Senior Product Designer
📍 Job Overview
Job Title: Senior Product Designer
Company: Cirql One GmbH
Location: Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Job Type: Full-Time
Category: Product Design / GTM Operations Support
Date Posted: March 31, 2026
Experience Level: 10+ years (Implied Seniority)
Remote Status: On-site
🚀 Role Summary
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Lead the design and development of the UI layer for an enterprise semantic intelligence platform, focusing on representing and navigating complex semantic models, metrics, and governance rules.
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Translate intricate business requirements and ambiguous specifications into scalable, user-friendly interaction patterns for both data engineers and business stakeholders.
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Drive the end-to-end design process, collaborating closely with engineering and product teams from initial concept through to final product delivery, eliminating traditional handoff points.
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Innovate in designing interfaces where humans and AI collaborate, enabling natural language exploration, structured reasoning, and governed output generation for enterprise data.
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Conduct robust user research and usability testing with enterprise clients to inform design decisions and ensure a clear rationale is articulated for all design choices.
📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Senior Product Designer," the emphasis on "enterprise data," "AI," "SAP," "business meaning," and "semantic intelligence" strongly suggests a role that bridges product design with GTM operations support, particularly in how data is understood and utilized by AI. The role requires a deep understanding of complex B2B software, data platforms, and the challenges of making enterprise data actionable for AI, which aligns with operational efficiency and intelligence. The "AI-first by default" requirement indicates a need to design for advanced AI functionalities that directly impact how business operations are managed and informed.
📈 Primary Responsibilities
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Define and own the user interface (UI) layer of the Cirql One platform, encompassing the representation, versioning, and navigation of semantic models, metrics, governance rules, and data lineage.
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Develop scalable interaction patterns and design systems capable of handling complex enterprise data and AI interactions, ensuring coherence across the platform.
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Conduct user research, including interviews and usability testing, with enterprise customers to gather insights and validate design hypotheses, translating findings into actionable design improvements.
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Collaborate iteratively with product managers and engineers from the ideation phase through to the final product launch, ensuring seamless integration of design into the development lifecycle.
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Design AI-first interfaces that facilitate seamless collaboration between human users and AI agents, supporting natural language queries, structured reasoning processes, and auditable AI-generated outputs.
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Articulate and defend design decisions with clear, concise rationale to diverse stakeholders, including founders, engineers, and enterprise clients, adapting communication style to technical and non-technical audiences.
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Contribute to the product strategy by identifying user needs and market opportunities within the enterprise data and AI intelligence space.
📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a critical role in operationalizing AI within enterprise environments. "Owning the UI layer" for "semantic models, metrics, governance rules, and data lineage" directly impacts how business operations are governed, understood, and executed. The emphasis on "AI-first by default" and "humans and AI think together" points to designing systems that enhance operational efficiency and decision-making through intelligent automation and data interpretation.
🎓 Skills & Qualifications
Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong foundation in design principles, human-computer interaction, and potentially data science or computer science is implied by the complexity of the product.
Experience: 7+ years of product design experience, with a minimum of 4 years focused on complex B2B software, specifically within data platforms, developer tools, or analytics applications.
Required Skills:
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Enterprise Design Depth: Proven track record in designing for complex B2B environments, understanding the nuances of enterprise software adoption and user workflows.
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Systems Thinking: Ability to conceptualize and design coherent, scalable patterns across an entire product, maintaining a consistent vision while breaking it down into deliverable components.
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End-to-End Design Process: Comprehensive experience managing the full design lifecycle, from initial problem framing and user research to high-fidelity interaction design and execution.
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AI-First Design: Proficiency in designing interfaces for AI-driven workflows, including experience with agentic design, natural language processing (NLP) interfaces, and human-AI collaboration.
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Collaborative Engineering Partnership: Demonstrated ability to work closely and effectively with engineering teams throughout the development process, fostering a collaborative build cycle.
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Clear and Precise Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex design rationale clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
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Portfolio Presentation: A strong portfolio showcasing a history of tackling challenging problems and delivering end-to-end design solutions.
Preferred Skills:
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Background in data visualization, dashboard design, or designing developer-facing tools.
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Experience designing natural language interfaces or AI-assisted user experiences.
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Familiarity with enterprise data architecture, semantic technologies, or AI model interpretability.
