Senior Product Designer - Sheffield, United Kingdom

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer Company: Speechify Location: Sheffield, United Kingdom Job Type: Full-Time Category: Product Design / UX/UI Design Date Posted: November 04, 2025 Experience Level: 5-10 Years Remote Status: Remote Solely

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive product innovation by pitching, prototyping, testing, building, shipping, and refining new features for Speechify's suite of text-to-speech products.
• Elevate the user experience and interface (UX/UI) across Speechify's iOS and Android applications, ensuring a seamless and intuitive design.
• Reimagine and optimize critical user journeys, including onboarding and core user flows, to enhance user engagement and retention.
• Significantly influence the product roadmap by contributing strategic design insights and user-centric perspectives, aligning with Speechify's mission to remove reading barriers.
• Shape the future of the design organization by refining internal processes and contributing to the development of best practices for a distributed team.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role is explicitly for a Senior Product Designer, indicating a need for demonstrated leadership, strategic thinking, and the ability to mentor or guide less experienced designers. The emphasis on "influencing the product roadmap" and "shaping the design org" further supports this seniority. The remote-first, asynchronous nature of Speechify's operations suggests a strong need for excellent written communication and self-management skills.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Feature Development Lifecycle: Lead design initiatives from concept through to launch and iteration, actively participating in all phases including user research, discovery, prototyping, development handoff, and post-launch analysis.
• UX/UI Enhancement: Conduct in-depth UX audits and user flow analysis to identify pain points and opportunities for improvement within the iOS and Android applications, implementing refined design patterns.
• Onboarding & User Flows: Design and iterate on onboarding sequences and core user journeys to maximize user adoption, comprehension, and satisfaction, particularly for users with learning differences.
• Product Strategy Contribution: Collaborate closely with Product Managers and Engineering teams to translate business objectives and user needs into compelling product strategies and design solutions.
• Design Process Improvement: Proactively identify inefficiencies or gaps in the current design workflow and propose/implement solutions that enhance team productivity, collaboration, and output quality within a remote setting.
• User-Centric Design: Champion the voice of the customer by conducting user interviews, usability testing, and analyzing user feedback to inform design decisions and validate solutions.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Foster strong working relationships with Product Managers, Engineers, and other stakeholders to ensure alignment on design vision, technical feasibility, and project timelines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a full-stack design role, encompassing strategic product thinking, hands-on UX/UI execution, and process ownership. The mention of "rethinking onboarding and core user flows" and "refining UX/UI patterns" suggests a focus on user acquisition and retention optimization, key metrics for a high-growth SaaS product.

🎓 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 Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), or a related field may be advantageous but is secondary to demonstrable skill and experience.

Experience: A minimum of 5-10 years of professional experience in product design, with a significant portion focused on consumer-facing digital products across multiple platforms (iOS, Android, Web). Demonstrated experience in a high-growth startup environment is highly desirable.

Required Skills:

• End-to-End Product Design: Proven ability to manage the entire design process from research and concept generation through to delivery and iteration.
• UX/UI Design Expertise: Mastery of user-centered design principles, information architecture, interaction design, and visual design across mobile and web platforms.
• Prototyping & Wireframing: Proficiency with industry-standard design and prototyping tools (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, InVision) for creating wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes.
• User Research & Analysis: Experience conducting qualitative and quantitative user research, including usability testing, user interviews, and analyzing user feedback to derive actionable insights.
• Product Thinking & Strategy: Ability to understand business goals, market dynamics, and user needs to contribute to product strategy and roadmap planning.
• Collaboration & Communication: Excellent verbal, written, and visual communication skills, with a proven ability to articulate design rationale, negotiate with stakeholders, and inspire cross-functional teams.
• Customer-Centricity: A strong empathy for users and a demonstrated ability to translate customer feedback into effective design solutions.
• Platform Proficiency: Understanding of design constraints and capabilities specific to native iOS and Android development, as well as web technologies.

