Senior Product Designer - Munich, Germany

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer Company: Speechify Location: Munich, Germany Job Type: Full-time Category: Product Design / UX/UI Date Posted: January 29, 2026 Experience Level: 5-10 Years Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the end-to-end product design lifecycle, from initial concept and pitching through to prototyping, testing, building, shipping, and iterative refinement of new features for Speechify's suite of consumer-facing applications.
• Specialize in enhancing user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) patterns across Speechify's native iOS and Android applications, ensuring a cohesive and intuitive user journey.
• Lead the strategic redesign of critical user flows, including onboarding and core engagement loops, to optimize user adoption, retention, and overall product satisfaction.
• Play a pivotal role in influencing and shaping the product roadmap by leveraging data-driven insights, customer feedback, and a deep understanding of user behavior.
• Contribute to the evolution of the design organization by refining internal design processes, establishing best practices, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.

📝 Enhancement Note: Based on the "Senior" title and the emphasis on influencing the roadmap and shaping the design org, this role requires a candidate who can operate with significant autonomy and strategic input, not just execute design tasks. The "pitch, prototype, test, build, ship, and refine" phrasing suggests an end-to-end ownership expectation common in high-growth tech environments.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Conceptualize, pitch, and develop innovative new features, translating user needs and business objectives into compelling design solutions.
• Create high-fidelity prototypes and conduct user testing sessions to validate design concepts and gather actionable feedback for iteration.
• Build and ship production-ready designs for Speechify's iOS and Android applications, collaborating closely with engineering teams to ensure accurate implementation.
• Continuously iterate on existing UX/UI patterns to improve usability, accessibility, and aesthetic appeal across all mobile platforms.
• Redesign and optimize onboarding flows to maximize user activation and comprehension of Speechify's core value proposition.
• Re-evaluate and enhance core user journeys to drive engagement, feature adoption, and long-term user retention.
• Contribute to strategic product planning by providing design perspectives, identifying user pain points, and proposing data-informed solutions.
• Collaborate with Product Managers and engineers to define feature requirements, prioritize initiatives, and ensure alignment with overall product strategy.
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive design system, ensuring consistency and scalability of UI components and patterns across the product.
• Actively participate in design critiques, providing constructive feedback to peers and incorporating feedback into personal work to elevate design quality.
• Document and share design processes, decisions, and rationale to foster knowledge sharing and continuous improvement within the design team.
• Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in UX/UI design, particularly within the AI and audio technology space.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities are detailed to reflect a senior-level individual contributor role. The emphasis on "influencing the product roadmap" and "refining our process and help shape the design org" indicates a strategic contribution beyond pure design execution.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent practical experience and a deep understanding of design principles is paramount. A degree in Design, HCI, Computer Science, or a related field is beneficial.

Experience: A minimum of 5-10 years of professional experience in product design, with a proven track record of delivering successful consumer-facing digital products across multiple platforms (iOS, Android, Web).

Required Skills:

• End-to-End Design Ownership: Demonstrated ability to manage the full design lifecycle: research, discovery, ideation, prototyping, user testing, visual design, and final delivery.
• UX/UI Expertise: Deep understanding of user-centered design principles, interaction design, information architecture, and visual design for mobile applications.
• Prototyping & Wireframing: Proficiency in industry-standard tools for creating wireframes, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD).
• User Research & Testing: Experience conducting user interviews, usability testing, and interpreting qualitative and quantitative data to inform design decisions.
• Product Thinking: Ability to understand business objectives, market dynamics, and user needs to translate them into effective product strategies and design solutions.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Proven ability to work effectively with Product Managers, Engineers, and other stakeholders in a fast-paced, agile environment.
• Communication & Articulation: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to clearly present design concepts, rationale, and user insights to diverse audiences.
• Platform Proficiency: Solid understanding of design and development constraints and capabilities for iOS, Android, and web platforms.
• Craftsmanship: Strong aesthetic sensibility with expertise in typography, color theory, layout, and micro-interactions.
• Customer Focus: Demonstrated commitment to understanding and advocating for the user, utilizing customer feedback effectively in the design process.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing for audio-centric products or with text-to-speech technology.
• Familiarity with AI and machine learning applications in product design.
• Experience contributing to or managing a design system.
• Knowledge of accessibility standards and inclusive design practices.
• Experience working in a fully distributed and asynchronous team environment.
• Familiarity with analytics tools for product performance monitoring.

