Senior UX Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior UX Designer

Company: Anaplan

Location: Manchester, United Kingdom

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / User Experience

Date Posted: April 24, 2026

Experience Level: Mid-Senior Level (5-10 years)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the end-to-end design process for critical Anaplan platform features, with a strong emphasis on AI-powered functionalities, ensuring intuitive and scalable user experiences.

• Drive the design of complex, data-rich interfaces within an enterprise SaaS environment, translating intricate user needs into actionable design solutions.

• Act as a design lead and mentor, fostering design excellence, contributing to design system evolution, and guiding junior designers within the global UX team.

• Champion user-centered design methodologies through leading collaborative workshops and advocating for user needs across cross-functional product and engineering teams.

• Integrate cutting-edge AI interaction patterns, including prompt design and conversational UX, into core workflows to enhance user efficiency and system performance.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is Senior UX Designer, the responsibilities strongly align with a Product Designer role that has a significant strategic and leadership component. The focus on AI, enterprise SaaS, and end-to-end ownership indicates a need for a candidate who can not only execute design but also influence product direction and mentor other designers. The mention of AI-specific tools and interaction patterns points to a forward-thinking design team.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Spearhead the complete design lifecycle for significant platform modules, from initial user research and problem definition through to the delivery of high-fidelity prototypes and design specifications.

• Collaborate intimately with Product Managers, Engineering teams, and UX Researchers to translate complex business requirements and user pain points into elegant, technically feasible design solutions.

• Develop comprehensive design documentation, including user flows, wireframes, interactive prototypes (e.g., using Figma), and detailed visual designs for new features and enhancements.

• Provide mentorship and design guidance to fellow UX designers, conducting design critiques, sharing best practices, and contributing to a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

• Facilitate and lead cross-functional design thinking workshops and brainstorming sessions to foster innovation, align stakeholders, and drive effective problem-solving for complex user challenges.

• Contribute actively to the evolution and maintenance of Anaplan's design system, ensuring consistency, scalability, and adherence to accessibility standards across the platform.

• Articulate design decisions and rationale clearly and persuasively to diverse audiences, including senior leadership, product teams, and engineering partners, to build consensus and drive adoption of user-centric strategies.

• Design and iterate on AI-driven features, focusing on recommendation engines, automated workflows, and conversational interfaces, ensuring seamless integration into existing user journeys.

• Prototype and test novel AI concepts rapidly using tools like Figma and potentially GenAI, focusing on designing effective feedback loops that enhance AI performance and user trust.

• Partner with product and engineering to embed AI capabilities intuitively within core user workflows, balancing innovative potential with practical usability and technical constraints.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of individual contribution and leadership. The emphasis on AI-powered features and rapid prototyping suggests a dynamic, experimental approach to design. The role requires a candidate who can manage ambiguity and drive innovation within a structured enterprise environment.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Design (e.g., Graphic Design, Interaction Design, HCI), Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience: 5-10 years of professional experience in UX design, product design, or a closely related field, with a proven track record of designing and shipping complex digital products, preferably within enterprise SaaS environments.

Required Skills:

• Demonstrated expertise in leading end-to-end UX design processes for complex, data-rich applications, from concept to launch.

• Strong proficiency in UX design tools, with a primary focus on Figma for wireframing, prototyping, and high-fidelity design.

• Proven ability to create compelling user flows, wireframes, and interactive prototypes that effectively communicate design intent.

• Solid understanding of design systems, their implementation, and their role in maintaining design consistency and scalability.

• Deep knowledge of accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG) and inclusive design principles, ensuring products are usable by everyone.

• Experience or strong understanding of AI interaction patterns, including prompt engineering, conversational UX, and designing for AI-driven recommendations and insights.

• Exceptional communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to articulate design rationale to technical and non-technical audiences.

• Proven ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams, collaborating closely with product managers and engineers.

• Experience in systems thinking and the ability to simplify complex workflows and user journeys.

• Comfort working in fast-paced, experimental environments with evolving requirements and a strong bias for action.

Preferred Skills:

• Prior experience designing user interfaces that incorporate AI or machine learning functionalities, such as recommendation engines, natural language processing, or predictive analytics.

