Senior / Staff Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior / Staff Product Designer Company: Zeffy Location: Paris, Île-de-France, France Job Type: FULL_TIME Category: Product Design / GTM Operations Enablement Date Posted: November 04, 2025 Experience Level: 5-10 Years Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead end-to-end product design initiatives for Zeffy's platform, focusing on enhancing user experience for nonprofit organizations and driving product-led growth.
• Collaborate directly with development owners to transform complex product challenges into simple, intuitive, and effective design solutions that directly impact user activation and engagement.
• Establish and uphold high-level UX/UI design standards to ensure a consistent, high-quality, and user-friendly experience across the entire Zeffy platform, optimizing self-serve activation and conversion rates.
• Mentor and guide other product designers, fostering their professional development in areas such as problem understanding, user research methodologies, effective prototyping, UI/UX best practices, and cross-functional collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: While this role is for a Product Designer, its emphasis on user experience driving growth, activation, conversion, and revenue model success positions it as critical for GTM Operations Enablement. The focus on product-led adoption and optimizing user journeys directly supports revenue generation and operational efficiency by minimizing the need for traditional sales interventions. The required collaboration with dev owners and the emphasis on impact on nonprofit fundraising and payment conversion aligns with key revenue operations metrics.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Conduct user research to develop deep insights and intuition into the needs and behaviors of nonprofit users, informing strategic design decisions.
• Design intuitive and compelling user interfaces and experiences that align with Zeffy's product vision, iterating based on user feedback and testing to refine prototypes.
• Develop and document comprehensive UX/UI style guides and design systems to ensure brand consistency and a cohesive user experience across all product touchpoints.
• Actively mentor junior designers, providing guidance on design thinking, research techniques, prototyping tools, and collaborative best practices to elevate the overall design team's capabilities.
• Partner closely with product managers and engineering teams to translate user needs and business requirements into elegant, scalable design solutions, ensuring seamless implementation.
• Analyze user interaction data and conversion funnels to identify design friction points and opportunities for optimization, directly impacting nonprofit fundraising success and Zeffy's revenue model.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strategic approach to design where user experience directly influences business outcomes like user activation, payment conversion, and voluntary contributions. This aligns with a GTM Operations perspective focused on enabling growth through product. The emphasis on research, prototyping, and collaboration with dev owners underscores a methodical, data-informed design process crucial for operational efficiency.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating a deep understanding of user-centered design principles, interaction design, and visual design across digital platforms is essential. Experience: 5+ years of dedicated product design experience, preferably within fast-growing tech startups or companies with products that have achieved significant scale and impact. Proven experience leading design projects from conception through to launch, translating intricate problems into straightforward and user-friendly solutions.

Required Skills:

• Product Design Leadership: Proven ability to lead design initiatives end-to-end, from problem definition to final implementation.
• User Research & Empathy: Skill in conducting qualitative and quantitative user research to uncover user needs, pain points, and motivations.
• Prototyping & Wireframing: Expertise in creating low to high-fidelity prototypes to visualize user flows and test design concepts.
• UI/UX Design Principles: Strong grasp of interaction design, information architecture, visual design, and usability best practices.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Demonstrated ability to work effectively with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders, managing challenging trade-offs.
• Design Tool Proficiency: Expert-level skills in industry-standard design tools, particularly Figma, for UI design, prototyping, and collaboration.
• User Testing & Feedback Integration: Experience in planning and executing user testing sessions and incorporating feedback to iterate on designs.

Preferred Skills:

• Mentoring & Coaching: Experience in guiding and developing other product designers' skills and careers.
• Design Systems: Experience in creating, maintaining, or contributing to design systems for scalability and consistency.
• Data-Driven Design: Ability to leverage analytics and user data to inform design decisions and measure impact.
• Nonprofit Sector Familiarity: Understanding of the unique challenges and needs of nonprofit organizations.
• Agile Development Environment: Experience working within agile or iterative development cycles.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for 5+ years of experience in fast-growing startups and a proven track record of delivering impactful product design solutions that drive business results strongly suggests a role where design directly contributes to key business metrics like customer acquisition, conversion rates, and revenue. The emphasis on leading projects end-to-end and managing trade-offs is characteristic of senior roles that require strategic thinking beyond pure aesthetics, aligning with operational efficiency and GTM enablement.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio showcasing end-to-end product design projects, demonstrating a clear process from problem identification to solution delivery.
• Case studies that detail the user research conducted, design decisions made, and the resulting impact on key business or user metrics (e.g., activation rates, conversion improvements, user engagement).
• Demonstrations of how complex problems were simplified into intuitive and effective user experiences tailored for specific user segments.
• Examples of UI/UX standards, style guides, or contributions to design systems that ensure consistency and scalability.