📝 Enhancement Note: The experience level is inferred from "Senior" title and the depth of responsibilities. The skills list is derived from the "An Ideal Candidate Should Have" section, expanded to include common industry tools and practices associated with senior product designers.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Comprehensive Case Studies: Showcase 3-5 detailed case studies that illustrate your end-to-end product design process for consumer-facing products. Each case study should clearly articulate the problem, your role, the design process undertaken, key decisions, challenges faced, and the final outcome/impact.
• Platform Diversity: Demonstrate experience designing for at least two of the following platforms: iOS, Android, Web.
• User-Centric Approach: Highlight how user research, feedback, and data informed your design decisions and iterative process.
• Problem-Solving: Clearly articulate the user pain points or business challenges addressed by your designs.
• Visual Design & Craft: Present high-quality visual designs, demonstrating strong typography, layout, and interaction design skills.
• Prototyping Examples: Include links to interactive prototypes or detailed walkthroughs of key user flows.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Articulation: Be prepared to discuss your typical design workflow, including how you approach discovery, ideation, prototyping, and user testing.
• Methodology Explanation: Explain how you integrate analytics and customer feedback into your design process to drive product improvements.
• System Integration: Discuss your experience working with or contributing to design systems and ensuring UI consistency across platforms.
• Impact Measurement: Be ready to discuss how you measure the success of your designs and present metrics that demonstrate user or business impact.

📝 Enhancement Note: Portfolio requirements are inferred from the "Experience" and "Product thinking" bullet points in the job description, emphasizing the need to showcase a full design process and impact.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: For a Senior Product Designer role with 5-10 years of experience in Munich, Germany, a competitive salary range is estimated between €70,000 and €95,000 per year. This estimate considers the seniority of the role, the cost of living in Munich, and typical compensation benchmarks for senior design positions in the German tech market.

Benefits:

• Competitive Compensation: A strong base salary benchmarked against regional market rates.
• Stock Options: Potential for equity ownership in a high-growth tech company.
• Health & Wellness: Comprehensive health insurance coverage (details may vary based on local regulations and company policy).
• Professional Development: Budget or opportunities for continued learning, workshops, conferences, and skill enhancement.
• Flexible Async Work Culture: A commitment to an exceptional asynchronous work culture, promoting work-life balance and autonomy.
• Impactful Product: The opportunity to work on a product that genuinely changes lives, particularly for individuals with learning differences.
• Cutting-Edge Technology: Exposure to and work with artificial intelligence and audio technology, a rapidly evolving domain.
• Global Team Collaboration: The privilege of working with a diverse, talented, and distributed team.

Working Hours: Speechify operates on a fully distributed and asynchronous model. While a standard 40-hour work week is typical, the emphasis is on output and effective collaboration rather than strict adherence to specific hourly schedules. This allows for flexibility in how and when work is completed, provided deadlines are met and team communication is maintained.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary range is an estimation for Munich, Germany, based on common industry data for Senior Product Designers. Benefits are curated from the "What we offer" section and supplemented with typical tech company offerings to provide a comprehensive view. Working hours are clarified based on the "distributed setting" and "asynchronous work culture" mentioned.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, specifically focused on AI-powered Text-to-Speech (TTS) and reading accessibility solutions. Speechify operates within the EdTech and Productivity software sectors, aiming to revolutionize how people consume written content. Company Size: Approximately 200 employees, indicating a mid-stage startup environment that is large enough to have established processes but still agile enough for significant individual impact. Founded: While the founding date isn't explicitly stated, Speechify is positioned as a high-growth startup with recent significant achievements (e.g., Google Chrome Extension of the Year, Apple Design Award). This implies a relatively young, dynamic, and rapidly evolving company.

Team Structure:

• Distributed & Async: The company operates in a 100% distributed setting with no physical offices, fostering an asynchronous work culture.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Designers work closely with product managers, engineers (frontend, backend), and AI research scientists, implying a highly collaborative, cross-disciplinary environment.
• Talent Pool: The team comprises individuals from top tech companies (Amazon, Microsoft, Google), leading academic programs (Stanford PhDs), and successful startup backgrounds (Stripe, Vercel, Bolt), suggesting a high-caliber, driven, and experienced workforce.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Product Development: The team embraces analytics and works closely with PMs to pinpoint key opportunities, indicating a strong reliance on data to inform product decisions.
• Customer-Centric Design: A core tenet is customer-centricity, with comfort in talking to customers and using their feedback throughout the design process.
• Agile & Iterative: The mention of pitching, prototyping, testing, building, shipping, and refining highlights an agile and iterative approach to product development.
• Innovation & Autonomy: The culture values innovation, intuition, and drive, offering autonomy to foster focus and creativity.

