insights and analytics, to inform design decisions and measure impact.
- Prototyping & Wireframing: Proficiency in creating customer journey maps, process flows, wireframes, and interactive prototypes.
- Visual Design: Strong appreciation and understanding of how typography, color, layout, and other visual elements impact product function and user experience.
- Usability Expertise: In-depth knowledge of usability best practices and principles.
- Design Tools Mastery: Expert-level proficiency in industry-standard design tools such as Figma, Miro, Axure, and Adobe Creative Suite.
- Problem Solving: Capacity to understand complex business needs and translate them into effective design requirements and solutions.
- Iterative Design: Ability to contribute to multiple initiatives concurrently, manage ambiguous scope, and adapt to evolving project requirements.
Preferred Skills:
- E-commerce Experience: Specific experience within e-commerce environments, with a focus on growth strategies and A/B testing.
- UX Research Tools: Familiarity with UX research tools such as usertesting.com, Hotjar, etc.
- Mentorship & Coaching: Experience in mentoring and coaching junior designers.
- Bilingualism (Quebec): For candidates in Quebec, fluency in both English and French is required due to regular interaction with colleagues across the country.
📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "at least 6 years of relevant experience designing digital products that have been released in the market" emphasizes practical, outcome-driven experience. The mention of "ambiguous scope" and contributing to "multiple initiatives concurrently" points to a need for adaptability and strong project management skills within the design function. The explicit mention of Quebec's bilingualism requirement is critical for candidates in that region.
📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements
Portfolio Essentials:
- Demonstrated End-to-End Design Process: Showcase a comprehensive design process, from initial research and problem definition through ideation, prototyping, user testing, and final implementation.
- Problem-Solution Framing: Clearly articulate the problem addressed, the user needs identified, and how your design solutions effectively solved those challenges and met business objectives.
- Impact & Metrics: Present tangible results and quantifiable impact achieved through your designs, using data (e.g., conversion rates, engagement metrics, user satisfaction scores) to demonstrate success.
- Collaboration & Iteration: Highlight instances of collaboration with cross-functional teams (engineering, product management, marketing) and illustrate how feedback and iteration were incorporated into the design process.
- Design System Contribution: If applicable, showcase examples of contributions to or utilization of design systems, demonstrating an understanding of scalable design.
Process Documentation:
- User Journey Mapping: Provide examples of customer journey maps or user flow diagrams that illustrate a deep understanding of the user experience.
- Wireframing & Prototyping: Include examples of detailed wireframes and interactive prototypes that clearly communicate design concepts and functionality.
- Visual Design Files: Showcase high-fidelity interface designs, demonstrating mastery of visual design principles and the ability to create polished, brand-aligned assets.
- Case Study Analysis: For each project, include a brief analysis of the design decisions made, the rationale behind them, and the lessons learned.
📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a "proven track record of success" and the need to "assess and optimize feature performance with analytics" strongly suggests that the portfolio must go beyond just visual design. Demonstrating a data-informed approach and measurable outcomes will be critical for this role. The requirement to "create all assets to effectively conceptualize, communicate, and deliver the user experience" means the portfolio should cover a range of deliverables.
💵 Compensation & Benefits
Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for Senior Product Designers in Toronto and Montreal with 6+ years of experience, and considering Intact FC's position as a large, established financial services company, an estimated salary range would be CAD $100,000 - $140,000 annually. This range can vary based on specific experience, skill set, and negotiation.
Benefits:
- Financial Rewards Program: A program designed to recognize and reward employee success.
- Employee Share Purchase Plan (ESPP): Intact FC matches 50% of net shares purchased, offering a significant opportunity for wealth building.
- Comprehensive Pension & Benefits: An industry-leading package including access to virtual healthcare services.
- Flexible Work Arrangements: A hybrid work model providing balance and autonomy.
- Additional Paid Time Off: Option to purchase up to 5 extra days off per year, enhancing work-life balance.
- Annual Wellness Account: A dedicated budget to support an active and healthy lifestyle.