Process Documentation:

• Clear articulation of the design process followed for each project, highlighting user research methodologies, ideation techniques, prototyping, and testing phases.
• Evidence of iterative design cycles, showing how feedback (from users, stakeholders, or data) was incorporated to refine solutions.
• Examples of how design solutions were implemented in collaboration with development teams, including attention to detail in handoff and quality assurance.
• Documentation or discussion of how design decisions were measured for their impact on user behavior and business objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit request for a portfolio and the emphasis on leading projects end-to-end, turning complex problems into simple solutions, and delivering impactful product design solutions that drive business results are critical for operations roles. This indicates that the company values demonstrable impact and a structured, results-oriented design process, which is a hallmark of strong operations professionals. The portfolio is expected to serve as evidence of process mastery and measurable outcomes.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: For a Senior/Staff Product Designer in Paris, France, with 5-10 years of experience, a competitive salary range would typically fall between €65,000 and €95,000 annually, depending on the candidate's specific expertise, the company's growth stage, and the precise responsibilities of the role. This estimate is based on industry benchmarks for similar roles in major European tech hubs and considers the cost of living in Paris. Benefits:

• Generous Holiday Allowance: 5 weeks of paid holiday plus RTT (Réduction du Temps de Travail - Reduction of Working Time) per calendar year, offering excellent work-life balance.
• Equity Participation: A competitive stock option program, providing employees with a stake in Zeffy's growth and success.
• Comprehensive Health Insurance: Health insurance coverage provided through Alan, a modern and well-regarded health insurance provider.
• Community Engagement: Opportunities for team volunteering four times per year, fostering a sense of social responsibility and team cohesion.
• Professional Development: Access to a paid case study during the recruitment process, offering a learning opportunity and compensation for candidate effort.
• Team Building & Culture: Annual offsite summits and regular team lunches to strengthen relationships and foster a collaborative environment.
• Work Flexibility: Potential for flexible, hybrid work arrangements, balancing in-office collaboration with remote work.

Working Hours: Standard full-time working hours are assumed to be 40 hours per week, with the possibility of flexible scheduling and hybrid work arrangements as noted in the benefits.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is an estimate based on current market data for Senior/Staff Product Designers in Paris, France. This range accounts for the specified experience level (5-10 years) and the hybrid work arrangement. The benefits provided align with competitive offerings in the European tech market, particularly for fast-growing startups, and are detailed to provide a comprehensive view of the total compensation package.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology (SaaS for Nonprofits) Company Size: While not explicitly stated, Zeffy is described as the "fastest-growing nonprofit platform in North America" and is "doubling annually," indicating rapid growth from a mid-size company towards a larger scale, likely in the hundreds of employees. Founded: The founding date is not specified, but given its rapid growth and self-funded model, it suggests a relatively established yet agile organization focused on sustainable expansion.

Team Structure:

• The product and design teams are structured to foster direct collaboration, with designers working in "duo with the dev owner of each project." This implies small, agile, cross-functional teams focused on specific product areas.
• Reporting lines for designers likely lead up through design leadership or directly to a Head of Product/CTO, given the emphasis on mentorship and leadership influence.
• Cross-functional collaboration is central, with designers expected to work closely with product managers, engineers, and potentially user researchers to deliver solutions.

Methodology:

• Product-Led Growth: Zeffy operates on a product-led model, meaning the product itself is the primary driver of customer acquisition, expansion, and retention. Design is therefore critical for user activation and conversion.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: The emphasis on user research, analyzing conversion on payment forms, and understanding user behavior suggests a strong reliance on data to inform product and design strategies.
• Agile & Iterative Development: The "duo with dev owner" model and focus on refining prototypes through user feedback points to an agile, iterative approach to product development and design.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on the nonprofit sector and its product-led growth strategy are key differentiators. This context is crucial for understanding how design decisions directly impact the company's mission and revenue model. The rapid growth implies a dynamic, fast-paced environment where adaptability and efficiency are paramount, traits that resonate strongly with operations professionals.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as Senior / Staff Product Designer, indicating a high level of individual contribution and potential for leadership. It signifies a move beyond executing tasks to owning significant product areas, influencing design strategy, and mentoring others. Reporting Structure: Designers are expected to work in close partnership with "dev owners" on specific projects. This suggests a flat, collaborative structure where direct communication is key. Designers will likely report to a Head of Design or CTO, with opportunities to influence product direction. Operations Impact: The role has a significant impact on Zeffy's operations through its direct influence on:

• User Activation & Self-Serve Growth: Optimizing the onboarding and initial user experience directly drives the company's product-led growth strategy, reducing the need for traditional sales interventions.
• Conversion Rates: Enhancing the design of critical forms (like payment forms) directly increases the funds processed for nonprofits, positively impacting Zeffy's voluntary contribution revenue model.
• User Engagement & Retention: Creating intuitive and valuable experiences encourages nonprofits to continue using and engaging with the platform, minimizing churn.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership & Mentorship: The explicit mention of mentoring other designers provides a clear path for developing leadership and people management skills.
• Strategic Design Influence: As a Senior/Staff designer, there's an opportunity to shape the product vision and design strategy for key areas of the platform.
• Deep Domain Expertise: Gaining in-depth knowledge of the nonprofit sector and its unique technology needs can lead to specialization and impact.
• Career Progression: Potential to advance into Lead Designer, Head of Design, or Product Management roles within a rapidly growing organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: The career trajectory for a Senior/Staff Product Designer in a product-led, fast-growing company like Zeffy is strongly tied to operational impact. The ability to influence user journeys, drive conversion, and enable self-serve growth directly supports the company's revenue and operational efficiency. The growth opportunities are centered on leadership, strategic impact, and specialization within a mission-driven business.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Zeffy maintains offices located in the heart of Paris, with the possibility of flexible, hybrid work. This suggests a modern office space designed to facilitate collaboration and creative work, while also accommodating remote flexibility. Office Location(s): Paris 11ème, France. This central location offers good accessibility and a vibrant working environment.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The "duo with dev owner" model and the emphasis on collaboration indicate a workspace that encourages close teamwork and open communication between design, product, and engineering.
• Tools & Technology: Designers will have access to industry-standard tools like Figma, supporting efficient design workflows and prototyping. The environment likely supports the use of various digital collaboration and research tools.
• Team Interaction: Opportunities for regular interaction with design peers, development teams, and leadership through daily work, team lunches, and offsite summits.

Work Schedule: A standard 40-hour work week is implied, with flexibility offered through hybrid work arrangements. This allows operations professionals to balance focused work with collaborative sessions, accommodating the cyclical nature of design and development processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid work model in a vibrant Paris location offers a balance of in-person collaboration and remote flexibility, which is attractive to operations professionals who value structured work environments with opportunities for focused tasks and team synergy. The emphasis on collaboration within small project teams is key for efficient workflow and rapid iteration.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Recruiter Call (45 min): An initial screening to assess mutual fit, understand your background, and confirm alignment with the role and company mission. Prepare to articulate your passion for Zeffy's mission and your high-level experience.
• Immersion Interview with CTO (1.5 hr): A deep dive into your product judgment, user empathy, and business acumen. Be ready to discuss past projects, challenges, and how you approach complex problems from a strategic perspective. Focus on your ability to understand business needs and translate them into design solutions.
• Paid Case Study (5 hr total: take-home + 45 min presentation): This is a critical step to evaluate your strategic thinking and solution design skills. You will be given a specific product challenge. Prepare to demonstrate your full design process, from understanding the problem to presenting a well-reasoned, impactful solution. Focus on clarity, rationale, and the potential impact of your design.
• Cultural Interview with Leadership (1 hr, in-person): An assessment of your fit with Zeffy's company culture and values. Be prepared to discuss your collaboration style, how you handle feedback, and what drives you. Showcase your alignment with their mission and values.
• Team Lunch + Reference Check: A final informal step to gauge team dynamics and confirm your professional background.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Showcase Process & Impact: For each project, clearly outline the problem, your role, the process you followed (research, ideation, design, testing), and the measurable outcomes or impact on users/business.
• Focus on Problem-Solving: Highlight how you tackled complex challenges and the rationale behind your design decisions. Emphasize simplicity and effectiveness in your solutions.
• Demonstrate Collaboration: Include examples that show how you worked with cross-functional teams (developers, PMs) and incorporated feedback.
• Tailor to Zeffy: If possible, subtly tailor your case studies to align with Zeffy's product-led growth strategy and focus on nonprofit impact. Highlight your experience with user activation or conversion optimization.
• Clarity & Conciseness: Ensure your portfolio is well-organized, easy to navigate, and that your case studies are concise yet comprehensive.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the "Why": Before diving into solutions for the case study, ensure you thoroughly understand the problem statement, the target user, and the business objectives.
• Structure Your Presentation: Organize your case study presentation logically: Problem -> Research/Insights -> Solution -> Rationale -> Impact/Metrics.
• Articulate Your Rationale: Be prepared to clearly explain why you made specific design decisions, referencing user research, best practices, or business goals.
• Consider Trade-offs: For senior roles, demonstrating an understanding of trade-offs (e.g., speed vs. polish, feature scope) is important.
• Practice Your Delivery: Rehearse your presentation to ensure it's within the allotted time and that you can speak confidently and clearly about your work.