Preferred Skills:

• Audio Technology Familiarity: Curiosity and understanding, or a willingness to quickly learn, about audio technology and its applications in user experience.
• Accessibility Design: Experience designing for inclusivity, with a particular understanding of supporting users with learning differences (e.g., dyslexia, ADD).
• Data Analysis Integration: Ability to work with analytics data to inform design decisions and measure the impact of design changes.
• Design Systems: Experience in building, maintaining, or contributing to design systems for consistency across platforms.
• AI/ML Product Design: Familiarity with designing products that leverage Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "demonstrate work that includes research, discovery, prototyping, and delivery" implies a need for a robust portfolio showcasing practical application of these skills. The "5-10 years" experience level suggests the expectation of strategic impact and independent project ownership.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Comprehensive Case Studies: Showcase 3-5 detailed case studies that illustrate your end-to-end product design process. Each case study should clearly articulate the problem, your role, the design process followed (research, ideation, prototyping, testing), key decisions made, and the final outcome.
• Problem-Solution Framing: Clearly define the user problem or business challenge addressed in each project, and how your design solution effectively resolved it.
• Process Documentation: Detail the specific methodologies and tools used throughout the design lifecycle for each project, highlighting your adaptability and strategic approach.
• Outcome & Impact: Quantify the impact of your design work whenever possible, using metrics related to user engagement, conversion rates, task success, or other relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). If metrics are not available, clearly articulate the qualitative impact and learnings.
• Platform Diversity: Include examples of work across different platforms, such as iOS, Android, and web applications, to demonstrate breadth of experience.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design: Showcase examples of how you have mapped out and optimized user workflows to improve efficiency and user satisfaction.
• Iterative Development: Provide examples of design iterations based on user feedback, A/B testing results, or analytics data, demonstrating a commitment to continuous improvement.
• Cross-Functional Handoff: Illustrate your process for collaborating with engineers and product managers, including how you prepare and deliver design assets and specifications for development.
• Design System Contributions: If applicable, include examples of contributions to or utilization of design systems, showcasing your understanding of scalable design solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given Speechify's remote and asynchronous nature, a portfolio that clearly documents processes and outcomes will be crucial. Applicants should be prepared to walk through their case studies and explain their decision-making with clarity and conciseness, focusing on how they tackled challenges and measured success.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: For a Senior Product Designer with 5-10 years of experience in Sheffield, United Kingdom, a competitive salary range is estimated between £60,000 and £85,000 per annum. This estimate is based on industry benchmarks for senior design roles in the UK tech sector, considering the cost of living in Sheffield and Speechify's status as a high-growth, remote-first company.

Benefits:

• Competitive Compensation: Salary commensurate with experience and market rates.
• Remote Work Flexibility: Fully remote, asynchronous work environment, offering significant autonomy and work-life balance.
• Impactful Product: Opportunity to work on a product with a profound social mission, impacting millions of users, particularly those with learning differences.
• Growth Opportunities: Access to professional development, learning resources, and potential for career advancement within a rapidly scaling company.
• Innovation Culture: A dynamic environment that values innovation, creativity, and drive, with opportunities to influence product direction.
• Collaborative Team: Work with a talented, global team of engineers, researchers, and designers from top tech companies and institutions.
• Modern Tech Stack: Exposure to cutting-edge technologies, including AI and audio processing.

Working Hours: Speechify operates on a 40-hour work week, but emphasizes an asynchronous work culture. This means that while a standard work week is expected, the specific hours are flexible, allowing team members to work when they are most productive, across different time zones.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is an estimate. It's crucial for candidates to research current market rates for Senior Product Designers in Sheffield and the broader UK tech industry. The emphasis on asynchronous work culture suggests that benefits related to flexibility and autonomy will be highly valued.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, specifically focused on EdTech (Education Technology) and AI-powered Audio Software. Speechify operates at the intersection of AI, audio technology, and accessibility, aiming to revolutionize how people consume written content.

Company Size: Approximately 100-200 employees globally. This "high-growth startup" size suggests an environment that is dynamic, fast-paced, and offers significant opportunities for individual impact and ownership, while still maintaining a relatively close-knit team structure.

Founded: Speechify was founded with the mission to ensure reading is never a barrier to learning. Its growth has been fueled by innovative text-to-speech technology and strategic recognition, including Google's Chrome Extension of the Year and Apple's Design Award for Inclusivity. This history points to a company that values innovation, user-centricity, and making a tangible difference.

Team Structure:

• Distributed & Asynchronous: Speechify is a 100% distributed company with no physical offices. This necessitates a strong reliance on asynchronous communication, robust documentation, and self-motivated team members.
• Talent Pool: The team comprises individuals from diverse backgrounds, including former employees of major tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, as well as PhDs from leading universities and experienced startup founders. This suggests a high caliber of talent and a culture of expertise.
• Cross-Functional Teams: Design, Engineering, Product Management, and Research teams likely collaborate closely, albeit asynchronously, to drive product development. The Senior Product Designer will be a key player in these collaborations.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: The company emphasizes embracing analytics to pinpoint key opportunities and inform product decisions. Designers are expected to work alongside Product Managers in this data-informed approach.
• User-Centric Iteration: A strong focus on customer feedback and continuous refinement of UX/UI patterns and user flows, driven by a mission to serve users with diverse learning needs.
• Agile Development: Given the startup environment and focus on shipping features, an agile or iterative development methodology is likely employed, requiring designers to be adaptable.