- Health & Well-being Resources: Access to tools and resources for physical and mental health, supporting employees through change and fostering connection.
- Learning & Development: A dynamic workplace learning ecosystem featuring learning journeys, interactive online content, and inspiring programs to support continuous growth.
- Inclusive Employee Networks: Employee-led networks focused on education, inspiration, amplifying voices, relationship building, and development opportunities.
- Community Impact Program: Opportunities to contribute to community initiatives, aligning personal values with professional contributions.
Working Hours: The standard working hours are estimated at 40 hours per week, typical for a full-time role. The hybrid work model suggests flexibility in scheduling, allowing for balance between in-office and remote work days.
📝 Enhancement Note: The provided benefits are extensive and indicate a strong focus on employee well-being, financial security, and professional development, which are attractive aspects for senior-level talent. The salary range is an estimate based on market data for similar roles in major Canadian tech/finance hubs and the specified experience level.
🎯 Team & Company Context
🏢 Company Culture
Industry: Financial Services (Insurtech) - Intact FC operates within the insurance technology sector, a dynamic space blending traditional financial services with cutting-edge technology to innovate customer experiences and operational efficiency. Company Size: Large Enterprise - Intact FC is a significant player in the Canadian insurance market, suggesting a structured environment with established processes, but also ample resources and opportunities for impact. The presence of an "Intact Lab" indicates a dedicated focus on innovation within this larger organization. Founded: Information not directly provided, but Intact FC is a well-established financial institution with a long history in Canada, indicating stability and a deep understanding of the market.
Team Structure:
- Intact Lab: This role sits within the Intact Lab, described as a "digital innovation hub." This suggests a more agile, experimental, and forward-thinking environment compared to traditional corporate structures.
- Acquisition Team: The Senior Product Designer will be part of the Acquisition team, focusing on the crucial customer journey of online quoting and purchasing. This team likely works closely with marketing, sales enablement, and product management.
- Cross-functional Agile Teams: Designers operate within multidisciplinary agile teams, collaborating closely with Product Owners, Engineers, Researchers, Copywriters, and Marketers. This structure emphasizes shared ownership and rapid iteration.
- Design Community: Beyond immediate project teams, designers are part of a broader design community within Intact FC, fostering knowledge sharing, best practices, and mentorship.
Methodology:
- User-Centric Design: A core methodology, emphasizing understanding and prioritizing customer needs throughout the design process.
- Data-Driven Design: Leveraging analytics, user research, and A/B testing to inform design decisions and measure their effectiveness.
- Agile Development: Working in iterative cycles, adapting to feedback and evolving requirements.
- Design Thinking: Implied through the mention of empathy, creativity, and exploration as key aspects of innovation.
- Innovation Hub Approach: Exploring new technologies like machine learning, data science, and AI to create "cutting-edge insurtech products."
Company Website: Intact FC Careers (derived from URL structure)
📝 Enhancement Note: The "Intact Lab" context is crucial. It signifies a commitment to innovation and experimentation, likely offering a more dynamic and less bureaucratic environment than typical for a large financial institution. The emphasis on "insurtech" places the company at the intersection of technology and financial services, attracting talent interested in modernizing traditional industries.
📈 Career & Growth Analysis
Operations Career Level: Senior Product Designer - This role is positioned at a senior individual contributor level, requiring significant experience, strategic thinking, and the ability to lead design efforts autonomously. It involves not just execution but also influencing product strategy and mentoring others.
Reporting Structure: While not explicitly stated, Senior Product Designers typically report to a Design Lead, Head of Product Design, or potentially a Director within the Intact Lab or a broader digital product organization. They will work within various agile teams, reporting functionally to the design leadership and project-wise to the team's Product Owner or Scrum Master.
Operations Impact: The Senior Product Designer's work has a direct and significant impact on Intact FC's revenue and customer acquisition strategy. By optimizing the online quoting and purchase experience, this role directly influences conversion rates, customer satisfaction, and ultimately, new customer acquisition and revenue generation for multiple brands. The focus on "insurtech" and "digital innovation" also means the role contributes to the company's competitive positioning and future growth.
