Senior product designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer

Company: Seccl

Location: London, England, United Kingdom

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / UX/UI

Date Posted: 2026-03-02

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid (2 days in office per week)

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the evolution of design best practices within a product and engineering-led culture, driving customer-centric thinking and innovation.

• Act as a trusted advisor to product leadership, hands-on in designing products and a scalable design system while championing user-first principles.

• Develop the UX strategy and roadmap for a rapidly growing fintech aiming to disrupt an outdated industry through intuitive digital experiences.

• Conduct comprehensive market research, competitor analysis, and user feedback initiatives to deeply understand customer needs and pain points.

• Spearhead UX for key product initiatives, acting as the voice of the customer to enhance overall user experience, reduce friction, and drive operational efficiencies.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as the first Senior Product Designer, indicating significant opportunity for ownership and impact in shaping the design function. The emphasis on "API-first" and transforming "adviser and investor-facing UIs and portals" suggests a blend of B2B and B2C design challenges within a fintech context. The hybrid nature with specific office days is a key logistical detail for potential candidates.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design and optimize end-to-end customer journeys across mobile and web platforms, addressing user pain points to drive business outcomes and deliver tangible customer value.

• Collaborate closely with Product Managers, Engineers, and other stakeholders to co-create solutions that are both technically feasible and commercially impactful, ensuring alignment with business objectives.

• Define UX approaches and comprehensive research plans for various product initiatives, ensuring a consistent and effective design strategy across teams.

• Engage directly with customers through various research methodologies to gather detailed requirements, validate proposed solutions, and ensure the product effectively addresses user needs.

• Utilize both quantitative data and qualitative insights to inform all design decisions, fostering an evidence-based approach to product development and optimization.

• Actively contribute to the evolution and refinement of Seccl's design system, ensuring consistency, scalability, and efficiency in design outputs.

• Mentor and share knowledge with other team members, modeling high standards for design excellence and fostering a collaborative learning environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a hands-on design role with significant strategic input. The emphasis on "end-to-end customer journeys," "data-driven decisions," and "design system evolution" are critical for operations professionals seeking roles where process, efficiency, and user experience intersect. The mention of "reducing friction and increasing efficiencies" directly aligns with core operations objectives.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While not explicitly stated, a Bachelor's degree in Design, HCI, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience, is typically expected for a Senior Product Designer role.

Experience: 5-10 years of experience in UX/Product Design, with a strong portfolio showcasing end-to-end product development and user-centered design solutions.

Required Skills:

• Proven experience in UX design across both web and mobile platforms, ideally within a B2C or D2C environment.

• Demonstrated ability to work with data and insights to guide design decisions, with experience in customer research methods (e.g., user interviews, usability testing, surveys).

• Strong visual design skills and a keen eye for detail, with the ability to translate complex user journeys into simple, intuitive, and aesthetically pleasing interfaces.

• A clear bias for action and proactivity; ability to identify opportunities, gather insights, and drive initiatives forward independently.

• Comfort and proficiency in thriving within ambiguous environments, structuring problems, and shaping them into actionable design work.

• Experience leveraging modern, best-in-class tooling, including a demonstrated ability to integrate AI tools into design workflows for enhanced efficiency and creativity.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in the Fintech or financial services industry.

• Familiarity with API-first product design principles.

• Experience in building and maintaining design systems.

• Proficiency in advanced prototyping tools and methodologies.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "AI in your workflows," "data and insights," and "structuring problems" are key indicators of the type of analytical and process-oriented thinking valued in this role, aligning well with operations professionals. The "bias for action" and "thriving in ambiguity" point to a need for self-driven individuals capable of navigating evolving landscapes, a common trait in high-performing operations teams.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase end-to-end product design projects, detailing the problem, your process, design decisions, and measurable outcomes.

• Highlight projects demonstrating significant UX strategy development, roadmap creation, and user journey optimization.

• Include examples of contributions to or creation of scalable design systems, illustrating consistency and efficiency gains.

