Staff Product Designer
π Job Overview
Job Title: Staff Product Designer
Company: Delivery Hero (talabat)
Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Job Type: Full-time
Category: Product Design / User Experience
Date Posted: October 27, 2025
Experience Level: 5-10 years
Remote Status: On-site
π Role Summary
- This senior role is critical for shaping the future of the talabat app's "Finding & Discovery" domain within the Shopping Tribe, focusing on creating an "Experience-first" customer journey.
- The Staff Product Designer will drive strategic initiatives by collaborating closely with product and engineering domain leads, translating complex business objectives into intuitive and delightful user experiences.
- The position requires a deep understanding of user-centered design principles, generative research, and the ability to synthesize insights to inform product strategy and feature development.
- This role involves a significant emphasis on cross-functional collaboration, workshop facilitation, and mentoring junior designers to foster a strong design chapter and enhance overall team productivity and product quality.
π Enhancement Note: The job title "Staff Product Designer" indicates a senior-level individual contributor role, typically requiring significant experience and the ability to influence product strategy and mentor others. The focus on "Finding & Discovery" within a "Shopping Tribe" and "Food vertical" suggests a role centered on enhancing how users find and engage with products (likely food and grocery items) within the talabat application. The mention of "experience-first" highlights a strong customer-centric approach.
π Primary Responsibilities
- Develop profound domain expertise within the assigned product area, working collaboratively with managers and cross-functional teams to tackle complex challenges.
- Conduct generative research, synthesize user insights, and facilitate ideation sessions/workshops to design engaging and intuitive customer experiences.
- Minimize assumptions by employing a rigorous, data-informed design process that incorporates continuous user feedback at all stages of problem-solving.
- Partner with Product Managers to define strategic focus areas, contribute to the product vision, and establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure ongoing experience improvements.
- Create elegant and effective solutions for complex interaction problems, demonstrating meticulous attention to detail in all design outputs.
- Facilitate collaborative workshops with diverse stakeholders to achieve specific outcomes, such as idea generation, consensus building, and feedback solicitation.
- Utilize and advocate for the company's design system to ensure consistency and scalability across user flows, prototypes, sketches, and high-fidelity visuals.
- Think strategically about scalable design systems and solutions that can be applied across multiple features and platforms, rather than isolated instances.
- Leverage a variety of qualitative and quantitative metrics to evaluate user experience effectiveness and drive continuous iteration and improvement.
- Proactively contribute to the enhancement of design processes, knowledge sharing, and tool adoption to measurably improve team productivity and product quality.
- Foster strong collaboration within the design chapter and proactively engage with other departments to ensure alignment and shared understanding of design initiatives.
- Regularly present design work and strategic rationale to peers, stakeholders, and leadership for feedback and approval, honing storytelling and communication skills.
- Contribute to a creative and supportive team culture, actively mentoring junior designers and sharing best practices.
π Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a blend of hands-on design work, strategic thinking, research, and leadership. The focus on "design for you isn't just pretty interfaces" and "spend a lot more time understanding the problem space" highlights a deep commitment to user-centered problem-solving over purely aesthetic execution. The inclusion of "scalable systems" and "metrics to evaluate and continuously improve" points to a need for a design approach that considers long-term impact and data-driven decision-making.
π Skills & Qualifications
Education:
- Preferably a Bachelorβs Degree in Fine Arts/Design, Marketing, Graphic Design, Visual Communication, or a related multimedia graphics field.
Experience:
- Minimum of 5-6 years of full-time UX & UI design experience within agile, consumer-focused, high-performance organizations.
- Minimum of 2-3 years of direct experience interacting with users for research and validation purposes.
Required Skills:
- Advanced Problem-Solving: Demonstrated ability to tackle complex design challenges using frameworks such as Double Diamond and Design Thinking.
- User-Centered Design: Deep understanding of UX/UI principles, user research methodologies (generative and evaluative), and translating insights into tangible product improvements.