• Familiarity with AI development platforms or tools like Lovable, Claude Design, Figma Make, OpenAI Codex, or NVIDIA Nemo.

• Experience working within or designing for financial planning, enterprise modeling, or other workflow-intensive business applications.

• Exposure to enterprise software platforms such as Anaplan, SAP, Workday, or similar ERP/planning systems.

• A proactive interest in shaping team processes, defining design rituals, or contributing to the development of operational tooling for the design team.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Nice To Have" section provides specific examples of AI tools and enterprise software, indicating areas where candidates with specialized knowledge will have a distinct advantage. The emphasis on shaping team processes suggests a desire for a proactive, influential individual.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio showcasing end-to-end design ownership of complex digital products, ideally within enterprise SaaS or data-intensive domains.

• Case studies demonstrating the application of user-centered design methodologies to solve challenging user problems and achieve business objectives.

• Examples of detailed user flows, wireframes, and high-fidelity interactive prototypes that illustrate a strong grasp of interaction design principles.

• Evidence of contributions to or experience with design systems, highlighting how consistency and scalability were maintained.

• Specific examples of projects involving AI, machine learning, or complex data visualization, showcasing innovative solutions and problem-solving approaches.

Process Documentation:

• Showcase documentation of your design process, including research findings, ideation phases, iterative design cycles, and user testing results.

• Present examples of how you translated complex requirements into clear, actionable design artifacts.

• Include documentation that illustrates your approach to collaborating with product and engineering teams throughout the design and development lifecycle.

• Provide examples of how you have contributed to or managed design systems, including documentation for components, patterns, and guidelines.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Senior UX Designer role, especially one focusing on AI and enterprise solutions, the portfolio must go beyond surface-level visuals. It needs to demonstrate strategic thinking, problem-solving capabilities, and a deep understanding of the design process, particularly in complex, data-driven environments. The inclusion of AI-specific projects is a significant differentiator.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for Senior UX Designers in Manchester, UK, with 5-10 years of experience in enterprise SaaS, the estimated annual salary range is likely between £60,000 and £85,000. This range can vary based on specific skills, depth of experience with AI and enterprise platforms, and the candidate's negotiation capabilities.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive health and wellness programs, including medical, dental, and vision coverage.

• Generous paid time off (PTO) and public holiday allowance.

• Pension scheme contributions.

• Opportunities for professional development, including training, conferences, and certifications.

• Access to Anaplan's innovative product and a collaborative work environment.

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) providing confidential support.

• Potential for performance-based bonuses or stock options.

• Commuter benefits or assistance for on-site employees.

Working Hours: Standard full-time hours, typically around 40 hours per week, with flexibility often provided. The role is on-site, implying a requirement to be present in the Manchester office during core business hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary estimation is based on research for comparable Senior UX Designer roles in Manchester, UK, considering the enterprise SaaS context and the AI specialization. Benefits are typical for a company of Anaplan's size and global presence, with a focus on employee well-being and professional growth. The on-site nature of the role suggests a structured work schedule.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software / Technology (specifically Enterprise Planning, AI-infused Scenario Planning, and Business Analytics). Anaplan operates in a competitive market, providing mission-critical solutions for large enterprises that require sophisticated data analysis and strategic decision-making capabilities. This context means the UX team must design for users who are often highly analytical and deal with complex, high-stakes data.

Company Size: Anaplan is a large enterprise, likely falling into the 5,000-10,000+ employee range globally, based on typical growth patterns for companies serving Fortune 50 clients. This size suggests a well-established HR structure, corporate processes, and a global footprint, but also potential for agility within specific product teams.

Founded: Anaplan was founded in 1998. This history indicates a mature company with a solid market presence, significant intellectual property, and established methodologies, while also emphasizing their ongoing commitment to innovation, particularly with their AI-infused platform.

Team Structure:

• The User Experience team is global, suggesting a distributed but coordinated structure. Within this team, designers are likely organized around specific product domains or feature areas.

• This Senior UX Designer role will likely report to a UX Manager or Director, with a dotted line to Product Management and Engineering leads for specific projects.

Methodology:

• Data Analysis and Insights: Anaplan's platform is inherently data-driven. The UX team must leverage user data, analytics, and research to inform design decisions, focusing on metrics that demonstrate efficiency gains, user adoption, and problem resolution within complex planning workflows.