📝 Enhancement Note: The recruitment process is robust, with a strong emphasis on practical application (case study) and cultural fit. For operations professionals, this indicates that Zeffy values candidates who can demonstrate strategic thinking, problem-solving skills, and a collaborative, results-oriented approach, mirroring the expectations in operations roles. The portfolio review is positioned as a key component for assessing these capabilities.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Explicitly mentioned as a required expert-level tool for UI design, prototyping, and collaboration. This will be the core tool for day-to-day design work.
• Prototyping Tools: Proficiency in Figma's prototyping capabilities is essential; other integrated or standalone prototyping tools may also be relevant.
• User Research Platforms: Experience with tools for conducting user interviews, surveys, and usability testing (e.g., UserTesting.com, Maze, Lookback, Typeform) is implied.
• Project Management Tools: Familiarity with tools like Jira, Asana, or Trello for tracking design tasks and collaborating with development teams.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Web Analytics Tools: Experience with tools like Google Analytics or Amplitude to understand user behavior, track conversion funnels, and measure the impact of design changes.
• Data Visualization Tools: While not explicitly stated, familiarity with how design impacts data displayed in dashboards (e.g., Tableau, Looker Studio) can be beneficial.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly a designer's tool, an understanding of how CRM systems (like Salesforce, HubSpot) and marketing automation platforms influence user journeys and data collection can provide valuable context for designing user-friendly experiences within a business operations framework.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on Figma as an expert-level tool is critical. For operations roles, understanding that design tools are central to enabling user experience and thus impacting conversion and activation is key. Proficiency in these tools, coupled with an understanding of analytics and user behavior, signifies a candidate who can contribute to data-informed operational improvements.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Mission-Driven Impact: A core value is to "amplify the impact of nonprofits" and "build the best technology for them." Operations professionals should align with this purpose-driven approach.
• Simplicity & Intuition: The company values creating "simple, effective solutions" and maintaining a product that is "simple and intuitive," even as it grows. This translates to an operational focus on efficiency and ease of use.
• Ownership & Accountability: The role emphasizes "ownership" and working directly with "dev owners," suggesting a culture where individuals take responsibility for their projects and outcomes.
• Data-Driven & User-Centric: Decisions are informed by user research and data analysis, ensuring that product development and design are aligned with user needs and business objectives.
• Efficiency & Growth: Zeffy operates on a "sustainable, self-funded model" and is "doubling annually," indicating a culture that values efficient operations and continuous growth.

Collaboration Style:

• Direct Partnership: Designers are expected to work "directly in duo with the dev owner of each project," fostering close, agile collaboration and shared responsibility.
• Cross-Functional Integration: Collaboration extends across product, design, and engineering teams to ensure alignment and effective solution delivery.
• Feedback-Oriented: The process involves refining prototypes through user feedback and implies a culture that is open to constructive criticism and iterative improvement.
• Knowledge Sharing: Mentoring other designers suggests a culture that values sharing expertise and supporting collective growth.

