Senior Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer

Company: Borrowell

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / UX/UI

Date Posted: April 13, 2026

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid (Remote-first within Canada, with occasional in-person meetings)

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the end-to-end product design process for key features, ensuring user-centricity and alignment with business objectives.

• Collaborate closely with Product, Engineering, Data, Marketing, and Member Experience teams to deliver intuitive and impactful user interfaces.

• Leverage user research, data analysis, and industry trends to inform design decisions and advocate for optimal user experiences.

• Contribute to and maintain Borrowell's design system, ensuring consistency, scalability, and adherence to best practices.

• Champion design and research methodologies across the organization, fostering a strong UX culture.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Senior Product Designer," the responsibilities and expected experience level (5-10 years) suggest a role with significant ownership and potential for strategic influence within the product development lifecycle. The emphasis on "product-centric company" and "taking design ownership of large projects" indicates this is not just an execution role but one requiring strategic partnership and leadership in design.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the design process for specific product pods, from ideation and research through to implementation and optimization, ensuring a user-centered approach.

• Translate complex product strategies and business requirements into clear, functional, and delightful user experiences for web and mobile platforms.

• Conduct comprehensive user research, including qualitative interviews and quantitative analysis, to identify user pain points and drive empathy within the product team.

• Perform competitive analysis to benchmark against industry standards and identify opportunities for innovation and differentiation.

• Develop user flows, journey maps, wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups to effectively communicate design concepts and solutions.

• Facilitate design critiques and cross-functional reviews, clearly articulating design rationale and incorporating feedback from stakeholders.

• Actively contribute to the evolution of Borrowell's design system, creating new components, improving existing ones, and ensuring comprehensive documentation.

• Advocate for design best practices and research methodologies, educating cross-functional partners on the UX process and its value.

• Collaborate with data analysts and product managers to define success metrics, conduct A/B testing, and iterate on designs based on performance data and growth frameworks.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic design thinking, hands-on execution, and cross-functional leadership. The expectation to "lead end-to-end design processes within your product pod" and "own design problems" signifies a high degree of autonomy and accountability for the design outcomes of specific product areas.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), or a related field is often preferred. Equivalent practical experience demonstrating a strong understanding of design principles and methodologies will be considered.

Experience: Minimum of 5-10 years of professional experience in product design, UX/UI design, or a similar role, with a proven track record of designing and launching successful web and mobile applications. Experience within a product-team setting and familiarity with agile development methodologies are essential.

Required Skills:

• Portfolio: A robust portfolio showcasing a strong end-to-end design process, with examples of user-centered design for both web and mobile applications. The portfolio should demonstrate empathy for user problems and highlight the impact of your design solutions.

• Design Tools: Expert proficiency in Figma and other modern design and prototyping tools (e.g., Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, InVision).

• User Research & Analysis: Fluency in various user research methods (e.g., user interviews, surveys, usability testing) and the ability to synthesize findings into actionable insights.

• Product Thinking: Solid understanding of product development principles, including funnels, user segmentation, A/B testing, and growth frameworks.

• Design Systems: Strong knowledge of design system principles, best practices, and experience contributing to or maintaining component libraries.

• Interaction & Visual Design: Expertise in interaction design, information architecture, and visual design principles, ensuring intuitive and aesthetically pleasing user interfaces.

• Communication: Clear, confident, and persuasive communication skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions and rationale effectively to diverse stakeholders.

• Agile Methodology: Experience working within agile development environments, collaborating closely with engineering and product management teams.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in the financial services or credit-related industries.

• Experience designing accessible B2C products, adhering to WCAG guidelines.

• Experience building and scaling design systems.

• Familiarity with data analysis tools and methodologies for informing design decisions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a strong portfolio and fluency in Figma, along with product thinking and growth frameworks, points towards a role that values data-informed design and impact. The preferred skills in financial services and accessibility indicate a desire for candidates who can quickly onboard and contribute to Borrowell's specific mission and user base.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• End-to-End Case Studies: Showcase 2-3 detailed case studies that walk through your process for a significant product feature or project. This should include problem definition, user research, ideation, wireframing, prototyping, user testing, design iterations, and final outcomes.

• User-Centricity: Clearly demonstrate how user needs and pain points were identified and addressed throughout the design process. Include evidence of user research methodologies used.

• Problem-Solving: Highlight complex design challenges you've tackled and articulate the strategic thinking and design solutions you implemented.

• Impact & Metrics: Where possible, quantify the impact of your designs. This could include improvements in conversion rates, engagement, task completion times, or user satisfaction, supported by data or A/B test results.