Company Website: https://speechify.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: Company context is synthesized from the "Mission," "Who You'll Work With," and "What we offer" sections of the job description, focusing on aspects relevant to a designer's work environment and the company's operational philosophy.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Senior Product Designer. This level signifies a high degree of autonomy, strategic input, and ownership. The role is expected to not only execute design tasks but also to influence product direction, mentor junior designers (potentially), refine processes, and contribute to the overall design strategy. The scope includes end-to-end responsibility for features and user flows across multiple platforms.

Reporting Structure: While not explicitly detailed, in a distributed startup environment, a Senior Product Designer typically reports to a Head of Design, Design Lead, or Product Lead. The role emphasizes close collaboration with Product Managers and Engineering teams, indicating a flat or matrixed reporting structure common in agile tech companies.

Operations Impact: The Senior Product Designer will have a significant impact on Speechify's core mission: making reading accessible. Their work directly influences user acquisition, engagement, retention, and the overall perception of product quality and usability. By refining core user flows and influencing the roadmap, they contribute directly to business growth, revenue, and user satisfaction, particularly for users with learning differences. The role is at the intersection of AI and audio, a rapidly evolving and impactful domain.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Development: Opportunity to take on more strategic product initiatives, potentially lead design for major features, and mentor less experienced designers.
• Skill Specialization: Deepen expertise in areas like AI-driven design, audio UX, accessibility, or complex user flow optimization.
• Cross-functional Exposure: Gain broader experience working across different product areas and collaborating with diverse engineering and research teams.
• Impactful Product Contribution: Directly contribute to a mission-driven product that has a profound positive impact on millions of users worldwide.
• Startup Growth: Grow with a fast-paced, high-growth company, potentially taking on more senior or leadership roles as the organization scales.

📝 Enhancement Note: Career analysis is based on the "Senior" title, the responsibilities outlined, and the company's growth-stage context. Emphasis is placed on the strategic influence and impact expected of a senior-level individual contributor in a tech startup.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Speechify operates with a 100% distributed model, meaning there is no central office. Employees work remotely from their chosen locations. Office Location(s): While the job listing specifies "Munich, Germany" as a location, this likely indicates a preferred or target region for remote talent, rather than a physical office. Speechify aims to hire globally, and the role is fully remote within this context, allowing flexibility for employees to work from their home offices.

Workspace Context:

• Asynchronous Collaboration: The primary mode of interaction will be asynchronous communication (e.g., Slack, email, project management tools), requiring excellent written communication skills and the ability to manage one's own schedule effectively.
• Digital Toolset: Employees will rely heavily on digital tools for communication, collaboration, design, and project management, necessitating comfort with a robust tech stack.
• Global Team Interaction: Opportunities to collaborate with a diverse, international team, offering exposure to different perspectives and working styles.
• Focus & Autonomy: The environment is designed to foster focus and creativity through autonomy, with individuals expected to manage their time and tasks efficiently.

Work Schedule: The work schedule is highly flexible due to the asynchronous nature of the company. While core working hours might not be strictly enforced, candidates are expected to be available for necessary synchronous meetings and responsive within reasonable timeframes to facilitate collaboration with team members across different time zones. The emphasis is on delivering results and maintaining effective communication.

