Senior Product Designer (Contract or FTE)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer (Contract or FTE) Company: Momentum IO Location: Sarajevo, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina Job Type: Full-Time, Contract Category: Product Design / UX/UI Design Date Posted: 2025-09-26 Experience Level: Senior (4+ years) Remote Status: Hybrid/Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• This role focuses on shaping digital product experiences at the intersection of business analysis, service design, and user experience, demanding a blend of strategic thinking and hands-on execution.
• The Senior Product Designer will be instrumental in guiding both internal teams and external clients through complex design challenges across a diverse range of industries.
• A critical component of this role involves leveraging and understanding Artificial Intelligence (AI) as both a design material and a system architecture, with a preference for candidates with a strong AI IQ.
• This position requires fluency across the entire design process, from user research and insight gathering to the delivery of interactive UX/UI systems and scalable design solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the primary focus is Product Design, the emphasis on business analysis, service design, and AI integration suggests a strong leaning towards a GTM (Go-To-Market) operations perspective, particularly in how the design directly impacts product strategy, user adoption, and ultimately, business outcomes. The "contract or FTE" option also indicates a flexible operational model for the company.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead and execute end-to-end product design processes, including user research, synthesis, experience strategy, interaction design, and visual design.
• Facilitate client workshops, design sprints, and collaborative sessions to uncover opportunities, define product vision, and build conviction for design solutions.
• Develop and maintain scalable UX/UI systems, design patterns, and component libraries using modern design tools like Figma.
• Integrate AI-driven thinking and capabilities into product and service ecosystems, exploring applications from automation to augmentation.
• Design multi-channel, multi-touch experiences that span digital, physical, and human interactions, ensuring seamless user journeys.
• Conduct rigorous user validation, usability testing, and heuristic evaluations to iterate and refine design solutions based on data and feedback.
• Translate complex business requirements and technical constraints into clear, intuitive, and impactful user experiences.
• Collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, including product managers, engineers, and data scientists, in a globally distributed environment.
• Articulate design decisions, rationale, and trade-offs to stakeholders, connecting design outcomes to measurable business objectives and ROI.
• Stay abreast of emerging design trends, technologies (e.g., VR, AR, 3D), and AI advancements to inform innovative product strategies.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities clearly indicate a need for a designer who can operate strategically and operationally. The emphasis on facilitating workshops, connecting design to business outcomes, and understanding AI integration points towards a role that requires strong GTM alignment and an understanding of how design drives market success.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• No specific degree is mandated, but a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent practical experience and expertise in product design, UX/UI, and related fields is essential.

Experience:

• A minimum of 4+ years of professional experience in product design, with a proven track record of delivering complex digital products and services.
• Experience designing for diverse industries and problem spaces, including but not limited to mobility, healthcare, telecommunications, sustainability, and finance.

Required Skills:

• Portfolio Excellence: A strong, comprehensive portfolio showcasing exceptional interaction and visual design skills, problem-solving capabilities, and a deep understanding of the design process.
• English Fluency: Excellent written and spoken English communication skills, essential for a 100% English-speaking global role.
• Full-Spectrum Design Fluency: Proficiency across research, synthesis, strategy definition, UX/UI design, and delivery stages of the product lifecycle.
• AI IQ: A strong understanding of AI as a design material and system architecture, with a demonstrated ability to conceptualize and integrate AI-driven features. A self-rated 4 or 5 on a 1-5 scale for AI understanding is highly desirable.
• Systems Thinking: Ability to design for comprehensive ecosystems, considering interactions across multiple channels, services, and organizational structures.
• Business Acumen: Capacity to frame design-related trade-offs and articulate how design decisions contribute to measurable business outcomes and ROI.
• Craftsmanship: High proficiency in modern design tools, particularly Figma, with the ability to build modular, scalable design systems and create clear, effective prototypes.
• Collaboration: Demonstrated ability to work effectively across time zones in distributed teams, fostering a culture of knowledge sharing and co-creation.
• Critical Thinking & Adaptability: A curious, adaptable, and empathetic mindset with the ability to critically analyze problems and clearly defend design choices.