• Tool Proficiency: Explicitly mention and, if possible, showcase your work within Figma, demonstrating your command of its features for design, prototyping, and collaboration.

• Design System Contribution: If you have experience with design systems, include examples of components you've designed or contributed to, along with documentation or principles you followed.

Process Documentation:

• Candidates are expected to clearly articulate their design process, emphasizing iterative methodologies, user feedback loops, and collaboration with cross-functional teams.

• Showcase how you translate product strategy and business goals into tangible design artifacts and user experiences.

• Demonstrate an understanding of how to leverage qualitative and quantitative data to inform and validate design decisions.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Senior Product Designer role, the portfolio is critical. It's not just about aesthetics but about demonstrating strategic thinking, a robust and iterative design process, and the ability to drive measurable results. The emphasis on "end-to-end design processes" and "solving real user needs" means candidates should focus on depth and impact rather than breadth.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: The budgeted annual salary range for this role is $100,000 – $150,000 CAD. Starting pay will be determined by the candidate's relevant experience and skills.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, and paramedical health benefits for employees and their families.

• Extended Health Coverage: Includes yearly extra coverage for psychotherapists and massage therapists.

• Virtual Healthcare: 24/7 access to nurses, doctors, and mental health professionals via a virtual benefit offering.

• Maternity & Parental Leave Top-up: Support for new parents.

• WFH Reimbursement: Includes shipping of essential gear (laptop, mouse, keyboard) and reimbursement for additional items to enhance the home workspace.

• Employee Development Benefit: Annual reimbursements for professional development and learning opportunities.

• Givewell Benefit: One paid volunteer day per year to support community initiatives.

• Flexibility: Flexible working hours and a flexible vacation policy.

Working Hours: The role is full-time, typically considered 40 hours per week. Borrowell offers flexible working hours, allowing for adaptability in scheduling around core collaboration times.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is competitive for a Senior Product Designer in Toronto. The extensive benefits package, particularly the focus on mental health, WFH support, and professional development, reflects a company that invests in employee well-being and growth, which is highly attractive to experienced operations and design professionals.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Financial Technology (Fintech). Borrowell operates in a rapidly evolving sector, focused on credit building, monitoring, and financial literacy for Canadians. This context implies a need for innovation, data-driven decision-making, and a strong understanding of user financial behavior.

Company Size: Borrowell is described as a "growing company" and a "fastest-growing fintech company." While specific numbers aren't provided in the raw input, the range of benefits and the structure of the product teams suggest a mid-stage startup or scale-up environment, likely between 100-500 employees. This size offers opportunities for impact and influence while still having established processes.

Founded: Borrowell was founded with a mission to help Canadians feel confident about their money. Its history is rooted in transforming the financial landscape and empowering individuals.

Team Structure:

• Product Pods: The design team operates within "product pods," implying cross-functional teams focused on specific areas of the product. Each pod likely includes a Product Manager, Designers, Engineers, QA, and Data Analysts.

• Reporting: The Senior Product Designer reports to the "Manager, Product Design," indicating a clear reporting line within the design function.

• Collaboration: Strong emphasis on cross-functional collaboration with Product, Engineering, Data, Marketing, and Member Experience teams is a hallmark of Borrowell's operational model.

Methodology:

• Product-Centric: The company emphasizes being product-centric, meaning design and user experience are core to its strategy.

• Data-Informed Design: Decisions are driven by user research, industry trends, and data analysis, including A/B testing and growth frameworks.

• Agile Development: Work is conducted within an agile environment, facilitating rapid iteration and continuous improvement.

• User Empathy: A strong focus on understanding and advocating for user needs and pain points.

Company Website: borrowell.com

📝 Enhancement Note: Borrowell's mission-driven approach in the fintech space, combined with its growth trajectory, suggests a dynamic and impactful work environment. The "product-centric" nature means design is integral to strategy, and the emphasis on data and user research aligns with modern best practices in product development.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is designated as "Senior Product Designer," indicating a mid-to-senior level position. It requires a candidate who can operate with a high degree of autonomy, take ownership of significant design challenges, and mentor junior team members implicitly through their work and contributions to the design system and process.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Product Designer reports to the Manager, Product Design. This structure provides direct leadership and mentorship within the design function, while also requiring strong collaboration with product managers and engineering leads within their assigned product pod.

Operations Impact: The Senior Product Designer will have a direct impact on Borrowell's mission to help Canadians feel confident about their money. By designing intuitive, effective, and user-friendly financial tools and experiences, the role contributes directly to user acquisition, engagement, retention, and overall product success, which in turn drives the company's revenue growth and market position.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Opportunity to grow into a lead design role, potentially managing a team or taking on more strategic design initiatives as the company scales.

