Senior Product Designer – Design System

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer – Design System Lead Company: Back Market Location: Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Job Type: FULL_TIME Category: Product Design / Design Operations Date Posted: 2025-08-28T00:00:00 Experience Level: 5-10 Years

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the development, maintenance, and evolution of Back Market's comprehensive Design System, "Revolve," encompassing responsive web, iOS, and Android platforms.
• Drive strategic initiatives for design system governance, contribution frameworks, internal processes, and robust component libraries to ensure seamless integration and operational efficiency.
• Act as a primary advocate for the design system, fostering adoption and inspiring collaboration among cross-functional teams including designers, product managers, and engineers.
• Elevate the design system to industry-leading standards, ensuring high-quality UI, pixel-perfect components, and adherence to platform-specific design patterns and accessibility guidelines.
• Contribute significantly to shaping the vision and roadmap for the design system, aligning it with user needs, business objectives, and company-wide innovation efforts.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a Design System Lead, implying a significant strategic and leadership component within the product design function. The focus on "Revolve," Back Market's Design System, suggests a critical, foundational role in ensuring product consistency, scalability, and efficient development across multiple platforms. The emphasis on governance, contribution frameworks, and documentation points towards a need for strong operational rigor and process ownership.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Manage and evolve the "Revolve" Design System, ensuring its continued relevance and scalability across responsive web, iOS, and Android applications.
• Collaborate closely with product designers, brand designers, product managers, and frontend/mobile engineers to define and refine the scope and strategic direction of the design system.
• Develop and implement robust governance models, contribution frameworks, and internal processes to streamline the design system's lifecycle and encourage broader team participation.
• Create and maintain comprehensive documentation for components, patterns, and guidelines to ensure clarity, consistency, and ease of use for all stakeholders.
• Proactively communicate the design system's progress, impact, learnings, and goals to internal teams and potentially external communities, acting as a key evangelist.
• Provide direct support and guidance to teams contributing new components, updating existing ones, and consolidating design patterns within the system.
• Ensure all design system elements adhere to the highest standards of accessibility, making inclusive design an integral part of the system's foundation.
• Contribute to the strategic roadmap planning for the design system, identifying opportunities for innovation and improvement based on user feedback and business requirements.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic leadership, hands-on design work, and operational process management. The emphasis on "governance models, contribution frameworks, internal processes" indicates a need for someone who can establish and maintain systematic approaches to design system development and adoption, crucial for scaling operations in a growing company.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating expertise in design systems, UI/UX design, and product development is paramount. A background in Human-Computer Interaction, Graphic Design, or a related field is beneficial. Experience: 5-10 years of progressive experience in Product Design, with a significant focus on building, scaling, and maintaining design systems. Proven track record in e-commerce or marketplace environments is highly valued, demonstrating an understanding of complex user journeys and business needs.

Required Skills:

• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to inspire teams and effectively influence senior stakeholders through clear, empathetic, and data-driven presentations.
• Proven, hands-on experience in building, scaling, and maintaining mature design systems across multiple platforms (web, mobile).
• Deep expertise in e-commerce or marketplace user experiences, with a demonstrated history of achieving high design system adoption rates and maturity.
• Uncompromising commitment to UI quality, with a keen eye for detail and the ability to design pixel-perfect, robust components.
• In-depth knowledge of platform-specific design patterns and behaviors for both web (responsive) and mobile (iOS, Android).
• Proficiency in collaboration tools and methodologies, enabling seamless teamwork with designers, product managers, and engineers.
• Strong understanding of accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG) and their practical application in design systems.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with establishing and refining design system governance models and contribution frameworks.
• Familiarity with front-end development principles and how design systems translate into code.
• Experience in documenting and evangelizing design systems to diverse audiences.
• A proactive approach to identifying and implementing innovations within a design system context.
• Experience working within agile development methodologies.

📝 Enhancement Note: The experience level (5-10 years) suggests a candidate expected to operate with significant autonomy and strategic input. The emphasis on "e-commerce or marketplace experiences" and "high design system adoption and maturity" indicates a preference for candidates who understand the operational impact of design systems in fast-paced, customer-facing digital environments.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a minimum of one comprehensive Design System project, detailing its scope, evolution, and impact on product development velocity and consistency.
• Include examples of individual UI components, pattern libraries, and style guides, demonstrating pixel-perfection and adherence to best practices.
• Provide case studies illustrating your role in establishing governance models, contribution frameworks, and documentation standards for a design system.
• Demonstrate experience in collaborating with engineering and product teams to ensure successful implementation and adoption of design system elements.
• Highlight instances where you've driven adoption and influenced stakeholders regarding the value and application of a design system.