Company Website: https://speechify.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The fully distributed nature is a defining characteristic. Applicants should be prepared to discuss how they thrive in such an environment, highlighting their skills in asynchronous communication, self-management, and digital collaboration tools.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Senior Product Designer. This implies a level of responsibility beyond individual contribution, including:

• Strategic Influence: The ability to shape product direction, not just execute on defined tasks.
• End-to-End Ownership: Leading design projects from conception through to post-launch analysis and iteration.
• Mentorship Potential: While not explicitly stated, senior roles often involve guiding or mentoring junior designers.
• Complex Problem Solving: Tackling challenging design problems that have significant impact on user experience and business metrics.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Acting as a design advocate and collaborator with Product Management and Engineering at a strategic level.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Product Designer will likely report to a Head of Design, Design Lead, or a senior Product Manager, depending on the exact organizational structure of Speechify's distributed team. Direct collaboration with Product Managers and Engineering leads on feature development is a given.

Operations Impact: The Senior Product Designer's impact is critical to Speechify's success. By enhancing the user experience, optimizing onboarding, and contributing to product strategy, this role directly influences:

• User Acquisition & Retention: Improving core flows and onboarding can significantly boost conversion and reduce churn.
• User Engagement: Intuitive and delightful UX/UI leads to increased usage and deeper engagement with the text-to-speech features.
• Product Differentiation: Innovative design can set Speechify apart in a competitive market.
• Brand Perception: Design quality contributes to the perception of Speechify as a leading, inclusive, and user-friendly product.
• Mission Alignment: Directly contributing to the mission of making reading accessible, particularly for those with learning differences.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Track: Potential to grow into a Lead Product Designer or Design Manager role as the company scales, overseeing design strategy and team development.
• Specialization: Opportunity to deepen expertise in areas like AI product design, accessibility, or audio UX.
• Cross-Functional Mobility: Potential to move into Product Management or other strategic roles within the company, leveraging a deep understanding of user needs and product development.
• Skill Development: Continuous learning through exposure to cutting-edge technologies (AI, audio), working with a high-caliber team, and tackling complex design challenges.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" title combined with "influencing the product roadmap" and "shaping the design org" suggests a role with significant strategic input and potential for leadership growth, moving beyond pure execution.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Speechify operates as a 100% distributed company, meaning there is no central office. Team members work from their own home offices or chosen remote locations.

Office Location(s): There are no physical office locations. The team is distributed globally, with a specific mention of a presence in Sheffield, United Kingdom, for this role. This implies that while the role is based in Sheffield, the work is performed remotely.

Workspace Context:

• Asynchronous Collaboration: The primary mode of interaction is asynchronous, relying heavily on tools like Slack, email, project management software (e.g., Jira, Asana), and documentation platforms (e.g., Notion, Google Workspace).
• Focus & Autonomy: The remote, distributed model fosters an environment of high autonomy, where individuals are expected to manage their time and focus effectively to meet deadlines and project goals.
• Digital Tools & Technology: Access to and proficiency with a wide array of digital collaboration and design tools is essential. The company provides the necessary digital infrastructure to support remote work.
• Global Team Interaction: Opportunities to collaborate with a diverse, international team, offering exposure to different perspectives and working styles.