Process Documentation:

• Document your design process, including how you conduct user research, synthesize findings, ideate solutions, and iterate based on feedback.

• Detail your approach to collaborating with product managers, engineers, and stakeholders, emphasizing communication and alignment strategies.

• Illustrate how you utilize data (quantitative and qualitative) to inform and validate design decisions, demonstrating an evidence-based methodology.

• Showcase your experience with design system implementation and maintenance, detailing how you ensure consistency and scalability across a product.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Senior Product Designer role, the portfolio is paramount. The emphasis on "end-to-end product design," "measurable outcomes," "UX strategy," and "design system implementation" indicates a need for candidates who can not only create great designs but also articulate the strategic thinking and process behind them, a skill highly transferable to operations roles focused on process improvement and ROI.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: £65,000 - £80,000 per annum, dependent on experience. This range is reviewed annually.

Benefits:

• 27 days of holiday plus bank holidays, with some flexibility.

• Additional day off on your birthday.

• Three days of dependant leave per year (full-time).

• Two volunteering days per year.

• Option to work abroad for up to six weeks annually.

• "Secclbrate" recognition program offering flexible rewards (pay, holiday, learning budget).

• Length of service award: one-month paid sabbatical at eight years.

• 6% employer pension contribution.

• Life assurance.

• Private medical insurance (AXA Health).

• Enhanced Parental leave.

• MacBook provided.

• Up to £500 budget for home office setup.

• £750 per person learning budget.

• Health and wellbeing initiatives, including free therapy via Wellness Cloud and mental health support via Headspace.

• Strong financial wellbeing focus, including access to Octopus Money, Octopus Share Incentive Plan, and will writing via Octopus Legacy.

• Perkbox membership for discounts and perks (free coffee, gym, retail).

• Access to Cycle to Work scheme and Octopus EV Leasing.

Working Hours: The standard working hours are 40 hours per week.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is competitive for a Senior Product Designer in London. The extensive benefits package, particularly those related to wellbeing, financial health, and flexibility (like working abroad and dependant leave), indicates a company that invests in employee welfare, which is often a strong indicator of a positive and supportive work environment, relevant for long-term career planning. The mention of "efficiency increase" in the responsibilities also suggests that optimizing processes is valued, which can indirectly lead to better work-life balance.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Fintech / Embedded Investment Platform. Seccl operates within the financial technology sector, aiming to modernize investment services. As a B-Corp certified company, it emphasizes social and environmental performance alongside profit.

Company Size: Seccl is part of the Octopus group, a multi-billion pound entity. While Seccl's specific size isn't detailed, its "growing fast" and "scale even faster" statements suggest it's a dynamic, mid-to-large-sized company within the Octopus umbrella. This implies a blend of startup agility with the stability of a larger corporation.

Founded: While the founding date of Seccl isn't specified, it's noted to be part of the Octopus group. Octopus itself was founded in 2000, indicating a company with established roots and significant market presence.

Team Structure:

• The role of Senior Product Designer is the first of its kind, suggesting the design team is either nascent or needs to be built out.

• The designer will work across "a variety of teams and product initiatives," contributing to "multiple high-performing, autonomous squads." This points to a matrixed or squad-based structure common in agile tech environments.

Methodology:

• Customer-Centred Thinking: A core principle emphasized throughout the role description, driving design decisions and product evolution.

• Data-Driven Approach: Utilizing quantitative and qualitative data to inform evidence-based decisions is a fundamental aspect of the role.

• Agile & Iterative Development: Implied by the mention of "autonomous squads" and the need to "scale and innovate" rapidly.

• API-First Philosophy: The company's foundation, influencing how products and experiences are built and integrated.

