Senior Product Designer (m/f/d)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer (m/f/d)

Company: Mercanis

Location: Berlin, Germany

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Product Design / UX/UI

Date Posted: November 08, 2025

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the design and ownership of critical product areas within Mercanis' B2B SaaS platform, focusing on creating intuitive and impactful user experiences for procurement teams.

• Spearhead the design of AI-powered procurement features, including intuitive interfaces for agentic AI that can negotiate contracts and automate complex workflows.

• Drive design excellence by defining and upholding quality standards, contributing to and evolving the company's design system for scalable and consistent product application.

• Champion a user-centric design approach, translating deep user research insights into actionable design strategies that address complex procurement challenges and enhance daily operations.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a Senior Product Designer, indicating a need for significant autonomy, strategic thinking, and the ability to influence product direction. The emphasis on AI features and complex B2B workflows suggests a role that requires not only strong design craft but also a strategic understanding of enterprise software and emerging technologies.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Take full design ownership of major product features, guiding them from initial discovery and conceptualization through to successful launch and post-launch iteration.

• Develop intuitive and trustworthy interfaces for advanced AI-powered procurement functionalities, such as contract negotiation agents, supplier data analysis tools, and automated workflow management, ensuring human oversight and control.

• Address intricate design challenges inherent in enterprise software, including multi-stakeholder complexity, seamless supplier collaboration, AI transparency, data-intensive interfaces, and user accessibility for varied technical proficiencies.

• Define, maintain, and evolve the company's design system, ensuring consistency and scalability of design components and patterns across the product portfolio.

• Conduct thorough user research with both buyers and suppliers to gain deep insights into their operational pain points, unmet needs, and daily workflows.

• Collaborate closely with Product Managers and Engineers to translate user insights and strategic objectives into high-fidelity designs, ensuring precise implementation and contributing to design enhancements during the development lifecycle.

• Establish and refine lean, effective design processes that enable rapid iteration while upholding high standards of quality and user experience.

• Mentor junior designers and advocate for design thinking principles, elevating the overall design craft and capability within the company.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic product ownership, hands-on design execution, user advocacy, and team mentorship. The focus on AI and complex B2B workflows implies a need for designers who can handle ambiguity and translate sophisticated technical capabilities into user-friendly solutions.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, or a related field is typically expected for senior roles, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience: A minimum of 5 years of dedicated product design experience within B2B SaaS, enterprise software, or similarly complex product environments is a prerequisite.

Required Skills:

• Proven track record of designing and delivering complex, multi-step workflows into simple, intuitive user experiences.

• Significant experience with design systems, either through building one from scratch or making substantial contributions to an existing system.

• Exceptional visual design skills, with a keen eye for detail in typography, information hierarchy, and overall aesthetic quality.

• Strong proficiency in interaction design principles, ensuring usable and engaging user flows.

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with engineers and product managers in fast-paced, agile development cycles.

• Fluency across both User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) design disciplines.

• Proficiency in industry-standard design and prototyping tools, specifically Figma, for wireframing, mockups, and interactive prototypes.

• Excellent command of the English language, both written and verbal.

Preferred Skills:

• Direct experience designing for AI-driven products, with an understanding of user trust, transparency, and control in autonomous systems.

• Experience designing for enterprise contexts with diverse user needs and varying levels of technical expertise.

• Comfort working with ambiguity and the ability to structure and solve ill-defined design problems.

• A pragmatic approach to design, prioritizing shipping effective solutions over achieving unattainable perfection.

• A strong habit of validating design concepts through user testing and data analysis.

• The ability to articulate design opinions confidently while remaining open to feedback and course correction.

• A proactive approach to staying updated on emerging design patterns, tools, and industry best practices.

• Fluency in German is considered a significant advantage.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "What Sets You Apart" section strongly suggests that candidates with experience in AI design, complex enterprise B2B environments, and a results-oriented, iterative design philosophy will be highly valued. The emphasis on Figma is a key technical requirement.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrate ownership and impact on key product areas, showcasing your end-to-end design process from problem identification to solution implementation.

• Include at least one detailed case study showcasing the design of a complex workflow or a B2B SaaS feature, highlighting your problem-solving methodology.

• Present examples of your contribution to or creation of design systems, illustrating component design, pattern application, and scalability considerations.

• Showcase your ability to design for AI-driven features, illustrating how you address user trust, transparency, and control.

• Include examples of user research methodologies and how insights were translated into design decisions.

Process Documentation:

• Clearly articulate your approach to user research, including methods used (e.g., interviews, usability testing, surveys) and how findings informed design direction.

• Document your process for translating user needs and business requirements into design artifacts such as user flows, wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups.