• Workflow Planning and Optimization: A primary focus is on simplifying and optimizing complex enterprise workflows. Designers are expected to deeply understand these workflows and create intuitive interfaces that reduce cognitive load and improve user efficiency.

• Automation and Efficiency Practices: The company's platform and its new AI features are geared towards automation and efficiency. The UX team's work will directly contribute to these goals by designing user-friendly interfaces for automated processes and AI-driven insights.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Understanding Anaplan's position as a leader in enterprise planning software and its focus on AI is critical. The company's size and founding date suggest a blend of established corporate practices and a drive for continuous innovation, which will shape the UX team's environment and challenges. The team structure emphasizes collaboration within a global, cross-functional framework.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior UX Designer role, indicating a level of mastery in core UX design skills, significant experience in complex product environments, and the ability to operate with a high degree of autonomy. It signifies a transition from primarily executing design tasks to influencing design strategy, mentoring others, and leading design initiatives for significant product areas. For operations professionals looking at GTM roles, understanding how UX impacts sales enablement and customer success is key.

Reporting Structure: The Senior UX Designer will report to a UX leadership role (e.g., UX Manager or Director) and will work closely with Product Management and Engineering leads within a specific product domain. This structure facilitates direct collaboration on feature development and strategic alignment.

Operations Impact: While not a direct "operations" role in the traditional sense (like Revenue or Sales Ops), this UX role has a profound impact on Anaplan's operations by:

• Improving User Efficiency: Designing intuitive interfaces for complex planning and analysis directly enhances the operational efficiency of Anaplan's enterprise customers.

• Driving Adoption and Retention: A superior user experience leads to higher user adoption rates, increased customer satisfaction, and reduced churn, all critical operational metrics.

• Enabling Sales and Customer Success: Well-designed features and clear user journeys support sales efforts by demonstrating product value and aid customer success teams in onboarding and supporting users effectively.

• Innovating with AI: Leading the design of AI features directly contributes to Anaplan's strategic positioning and its ability to offer advanced, automated solutions that drive operational transformation for clients.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Progression to Lead UX Designer, Principal UX Designer, or UX Manager roles, overseeing larger design initiatives or teams.

• Specialization: Deepening expertise in AI/ML UX, data visualization, or specific industry domains (e.g., Finance, Supply Chain Planning).

• Cross-Functional Mobility: Opportunities to move into Product Management or other strategic roles within the technology organization.

• Mentorship and Training: Formal and informal opportunities to mentor junior designers and contribute to the development of Anaplan's design practice and standards.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Operations Impact" section translates the UX role into the language of business operations, highlighting its indirect but significant contributions to revenue, customer success, and overall business efficiency. This is crucial for candidates seeking roles that bridge design and business strategy. The growth path emphasizes both deepening expertise and broadening responsibilities.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Anaplan's Manchester office is likely a modern, professional corporate environment designed to foster collaboration and productivity. Given the company's global presence and focus on innovation, it would feature contemporary office spaces with various work zones, meeting rooms, and potentially collaborative hubs.

Office Location(s): Located in Manchester, United Kingdom. Specific details on the exact office address or accessibility would need to be confirmed, but Manchester is a major UK city with good transport links.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The workspace is designed to encourage interaction between UX designers, product managers, and engineers, facilitating rapid iteration and problem-solving. This includes open-plan areas, dedicated project rooms, and meeting spaces equipped with presentation technology.

• Operations Tools and Technology: Designers will have access to standard professional design software (Figma), potentially AI tools, and collaboration platforms. The company's own Anaplan platform will also be a key tool for understanding user context and product capabilities.

• Team Interaction: Daily interaction with a diverse, global team is expected. This includes both synchronous collaboration within the Manchester office and asynchronous communication with team members in other time zones.

Work Schedule: The role is on-site, implying a standard Monday-Friday work week. While core hours will be expected for team collaboration, Anaplan typically offers some degree of flexibility to accommodate work-life balance and personal needs, within the operational requirements of supporting a global platform.

📝 Enhancement Note: The description of the work environment focuses on how it supports the collaborative and innovative nature of the UX role, particularly in an on-site setting. It emphasizes the tools and interactions that are crucial for effective design work in an enterprise tech company.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

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

• Hiring Manager Interview: A deeper dive into your experience, design philosophy, and leadership potential. Be prepared to discuss your approach to complex problems.