Company Website: https://seccl.tech/

📝 Enhancement Note: The B-Corp certification is a significant cultural indicator, signaling a commitment to ethical practices and sustainability. The "API-first" approach suggests a focus on robust infrastructure and integration capabilities, which often requires strong operational discipline. The "autonomous squads" structure is typical of modern product development, fostering agility and ownership.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior-level individual contributor role, positioned as the first of its kind in product design. It offers significant scope for leadership in design strategy, process definition, and team mentorship. The role demands both strategic thinking and hands-on execution.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Product Designer will act as a "trusted adviser to product leadership" and will work within "autonomous squads." This suggests reporting to a Head of Product, Director of Product, or similar senior product management role, with significant direct collaboration with Product Managers and Engineering leads within their squads.

Operations Impact: The role's direct impact is on user experience, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency through intuitive design. By reducing friction and increasing efficiency in user journeys, the designer contributes to Seccl's mission of making investing easier and more accessible, ultimately driving adoption and retention, which are key business and revenue metrics. The role also influences the scalability and maintainability of the product through design system contributions.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Opportunity to build and lead the product design function, establish design processes, and mentor future designers as the company scales.

• Strategic Influence: Shape the UX strategy and roadmap for a fast-growing fintech, influencing product direction and business outcomes.

• Skill Specialization: Deepen expertise in UX strategy, design systems, fintech product design, and potentially AI-driven design applications.

• Cross-Functional Expertise: Gain deep understanding of product management, engineering processes, and the broader fintech industry landscape.

• Career Progression: Potential to move into Product Management, Design Leadership, or specialized UX roles within Seccl or the broader Octopus group.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "first Senior Product Designer" aspect is crucial. It signifies a high degree of autonomy and the chance to define the role and its impact. For operations-minded candidates, this means the opportunity to establish best practices, implement efficient workflows, and directly influence a key aspect of the business's growth trajectory and customer acquisition/retention funnels.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid role requiring two days per week in their London office. This suggests a modern office environment designed for collaboration and focused work.

Office Location(s): London, England. Specific office address is not provided, but it's implied to be accessible for employees based in and around London.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The hybrid model and emphasis on working with product managers and engineers within "autonomous squads" indicate a highly collaborative workspace. The office days are likely dedicated to team meetings, brainstorming, and cross-functional alignment.

• Tools and Technology: The role explicitly mentions leveraging "modern best in class tooling" and "AI in your workflows," suggesting access to up-to-date design software, collaboration platforms, and potentially AI-powered design assistants.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for direct interaction with product leadership, engineering teams, and potentially other designers (as the team grows), fostering knowledge sharing and continuous learning.

Work Schedule: A standard 40-hour work week is expected, with the flexibility of working remotely for three days a week. This balance allows for focused individual work and dedicated in-office collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model is a key aspect for many candidates. The specific requirement of two days in the London office suggests the company values in-person collaboration for certain activities, such as strategic planning, design critiques, and team building, which can be beneficial for operations roles that thrive on clear communication and shared understanding.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Chat: A preliminary conversation with the Talent team to assess basic fit and logistics.

• First Stage (45 mins): Portfolio Review: This is a critical stage where candidates present their work. Expect to discuss your design process, decision-making, and the impact of your projects. Be prepared to articulate how your work aligns with Seccl's mission and user-centric approach.

• Second Stage (45 mins): Hiring Manager Interview with GPM: This interview will likely focus on your experience, strategic thinking, and how you would approach specific challenges within Seccl's product roadmap. Questions may delve into your experience with design systems, UX strategy, and working with product and engineering teams.

• Final Stage (45 mins): Cultural Alignment Interview: This assesses your fit with Seccl's values, working style, and collaborative approach. Be ready to discuss how you handle ambiguity, drive initiatives, and contribute to a positive team environment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-4 of your strongest projects that best demonstrate your skills in UX strategy, user journey optimization, and design system thinking. Prioritize projects with clear business impact and measurable outcomes.

• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the design process you followed, the rationale behind your key decisions, and the results achieved. Use visuals effectively.

• Highlight Process: Emphasize your methodology, how you gather insights, collaborate with stakeholders, and iterate based on feedback. Showcase your ability to work with data and research.