Process Documentation:

• Evidence of creating and maintaining clear, actionable documentation for design system components, including usage guidelines, accessibility notes, and version control.
• Examples of process documentation related to design system contribution workflows, review cycles, and adoption strategies.
• Documentation showcasing how you've facilitated communication and knowledge sharing about the design system across different teams and disciplines.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Senior Product Designer role focused on a Design System, the portfolio is critical. It needs to go beyond aesthetic design to demonstrate operational capability in building, scaling, and managing complex design assets and their associated processes. The expectation is for a candidate to show how they've operationalized design consistency and efficiency.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: For Barcelona, Spain, a Senior Product Designer with 5-10 years of experience, especially with specialized skills in Design Systems, can expect a competitive salary. Based on industry benchmarks and cost of living in Barcelona, a typical range would be between €50,000 - €75,000 annually, depending on experience, specific skill set, and the company's compensation philosophy.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary package with potential for performance-based bonuses.
• Comprehensive health insurance coverage for employees and potentially dependents.
• Generous paid time off (PTO) policy, including vacation, sick leave, and public holidays.
• Opportunities for professional development, including training, workshops, and conference attendance relevant to design systems and product design.
• Remote work flexibility, allowing for a strong work-life balance.
• Potential for stock options or equity grants, depending on company policy and role seniority.
• Contribution to a sustainable and impactful mission focused on reducing electronic waste.
• Access to modern design tools and technologies.

Working Hours: Standard full-time work week, typically 40 hours, with flexibility often offered to accommodate remote work and individual work styles, while ensuring alignment with team collaboration needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary is estimated based on general market data for senior-level design roles in major Spanish cities like Barcelona, adjusted for the specialized nature of Design System leadership. The benefits are typical for a tech company of Back Market's likely size and stage, with a particular emphasis on professional growth and remote work support.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: E-commerce / Marketplace (Refurbished Electronics), Technology, Environmental Sustainability. Back Market operates in the rapidly growing circular economy sector, positioning itself as a leader in sustainable technology consumption. Company Size: Back Market is a well-established and rapidly growing global company. While specific numbers for the design team aren't provided, the mention of 20 designers and 50 engineers using the design system indicates a substantial product and engineering organization, suggesting a dynamic and collaborative environment. Founded: Back Market was founded in 2014, indicating a company with established processes but still retaining a dynamic, growth-oriented startup culture.

Team Structure:

• The Design System team includes a mix of dedicated design system professionals (1 freelance designer, the Senior Product Designer), and engineering support (3 frontend engineers, 2 mobile engineers, 1 engineering manager). This structure indicates a strong, cross-functional commitment to the design system's success.
• The Senior Product Designer will likely report into a Head of Design or Design Lead, with a dotted line to engineering leadership overseeing the technical implementation aspects of the design system.
• Collaboration is expected to be high, with designers, product managers, and engineers across various product squads working closely with the design system team to ensure adoption and gather feedback.

Methodology:

• Design system development will likely follow agile methodologies, with iterative design, development, and deployment cycles.
• Data-driven decision-making will be key, using user feedback, analytics, and adoption metrics to inform the design system's roadmap and improvements.
• A strong emphasis on user-centric design principles will guide the creation of components and patterns, ensuring they meet the needs of both end-users and internal teams.
• Collaboration will be facilitated through regular syncs, design critiques, and cross-functional working sessions.

Company Website: https://www.backmarket.com

📝 Enhancement Note: Back Market's mission-driven focus on sustainability is a strong cultural anchor. The company's growth implies a need for robust, scalable design operations, making the Design System Lead role critical for maintaining product quality and development efficiency. The cross-functional team structure for the design system itself highlights its importance within the organization.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is at a senior individual contributor level, with a focus on leading a critical operational component of product development – the design system. It requires not only design expertise but also strategic thinking, process management, and cross-functional leadership. Reporting Structure: The Senior Product Designer will report to a design leadership role (e.g., Head of Design, Design Manager) and work closely with an Engineering Manager overseeing the design system's technical implementation. This structure ensures alignment with both design strategy and engineering execution. Operations Impact: The Design System Lead has a direct and profound impact on the efficiency and consistency of product development across Back Market. By providing a unified set of components and guidelines, this role accelerates design and development cycles, reduces redundant work, enhances user experience consistency, and ultimately contributes to faster iteration and better product outcomes.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership: Transition into a Design System Manager role, leading a larger team and owning a broader strategic vision for design operations.
• Specialization: Deepen expertise in design operations, component architecture, or accessibility advocacy within the design system domain.
• Cross-Functional Moves: Opportunities to move into broader Product Design leadership roles, Product Management, or even roles focused on design tooling and developer experience.
• Mentorship: Mentor junior designers and engineers contributing to or utilizing the design system, fostering a culture of knowledge sharing and skill development.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a clear path for growth within the specialized field of design operations and systems, as well as broader opportunities within product design leadership. The impact is significant, touching nearly all aspects of product creation at Back Market.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Back Market is a global company with offices in various locations, but this role is advertised as TELECOMMUTE with a requirement for the candidate to be based in Spain. This suggests a hybrid or fully remote work model, emphasizing flexibility and a results-oriented approach. Office Location(s): While Back Market has physical offices, the specific mention of "TELECOMMUTE" and "Spain" indicates that the primary work environment for this role will be remote, with potential for occasional team meetups or company events in one of their office locations.