• Skill Specialization: Deepen expertise in specific areas like design systems, user research methodologies, accessibility, or growth design through project work and company-provided development benefits.

• Cross-Functional Expertise: Develop a strong understanding of product management, engineering, data analytics, and marketing within a fast-paced fintech environment.

• Industry Impact: Contribute to a mission-driven company that is making a tangible difference in the financial well-being of Canadians.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" title, coupled with the emphasis on ownership and impact within a growing fintech company, suggests significant potential for career advancement. The role offers a blend of hands-on design work and strategic contribution, providing a solid foundation for further growth in design leadership or product strategy.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Borrowell is a "remote-first" company with an office located in Toronto. This indicates a hybrid work model where employees can work remotely but are expected to attend in-person meetings and team-building events as needed.

Office Location(s): The primary office is in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The role is open to candidates physically located in Ontario, British Columbia, or Alberta.

Workspace Context:

• Flexibility: The remote-first approach with flexible working hours offers significant autonomy and work-life balance.

• Collaboration Tools: Expect to utilize modern collaboration tools (e.g., Slack, Figma, Jira, Confluence) for seamless communication and workflow management, regardless of physical location.

• In-Person Interaction: Opportunities for in-person collaboration and team-building events in Toronto will foster stronger relationships and a cohesive team culture.

• Home Office Setup: The WFH reimbursement for essential gear supports a comfortable and productive remote workspace.

Work Schedule: While the standard is 40 hours per week, the company offers flexible working hours. This allows designers to structure their days to optimize productivity and accommodate personal needs, while still ensuring availability for core team meetings and collaborative sessions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote-first, hybrid model with flexibility is a key aspect of Borrowell's work environment. For operations and design professionals, this offers a desirable balance between remote work benefits and the advantages of in-person collaboration, particularly important for complex problem-solving and team cohesion.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Application & Portfolio Review: Initial screening based on resume and portfolio. Ensure your portfolio clearly demonstrates your end-to-end design process, problem-solving skills, and impact.

2. Hiring Manager/Recruiter Call: An introductory call to discuss your experience, motivations, and assess cultural fit. Be prepared to briefly walk through a key portfolio piece.

3. Design Challenge/Case Study Presentation: You may be asked to complete a small design exercise or present a detailed case study from your portfolio to the design team and potentially cross-functional partners. Focus on articulating your process, decision-making, and the outcomes.

4. Cross-Functional Interviews: Interviews with Product Managers, Engineers, and potentially other stakeholders to assess collaboration skills, technical understanding, and strategic thinking.

5. Final Interview: Likely with a senior leader (e.g., Head of Product, VP of Engineering) to discuss long-term vision, career goals, and final fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Structure Your Case Studies: Clearly outline the problem, your role, the process you followed, your design decisions, and the results. Use visuals effectively.

• Highlight Your Process: Emphasize how you approach problems, conduct research, iterate on designs, and collaborate with others. This is more important than just showcasing final polished screens.

• Quantify Impact: Use data and metrics wherever possible to demonstrate the success of your designs.

• Tailor to Borrowell: Understand Borrowell's mission and target audience. If possible, subtly weave in how your skills align with their needs in fintech and credit services.

• Be Concise and Clear: Present your work in a way that is easy to understand and digest, respecting the interviewer's time.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the ‘Why’: For any design challenge, focus on understanding the underlying user problem and business objective before jumping to solutions.

• Think Aloud: If given a live exercise, verbalize your thought process, assumptions, and questions.

• Focus on Strategy: Demonstrate your ability to think strategically about user needs, business goals, and potential trade-offs.

• Prepare Questions: Have thoughtful questions ready for the interviewers about the team, product, challenges, and company culture.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes a thorough evaluation of design skills, strategic thinking, and collaborative capabilities. Candidates should prepare to deeply articulate their design process and demonstrate how they drive measurable impact, especially through their portfolio and any presented case studies.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core design tool for wireframing, prototyping, UI design, and collaboration. Expertise is a must.

• Prototyping Tools: While Figma includes robust prototyping, familiarity with tools like InVision, Principle, or Framer for advanced interactions may be beneficial.

• Design System Tools: Experience with tools and methodologies for building, maintaining, and documenting design systems (e.g., Storybook, Zeroheight).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Data Analysis Tools: Familiarity with interpreting data from tools like Google Analytics, Amplitude, Mixpanel, or internal BI dashboards to understand user behavior and product performance.

• A/B Testing Platforms: Understanding how to work with A/B testing frameworks to validate design hypotheses and measure impact.