Preferred Skills:

• AI Specifics: Experience with prompt engineering, agentic architectures, and rapid prototyping workflows leveraging AI.
• User Research Methods: Expertise in planning and conducting user, customer, and stakeholder interviews, validation sessions, and usability testing.
• Information Architecture: Skill in creating and communicating mental models, personas, user flows, customer journeys, and other IA deliverables.
• Storytelling: Strong narrative development skills to effectively communicate design concepts, inspire stakeholders, and build conviction.
• Emerging Technologies: Experience or a keen interest in experimenting with motion design, 3D, VR, AR, and emerging front-end technologies.
• Problem Framing: Ability to perform heuristic evaluations and expert reviews to identify design opportunities and risks.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "AI IQ" and specific AI-related skills like prompt engineering and agentic architectures is a significant differentiator for this role. This suggests the company is at the forefront of integrating AI into its design services, requiring a candidate who can not only design but also understand and articulate the operational implications of AI in product development.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Comprehensive Case Studies: Showcase detailed case studies that illustrate your end-to-end product design process, from problem identification and research to strategy, design execution, and impact.
• Process Optimization Examples: Highlight instances where your design interventions led to measurable improvements in user experience, efficiency, adoption rates, or business KPIs.
• System Design: Demonstrate experience in designing and implementing scalable UX/UI systems, design systems, or component libraries, emphasizing modularity and maintainability.
• AI Integration Showcase: If applicable, include examples of how you've conceptualized or integrated AI capabilities into product designs, showcasing your understanding of AI's role in user experience and operational efficiency.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design & Optimization: Present how you approach designing and optimizing user workflows, ensuring clarity, efficiency, and alignment with business objectives.
• Implementation & Automation: Detail your experience in translating designs into tangible products, potentially through collaboration with engineering teams or by leveraging rapid prototyping tools. Examples of how AI can automate design or user tasks are highly valued.
• Measurement & Analysis: Show how you measure the success of your designs, including the metrics you track, analysis techniques you employ, and how you use data to inform iterative improvements.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section is crucial for a design role, but the inclusion of "AI integration showcase" and "automation" within process documentation strongly emphasizes the operational aspect of design. Candidates need to demonstrate not just aesthetic or UX skills, but also how their work contributes to efficient product delivery and user engagement through intelligent systems.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• Estimate: Based on industry benchmarks for Senior Product Designers in the SEE region with 4+ years of experience and specialized AI knowledge, a competitive salary range for this role would likely fall between €35,000 - €60,000 annually for full-time employees. For contract roles, hourly rates could range from €20 - €35 per hour, depending on experience and project scope.
• Methodology: This estimate is derived from analyzing publicly available salary data for similar roles in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and other comparable European tech hubs. Factors considered include experience level, the demand for specialized skills (like AI in design), the company's global nature, and the need for candidates authorized to work in the specified region. The range accounts for variations in specific skill sets, portfolio strength, and the contract vs. FTE nature of the position.

Benefits (for FTE):

• Competitive Salary: A salary commensurate with experience and expertise, reflecting the strategic importance of the role.
• Global Collaboration: Opportunities to work with international clients and a diverse, distributed team, fostering cross-cultural understanding and a broad perspective.
• Diverse Project Exposure: Engage in a wide array of projects across various industries (health, climate, finance, mobility, etc.), offering continuous learning and skill development.
• AI & Emerging Tech Exploration: Access to cutting-edge projects and opportunities to experiment with AI, VR, AR, 3D, and other advanced technologies.
• Professional Development: Support for continuous learning, potentially including access to training, conferences, and industry certifications.
• Flexible Work Environment: Options for hybrid or fully remote work, with flexibility in working hours to accommodate global collaboration and local time zones.
• Impactful Work: The chance to design products and services that impact millions of users worldwide.

Working Hours:

• 40 hours per week, with flexibility to accommodate global collaboration across different time zones. Alignment with standard working hours in the local time zone is expected.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimation is based on the specified location (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the senior level of the role, factoring in the premium for AI expertise. The benefits highlight the unique aspects of working for a global design group, emphasizing learning and exposure to advanced technologies, which are key operational advantages for attracting talent.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Product Design, Digital Transformation, Technology Consulting, AI Integration. Company Size: Momentum IO operates as a global product design group. While specific employee numbers aren't detailed, their distributed presence across multiple offices and time zones suggests a medium to large-sized organization with a significant number of highly skilled professionals. Founded: The founding date is not specified, but the company's emphasis on modern technologies like AI, VR, and AR, combined with its global reach, indicates a forward-thinking and established entity in the design and technology consulting space.