Workspace Context:

• Remote work environment, requiring self-discipline, strong time management, and effective virtual collaboration skills.
• Access to digital collaboration tools (e.g., Slack, Figma, Jira) and a supportive team infrastructure to facilitate seamless remote work.
• Opportunities for asynchronous communication and collaboration, balanced with synchronous meetings for critical discussions and team alignment.
• A culture that values autonomy and empowers individuals to manage their work effectively within a distributed team setting.

Work Schedule: While the standard is 40 hours per week, the remote nature of the role likely offers flexibility in terms of start and end times, provided that core collaboration hours and team availability are met. This allows for better integration of work and personal life.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "TELECOMMUTE" designation with a country requirement strongly points to a remote-first or remote-friendly culture. Candidates should be comfortable working independently and collaborating virtually, leveraging digital tools to maintain team cohesion and productivity.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will review your application and portfolio to assess suitability for the role. Be prepared to articulate your design system experience and its impact concisely.
• Hiring Manager Interview: A deeper dive into your experience with design systems, leadership potential, and understanding of Back Market's mission. Expect questions about your approach to governance, collaboration, and scaling.
• Design System Team/Cross-functional Interview: Meet with members of the design system team (designers, engineers) and potentially product managers to discuss collaboration, technical understanding, and your ability to integrate into the existing team dynamic.
• Case Study Presentation/Portfolio Review: A dedicated session to present a key design system project from your portfolio. This is your opportunity to showcase your strategic thinking, process, problem-solving skills, and the impact of your work. Expect detailed questions about your approach and decision-making.
• Final Interview: Potentially with a senior leader (e.g., Head of Product, CPO) to assess cultural fit, strategic alignment, and overall suitability for the role.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Structure: Organize your portfolio around key design system projects. For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process you followed, the solutions you designed and implemented, and the measurable outcomes or impact.
• Design System Focus: Emphasize projects where you built, scaled, or significantly improved a design system. Detail your involvement in creating component libraries, establishing guidelines, defining governance, and driving adoption.
• Metrics & Impact: Quantify the impact of your work whenever possible. For design systems, this could include adoption rates, reduction in design/development time, consistency improvements, or accessibility enhancements.
• Storytelling: Craft a narrative that highlights your journey as a design systems leader, showcasing your ability to influence, collaborate, and drive change.
• Clarity & Accessibility: Ensure your portfolio is easy to navigate, visually clear, and that all supporting documentation (like process flows or guidelines) is readily accessible and understandable.

Challenge Preparation:

• Be prepared for a case study or take-home assignment that might involve evaluating an existing design system, proposing improvements, or designing a new component with comprehensive documentation.
• Practice articulating your design decisions clearly, explaining the rationale behind your choices, and how they align with user needs and business goals.
• Understand Back Market's products and user base to tailor your responses and demonstrate genuine interest and understanding.
• Prepare to discuss how you would approach building consensus and driving adoption of your design system recommendations across different teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes practical application and strategic thinking. A strong portfolio that clearly demonstrates end-to-end design system ownership, process implementation, and measurable impact will be crucial for success. Expect a rigorous evaluation of your ability to lead and operationalize a design system.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (primary tool for design, prototyping, and design system management), Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite.
• Collaboration & Communication: Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides), Confluence or similar wiki for documentation.
• Project Management & Workflow: Jira, Asana, Trello, or similar tools for tracking design system tasks, contributions, and roadmap items.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Tools for tracking design system adoption, component usage, and user feedback (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel, Hotjar, or internal analytics platforms).
• Proficiency in interpreting data to inform design system evolution and identify areas for improvement.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly managing CRM, understanding how design systems integrate with customer-facing platforms and potentially marketing automation tools is beneficial for a holistic view.
• Familiarity with version control systems (e.g., Git) for managing design assets and collaboration is a plus.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma is almost certainly a prerequisite, given its industry dominance in design system management. Experience with tools that facilitate collaboration, documentation, and project tracking within a design system context is also highly valued.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Centricity: Designing with the end-user and internal stakeholders in mind, ensuring the design system serves their needs effectively.
• Collaboration: Fostering a transparent and collaborative environment where designers, engineers, and product managers work together seamlessly to build and maintain the design system.
• Efficiency & Scalability: Prioritizing solutions that are not only well-designed but also efficient to build, maintain, and scale across the organization.
• Quality & Consistency: Upholding a high bar for UI design and ensuring consistent application of patterns and components across all product touchpoints.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Utilizing data and feedback to inform design system evolution and prioritize roadmap initiatives.
• Innovation: Continuously seeking ways to improve the design system, explore new technologies, and push the boundaries of what's possible.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: The design system team operates as a hub, integrating with various product squads to provide support, gather feedback, and ensure alignment.
• Open Communication: Encouraging open dialogue, constructive feedback, and knowledge sharing through regular meetings, design critiques, and documentation.
• Empowerment: Empowering teams to contribute to the design system while maintaining clear guidelines and quality control.