Growth Opportunities:
- Design Leadership: Potential to move into Lead Designer, Design Manager, or Head of Design roles, overseeing teams and strategic design direction.
- Specialization: Opportunity to deepen expertise in specific areas like user research, interaction design, visual design, or product strategy within insurance technology.
- Cross-functional Mobility: Potential to move into Product Management, UX Strategy, or other roles within the digital innovation space at Intact FC.
- Mentorship & Training: Access to extensive learning resources, mentorship programs, and opportunities to coach junior designers, enhancing leadership and communication skills.
- Strategic Influence: As a senior member, gain opportunities to influence product roadmaps, design systems, and overall company design strategy.
📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" title, coupled with responsibilities like strategy contribution, roadmap definition, and mentorship, indicates a path towards leadership or deep specialization. The role is clearly designed to influence business outcomes, not just aesthetic output.
🌐 Work Environment
Office Type: Hybrid Work Model - The company promotes a hybrid approach, balancing in-office collaboration with remote flexibility. This suggests a modern work environment that values both team cohesion and individual autonomy. Office Location(s): Toronto, Ontario (700 University Avenue) and Montréal, Quebec. These are major urban centers, offering access to talent, amenities, and potentially collaborative spaces.
Workspace Context:
- Collaborative Spaces: The hybrid model implies that office days are designed for meaningful in-person interactions, likely involving collaborative workspaces, meeting rooms, and team-focused areas.
- Technology & Tools: Access to a robust technology stack, including industry-standard design tools (Figma, Miro, Adobe), research platforms, and collaboration software, will be essential for effective work.
- Team Interaction: Opportunities to engage with a diverse group of professionals including designers, product managers, engineers, researchers, and business stakeholders, fostering a rich learning and problem-solving environment.
Work Schedule: Standard full-time hours (estimated 40 hours/week) with flexibility inherent in the hybrid model. This allows for efficient work planning, data analysis, and project management, accommodating deep work sessions and collaborative sprints.
📝 Enhancement Note: The mention of "meaningful in-person interactions" within the hybrid model suggests that office days will be structured for collaboration and team building, rather than just individual desk work. This is a key aspect for candidates assessing their preferred work style.
📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process
Interview Process:
- Initial Screening: Review of resume and portfolio to assess qualifications and fit.
- Hiring Manager/Recruiter Interview: Discussion about experience, motivations, and role expectations.
- Portfolio Presentation & Design Challenge: A key stage involving presenting past work and potentially a practical design challenge. This assesses problem-solving skills, design process, communication, and strategic thinking.
- Cross-functional Team Interviews: Meetings with potential peers (engineers, product managers, researchers) and design leadership to evaluate collaboration, cultural fit, and technical acumen.
- Executive/Senior Leadership Interview: Final discussion to gauge strategic alignment and overall fit within the organization.
Portfolio Review Tips:
- Showcase Impact: Focus on projects where your design decisions led to measurable business outcomes (e.g., increased conversion, improved user satisfaction, reduced friction). Use data and metrics to back up your claims.
- Articulate Your Process: Clearly explain your thought process, from understanding the problem to defining solutions, iterating based on feedback, and collaborating with stakeholders. Use visuals like journey maps, wireframes, and prototypes to illustrate your approach.
- Highlight Collaboration: Provide examples of how you worked with engineers, product managers, and other teams. Demonstrate your ability to communicate design rationale effectively and incorporate diverse perspectives.
- Tailor to Acquisition: Emphasize projects related to user acquisition, conversion optimization, e-commerce, or streamlining complex user flows, as this role is specifically for the Acquisition team.
- Design System Awareness: If you have experience with design systems, showcase how you've leveraged them or contributed to them.
- Conciseness: Be prepared to present your strongest 2-3 projects in detail, ensuring you can articulate the key learnings and impact within a given timeframe.
Challenge Preparation:
- Understand the Business Context: Research Intact FC, its market position in insurtech, and the general challenges of customer acquisition in the insurance industry.