Collaboration & Project Management:

• Jira/Confluence: Standard tools for agile project management, task tracking, and documentation.

• Slack: Primary communication platform for real-time team collaboration.

• Miro/FigJam: Tools for collaborative whiteboarding, brainstorming, and journey mapping.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma is non-negotiable for this role. Beyond that, familiarity with data analytics tools and agile project management platforms is crucial for effective collaboration and data-informed decision-making within a product team.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and solving user problems, ensuring that every design decision prioritizes the user experience.

• Collaboration: A strong belief in teamwork and cross-functional partnership, where designers work closely with product, engineering, data, and marketing to achieve shared goals.

• Data-Driven: Decisions are informed by research, analytics, and experimentation, aiming for measurable impact and continuous improvement.

• Innovation & Growth: A culture that encourages experimentation, learning from failures, and continuously seeking better ways to serve users and the business.

• Inclusivity & Diversity: Borrowell values diversity and encourages applications from candidates with varied backgrounds and experiences, believing it makes the team stronger.

Collaboration Style:

• Partnership: Designers are expected to partner closely with Product Managers to define product strategy and with Engineers to ensure feasible and high-quality implementation.

• Open Communication: An environment where feedback is encouraged and constructive critique is a regular part of the design process.

• Knowledge Sharing: Actively contributing to design documentation, participating in critiques, and helping cross-functional partners understand UX principles.

📝 Enhancement Note: Borrowell's culture appears to be a blend of mission-driven purpose, data-informed rigor, and collaborative teamwork. The emphasis on inclusivity and growth mindset is particularly important for a senior role where influencing team dynamics and advocating for user needs is key.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing User Needs with Business Goals: Effectively navigating the trade-offs between delivering optimal user experiences and meeting ambitious business objectives in a fast-paced fintech environment.

• Scaling Design Systems: Contributing to or leading the effort to scale a design system across multiple products and features, ensuring consistency and maintainability.

• Data Interpretation: Translating complex user data and A/B test results into actionable design improvements.

• Remote Collaboration: Maintaining strong team cohesion and design quality while working in a remote-first environment.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Design Skills: Opportunities to refine skills in areas like user research, interaction design, accessibility, and design strategy through hands-on projects.

• Fintech Industry Expertise: Gaining in-depth knowledge of financial services, credit products, and consumer financial behavior.

• Design System Leadership: Potential to take on a more significant role in the strategy and governance of the design system.

• Professional Development: Access to an annual employee development benefit for courses, conferences, or workshops to support continuous learning.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are typical for a senior role in a growing tech company, offering significant opportunities for professional development. The company's investment in employee development directly supports candidates looking to expand their skill sets and influence within the fintech industry.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to balance competing priorities from Product, Engineering, and User needs. How did you resolve it?"

• "How do you approach designing for growth, and what metrics do you typically focus on?"

• "Walk me through your process for conducting user research and translating those insights into design decisions."

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Borrowell's mission and the fintech industry?"

• "How do you foster collaboration with non-design team members like engineers and product managers?"

• "Describe a time you had to advocate for a design decision that was not initially popular. What was the outcome?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Narrative Arc: Structure your presentation around a compelling story for each case study – problem, approach, solution, and impact.

• Focus on Process: Dedicate significant time to explaining how you arrived at your solutions, not just showing the final screens. This includes research, ideation, iteration, and testing.

• Quantify Impact: Be ready to discuss the results of your work using metrics, even if they are estimates or qualitative feedback.

• Tool Demonstration: Be prepared to briefly show how you used Figma or other tools to achieve specific outcomes.

• Conciseness: Be mindful of time. Practice your presentation to ensure you cover key points efficiently and allow time for Q&A.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interviewers will be looking for a strong understanding of the design process, strategic thinking, collaboration skills, and the ability to drive impact. Candidates should prepare to articulate their thought process clearly and provide concrete examples from their experience.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Workable.

• Customize Your Resume: Tailor your resume to highlight experience in product design, user research, Figma proficiency, and any relevant fintech or B2C experience. Use keywords from the job description.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest end-to-end case studies that best showcase your skills and impact. Ensure they are well-documented, visually appealing, and clearly articulate your process and results.

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice presenting your portfolio case studies, focusing on your strategic thinking, problem-solving methodology, and the measurable impact of your designs. Be ready to answer in-depth questions about your work.

• Research Borrowell: Understand Borrowell's mission, products, target audience, and recent news. Familiarize yourself with their existing user experience if possible. This will help you ask informed questions and demonstrate genuine interest.

⚠️ 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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