Work Schedule: While a standard 40-hour work week is implied, Speechify emphasizes an "exceptional asynchronous work culture." This means flexibility in working hours is a key aspect, allowing individuals to structure their day around peak productivity times, provided they meet project deadlines and collaborate effectively with colleagues across different time zones. Meetings are likely minimized and scheduled intentionally, with a preference for async communication.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "exceptional asynchronous work culture" is a critical differentiator. Candidates should be prepared to discuss their strategies for effective remote work, communication, and collaboration in a non-real-time environment.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Application Submission: Submit your resume and a link to your portfolio. Be prepared to articulate your interest and suitability for the role in your application.
• Initial Screening: A brief call with a recruiter or hiring manager to assess basic qualifications, experience, and cultural fit for a remote, asynchronous environment.
• Portfolio Review & Design Challenge: A deep dive into your portfolio, focusing on case studies that demonstrate your product thinking, process, and impact. This may be followed by a take-home design challenge or a live design exercise, assessing your problem-solving skills, design craft, and ability to work within constraints.
• Cross-Functional Interviews: Interviews with Product Managers, Engineers, and potentially other designers to evaluate collaboration skills, communication style, and strategic alignment.
• Final Interview: Potentially with a senior leader or founder to discuss overall fit, vision, and long-term potential within the company.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate for Relevance: Select case studies that best showcase your experience with consumer-facing products, multi-platform design, and the full product development lifecycle, aligning with Speechify's mission and technology.
• Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role and process, key decisions, and the measurable impact. Focus on the "why" behind your design choices.
• Highlight Process & Strategy: Demonstrate your product thinking and strategic approach, not just polished UI. Explain how you used research, data, and user feedback to inform your decisions.
• Showcase Collaboration: If possible, include examples that demonstrate how you worked with PMs and engineers.
• Accessibility & Inclusivity: Given Speechify's focus, subtly highlighting any experience or understanding of designing for inclusivity and accessibility will be beneficial.
• Concise Presentation: Be prepared to present your portfolio concisely and effectively, focusing on the most impactful aspects.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Mission: Familiarize yourself with Speechify's mission, product, and target audience, especially its focus on learning differences and accessibility.
• Anticipate Problem Types: Expect challenges that require you to consider user flows, onboarding, feature ideation, or optimization of existing features, with a focus on mobile and web platforms.
• Structure Your Approach: For any design challenge, clearly outline your strategy: problem definition, target users, key assumptions, design process, proposed solution, and how you would measure success.
• Focus on Rationale: Be ready to explain your design decisions thoroughly, justifying them with user needs, business goals, and design principles.
• Consider Asynchronous Constraints: If a take-home challenge, consider how you would document your process and present your findings effectively for a remote team.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on portfolio and "telling a story" suggests that candidates need to go beyond simply presenting screens. They must articulate the strategic thinking and user-centered approach behind their designs. The "Senior" title means interviewers will probe for leadership and strategic input.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (highly probable given industry trends and collaborative needs for remote teams), Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop).
• Collaboration & Communication: Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides), Notion (for documentation, knowledge sharing).
• Project Management: Jira, Asana, Trello, or similar tools for managing design tasks and workflows.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics: Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, or similar platforms for tracking user behavior, engagement, and feature performance.
• Data Visualization: Tools to interpret and present data insights, potentially including Tableau or in-app dashboarding tools.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly a designer's primary tool, understanding how CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) and marketing automation platforms integrate with user experiences and data capture is beneficial.

Other Relevant Technologies:

• AI/ML Integration: Familiarity with how AI/ML capabilities are integrated into product features.
• Audio Technology: Understanding of audio encoding, playback, and related technologies is a plus.
• Development Platforms: Awareness of native iOS (Swift/Objective-C) and Android (Kotlin/Java) development principles, as well as web technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript frameworks) to ensure design feasibility.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma is almost a given for modern design roles, especially in remote teams. The mention of analytics and AI/ML indicates that designers are expected to be data-informed and aware of emerging technologies.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Mission-Driven: A core value is the commitment to removing reading barriers and enabling learning for everyone, with a particular focus on users with dyslexia, ADD, and other learning differences.
• Innovation & Drive: The company fosters an environment that encourages new ideas, proactive problem-solving, and a high level of personal drive and initiative.
• Customer-Centricity: A deep empathy for users and a commitment to understanding and addressing their needs through thoughtful design.
• Efficiency & Focus: As a high-growth startup operating remotely, there's an emphasis on efficient workflows, clear communication, and heads-down focus to achieve ambitious goals.
• Collaboration & Respect: While distributed, the culture values inspiring, playing, and negotiating with opinionated colleagues, fostering a respectful and productive collaborative environment.
• Inclusivity & Diversity: Speechify is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace, valuing differences and ensuring equal opportunity.

Collaboration Style:

• Asynchronous First: The primary mode of collaboration is asynchronous, requiring clear, concise, and well-documented communication.
• Opinionated but Respectful: Team members are encouraged to share their perspectives and ideas, engaging in constructive debate to arrive at the best solutions.
• Cross-Functional Integration: Designers are expected to work closely with Product Managers and Engineers, acting as partners in product development rather than isolated contributors.
• Feedback Culture: An environment where constructive feedback is shared and received to drive continuous improvement in both product and process.
• Knowledge Sharing: Encouragement of sharing insights, best practices, and learnings across the distributed team.