• Illustrate your collaboration process with product managers and engineers, demonstrating how you ensure design fidelity and iterate based on technical constraints and feedback.

• Detail your experience with design systems, including how you contribute to their evolution and ensure consistent application.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Senior Product Designer role, the portfolio is critical. It should not just showcase finished work but also the candidate's thought process, problem-solving skills, and ability to drive impact in a complex B2B SaaS environment. Emphasis on AI and design systems is paramount.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for Senior Product Designers in Berlin with 5-10 years of experience in B2B SaaS and AI design, a competitive annual salary range would typically fall between €70,000 and €95,000. This estimate considers the cost of living in Berlin, the company's funding status, and the specialized skill set required.

Benefits:

• Ownership & Impact: Opportunity to take real ownership of strategic product areas, directly influencing the company's platform and its connection to enterprise systems.

• Collaborative Environment: Be part of a knowledge-driven team that fosters innovation, continuous learning, and a strong sense of impact.

• Industry Exposure: Gain deep insights into large-scale enterprise challenges, including system architecture and secure data interoperability.

• Modern Workspace: Access to a contemporary office located in Berlin's dynamic startup scene.

• Flexibility: Options for occasional remote work, balancing on-site collaboration with personal flexibility.

• Culture: Work within a culture prioritizing transparency, curiosity, and continuous improvement, where ideas are valued over hierarchy.

• Standard Benefits: Likely includes health insurance, paid time off, and potential for stock options or performance-based bonuses, common in funded startups.

Working Hours: The role is full-time, with an estimated 40 hours per week. The hybrid work arrangement suggests flexibility in how these hours are structured, with an expectation of regular in-office presence for collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on research of similar roles in Berlin using platforms like Glassdoor, LinkedIn Salary, and local recruitment agency reports for senior tech roles. The benefits are inferred from the job description's emphasis on ownership, culture, and the typical offerings of a well-funded tech startup.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Mercanis operates in the procurement technology sector, specifically focusing on the digitalization and automation of procurement processes. This industry is undergoing significant transformation driven by AI and data analytics, aiming to provide more efficient, transparent, and strategic sourcing solutions.

Company Size: Mercanis is a growing startup, indicated by the recent funding round and the search for a Senior Product Designer. This size typically means a dynamic, fast-paced environment where individual contributions have a high impact, and roles can evolve. The company is likely between 50-200 employees, given the funding stage.

Founded: Mercanis was founded to disrupt the procurement industry, aiming to provide the "iPhone Moment" for this sector. The company's mission is to change an entire industry through innovation and technology.

Team Structure:

• The design team, while not explicitly detailed in size, will likely include other designers (potentially UX/UI designers, researchers) and will report into a Head of Product or Design Lead.

• The Senior Product Designer will work closely with Product Managers responsible for defining product strategy and roadmaps, and with Engineers who build and implement the product.

Methodology:

• Mercanis emphasizes a data-driven approach to product development, encouraging the use of user research and analytics to inform design decisions.

• The company values rapid iteration and continuous improvement, suggesting agile methodologies and a willingness to adapt processes based on learnings.

• A focus on innovation, particularly in AI-powered features, drives the methodology towards exploring new technological capabilities and their application to user problems.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's mission to disrupt the procurement industry with AI positions it as an innovative player. The startup environment implies a culture of agility, direct impact, and a strong emphasis on innovation and collaboration.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior Product Designer role. In the operations context (though this is a product role, it interfaces heavily with operations), this level signifies a high degree of autonomy, strategic responsibility, and the ability to lead design initiatives for significant product areas. It requires a deep understanding of user needs, business objectives, and technical feasibility.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Product Designer will likely report to a Head of Product or a Lead Designer. They will work closely with Product Managers and Engineering teams, forming a core product development triad.

Operations Impact: While not a direct operations role, this position's output directly impacts operational efficiency for Mercanis' clients. By designing intuitive interfaces for complex procurement workflows and AI agents, the Senior Product Designer contributes significantly to:

• Reducing manual effort and errors in client procurement processes.

• Improving negotiation outcomes and cost savings for clients.

• Enhancing data visibility and decision-making capabilities for procurement teams.

• Streamlining supplier interactions and contract management.

This impact on client operations translates directly to Mercanis' value proposition and market success.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership: Potential to grow into a Lead Product Designer or Head of Design role as the company scales, managing a team and setting the design vision.

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in AI product design, complex enterprise systems, or specific areas of procurement technology.

• Strategic Influence: Become a key voice in product strategy and roadmap planning, influencing the direction of Mercanis' platform.

• Mentorship: Formalize mentorship of other designers, contributing to team development and knowledge sharing.

• Industry Expertise: Develop profound knowledge in the procurement tech space, becoming a subject matter expert.