• Demonstrate Impact: Quantify your achievements whenever possible (e.g., increased conversion rates, reduced support tickets, improved user satisfaction scores). If quantitative data is unavailable, articulate the qualitative impact and logical reasoning.

• Showcase System Thinking: If applicable, detail your experience with design systems – how you've contributed to them, how they improve efficiency, and ensure consistency.

• Prepare for Questions: Anticipate questions about your decision-making, how you handle disagreements, your experience with AI tools, and how you approach ambiguity.

Challenge Preparation: While no explicit "challenge" is mentioned outside the portfolio review, be prepared for scenario-based questions during interviews that might ask how you would approach a specific design problem or strategic initiative at Seccl. Think about how you'd apply data, user research, and your design process to solve it effectively.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio review is the gateway. Candidates should tailor their presentations to showcase not just design execution but also strategic thinking, process rigor, and quantifiable impact, mirroring the analytical and results-oriented approach valued in operations roles. Understanding Seccl's mission ("helping more people to invest – and invest well") and its B-Corp status will be key for cultural alignment.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Proficiency in modern design tools like Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, XD), and prototyping tools (e.g., InVision, Principle, Framer) is expected. Figma is a strong industry standard.

• Design System Management: Tools and methodologies for creating, managing, and scaling design systems (e.g., Storybook, Zeroheight, or custom solutions).

• AI Tools: Explicit mention of leveraging AI in workflows suggests familiarity with AI-powered design tools for ideation, asset generation, research analysis, or workflow automation.

Analytics & Reporting:

• User Analytics: Experience with tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, or similar platforms to track user behavior, measure engagement, and identify areas for optimization.

• Data Visualization: Ability to interpret and present data clearly, potentially using tools like Tableau, Power BI, or built-in dashboard features within analytics platforms.

CRM & Automation:

• While not a direct requirement for a designer, understanding how design impacts user journeys within CRM systems (like Salesforce) or marketing automation platforms can be beneficial for context, especially in a fintech environment. Awareness of how design integrates with backend systems and APIs is also valuable.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of "AI in your workflows" is a significant differentiator. Candidates should be ready to discuss how they use AI to enhance their design process, improve efficiency, or generate creative ideas. Familiarity with design system tools is also crucial for a role focused on scalability and consistency.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• People First: A core value, indicating a supportive and employee-centric environment. This translates to valuing employee well-being, growth, and contribution.

• Transparency & Inclusivity: Fostering an environment where diverse thoughts are welcomed, and open communication is encouraged.

• Challenge & Experimentation: A culture that supports trying new approaches, pushing boundaries, and learning from both successes and failures.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Emphasizing evidence-based approaches over assumptions, a key alignment with operations principles.

• Efficiency & Optimization: The role's focus on reducing friction and increasing efficiency aligns with a broader company value of operational excellence.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Working closely with product management and engineering within autonomous squads to achieve shared goals.

• Customer-Centric Focus: All collaborations are geared towards understanding and serving the customer, ensuring user needs are at the forefront of development.

• Open Feedback Culture: The interview process being described as "conversational" and encouraging questions suggests an environment where feedback is valued and exchanged openly.

• Knowledge Sharing: Encouraged through mentorship and a culture that supports learning and development, fostering a collective growth mindset.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "people first," "transparency," and "challenge" suggests a culture that values individual contribution and growth, while also maintaining a strong sense of teamwork and shared purpose. For operations professionals, this environment often translates to clear communication channels and a supportive atmosphere for implementing process improvements.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Establishing Design Best Practices: As the first Senior Product Designer, a key challenge will be defining and implementing design standards, processes, and the design system from the ground up, ensuring scalability.

• Balancing Strategic Vision with Hands-On Design: Juggling the responsibilities of strategic advisory and roadmap creation with the practical demands of designing user interfaces and components.

• Navigating Ambiguity in a Growth Phase: Thriving in a fast-paced, rapidly scaling environment where priorities may shift, requiring adaptability and proactive problem-solving.