📝 Enhancement Note: The values highlight a unique blend of a strong social mission, a fast-paced startup mentality, and the specific demands of a distributed, asynchronous work environment. Candidates should align with these principles and be able to demonstrate them through past experiences.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Remote Collaboration Nuances: Navigating the complexities of asynchronous communication, maintaining strong team cohesion, and ensuring effective collaboration without in-person interactions.
• Balancing Innovation with Scalability: Designing features that are both innovative and scalable across multiple platforms (iOS, Android, Web), while also adhering to design system principles.
• Designing for Diverse Needs: Creating intuitive and accessible experiences for a broad user base, including those with learning differences, which requires deep empathy and thorough user research.
• Pacing in a High-Growth Environment: Keeping pace with the rapid development cycles and evolving product roadmap of a fast-growing startup.
• Technical Constraints & Opportunities: Working effectively with engineering teams to understand technical feasibility and leverage emerging technologies like AI and advanced audio processing.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Dive into AI & Audio Tech: Gain hands-on experience designing at the forefront of AI and audio technology, a rapidly evolving domain.
• Accessibility Design Expertise: Develop specialized skills in designing for inclusivity and accessibility, a key differentiator for Speechify and a growing area in tech.
• Product Strategy Influence: Hone strategic product thinking by actively contributing to the roadmap and influencing product direction in a high-impact role.
• Leadership Development: Opportunities to mentor junior designers and potentially grow into leadership positions within the design organization as the company scales.
• Cross-Functional Exposure: Broaden understanding of product development by collaborating closely with engineering, product management, and research teams in a globally distributed setting.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to a senior role in a rapidly scaling, remote-first tech company with a specific social mission. The growth opportunities are significant, offering pathways for specialization and leadership.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Product Vision & Strategy: "How would you approach designing a new feature for Speechify that aims to improve user retention by 15%? Walk me through your process from ideation to execution." (Focus on user research, problem definition, solution ideation, and metrics.)
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: "Describe a time you had to negotiate design decisions with a strongly opinionated Product Manager or Engineer. How did you reach a resolution, and what was the outcome?" (Highlight communication, negotiation, and compromise skills.)
• Problem-Solving & Design Thinking: "Imagine a user is struggling to understand the core functionality of Speechify's text-to-speech feature. How would you diagnose the problem and design a solution to improve their understanding?" (Demonstrate structured problem-solving and user-centric design.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• Mission Alignment: "What excites you most about Speechify's mission, and how does your design philosophy align with it?" (Connect your passion for design with Speechify's social impact.)
• Remote Work Philosophy: "How do you ensure effective collaboration and productivity in a fully remote, asynchronous work environment? What are your strategies for staying connected and informed?" (Showcase your self-management and communication skills.)
• Impact Measurement: "How do you measure the success of your design work? Can you provide an example of a design change you made and its quantifiable impact on key metrics?" (Emphasize data-driven decision-making and ROI.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Storytelling is Key: For each case study, frame it as a narrative: The Challenge, Your Role & Process, The Solution, and The Impact.
• Focus on Rationale: Be prepared to deeply explain why you made specific design decisions, referencing user research, business goals, or design principles.
• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals effectively to demonstrate your design process and final outcomes. Highlight the evolution of your designs.
• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, present metrics that demonstrate the success of your work. If direct metrics aren't available, discuss qualitative improvements and learnings.
• Tailor to Speechify: Emphasize projects that demonstrate experience with consumer apps, mobile platforms, and ideally, a focus on accessibility or complex user flows.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interviewers will be looking for strategic thinking, strong communication, a deep understanding of the design process, and alignment with Speechify's unique culture and mission. Candidates should prepare to articulate their contributions with clarity and confidence.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Greenhouse.
• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features 3-5 detailed case studies that align with Speechify's product (consumer-facing, mobile/web apps, text-to-speech) and mission (accessibility, learning differences). Clearly articulate your process, role, and impact for each.
• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to highlight experience in consumer product design, UX/UI, user research, prototyping, and working in high-growth or remote environments. Use keywords from the job description such as "product thinking," "customer-centricity," and "asynchronous work."
• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, strategic thinking, and problem-solving approaches. Prepare to discuss your portfolio case studies in depth and answer questions about remote collaboration and mission alignment.
• Company Research: Deeply understand Speechify's product, mission, target audience, and its commitment to inclusivity. Research their recent achievements and any publicly available information on their culture and technology.

⚠️ 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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