📝 Enhancement Note: The growth path for a Senior Product Designer in a growing startup like Mercanis is typically strong, offering opportunities to move into leadership, specialize in cutting-edge areas like AI design, and gain significant strategic influence.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Mercanis offers a modern workspace located in the heart of Berlin's vibrant startup scene. This environment is typically designed to foster collaboration, innovation, and a dynamic work atmosphere.

Office Location(s): The primary office is located at Greifswalder Straße 208, 10405 Berlin, Germany. This location places the company within a hub of tech activity, offering good accessibility and proximity to other startups and amenities.

Workspace Context:

• The workspace is likely open-plan or features collaborative zones to encourage interaction between product, design, and engineering teams.

• Expect access to modern design tools and technologies, with Figma being the primary tool for design and prototyping. Access to necessary hardware and software for research and development will be provided.

• Opportunities for regular interaction with colleagues will be abundant, facilitating knowledge sharing, problem-solving sessions, and the development of a strong team culture.

Work Schedule: The role is full-time (approx. 40 hours/week) with a hybrid work arrangement. This typically means a balance between working from the Berlin office and remotely, allowing for flexibility while maintaining team cohesion and collaborative efficiency.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model and startup location suggest a work environment that values both focused individual work and energetic team collaboration, typical of successful tech companies.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A brief call with HR or a recruiter to assess basic qualifications, cultural fit, and interest.

• Portfolio Review & Design Challenge: A session where you present your portfolio, discussing key projects, your design process, and problem-solving approach. This may be followed by a take-home design challenge or an in-person/virtual exercise.

• Hiring Manager Interview: Discussion with the hiring manager (likely Head of Product or Lead Designer) focusing on your experience, leadership potential, and alignment with the role's strategic objectives.

• Team Interviews: Meetings with potential peers (other designers, PMs, engineers) to assess collaboration style, technical understanding, and cultural fit within the product team.

• Final Interview: Potentially with a co-founder or senior leadership, focusing on strategic thinking, company vision alignment, and overall suitability.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Storytelling: Structure your case studies to tell a compelling story: the problem, your process, the challenges, your solutions, and the measured impact.

• Process Over Polish: While visual quality matters, emphasize your thought process, research methodologies, and how you arrived at your design decisions, especially for complex problems.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, include metrics that demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., increased user adoption, reduced task completion time, improved conversion rates).

• Highlight AI & B2B SaaS: Ensure your portfolio prominently features work relevant to AI design and complex B2B enterprise software if available. If not, clearly articulate how your transferable skills apply.

• Design System Contribution: Clearly articulate your role in building or contributing to design systems and the benefits achieved.

• Figma Proficiency: Be prepared to discuss your workflow within Figma and potentially demonstrate aspects of your file organization or prototyping techniques.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Scope: For any design challenge, clarify the problem statement, target users, and constraints.

• Emphasize Process: Focus on demonstrating your structured approach, user research considerations (even if simulated), and iterative thinking.

• Communicate Rationale: Be ready to articulate the "why" behind every design decision.

• Time Management: Practice delivering concise presentations within the allotted time, focusing on key aspects of your solution.

• AI & Complexity: If the challenge involves AI or complex workflows, prepare to discuss how you would approach these specific design considerations.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is typical for senior tech roles, emphasizing both design craft and strategic thinking. A strong portfolio that clearly demonstrates experience with complex B2B SaaS, AI, and design systems, coupled with excellent communication skills, will be key.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core tool for UI design, wireframing, prototyping, and collaboration. Proficiency is essential.

• Design System Tools: Knowledge of tools or platforms used for managing and distributing design system components (often integrated within Figma or via dedicated tools like Zeroheight).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Analytics Platforms: Familiarity with tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, or Pendo for understanding user behavior and product adoption.

• Data Visualization Tools: While not directly designing them, understanding how data is presented in dashboards (e.g., Tableau, Looker) helps inform design for data-heavy interfaces.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM: Awareness of how CRM systems (like Salesforce) integrate with product usage data, though direct CRM management is not a primary responsibility.

• Workflow Automation Platforms: Understanding the principles of workflow automation is crucial, especially when designing AI agents that automate complex processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma is a mandatory technical skill. Experience with design systems and an understanding of how product designs interact with data analytics and automation principles are highly valued for this role.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity: Deep empathy for users (buyers and suppliers) and a commitment to solving their real-world problems through design.

• Impact-Driven: A focus on delivering measurable results and contributing directly to the company's success and client value.

• Innovation: A drive to explore and implement cutting-edge technologies, particularly AI, to create novel and powerful solutions.

• Collaboration: A strong belief in teamwork, open communication, and cross-functional partnership to achieve shared goals.