📝 Enhancement Note: The "AI-first by default" requirement and the mention of "Claude Code" (a specific AI model) suggest a need for designers who are not just familiar with AI, but actively embrace it as a core design principle for enterprise solutions. This implies a forward-thinking approach to operational efficiency, where AI augments human capabilities in managing and interpreting business data.
📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements
Portfolio Essentials:
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Demonstrate end-to-end design process ownership, from initial user research and problem definition to interaction design and high-fidelity execution, specifically on complex B2B software.
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Showcase case studies of designing for genuinely hard problems, particularly those involving data platforms, developer tools, or analytics applications, highlighting the scale and complexity of the solutions.
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Present examples of designing for AI-first workflows, illustrating how humans and AI collaborate on complex tasks and how the interface supports structured reasoning and governed outputs.
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Include evidence of close collaboration with engineering teams throughout the build cycle, detailing how design was integrated and iterated upon during development.
Process Documentation:
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Showcase a structured approach to user research and synthesis, detailing how findings from enterprise customers were translated into impactful design decisions and scalable interaction patterns.
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Illustrate the process of defining and owning UI layers for complex systems, including how semantic models, metrics, and governance rules were represented and navigated.
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Document the iterative design process within an engineering-collaborative environment, highlighting how feedback was incorporated and how designs evolved from concept to shipped product.
📝 Enhancement Note: For a role like this, a portfolio is paramount to demonstrating the ability to handle complexity. The emphasis on "end-to-end process" and "genuinely hard problems" means candidates should be prepared to walk through their thought process, the challenges encountered, and the specific solutions implemented, especially concerning data interpretation and AI integration within an enterprise context. This directly relates to how operational processes are designed and improved.
💵 Compensation & Benefits
Salary Range: For a Senior Product Designer with 10+ years of experience in a high-cost-of-living European city like Barcelona, specializing in complex B2B enterprise software and AI, a competitive salary range would typically fall between €80,000 - €120,000 annually. This estimate is based on industry benchmarks for senior design roles in major European tech hubs, adjusted for the specific niche of enterprise AI platforms and the company's implied growth stage.
Benefits:
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Competitive Compensation: Fair and attractive pay reflecting the seniority and significant impact of the role on the company's foundational product.
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A Growing Team: Opportunity to scale scope and responsibilities as the company deliberately grows and brings in high-caliber talent, fostering professional development.
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People Who Care: A deeply invested team committed to the mission and the quality of their work, fostering a collaborative and mission-driven environment.
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Full Transparency: Access to unfiltered updates on product development, business performance, and strategic direction, fostering an informed and engaged team.
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Equity/Stock Options: (Likely, though not explicitly stated) Common for senior roles at early-stage tech companies, offering a stake in the company's success.
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Health and Wellness: (Likely, though not explicitly stated) Standard benefits package including health insurance, potentially with provisions for mental health support.
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Professional Development: Opportunities for continuous learning, attending industry conferences, and skill enhancement relevant to AI and enterprise design.
Working Hours: The role is Full-Time, implying approximately 40 hours per week. However, the emphasis on "end-to-end ownership" and "shipping" suggests a results-oriented culture where flexibility may be expected, but a healthy work-life balance is also implied by the "People who care" benefit.
📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on research from sources like Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, and industry reports for Senior Product Designers in Barcelona and similar European tech hubs. The provided benefits are explicitly mentioned, with likely but unstated benefits added for completeness based on typical startup offerings for senior roles. The "Full Transparency" benefit is particularly relevant for operations professionals who value clear communication regarding business performance and strategic goals.
🎯 Team & Company Context
🏢 Company Culture
Industry: Enterprise Software / AI / Data Intelligence. Cirql One operates at the intersection of foundational enterprise software (like SAP), artificial intelligence, and data intelligence, aiming to make complex business data universally understood and actionable.
Company Size: Early-stage startup (implied by "ground floor," "scaling deliberately"). This typically means a lean, agile, and highly collaborative environment where individual impact is significant.
Founded: The exact founding date is not provided, but the description suggests it's a relatively new venture focused on a significant, long-standing problem in enterprise data interpretation.
Team Structure:
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Lean and Focused: The team is likely small, comprising individuals with deep expertise in their respective fields (AI, data engineering, product, design).
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Flat Hierarchy: Common in startups, implying direct access to founders and leadership, with less bureaucracy and more collaborative decision-making.