- Focus on User Needs & Business Goals: For any design challenge, clearly identify the user problem and the business objective it supports.
- Demonstrate a Structured Approach: Outline your steps clearly, from initial assumptions to ideation, sketching, and potential prototyping.
- Communicate Your Rationale: Be ready to explain why you made certain design choices, referencing UX principles, data insights, or business requirements.
- Acknowledge Constraints: If the challenge is time-bound, discuss how you would prioritize and what trade-offs you might consider.
📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "assess and optimize feature performance with analytics" and "e-commerce experience, with a focus on growth and A/B testing" strongly suggests the design challenge and portfolio review will heavily scrutinize data-driven decision-making and conversion-focused outcomes.
🛠 Tools & Technology Stack
Primary Tools:
- Figma: Expected to be the primary tool for UI design, prototyping, and collaboration. Proficiency is a must.
- Miro: Essential for collaborative whiteboarding, brainstorming, user journey mapping, and workshop facilitation.
- Axure: May be used for more complex prototyping or detailed interaction design, though Figma is often sufficient.
- Adobe Creative Suite (e.g., Photoshop, Illustrator): Useful for asset creation, image editing, and potentially more advanced visual design tasks.
Analytics & Reporting:
- User Testing Platforms (e.g., UserTesting.com): For conducting remote usability testing and gathering qualitative feedback.
- Behavioral Analytics Tools (e.g., Hotjar, Google Analytics): For understanding user behavior on the website, identifying friction points, and measuring feature performance.
- A/B Testing Platforms: Given the preference for e-commerce and growth experience, familiarity with tools for running A/B tests (e.g., Optimizely, VWO) is highly beneficial.
CRM & Automation:
- While not directly a design tool, understanding how designs integrate with CRM systems (like Salesforce, though not specified) and marketing automation platforms is beneficial for context. The designer will likely work with engineers who manage these integrations.
📝 Enhancement Note: Mastery of Figma and Miro is almost certainly a non-negotiable requirement for this role, given their prevalence in modern design workflows. The emphasis on analytics and A/B testing suggests a need for designers who are not just creators but also analysts of user behavior and business impact.
👥 Team Culture & Values
Operations Values:
- Respect: Foundational value emphasizing seeing diversity as a strength and creating an accessible, inclusive workplace where unique perspectives are valued.
- Do Your Best Work: A commitment to striving for excellence and high-quality output in all tasks.
- Open to Change: Embracing adaptability and continuous improvement in a dynamic environment.
- Invest in Your Career: A focus on personal and professional growth, with the company providing support and opportunities.
- Innovation & Creativity: Encouraged through the Intact Lab, fostering exploration, risk-taking, and learning.
- Teamwork: A strong emphasis on collaboration, mutual support, and winning "as a team."
- Data-Driven Design: Utilizing data and analytics to inform design decisions and measure impact.
- User-Centricity: Placing the customer at the heart of all design and product development efforts.
Collaboration Style:
- Cross-functional Integration: Seamless collaboration with Product Owners, Engineers, Researchers, Marketers, and other stakeholders is essential.
- Feedback Exchange: An environment where giving and soliciting constructive feedback is encouraged to elevate design quality and foster continuous improvement.
- Knowledge Sharing: Active participation in the broader design community, sharing best practices, methodologies, and insights.
- Agile & Iterative: Working in a fast-paced, iterative manner, with regular communication and adaptation.
📝 Enhancement Note: The company's explicit commitment to "diversity as a strength" and creating an "accessible workplace" is a significant cultural indicator. The blend of innovation (Intact Lab) with core values like respect and teamwork suggests a culture that balances ambitious goals with a supportive environment.
⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities
Challenges:
- Balancing Brand Consistency with Innovation: Designing for multiple brands within the Intact FC ecosystem while also pushing the boundaries of insurtech innovation can be complex.
- Translating Complex Insurance Products: Simplifying intricate insurance offerings into intuitive digital experiences requires deep empathy and clear communication.
- Data Interpretation & Action: Effectively interpreting diverse data sources (analytics, research, A/B tests) to drive actionable design improvements.