- Prototyping & Design Tools: Advanced proficiency in industry-standard design and prototyping tools (e.g., Sketch, InVision, Zeplin).
- Workshop Facilitation: Proven experience in organizing and leading workshops and sessions with diverse stakeholders to drive consensus and outcomes.
- Collaboration & Communication: Exceptional ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams (Product, Engineering, Marketing), articulate design decisions clearly, and tell compelling stories.
- Attention to Detail: Meticulous approach to design, ensuring high quality and polish in all deliverables.
- Design Systems: Experience in utilizing and contributing to design systems for scalability and consistency.
- Metrics-Driven Design: Understanding of how to use qualitative and quantitative data to validate hypotheses and measure the impact of design decisions.
- Agile Methodologies: Experience working within agile development environments.
Preferred Skills:
- Strategic Partnership: Experience partnering closely with Product Managers to develop product strategy and feature rationale.
- System Thinking: Ability to design for scalable systems rather than isolated solutions.
- Storytelling: Strong narrative skills to inspire action and communicate design rationale effectively.
- Mentorship: Experience in mentoring junior designers and contributing to a supportive team culture.
- Growth Mindset: Openness to continuous feedback, learning, and adaptation in a fast-paced environment.
π Enhancement Note: The requirement for 5-6 years of experience in "agile consumer-focused, high-performance organizations" suggests a need for candidates who are comfortable with fast-paced environments and have a track record of delivering successful user-facing products. The emphasis on frameworks like "Double Diamond" and "Design Thinking" indicates a preference for structured problem-solving approaches. The explicit mention of "portfolio, showcasing your thought process" is crucial for demonstrating these skills.
π Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements
Portfolio Essentials:
- Demonstrate Thought Process: Showcase a clear and detailed journey from problem identification through research, ideation, design execution, and validation.
- Problem-Solution Alignment: Clearly articulate the problem being solved and how the proposed design solution effectively addresses user needs and business objectives.
- User Research Integration: Include examples of how user research (qualitative and quantitative) informed design decisions and led to iterative improvements.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Highlight instances where collaboration with Product Managers, Engineers, and other stakeholders was instrumental in achieving project goals.
- Impact Measurement: Showcase how the impact of design solutions was measured using relevant metrics, demonstrating an understanding of user experience evaluation.
Process Documentation:
- Workshop Facilitation Examples: Provide evidence of experience in organizing and leading workshops, detailing the objectives, methodologies used, and outcomes achieved.
- Design System Contribution: If applicable, demonstrate experience in using, contributing to, or advocating for the use of design systems.
- Agile Workflow Integration: Illustrate how design processes are integrated within an agile development lifecycle, including iterative design and feedback loops.
- Metrics-Driven Iteration: Show examples of how data and user feedback were used to iterate on designs and drive continuous improvement of the user experience.
π Enhancement Note: The portfolio is explicitly called out as a critical component of the application. The emphasis is not just on the final visual output but on the thought process behind it, highlighting research, collaboration, and measurable impact. This signals that candidates should be prepared to walk through their case studies in detail, explaining their decisions and the rationale behind them.
π΅ Compensation & Benefits
Salary Range:
- Estimated Range: AED 25,000 - 35,000 per month (approx. USD $6,800 - $9,500 per month).
- Methodology: This estimate is based on current market data for Staff Product Designer roles in Dubai, UAE, considering the experience level (5-10 years), industry (e-commerce/tech), and the company's scale (Delivery Hero is a large, publicly traded company). Salary expectations in Dubai are generally competitive, with cost of living and demand for skilled tech professionals factored in. This range is indicative and subject to the candidate's specific qualifications and the company's compensation framework.
Benefits:
- Relocation Support: Comprehensive relocation assistance is provided for candidates moving to Dubai, facilitating a smooth transition.
- Health Insurance: Comprehensive medical coverage for employees and potentially dependents.
- Visa Sponsorship: Visa sponsorship is offered, indicating support for international candidates.