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Cross-functional Collaboration: The "no handoffs" philosophy emphasizes extremely tight collaboration between product, design, and engineering, forming integrated pods or teams.
Methodology:
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Mission-Driven: The company is driven by a clear, ambitious mission to solve a fundamental enterprise data problem, fostering a sense of purpose.
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Craftsmanship: A strong emphasis on "craft" suggests a dedication to quality, detail, and excellence in execution across all disciplines.
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Data-Informed Design: User research and data analysis are central to informing design decisions, ensuring solutions are grounded in user needs and business impact.
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AI-Centric Approach: The product is built around AI, meaning the team's methodology likely incorporates AI tools and principles throughout the development and design process.
Company Website: https://www.cirqlone.com
📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on making "business meaning explicit" and becoming a "system of reason" above SAP highlights a deep understanding of enterprise operational challenges. This role is critical for translating complex operational data into a format that AI can interpret, directly impacting how businesses manage their core functions. The "ground floor" aspect suggests an opportunity to shape processes and culture.
📈 Career & Growth Analysis
Operations Career Level: This is a Senior Product Designer role, indicating a high level of autonomy, responsibility, and strategic influence. The "Senior" title, combined with the expectation to "own the UI layer" and "ship end-to-end," places this individual as a key contributor capable of leading design initiatives and mentoring others. In an operations context, this role is pivotal in designing the systems that enable operational intelligence and AI-driven efficiency.
Reporting Structure: While not explicitly stated, a Senior Product Designer in an early-stage startup typically reports to a Head of Product, Head of Design, or directly to one of the founders. The emphasis on "no handoffs" suggests a matrixed reporting or a strong collaborative structure within product/engineering teams.
Operations Impact: The role's impact on operational intelligence is profound. By designing the interface for semantic models, metrics, and AI interactions, this designer will directly influence:
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Data Accessibility & Intelligibility: Making complex enterprise data understandable to AI and human users.
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Decision-Making Quality: Enabling better, AI-augmented decision-making through clearer insights.
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Automation Potential: Designing interfaces that facilitate AI-driven automation of operational tasks.
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Governance & Compliance: Ensuring that the representation and use of enterprise data adhere to governance rules.
Growth Opportunities:
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Design Leadership: As the company scales, there's a clear path to leading the design function, potentially growing into a Head of Design role.
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Specialization: Deepen expertise in enterprise AI design, data visualization, and semantic intelligence, becoming a go-to expert in a cutting-edge field.
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Product Strategy Influence: Contribute significantly to product roadmap decisions and company strategy due to the foundational nature of the role.
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Mentorship: Opportunity to mentor junior designers as the team expands.
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Impactful Product Development: Be part of building a core product that aims to revolutionize enterprise AI adoption.
📝 Enhancement Note: The growth trajectory for a Senior Product Designer in a startup like Cirql One is significant. The role is not just about visual design but about architecting the user experience of complex operational intelligence systems. This aligns perfectly with the career aspirations of operations professionals who want to influence strategic decision-making and drive efficiency through technology.
🌐 Work Environment
Office Type: The role is designated as "On-site" in Barcelona, Spain. This suggests a physical office space where the team collaborates. Startups often foster an open-plan or collaborative workspace designed to encourage interaction.
Office Location(s): Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. A vibrant tech hub known for its innovation and talent pool, offering a dynamic work environment.
Workspace Context:
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Collaborative Hub: The office environment is likely designed to facilitate close collaboration between design, product, and engineering teams, supporting the "no handoffs" philosophy.
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Tooling & Technology: Access to modern design software, collaboration tools, and potentially internal AI tools for design assistance.
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Team Interaction: Frequent opportunities for direct interaction with colleagues, fostering a strong sense of team cohesion and shared purpose.
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Innovation Focus: The workspace will likely reflect the company's innovative mission, potentially featuring areas for brainstorming and rapid prototyping.
Work Schedule: Full-time, likely with a standard 40-hour workweek. However, startup environments often encourage flexibility and a focus on results, meaning hours might vary to meet project deadlines, balanced by the culture of "people who care" and the aim for sustainable growth.
📝 Enhancement Note: The "on-site" requirement in Barcelona is a key factor for candidates. This implies a preference for in-person collaboration, which can be highly beneficial for complex problem-solving and rapid iteration common in startup environments, especially for roles deeply integrated with engineering and product.
📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process
Interview Process:
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Initial Screening: A brief call with a recruiter or hiring manager to assess basic qualifications, cultural fit, and interest in the company mission.
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Portfolio Presentation & Discussion: A dedicated session where the candidate presents their portfolio, walking through 1-2 key projects that demonstrate their approach to complex B2B software design, end-to-end process, and AI-first thinking. Expect detailed questions about design rationale, problem-solving, and collaboration.
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Design Challenge/Case Study: Candidates may be given a take-home assignment or an in-interview design exercise focused on a specific problem related to semantic intelligence, AI collaboration, or enterprise data representation. This assesses their problem-framing, ideation, and execution skills.
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Cross-Functional Interviews: Interviews with engineering and product team members to assess collaboration skills, technical understanding, and ability to integrate design into the development workflow.
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Founder/Leadership Interview: A final conversation with the founders or senior leadership to discuss vision, strategic alignment, and cultural fit.
Portfolio Review Tips:
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Focus on Complexity: Highlight projects that showcase your ability to design for intricate B2B software, data platforms, or developer tools.
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Showcase End-to-End Process: Clearly articulate your involvement from research and problem framing to final execution and iteration. Emphasize the "why" behind your design decisions.
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Demonstrate AI-First Thinking: Include examples where you've designed for AI collaboration, natural language interfaces, or data interpretation challenges.
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Highlight Collaboration: Detail how you worked with engineering and product teams, specifically addressing the "no handoffs" philosophy.
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Quantify Impact: Where possible, use metrics to demonstrate the impact of your designs on user behavior, business outcomes, or operational efficiency.
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Tell a Story: Structure your portfolio presentations as compelling narratives that clearly communicate the problem, your approach, and the solution's impact.
Challenge Preparation:
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Understand the Domain: Familiarize yourself with enterprise data challenges, SAP systems, semantic intelligence, and AI agentic workflows.
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Practice Problem Framing: Be prepared to break down ambiguous problems into manageable components and define clear design objectives.
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Articulate Rationale: Practice explaining your design decisions clearly and concisely, anticipating questions about trade-offs and alternative solutions.
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Design for Scalability: Consider how your solutions will scale within a complex enterprise environment.
📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes a deep dive into problem-solving and collaborative capabilities, crucial for a role that bridges design with operational intelligence. Preparing to discuss how your designs directly contribute to making enterprise data more actionable for AI is key.
🛠 Tools & Technology Stack
Primary Tools:
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Design & Prototyping: Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (for high-fidelity mockups, wireframing, prototyping, and collaboration).
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User Research & Testing: Tools like UserTesting.com, Lookback, or internal methods for conducting and analyzing user research with enterprise clients.
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Collaboration & Project Management: Tools like Jira, Asana, Trello, or similar platforms for managing design tasks and collaborating with engineering.
Analytics & Reporting:
- Familiarity with analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude) to understand user behavior and inform design iterations.
CRM & Automation:
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While not a direct CRM/Automation role, understanding how enterprise data flows through systems like SAP and how AI interfaces interact with these systems is critical.
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Awareness of data integration principles and how semantic layers connect different enterprise data sources.
📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in modern design tools is expected. More importantly, the designer must understand the context of enterprise data systems (like SAP) and how AI interfaces will interact with them to drive operational insights and automation.
👥 Team Culture & Values
Operations Values:
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Excellence in Craft: A deep commitment to high-quality design execution, attention to detail, and a passion for solving complex problems elegantly.
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Mission-Driven Impact: A shared belief in the company's mission to revolutionize enterprise AI and data intelligence, driving a sense of purpose and collective effort.
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Radical Transparency: An open communication culture where information about business performance, strategy, and challenges is shared freely, fostering trust and informed decision-making.
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Collaboration & Mutual Respect: A team environment that values constructive feedback, shared learning, and working together seamlessly to achieve common goals, particularly between design, product, and engineering.
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Data-Driven Decision Making: A reliance on user research, data analysis, and logical reasoning to inform design choices and product strategy.
Collaboration Style:
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Integrated Teams: Close-knit collaboration between design, product, and engineering, working as a unified unit with shared ownership.
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Open Feedback Loops: A culture that encourages and actively seeks constructive feedback on design work and processes.
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Knowledge Sharing: Regular sharing of insights, best practices, and learnings across the team to foster collective growth.