- Stakeholder Alignment: Navigating diverse stakeholder needs and gaining consensus on design direction within a large organization.
- Keeping Pace with Technology: Continuously learning and adapting to new design tools, methodologies, and emerging technologies in the insurtech space.
Learning & Development Opportunities:
- Advanced Design Skills: Opportunities to deepen expertise in areas like advanced prototyping, interaction design, user research methodologies, and accessibility standards.
- Industry Exposure: Learning about the nuances of the insurance industry and how technology is transforming it.
- Leadership Development: Through mentorship, coaching junior designers, and potentially leading design initiatives, developing leadership capabilities.
- Cross-Disciplinary Learning: Gaining insights into machine learning, data science, AI, and software engineering through collaboration within the Intact Lab.
- Professional Certifications & Conferences: Access to resources for attending industry events and pursuing relevant certifications.
📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges highlight the complexity of working in a large, innovative financial services company. The growth opportunities are well-defined, pointing towards clear paths for career progression within design and related fields.
💡 Interview Preparation
Strategy Questions:
- "Describe a time you had to design for multiple distinct brands or user segments. How did you ensure consistency while also meeting unique needs?" (Focus on brand guidelines, segmentation, and tailored user journeys).
- "Walk us through a complex problem you solved using design. What was the problem, your process, the solution, and the outcome?" (Emphasize your end-to-end process, data usage, and measurable impact).
- "How do you balance user needs with business requirements when they conflict?" (Discuss your approach to negotiation, data-driven trade-offs, and finding win-win solutions).
- "Tell us about your experience with Design Systems. How have you leveraged them, or how would you contribute to one?" (Highlight your understanding of scalability, consistency, and efficiency).
Company & Culture Questions:
- "Why are you interested in Intact FC and the Intact Lab specifically?" (Research their mission, innovation focus, and express alignment with insurtech).
- "How do you approach collaboration with engineers and product managers?" (Emphasize open communication, iterative feedback, and shared ownership).
- "Describe your experience with data analysis and how it informs your design decisions." (Provide specific examples of using analytics or A/B test results to iterate on designs).
- "How do you handle constructive criticism on your designs?" (Showcase your openness to feedback and your ability to use it for improvement).
Portfolio Presentation Strategy:
- Storytelling is Key: Frame each project as a narrative: the challenge, your role, your process, the solution, and the impact.
- Quantify Your Impact: For each project, be ready to present metrics that demonstrate success (e.g., X% increase in conversion, Y% reduction in support tickets, Z% improvement in user satisfaction).
- Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals effectively – wireframes, prototypes, user flows, key UI screens, and data charts.
- Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about specific design decisions, trade-offs, and alternative approaches you considered.
- Highlight Acquisition Focus: For this role, prioritize projects that demonstrate success in user acquisition, conversion optimization, or streamlining complex user journeys.
📝 Enhancement Note: The interview preparation advice is tailored to the role's emphasis on acquisition, data-driven design, collaboration, and senior-level strategic contribution.
📌 Application Steps
To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:
- Submit your application through the provided link on the Intact FC careers portal.
- Customize Your Resume: Highlight experience in digital product design, user-centric methodologies, agile environments, and any relevant insurtech or e-commerce experience. Quantify achievements with metrics where possible.
- Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest projects that best showcase your end-to-end design process, impact on user acquisition or conversion, and collaboration skills. Ensure it clearly demonstrates your ability to translate business needs into user-centered solutions.
- Prepare Your Presentation: Practice articulating your portfolio projects concisely, focusing on the problem, your process, your solutions, and measurable outcomes. Be ready to discuss your design rationale and any challenges faced.
- Research Intact FC: Understand the company's mission, values, and its role in the insurtech landscape. Familiarize yourself with their existing digital products and the "Intact Lab" initiative.
⚠️ 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.
Application Requirements
Candidates should have at least 6 years of experience in designing digital products and a proven track record of success. Expertise in usability and user-centered design practices, along with mastery of design tools, is essential.