• Portfolio Review & Presentation: A dedicated session where you present 2-3 key case studies from your portfolio. This is the most critical part; focus on your process, decision-making, and the impact of your work. Expect questions on how you handled challenges, user research, and collaboration.

• Design Exercise/Challenge: This may involve a take-home assignment or a live design exercise focused on a specific problem relevant to Anaplan's platform, testing your problem-solving skills, systems thinking, and ability to leverage AI concepts.

• Cross-Functional Team Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers, Engineers, and potentially UX Researchers and other designers to assess collaboration skills, technical understanding, and team fit.

• Final Interview: Likely with a senior leader in the Product or Design organization to discuss strategic alignment and overall candidacy.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 projects that best showcase your end-to-end design process, leadership, problem-solving, and experience with complex/data-rich applications or AI features.

• Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process you followed (research, ideation, prototyping, testing, iteration), your design decisions and rationale, and the measurable impact/outcomes.

• Highlight AI & Complexity: If possible, feature projects involving AI, machine learning, data visualization, or complex enterprise workflows. Clearly explain how you approached these unique challenges.

• Showcase Collaboration: Emphasize how you worked with cross-functional teams and stakeholders, and how you incorporated feedback.

• Be Prepared for Questions: Anticipate questions about your design choices, trade-offs made, how you handle ambiguity, and your understanding of Anaplan's product space.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Research Anaplan's platform, its target users (finance, planning, strategy professionals), and its competitive landscape.

• Focus on Process: For any design exercise, clearly outline your approach, even if you can't complete every step. Demonstrate your thinking process.

• AI Integration: If the challenge involves AI, think about how users interact with AI, how trust is built, and how feedback loops work.

• Simplicity from Complexity: Practice simplifying complex scenarios into clear user flows and interactions.

• Presentation Skills: Prepare to present your solution concisely and clearly, highlighting key decisions and rationale.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section provides actionable advice tailored to a Senior UX role, emphasizing the importance of a strong portfolio that demonstrates leadership, process, and impact, especially in the context of AI and enterprise software. The interview process outline helps candidates anticipate and prepare for each stage.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

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

• Prototyping Tools: Beyond Figma, experience with other prototyping tools may be beneficial for rapid experimentation.

• Design System Management Tools: Familiarity with how design systems are documented and maintained.

Analytics & Reporting:

• User Analytics Platforms: Experience with tools like Google Analytics, Amplitude, Mixpanel, or similar for understanding user behavior and product usage.

• Data Visualization Tools: Ability to interpret and potentially create dashboards or reports that inform design decisions, using tools like Tableau, Power BI, or Anaplan's own reporting capabilities.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems: While not a direct user, understanding how customer data is managed (e.g., Salesforce) can provide context for enterprise software design.

• Workflow Automation Tools: Familiarity with how business processes are automated, which is directly relevant to designing features for Anaplan.

• AI/ML Development Tools (Preferred): Experience with or understanding of platforms like OpenAI Codex, Claude, NVIDIA Nemo, or similar for AI model interaction and development environments would be a significant advantage.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section specifies Anaplan's likely technology stack, with a strong emphasis on Figma, design systems, and user analytics. The inclusion of AI/ML development tools as preferred highlights the company's focus on cutting-edge technology and its impact on the UX role.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Success: A primary focus is on ensuring Anaplan customers achieve their business objectives through the platform. This translates to designing solutions that are not just functional but also drive tangible business value and efficiency.

• Innovation and Agility: Anaplan encourages pushing boundaries, especially with AI and new platform features. Designers are expected to be forward-thinking, experimental, and adaptable to evolving technologies and requirements.

• Collaboration and Transparency: Working effectively across global, cross-functional teams is paramount. Open communication, sharing of ideas, and constructive feedback are key to success.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Design decisions are expected to be informed by user research, analytics, and business metrics, rather than solely intuition.

• Excellence and Ownership: A commitment to delivering high-quality work, taking responsibility for design outcomes, and continuously striving for improvement in both product and process.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Designers are embedded within product teams, working daily with PMs and Engineers. This fosters a deep understanding of technical constraints and business goals.