📝 Enhancement Note: The work environment description is derived from the "100% distributed setting" and "asynchronous work culture" statements, detailing the implications for daily work, communication, and schedule flexibility.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Application Submission: Submit resume/CV and a link to your portfolio. Clearly articulate your interest and fit for the role in your application.
2. Portfolio Review: The design team will thoroughly review your portfolio, focusing on the quality of your case studies, your design process, and your ability to demonstrate impact.
3. Initial Screening Call: A brief call with a recruiter or hiring manager to discuss your background, experience, and initial fit for the role and company culture.
4. Design Challenge/Case Study Presentation: You may be asked to present one or more detailed case studies from your portfolio, or potentially complete a take-home design challenge. This is an opportunity to walk through your process, rationale, and outcomes.
5. Interviews with Design & Product Teams: In-depth interviews with fellow designers and Product Managers to assess your design thinking, collaboration skills, technical proficiency, and cultural alignment. Expect discussions on product strategy, user empathy, and problem-solving approaches.
6. Final Interview: Potentially a conversation with a senior leader (e.g., Head of Product, CEO) to discuss overall fit, company vision, and long-term potential.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Tell a Story: For each case study, frame it as a narrative: the problem, your role, the journey, the solution, and the impact.
• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals, wireframes, prototypes, and data to illustrate your process and outcomes.
• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, include metrics and data that demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., increased conversion rates, improved engagement, reduced churn).
• Highlight Your Process: Clearly articulate why you made specific design decisions. Explain your research methods, user testing approaches, and how you iterated based on feedback.
• Tailor to Speechify: If possible, subtly highlight projects or skills that align with Speechify's mission (accessibility, reading enhancement, AI, audio) and target platforms (iOS, Android, Web).
• Be Concise: While detail is important, ensure your portfolio is well-organized and easy to navigate. Provide clear summaries for each project.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Mission: Be familiar with Speechify's product, mission, and target audience.
• Anticipate Problem Types: Expect challenges related to user onboarding, feature enhancement, user flow optimization, or improving accessibility for specific user groups.
• Focus on Process: If given a challenge, prioritize demonstrating your design process, problem-solving skills, and ability to articulate your rationale, rather than striving for a "perfect" final UI.
• Time Management: If it's a timed challenge, practice managing your time effectively to cover all essential aspects of the design process.
• Presentation Skills: Prepare to clearly and concisely present your work and thinking, anticipating questions about your decisions and trade-offs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process and preparation tips are inferred from typical senior product designer hiring practices in tech startups, with specific emphasis on portfolio requirements and the company's mission.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (highly probable given industry trends and collaborative nature), Sketch, Adobe XD. Proficiency in at least one is essential.
• User Research & Testing: Tools like UserTesting.com, Maze, Lookback, or internal tools for conducting remote usability studies and gathering feedback.
• Collaboration & Communication: Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides).
• Project Management: Tools like Jira, Asana, Trello, or similar for tracking tasks and project progress.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics: Tools such as Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics, or similar to track user behavior, feature adoption, and conversion rates.
• Data Visualization: Potentially tools like Tableau or Looker for deeper data analysis and reporting, though direct use might be less frequent for a designer than for an analyst.

CRM & Automation:

• While not a primary tool for designers, understanding how CRM data (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) might inform user segmentation or personalization efforts could be beneficial.
• Familiarity with how design components integrate into web or mobile development workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The tool stack is a standard set for senior product designers in tech startups, with a strong emphasis on collaborative design tools like Figma and user analytics platforms.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Mission-Driven: A strong commitment to the mission of making reading accessible, which translates into a purpose-driven work environment where employees feel their contributions matter.
• Customer-Centricity: A deep focus on understanding and serving the user, ensuring that customer feedback is an integral part of the product development cycle.
• Innovation & Curiosity: Encouraging new ideas, exploration, and a willingness to experiment with emerging technologies like AI and audio.
• Autonomy & Ownership: Empowering individuals to take ownership of their work, make decisions, and drive projects forward with minimal oversight.
• Collaboration & Transparency: Fostering open communication and teamwork across a distributed, cross-functional team, valuing shared knowledge and collective problem-solving.
• Efficiency & Focus: Operating in a fast-paced startup environment requires individuals to be focused, productive, and able to manage their time effectively in an asynchronous setting.

Collaboration Style:

• Asynchronous First: Communication is primarily asynchronous, relying on clear written documentation, detailed task descriptions, and well-organized project boards.
• Outcome-Oriented: Collaboration is focused on achieving shared goals and delivering high-quality product outcomes, rather than rigid adherence to synchronous schedules.
• Cross-Functional Synergy: Designers are expected to be active collaborators with Product Managers and Engineers, participating in strategy discussions, design reviews, and implementation feedback loops.
• Constructive Feedback Culture: A willingness to give and receive candid, constructive feedback is vital for continuous improvement and maintaining high design standards.
• Global Perspective: Embracing diverse perspectives from a global team to create inclusive and universally appealing product experiences.