📝 Enhancement Note: The values of mission-driven impact, simplicity, ownership, and data-centricity are highly relevant to operations roles. These values translate into an operational mindset focused on efficiency, user enablement, and measurable outcomes, all of which are critical for success in revenue and sales operations.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Simplicity with Feature Growth: As Zeffy grows, maintaining a simple and intuitive user experience while adding powerful features presents a constant design and operational challenge.
• Driving Voluntary Contributions: The revenue model relies on voluntary contributions, making design's role in user perception, trust, and perceived value paramount and a significant challenge to optimize.
• Scaling Design Systems: Ensuring design consistency and efficiency across a rapidly expanding platform and user base requires robust design systems and processes.
• Rapid Iteration & Feedback Loops: In a fast-growing startup, designers must adapt quickly to new insights and iterate rapidly, managing feedback from diverse sources.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Leadership Development: The opportunity to mentor junior designers offers a direct path to developing leadership and management skills.
• Product Strategy Influence: Contributing to a product-led growth strategy provides exposure to high-level business and product decision-making.
• Nonprofit Sector Expertise: Deepening understanding of the nonprofit landscape offers specialized domain knowledge.
• Continuous Design Process Improvement: Engaging in a fast-paced environment provides opportunities to refine design methodologies and operational workflows.
• Industry Exposure: The mention of an annual offsite summit and potential participation in industry events (like the Paris Product Conference) offers networking and learning opportunities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges and growth opportunities are framed in a way that appeals to operations professionals seeking impactful roles. The emphasis on optimizing conversion for a unique revenue model, scaling processes, and developing leadership skills aligns with the career aspirations of those in revenue and sales operations.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you turned a complex product challenge into a simple, intuitive user experience. What was your process, and what was the outcome?" - Preparation: Prepare a specific case study from your portfolio that best illustrates this. Focus on your problem-solving approach, research, design decisions, and quantifiable results.
• "How do you ensure your designs align with business objectives, especially when dealing with voluntary contributions or conversion rates?" - Preparation: Discuss your understanding of Zeffy's product-led growth and revenue model. Explain how you use data and user insights to drive metrics like activation, engagement, and conversion.
• "How do you collaborate with development owners and other stakeholders to ensure successful product launches?" - Preparation: Provide examples of your partnership with engineers. Discuss your approach to design handoff, feedback loops, and managing trade-offs.
• "What is your approach to user research, and how do you translate those insights into actionable design improvements?" - Preparation: Detail your preferred user research methods and how you ensure research findings directly influence design decisions and product strategy.

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why are you interested in working for Zeffy, a company focused on nonprofits?" - Preparation: Research Zeffy's mission, impact, and growth. Articulate your personal connection to their mission or your enthusiasm for supporting the nonprofit sector.
• "How do you approach mentoring junior designers?" - Preparation: Share specific examples of how you've guided, coached, or supported the growth of other designers.
• "Describe your ideal work environment and how you thrive in a fast-paced, growing startup." - Preparation: Align your response with Zeffy's culture (mission-driven, collaborative, agile) and highlight your adaptability and proactive nature.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Lead with Impact: Start your portfolio presentation by highlighting the most impactful projects and their business results (e.g., increased conversion, user activation).
• Tell a Story: For each case study, narrate the journey: the problem, your role, the process, the solution, and the outcome. Make it engaging.
• Focus on Your "Why": Clearly articulate the rationale behind your design decisions, linking them to user needs and business goals.
• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about specific design choices, trade-offs you made, and how you measured success.
• Showcase Collaboration: Demonstrate how you worked with cross-functional teams and incorporated feedback.
• Keep it Concise: Respect the allotted time. Focus on quality over quantity, selecting 3-4 strong projects that showcase your range and expertise.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview preparation advice is tailored to highlight how a candidate's design skills directly contribute to business objectives and operational efficiency, mirroring the expectations for operations roles. The focus on strategy, business impact, and collaborative problem-solving is key.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior / Staff Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the Kula careers page.
• Curate Your Portfolio: Carefully select 3-4 of your strongest end-to-end design projects that best showcase your problem-solving skills, user research capabilities, and ability to drive measurable business impact (e.g., activation, conversion). Ensure each case study clearly outlines the problem, your process, your role, and the quantifiable results.
• Optimize Your Resume: Tailor your resume to highlight experience in product-led growth environments, fast-growing startups, and projects that directly influenced user activation, conversion rates, or revenue. Use keywords such as "product design," "user experience," "UI/UX," "prototyping," "user research," "Figma," and "collaboration."
• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice articulating your experience and passion for Zeffy's mission. Be ready to discuss your design process, how you collaborate with development teams, and your approach to mentoring. Prepare specific examples for the interview questions.
• Research Zeffy Thoroughly: Understand their product, their mission to support nonprofits, their product-led growth strategy, and their unique revenue model. Familiarize yourself with their website and any available resources (like the linked YouTube video) to demonstrate genuine interest and strategic alignment.

⚠️ 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.