• Craftsmanship & Quality: A dedication to high standards in visual design, interaction design, and user experience, ensuring a polished and professional product.

• Continuous Improvement: A mindset of learning, iterating, and constantly seeking ways to enhance processes, products, and personal skills.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Expect close collaboration with Product Managers to define "what" to build and "why," and with Engineers to define "how" to build it, ensuring designs are feasible and implemented with fidelity.

• Open Feedback Culture: A willingness to share work early and often, actively seeking and providing constructive feedback to refine designs and processes.

• Knowledge Sharing: Encouragement of sharing best practices, design patterns, and learnings across the team and company to elevate collective expertise.

• Agile Iteration: Working within agile sprints, adapting to changing requirements and incorporating feedback rapidly.

📝 Enhancement Note: Mercanis appears to foster a culture that values innovation, user focus, and collaborative execution, typical of successful tech startups aiming for rapid growth and market disruption.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for AI Trust: Creating interfaces that make AI-powered agents feel trustworthy, transparent, and controllable for users who may be unfamiliar or hesitant with autonomous systems.

• Complexity of Procurement: Designing for a B2B domain with inherently complex multi-stakeholder environments, intricate workflows, and significant data volumes.

• Balancing Craft and Velocity: Striking the right balance between delivering pixel-perfect, highly polished designs and shipping quickly in a fast-paced startup environment.

• Evolving Design System: Continuously developing and maintaining a design system that scales with an expanding product scope and evolving feature sets.

• Ambiguity: Navigating situations where design problems are not clearly defined, requiring proactive problem structuring and solution definition.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI Design Specialization: Becoming a leader in designing AI-driven user experiences, a rapidly growing and in-demand field.

• Enterprise B2B Expertise: Deepening understanding of enterprise software design challenges, user needs, and integration complexities.

• Product Strategy: Gaining significant exposure to product strategy, roadmap planning, and business impact analysis.

• Leadership Development: Opportunities to mentor junior team members and potentially lead design initiatives or projects.

• Industry Immersion: Developing deep expertise in the procurement technology sector and its evolving landscape.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented offer significant opportunities for professional growth, particularly in the burgeoning field of AI design and complex enterprise B2B solutions.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you took ownership of a complex product feature from discovery to launch. What was your process, what challenges did you face, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on your end-to-end ownership, problem-solving, and ability to measure impact.)

• "How would you approach designing an interface for an AI agent that negotiates contracts? What are the key considerations for user trust and transparency?" (Prepare to discuss AI design principles, user mental models for AI, and risk mitigation strategies.)

• "Tell me about your experience with design systems. How do you ensure adoption and scalability? Describe a time you contributed significantly to a design system." (Highlight your understanding of design system components, patterns, governance, and the value they bring to a product organization.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Mercanis' mission to disrupt the procurement industry, and how do you see product design contributing to that?" (Show research into Mercanis' mission and the procurement industry's challenges.)

• "How do you approach collaboration with Product Managers and Engineers? Describe a situation where collaboration was particularly effective or challenging." (Emphasize communication, empathy, and shared ownership.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Select 2-3 Core Projects: Choose projects that best showcase your senior-level capabilities, ideally including B2B SaaS, complex workflows, and any AI-related work.

• Structure Your Narrative: For each project, clearly define the problem, your role, the constraints, your process (research, ideation, iteration, testing), your solutions, and the measurable outcomes.

• Highlight AI & System Design: If you have specific examples of AI design or design system contributions, make them prominent. If not, articulate how your general principles apply.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your design decisions, trade-offs, and technical implementation considerations.

• Showcase Figma Workflow: Be ready to briefly walk through your Figma files or discuss your approach to organizing complex design projects within the tool.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview preparation emphasizes demonstrating strategic thinking, deep understanding of complex design challenges (especially AI and B2B), strong collaboration skills, and a data-informed, iterative approach, all supported by a compelling portfolio.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided application link on Mercanis' career page.

• Portfolio Customization: Curate your online portfolio to prominently feature projects demonstrating your experience with B2B SaaS, complex workflows, design systems, and ideally, AI-adjacent design challenges. Ensure case studies clearly articulate your end-to-end process and quantifiable impact.

• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to highlight keywords from the job description, such as "Product Design," "B2B SaaS," "Enterprise Software," "Design Systems," "User Research," "AI Design," and "Figma." Quantify your achievements wherever possible.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice articulating your design philosophy, your approach to complex problem-solving, and your experience collaborating with product and engineering teams. Be ready to discuss your portfolio projects in detail.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Mercanis, its mission, its product, and the procurement industry. Understand their current AI initiatives and how your design skills can contribute to their strategic goals.

⚠️ 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.