📝 Enhancement Note: Values and collaboration style are inferred from keywords like "mission," "customer-centricity," "innovation," "autonomy," "distributed," and "asynchronous work culture" mentioned in the job description.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating a Distributed Environment: Effectively collaborating and maintaining strong relationships with team members across various time zones without consistent in-person interaction requires proactive communication and self-discipline.
• Balancing Autonomy with Alignment: Leveraging the freedom of an asynchronous, distributed role while ensuring alignment with product strategy, team objectives, and company-wide goals.
• Rapid Iteration & Shifting Priorities: Operating in a high-growth startup means adapting quickly to evolving priorities and iterating on designs in a fast-paced environment.
• Designing for Diverse Audiences: Creating inclusive and accessible experiences for a broad user base, including those with learning differences, which requires deep empathy and understanding.
• Technical Constraints & Opportunities: Balancing ideal design solutions with the technical realities and emerging capabilities of AI and audio technologies.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI & Audio UX Specialization: Deepen expertise in designing for cutting-edge AI applications and unique audio-based user experiences.
• Accessibility & Inclusivity: Enhance skills in designing products that are accessible and beneficial to a wide range of users, including those with disabilities.
• Product Strategy Influence: Gain experience in shaping product roadmaps and contributing to high-level business strategy through design leadership.
• Cross-Functional Acumen: Develop a stronger understanding of engineering, AI research, and product management through close collaboration.
• Remote Work Best Practices: Master effective strategies for succeeding in a fully distributed and asynchronous work environment.
• Mentorship & Leadership: Potential to mentor junior designers or lead design initiatives as the company grows.

📝 Enhancement Note: Challenges are framed from the perspective of a senior designer in a remote, fast-paced startup, directly addressing the implications of the work environment and company stage. Growth opportunities are aligned with the role's seniority and the company's focus areas.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you influenced a product roadmap based on user insights. What was your process, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on data, user research, communication, and impact.)
• "Walk us through your process for designing a new feature from scratch for a mobile application. What are the key stages, and how do you ensure user needs are met?" (Highlight your end-to-end design methodology, user-centricity, and iteration.)
• "How do you approach designing for accessibility, especially for users with learning differences like dyslexia or ADHD?" (Demonstrate empathy, knowledge of accessibility principles, and inclusive design practices.)
• "Describe a challenging collaboration with a Product Manager or Engineer. How did you navigate it, and what did you learn?" (Focus on communication, negotiation, conflict resolution, and maintaining relationships.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Speechify's mission, and how does your design philosophy align with it?" (Research Speechify's mission and connect it to your passion for accessibility and user impact.)
• "How do you thrive in a fully distributed and asynchronous work environment? What are your strategies for effective remote collaboration?" (Discuss your self-management, communication skills, and experience with remote tools.)
• "What are your thoughts on the role of AI in enhancing reading experiences?" (Show curiosity and an understanding of the technological domain Speechify operates in.)
• "How do you approach receiving and giving constructive feedback within a team?" (Emphasize openness, learning, and a commitment to team growth.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your role, your process (research, ideation, design, testing), key decisions, challenges, and the final impact (quantified if possible).
• Highlight Your "Why": Be prepared to explain the rationale behind your design choices, not just what you did.
• Showcase Process, Not Just Polish: While visual quality is important, interviewers are keen to see your problem-solving skills and how you approach design challenges. Include sketches, wireframes, and user flows to illustrate your thought process.
• Engage Your Audience: Treat the presentation as a conversation. Be open to questions throughout and tailor your explanations to the interviewer's background (e.g., designer vs. engineer).
• Connect to Speechify: If possible, draw parallels between your portfolio projects and Speechify's product or mission.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation focuses on likely questions for a Senior Product Designer, covering strategy, collaboration, company alignment, and specific portfolio presentation advice tailored to Speechify's context.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the Greenhouse portal linked.
• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features 3-5 detailed case studies showcasing end-to-end design processes for consumer-facing products, emphasizing user research, problem-solving, and measurable impact. Tailor your case study selection to highlight relevant platform experience (iOS, Android, Web) and any work related to accessibility, AI, or audio.
• Resume Optimization: Update your resume to clearly highlight your 5-10 years of relevant experience, specific skills in UX/UI design, prototyping, and cross-functional collaboration. Use keywords from the job description, such as "consumer-facing products," "product roadmap influence," "user flows," and "accessibility."
• Portfolio Walkthrough Practice: Prepare to present 1-2 of your strongest case studies. Practice articulating your design process, rationale, and outcomes clearly and concisely, anticipating questions about your decisions and impact. Be ready to discuss how your work aligns with Speechify's mission.
• Company Research: Thoroughly research Speechify's product, mission, recent achievements, and company culture. Understand their target audience and the competitive landscape. Prepare thoughtful questions to ask the interviewers about the product, team, and challenges.

⚠️ 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.

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