• Process Review Culture: Regular design critiques and feedback sessions are common to ensure design quality and explore diverse perspectives.

• Knowledge Sharing: Anaplan likely promotes sharing of best practices, case studies, and learnings across the global UX team, possibly through internal presentations, documentation, or dedicated forums.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture and values described emphasize a blend of customer focus, innovation, and rigorous execution, typical of leading enterprise software companies. The collaboration style highlights the integrated nature of the UX role within product development teams.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for Complexity: Anaplan's platform is powerful and complex, requiring designers to distill intricate planning and analysis functionalities into intuitive user experiences for sophisticated users.

• Integrating AI Seamlessly: Effectively incorporating AI-powered features (recommendations, automation, insights) in a way that is trustworthy, useful, and doesn't overwhelm users is a significant design challenge. This includes designing effective user feedback loops for AI.

• Balancing Innovation with Usability: Pushing the envelope with AI and new features while ensuring the core platform remains stable, usable, and accessible to a broad enterprise user base.

• Global Consistency: Maintaining a consistent and high-quality user experience across a global platform with diverse user needs and evolving product areas.

• Rapidly Evolving AI Landscape: Staying abreast of the fast-paced advancements in AI and translating them into practical, valuable product features.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI/ML UX Specialization: Deepen expertise in designing for artificial intelligence, machine learning, and generative AI applications.

• Enterprise SaaS Design Mastery: Gain extensive experience in the nuances of designing for large-scale, mission-critical enterprise software.

• Leadership and Mentorship: Develop leadership skills by mentoring junior designers and potentially leading design initiatives or functional areas.

• Industry Conferences and Training: Opportunities to attend relevant UX, AI, and enterprise software conferences, and pursue certifications.

• Cross-Disciplinary Learning: Exposure to product strategy, engineering challenges, and data science through close collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges listed are specific to the nature of Anaplan's product and the increasing integration of AI. The growth opportunities are framed around deepening expertise in high-demand areas like AI UX and leadership within a design context.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach designing an AI-powered recommendation engine for financial planning scenarios within a platform like Anaplan?" (Focus on user needs, data inputs, output clarity, and feedback loops.)

• "Describe a time you had to simplify a highly complex workflow for enterprise users. What was your process, and what was the outcome?" (Emphasize systems thinking, user research, and iterative design.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Anaplan's AI-infused platform and enterprise planning space?" (Show research into their product, market, and strategic direction.)

• "How do you contribute to a positive and collaborative team environment, especially in a global, cross-functional setting?" (Highlight your teamwork, communication, and mentorship approach.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Each Case Study: Problem -> Your Role -> Process (Research, Ideation, Design, Testing) -> Key Decisions & Rationale -> Outcome/Impact (Quantifiable if possible).

• Highlight AI Involvement: If a project involved AI, explicitly call out your role in understanding AI capabilities, designing interactions, and managing user expectations.

• Demonstrate Systems Thinking: Show how your designs fit into a larger system or platform, maintaining consistency and scalability.

• Focus on Impact: Clearly articulate the business value or user benefit achieved through your design work.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Prepare to answer detailed questions about any aspect of your process, your design choices, and the challenges you faced.

📝 Enhancement Note: These interview questions and preparation tips are tailored to a Senior UX role, emphasizing strategic thinking, AI integration, complex problem-solving, and the ability to articulate design impact within an enterprise context.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior UX Designer position:

• Submit your application through the Anaplan careers portal via the provided Greenhouse link.

• Customize Your Resume: Ensure your resume clearly highlights your experience in enterprise SaaS, complex data-rich applications, end-to-end design ownership, and any experience with AI/ML interaction design. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest case studies that demonstrate your expertise in complex problem-solving, end-to-end design process, leadership, and ideally, AI-related design. Ensure your portfolio is easily accessible and clearly showcases your process and impact.

• Research Anaplan: Understand Anaplan's platform, its target market (finance, planning, strategy professionals), their recent AI initiatives, and their company culture.

• Practice Your Presentation: Rehearse presenting your portfolio case studies, focusing on clear storytelling, design rationale, and quantifiable outcomes. Prepare to discuss your approach to AI-driven features and complex workflow simplification.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with Anaplan before making application decisions.