Team Structure:

• Distributed & Collaborative: The team is globally distributed across various time zones, fostering a highly collaborative and integrated working model.
• Cross-Functional Integration: Designers work closely with product managers, engineers, data scientists, and business strategists, emphasizing a holistic approach to product development.
• Matrixed Reporting (Likely): Senior designers likely report to design leads or directors, but also work on project-specific teams that may have their own project leads, reflecting a flexible operational structure.

Methodology:

• Human-Centered Design: A strong foundation in understanding user needs, business goals, and technological possibilities.
• Data-Driven Insights: Leveraging research, analytics, and AI-driven insights to inform design decisions and measure impact.
• Agile & Iterative: Embracing iterative design processes, rapid prototyping, and continuous feedback loops to drive innovation and reduce risk.
• Workshop Facilitation: Extensive use of client workshops to foster co-creation, alignment, and strategic planning.

Company Website: momentum.io

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's operational model is clearly defined by its global, distributed nature and its focus on integrated, cross-functional teams. This requires designers to be highly self-sufficient and adept at remote collaboration, which are key operational considerations for talent management. The company's focus on AI integration suggests a strong R&D or innovation-driven operational strategy.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior Product Designer role, indicating a level of autonomy, expertise, and leadership within the design function. Senior designers are expected to handle complex projects independently, mentor junior team members, and significantly influence design strategy and client engagements.

Reporting Structure: While specific reporting lines are not detailed, Senior Product Designers typically report to Design Directors or Heads of Design. They will also collaborate closely with Project Leads, Product Managers, and Engineering Leads on various client engagements, forming project-specific workstreams.

Operations Impact: Senior Product Designers at Momentum IO have a direct and significant impact on the company's operational success and client outcomes. Their work shapes the user experience of products that reach millions, influencing customer acquisition, retention, and overall business growth. By integrating AI and designing effective service ecosystems, they drive innovation, reduce operational friction for clients, and enhance the value proposition of the services offered.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Potential to advance into Lead Product Designer, Design Manager, or Director roles, overseeing design teams and strategic initiatives.
• Specialization: Develop deep expertise in specific domains like AI-driven design, VR/AR experiences, service design, or specific industry verticals.
• Client Strategy: Grow into roles focused on client strategy and relationship management, leveraging design expertise to drive business development and long-term partnerships.
• Cross-Disciplinary Skill Development: Opportunities to expand skills into adjacent areas such as business analysis, AI strategy, or advanced prototyping techniques.
• Global Exposure: Continuous learning and growth through exposure to diverse global clients, markets, and operational challenges.

📝 Enhancement Note: The career path for a Senior Product Designer here is not strictly linear but rather broad, emphasizing continuous learning and the ability to adapt to diverse operational needs. The emphasis on "shaping outcomes" and "driving innovation" highlights the strategic importance of design within the company's overall business operations.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Momentum IO offers a hybrid work model, with options for remote work or working from their physical offices located in Belgrade (Serbia), Novi Sad (Serbia), and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina). This provides flexibility and choice for employees.

Office Location(s):

• Belgrade, Serbia
• Novi Sad, Serbia
• Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hubs: Offices likely serve as hubs for collaboration, client meetings, and team-building, offering spaces designed to foster creativity and interaction.
• Technology-Rich: Access to modern design tools, high-performance computing for AI-related tasks, and robust collaboration platforms are expected.
• Global Connectivity: The work environment is inherently global, with a strong emphasis on digital collaboration tools and effective communication across time zones.

Work Schedule:

• Standard working hours aligned with local time zones are expected, but the role demands flexibility to accommodate global client needs and team collaboration across different regions. This implies a need for proactive time management and communication.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid and remote options reflect a modern operational approach to talent acquisition and management, prioritizing flexibility while maintaining the need for effective collaboration and connectivity. The existence of physical offices in specific locations suggests strategic operational hubs for regional talent.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and, critically, your portfolio. Applications without a portfolio link will not be considered.
• Portfolio Deep Dive: An in-depth discussion with a design lead or hiring manager focusing on your portfolio case studies. Be prepared to walk through your process, rationale, and the impact of your work.
• Skills Assessment: Potential exercises or discussions to evaluate your proficiency in Figma, understanding of AI, systems thinking, and ability to frame design decisions against business goals.
• Collaborative Exercise/Workshop Simulation: You might be asked to participate in a simulated client workshop or a design challenge that tests your problem-solving, facilitation, and collaboration skills in a time-bound scenario.
• Cultural Fit & Team Interview: Discussions with potential team members to assess your collaboration style, adaptability, and alignment with Momentum IO's values.
• Final Interview: A conversation with senior leadership to discuss your career aspirations, strategic thinking, and overall fit for the company's vision.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Tell a Story: Structure your case studies to clearly articulate the problem, your role, your process, the challenges faced, the solutions developed, and the measurable outcomes.
• Showcase Process, Not Just Pixels: Detail your research, ideation, iteration, and testing phases. Demonstrate how you arrived at your final designs.
• Highlight AI Integration: If you have relevant experience, clearly articulate how you leveraged AI in your design process or integrated AI features into the product. Quantify the impact if possible.
• Demonstrate Business Impact: Connect your design decisions to business objectives, user adoption, efficiency gains, or ROI. Use data and metrics wherever possible.
• Tailor to Momentum IO: Research Momentum IO's work and values. Highlight projects or skills that align with their focus areas, particularly AI, complex systems, and cross-industry design.
• Clarity and Conciseness: Ensure your portfolio is easy to navigate, visually appealing, and that your contributions are clearly defined, especially in team projects.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Brief: If given a design challenge, thoroughly read and understand the problem statement, constraints, and objectives.
• Think Aloud: Practice articulating your thought process as you work through a challenge. This is crucial for demonstrating your problem-solving methodology.
• Prioritize & Scope: For time-limited challenges, learn to prioritize key aspects and define a realistic scope for your solution.
• Focus on AI & Systems: Given Momentum IO's focus, be prepared to incorporate AI considerations and think about system-level implications in your solutions.
• Stakeholder Communication: Prepare to present your solution, explain your rationale clearly, and defend your decisions, simulating interactions with clients or product teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on portfolio review and specific tips underscores the operational importance of showcasing tangible results and a well-defined design process. The "AI Integration Showcase" and "Demonstrate Business Impact" are critical points for candidates to focus on, aligning with the company's strategic operational priorities.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential for interaction design, UI design, prototyping, and design system development. Proficiency with its collaborative features and advanced capabilities is expected.
• Modern Design & Prototyping Tools: Familiarity with other industry-standard tools for rapid prototyping, animation, and 3D design may be beneficial.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly listed as primary design tools, Senior Product Designers are expected to understand and utilize data from analytics platforms to inform design decisions and measure impact. Familiarity with tools that provide user behavior insights (e.g., Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude) is advantageous.

CRM & Automation:

• Not directly part of the designer's primary stack, but an understanding of how design integrates with CRM systems and automation workflows can be beneficial for designing cohesive user journeys and business processes.

AI & Emerging Technologies:

• AI Platforms/APIs: Familiarity with how AI models are accessed and integrated, and potentially experience with prompt engineering tools or AI development platforms.
• VR/AR Development Tools: Experience with platforms or software used for creating immersive experiences.
• 3D Modeling Software: Proficiency in tools for 3D design and visualization.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Figma and the strong emphasis on AI, VR, AR, and 3D highlight the company's operational investment in advanced design technologies. Candidates need to demonstrate not just proficiency but also a strategic understanding of how these tools and technologies can be leveraged to create innovative product experiences and drive business value.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Design as a Core Driver: A belief that design is fundamental to business value and human experience, not just an aesthetic layer.
• Collaboration & Partnership: A strong emphasis on working as collaborators first, both internally and with clients, fostering a co-creative environment.
• Curiosity & Adaptability: A culture that encourages continuous learning, exploration of new technologies (like AI), and adaptation to diverse challenges and industries.
• Clarity, Confidence, Transformation: The core tenets guiding their design approach—design should bring clarity, build confidence, and drive transformation for clients and users.
• Data-Informed Innovation: Utilizing data and insights, including AI-driven analytics, to fuel innovation and ensure designs are effective and impactful.
• Global Perspective: Valuing diverse viewpoints and experiences that come from a globally distributed team and client base.