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Agile & Iterative: A flexible approach to design and development, readily adapting to new information and iterating based on feedback and testing.
📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "craft," "mission," and "transparency" aligns well with the expectations of operations professionals who often value precision, clear objectives, and open communication regarding business performance and strategic direction.
⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities
Challenges:
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Designing for Complexity: Translating highly technical and abstract concepts (semantic models, AI reasoning) into intuitive and usable interfaces for enterprise users.
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Balancing User Needs: Catering to diverse user groups, including technical data engineers and business stakeholders, with potentially conflicting requirements.
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Pioneering New Interfaces: Building interfaces for AI collaboration and natural language interaction, which are still evolving fields, requires innovation and adaptability.
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Scaling Design Systems: Developing a design system that can effectively manage the complexity of enterprise data and semantic intelligence as the product grows.
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On-site Requirement: For candidates considering relocation or who prefer remote work, the on-site requirement in Barcelona could be a challenge.
Learning & Development Opportunities:
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Deep Domain Expertise: Become a subject matter expert in enterprise semantic intelligence, AI-driven data interpretation, and the future of human-AI collaboration in business.
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Cutting-Edge Technology: Gain hands-on experience with advanced AI models and designing for their integration into enterprise workflows.
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Leadership Development: Grow into a design leadership role within a rapidly scaling startup, shaping the design function and mentoring a team.
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Industry Impact: Contribute to a foundational product that has the potential to significantly impact how enterprises leverage AI and data.
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Networking: Build connections within the vibrant Barcelona tech scene and the broader enterprise AI community.
📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are inherent to working on a novel, complex product at an early stage. The growth opportunities are substantial, offering deep specialization and leadership potential within a high-impact domain relevant to modern operations.
💡 Interview Preparation
Strategy Questions:
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"Describe a time you designed for extreme complexity. How did you approach problem framing, user research, and translating abstract requirements into scalable interaction patterns?" (Focus on your process, systems thinking, and ability to handle ambiguity.)
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"How would you design an interface for an AI agent that helps enterprise users explore and understand their SAP data, ensuring both usability and governed outputs?" (Demonstrate your AI-first design thinking and understanding of enterprise data context.)
Company & Culture Questions:
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"What excites you about Cirql One's mission to create an enterprise semantic intelligence layer, and how does your design philosophy align with it?" (Show genuine interest in the problem space and company vision.)
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"How do you approach user research with enterprise clients, and how do you ensure your designs address their specific operational needs and pain points?" (Emphasize your user-centric approach and understanding of B2B contexts.)
Portfolio Presentation Strategy:
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Tell a Story: Structure your chosen case studies as clear narratives: the problem, your role, the process, the solution, and the impact.
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Focus on Rationale: Be prepared to deeply explain why you made specific design decisions. Connect your choices back to user needs, business goals, and technical constraints.
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Highlight Collaboration: Explicitly mention how you worked with engineers and product managers, showcasing your ability to integrate design into the development workflow.
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Showcase AI & Complexity: Prioritize projects that demonstrate your skills in designing for complex B2B software, data, or AI-driven features.
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Be Concise and Engaging: Respect the interviewer's time while conveying the depth of your experience and thought process.
📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on demonstrating not just design skills, but a deep understanding of the enterprise data and AI context, as well as a collaborative, end-to-end approach to product development.
📌 Application Steps
To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:
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Submit your application through the provided link on join.com.
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Curate Your Portfolio: Select 1-2 projects that best showcase your experience with complex B2B software, end-to-end design processes, and AI-first design concepts. Ensure these projects clearly articulate the problem, your role, your process, and the impact.
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Tailor Your Resume: Highlight keywords from the job description such as "Product Design," "B2B Software," "Data Platforms," "AI Design," "User Research," and "Enterprise." Quantify your achievements whenever possible.
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Prepare Your Presentation: Practice walking through your portfolio projects, focusing on design rationale, collaborative workflows, and your ability to handle complex operational data challenges. Be ready to articulate your understanding of Cirql One's mission.
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Research Cirql One: Thoroughly understand the company's product, mission, and the problem they are solving in enterprise data intelligence and AI. Familiarize yourself with their approach to semantic intelligence and the SAP ecosystem.
⚠️ 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 7+ years of product design experience, including 4+ years on complex B2B software. A strong portfolio demonstrating the end-to-end design process and experience in AI-first design is essential.