📝 Enhancement Note: Back Market's mission-driven culture likely fosters a sense of purpose and collaboration. The design system team's values will mirror this, emphasizing shared ownership, continuous improvement, and a commitment to building high-quality, user-centric products efficiently.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Scaling a Growing Design System: As Back Market expands, the design system must evolve rapidly to accommodate new features, platforms, and user needs, requiring proactive planning and adaptable processes.
• Driving Adoption and Buy-in: Persuading and enabling diverse teams (designers, engineers, PMs) to consistently adopt and contribute to the design system requires strong influence and communication skills.
• Balancing Innovation with Stability: Ensuring the design system remains a stable foundation while also allowing for innovation and the introduction of new patterns and components presents a continuous balancing act.
• Maintaining Consistency Across Platforms: Effectively managing the design system for responsive web, iOS, and Android simultaneously, ensuring platform-specific nuances are respected while maintaining a cohesive brand experience.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Design System Leadership: Gaining extensive experience in leading and strategizing for a critical, company-wide design asset.
• Cross-Platform Expertise: Deepening knowledge of design patterns and best practices for web, iOS, and Android.
• Process Optimization: Developing expertise in establishing and refining design operations processes, governance models, and contribution frameworks.
• Industry Engagement: Potential to represent Back Market at design conferences, contribute to open-source design system projects, or mentor within the broader design community.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role offers significant challenges related to scaling, adoption, and maintaining consistency, which are prime areas for professional development and demonstrating leadership capabilities within the operations and design system space.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach building consensus and driving adoption for a design system across multiple product teams with varying priorities?"
• "Describe your process for defining and evolving a design system's governance model and contribution framework."
• "How do you balance the need for consistency with the desire for product innovation and team autonomy within a design system?"
• "What metrics would you track to measure the success and impact of a design system, and how would you report on them to stakeholders?"
• "How do you ensure accessibility is a core component of a design system from its inception and throughout its lifecycle?"

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Back Market's mission and its impact on sustainability?"
• "How do you see your role contributing to Back Market's overall product strategy and user experience?"
• "Describe your ideal collaboration style with product managers and engineers when working on a design system."
• "How do you stay updated on the latest trends and best practices in design systems and product design?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Narrative Arc: Structure your presentation to tell a compelling story about your design system work, from initial concept and challenges to implementation, adoption, and impact.
• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals (screenshots, prototypes, component examples) extensively to illustrate your points. Walk through the actual documentation and guidelines you created.
• Focus on Process: Detail the how and why behind your decisions. Explain your methodology for component creation, pattern definition, and establishing best practices.
• Highlight Collaboration: Showcase how you worked with engineers and PMs, including examples of shared documentation, contribution workflows, and feedback loops.
• Quantify Impact: Clearly present any metrics or qualitative feedback that demonstrate the value your design system brought to the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic thinking, operational prowess in managing complex systems, and strong collaborative and communication skills, all within the context of Back Market's mission and e-commerce environment.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer – Design System Lead position:

• Submit your application via the provided Ashby link, ensuring your resume and portfolio are up-to-date and easily accessible.
• Tailor your resume: Highlight experience specifically related to design systems, e-commerce, UI design, and cross-functional collaboration. Quantify achievements where possible (e.g., "Increased design system adoption by X%," "Reduced UI development time by Y%").
• Curate your portfolio: Select your strongest design system projects. For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process, the solution, and the impact. Ensure it showcases your ability to build, scale, and manage design systems, including governance and documentation.
• Prepare your case study presentation: Practice presenting your key design system project, focusing on storytelling, process clarity, collaboration examples, and measurable outcomes. Be ready to answer in-depth questions about your decisions and methodologies.
• Research Back Market: Understand their mission, products, and recent news. Consider how your skills and experience align with their goals and culture, and be prepared to articulate this insight during interviews.

⚠️ 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.