Collaboration Style:

• Integrated & Cross-Functional: Seamless integration with product, engineering, and business strategy teams.
• Workshop-Centric: Frequent use of workshops for ideation, problem-solving, and stakeholder alignment.
• Open Communication: Encouraging open dialogue, knowledge sharing, and constructive feedback across all levels and geographies.
• Client as Partner: Treating clients as integral members of the design process, fostering transparency and shared ownership.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's values and collaboration style are central to its operational success. They emphasize a proactive, integrated approach to design that directly contributes to client outcomes and internal efficiency. The alignment with "AI integration" and "data-informed innovation" points to a forward-thinking operational culture.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Complexity: Designing for intricate systems and diverse industries requires strong analytical skills and the ability to synthesize complex information into user-friendly experiences.
• Global Distributed Teams: Effectively collaborating and maintaining strong communication across multiple time zones and cultural contexts presents ongoing operational challenges.
• Integrating AI: Staying ahead of the rapidly evolving AI landscape and effectively integrating AI into design workflows and product features requires continuous learning and experimentation.
• Balancing Craft & Strategy: Ensuring that detailed design craft is balanced with strategic business objectives and client needs.
• Client Alignment: Facilitating consensus and driving conviction among diverse client stakeholders with varying levels of design understanding.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI & Emerging Tech Mastery: Deepen expertise in AI applications, prompt engineering, agentic architectures, VR/AR, and other frontier technologies.
• Cross-Industry Expertise: Gain broad exposure to various sectors, developing a versatile understanding of different market dynamics and user needs.
• Design Leadership & Facilitation: Develop skills in leading design teams, facilitating complex workshops, and managing client relationships at a strategic level.
• Global Collaboration Skills: Enhance capabilities in cross-cultural communication and remote team management.
• Business Strategy Integration: Strengthen the ability to connect design outcomes directly to business strategy and measurable impact, potentially through formal training or project exposure.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges and growth opportunities are directly tied to the company's operational model and strategic focus areas (AI, global reach, diverse industries). These provide clear pathways for a Senior Product Designer to develop valuable, in-demand skills that enhance their operational effectiveness.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you used AI to enhance a product experience or streamline a design process. What was the outcome?" (Focus on AI integration, process improvement, and measurable results).
• "Walk us through a complex system you designed. What were the key components, how did you ensure scalability and consistency, and what trade-offs did you make?" (Assess systems thinking, design process, and strategic decision-making).
• "How do you approach facilitating a workshop with diverse stakeholders who have conflicting priorities? Give an example." (Evaluate facilitation skills, stakeholder management, and ability to drive consensus).
• "Imagine you need to design an interface for a neurosurgical planning tool. What would be your initial steps, key considerations, and how would you approach user research for such a specialized domain?" (Test problem-solving, domain adaptability, and research methodology).

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you most about Momentum IO's focus on AI in product design, and how does your experience align with this?" (Gauge understanding of the company's strategic direction and personal alignment).
• "How do you handle constructive criticism on your designs, especially from clients or team members with differing opinions?" (Assess adaptability, collaboration, and receptiveness to feedback).
• "Describe your ideal collaborative environment when working with a globally distributed team." (Understand your approach to remote work and cross-cultural collaboration).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your specific role and contributions, your process (research, ideation, testing), the final solution, and the measurable impact.
• Quantify Your Impact: Whenever possible, use data and metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs. This could include improvements in conversion rates, user satisfaction scores, task completion times, or business KPIs.
• Highlight AI & Systems Thinking: Be prepared to specifically discuss any AI integration or complex system design elements within your portfolio projects. Explain the rationale and outcomes.
• Showcase Your Process: Emphasize your problem-solving methodology, how you iterate based on feedback, and how you make strategic design decisions.
• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about specific design choices, technical constraints, and alternative solutions you considered.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview preparation advice is tailored to Momentum IO's stated focus on AI, complex systems, and global collaboration. Candidates should prepare specific examples that demonstrate these capabilities, showcasing their operational readiness and strategic alignment.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application, ensuring you include a direct link to your comprehensive portfolio in your resume or work experience section. Applications without a portfolio will not be considered.
• Portfolio Preparation: Curate your portfolio to prominently feature case studies that demonstrate your end-to-end design process, highlight your experience with AI integration or complex systems, and quantify the business impact of your work.
• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to include keywords relevant to product design, UX/UI, AI, systems thinking, and collaboration. Clearly articulate your years of experience and specific achievements.
• Interview Practice: Prepare to discuss your portfolio in detail, focusing on your problem-solving approach, design rationale, and the measurable outcomes of your projects. Practice articulating your experience with AI and complex systems.
• Company Research: Thoroughly research Momentum IO's work, client portfolio, and stated values. Understand their approach to AI and design strategy to better articulate your fit and ask insightful questions.

⚠️ 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.