• Integrating AI Effectively: Leveraging new AI tools to enhance workflows without compromising design quality or user experience requires experimentation and careful integration.

• Driving Customer-Centred Thinking: Embedding a deep understanding of customer needs and pain points across product and engineering teams in a rapidly evolving fintech landscape.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Design Leadership Development: Opportunity to shape and potentially build a design team, honing leadership and management skills.

• Fintech Industry Expertise: Gaining deep knowledge of the investment platform sector, regulatory landscape, and user needs within financial services.

• Advanced Design System Implementation: Leading the strategy and execution of a scalable design system.

• AI in Design Exploration: Becoming an early adopter and expert in using AI tools to augment the design process.

• Strategic Product Influence: Directly contributing to the product vision and roadmap of a disruptive fintech company.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are framed as opportunities for growth. For operations professionals, the "establishing processes," "balancing strategy with execution," and "navigating ambiguity" aspects are highly relatable and represent areas where operational discipline can drive significant success. The learning opportunities align with continuous improvement and skill enhancement.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Design Strategy & Methodology: Be prepared to discuss how you develop UX strategies and roadmaps, how you incorporate user research and data into your process, and how you define and evolve design systems. Example: "How would you approach developing a UX strategy for Seccl's investor-facing portal?"

• Collaboration & Stakeholder Management: Expect questions on how you partner with Product Managers and Engineers. Discuss your communication style, how you handle disagreements, and how you ensure alignment. Example: "Describe a time you had to influence product direction based on user insights. What was the outcome?"

• Problem-Solving & Efficiency: Prepare to articulate how you break down complex problems and translate them into actionable design tasks. Highlight instances where your design solutions led to increased efficiency or reduced friction. Example: "Walk us through a project where your design directly improved a key user journey's efficiency."

Company & Culture Questions:

• Company Alignment: Research Seccl's mission, values (B-Corp status), and recent developments. Understand their "API-first" approach and how it impacts product design. Be ready to explain why you're drawn to fintech and Seccl specifically.

• Team Dynamics: Discuss your preferred team structure and how you contribute to a positive and collaborative team environment. Example: "How do you see yourself contributing to Seccl's culture as the first Senior Product Designer?"

• Impact Measurement: Be ready to discuss how you measure the success of your design work, focusing on user experience metrics and business impact.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: Organize your presentation logically: problem statement, your role, process, key design decisions with rationale, and measurable outcomes.

• Quantify Success: Whenever possible, use data to demonstrate the impact of your work (e.g., conversion rates, engagement metrics, task completion times).

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals effectively to showcase your designs and prototypes. Provide context for your design choices.

• Emphasize Process: Detail your user research methods, iterative design approach, and how you collaborate with cross-functional teams.

• Address AI Usage: If AI tools were used, be ready to explain how and why, focusing on the tangible benefits to your process or outcome.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes portfolio review and cultural fit. Candidates should prepare to demonstrate not only their design skills but also their strategic thinking, problem-solving abilities, and alignment with Seccl's values. For operations professionals, highlighting process efficiency, data-driven decision-making, and impact measurement in their portfolio and interview responses will be key.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Customize Your Resume: Tailor your resume to highlight experience in UX/Product Design, user journey optimization, design systems, data-driven decision-making, and any experience with AI tools or fintech. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare Your Portfolio: Select 3-4 of your strongest projects that showcase end-to-end design processes, strategic thinking, and measurable impact. Ensure your portfolio clearly articulates your role, process, and outcomes.

• Practice Your Narrative: Rehearse presenting your portfolio, focusing on storytelling, articulating your design rationale, and quantifying your achievements. Be ready to discuss your approach to collaboration, ambiguity, and driving efficiency.

• Research Seccl: Understand Seccl's mission, product, B-Corp status, and any recent news. Prepare thoughtful questions about the role, team, and company culture to demonstrate your engagement and curiosity.

⚠️ 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.