- Professional Development: Opportunities for continuous learning, skill enhancement, and career growth within a global organization.
- Company Culture: Access to a dynamic, international work environment with a focus on collaboration and innovation.
- Employee Discounts: Potential for discounts on talabat orders and other company perks.
Working Hours:
- The standard working hours are likely around 40 hours per week, typical for full-time roles. While the role is on-site, there may be flexibility in start/end times depending on team needs and company policy.
π Enhancement Note: Salary estimation is crucial for international roles. The provided range is an informed estimate based on typical compensation for senior design roles in a major hub like Dubai. Relocation support and visa sponsorship are significant benefits for international applicants.
π― Team & Company Context
π’ Company Culture
Industry: Technology, E-commerce, Food Delivery Platform, Online Marketplace. talabat operates within the rapidly evolving digital commerce and delivery sector, a key part of the global Delivery Hero network. This industry demands agility, customer-centricity, and continuous innovation. Company Size: Delivery Hero is a large, publicly traded global company with a significant employee base (over 30,000 globally). talabat, as a major regional player within Delivery Hero, also operates at a substantial scale. This size offers stability, extensive resources, and opportunities for impact across a broad user base. Founded: Delivery Hero was founded in 2011. talabat has a longer history, founded in 2004, and has grown to become a leading platform in the Middle East. This history suggests a mature organization with established processes, but also one that has adapted to significant digital transformation.
Team Structure:
- Design Chapter: The Staff Product Designer will be part of a dedicated design chapter, fostering a community of practice for designers within the organization. This structure promotes knowledge sharing, skill development, and consistent design standards.
- Reporting: The role reports to a manager within the product/design organization, likely a Head of Design or Design Lead, with close collaboration with Product and Engineering Domain Leads.
- Cross-functional Collaboration: The designer will work daily with Product Managers, Engineers, Researchers, and potentially Marketing and Data Analysts within their specific "Shopping Tribe" and "Finding & Discovery" domain squads.
Methodology:
- Agile & Iterative: The team operates within an agile framework, emphasizing iterative development, continuous feedback, and rapid prototyping.
- Data-Driven: Design decisions are informed by a combination of qualitative user research and quantitative metrics to ensure effectiveness and impact.
- Customer-Centric: A strong focus on understanding and solving user problems to create "experience-first" solutions.
- Collaborative Workshops: Regular use of workshops to align teams, generate ideas, and build consensus around product direction.
Company Website: https://www.deliveryhero.com/ and https://www.talabat.com/
π Enhancement Note: Understanding the company's scale and industry is vital. Delivery Hero's global presence and talabat's regional leadership imply a dynamic, competitive environment where product design significantly influences business outcomes. The "design chapter" structure is a key indicator of how design talent is organized and supported.
π Career & Growth Analysis
Operations Career Level: This is a Staff-level Product Designer position, indicating a senior individual contributor role. It signifies the expectation of significant autonomy, strategic influence, and the ability to mentor junior team members. Staff designers are typically seen as thought leaders within their domain, capable of driving complex projects and shaping product direction. Reporting Structure: The Staff Product Designer will likely report to a Design Manager or Head of Design, working closely within a cross-functional squad comprising Product Managers and Engineers. This structure allows for direct impact on product development while benefiting from senior design leadership and mentorship. Operations Impact: The role's impact is directly tied to enhancing user experience within the "Finding & Discovery" domain of the talabat app. Success will be measured by improvements in user engagement, conversion rates, customer satisfaction, and overall platform usability, all of which directly contribute to business growth and market leadership.
Growth Opportunities:
- Leadership & Mentorship: Opportunity to formally mentor junior designers, leading by example and contributing to the growth of the design team.
- Strategic Influence: Ability to influence product strategy and roadmap for a critical domain within a leading delivery platform.
- Specialization: Deepen expertise in the "Finding & Discovery" domain, becoming a subject matter expert in user behavior and market trends within this area.
- Global Exposure: As part of Delivery Hero, there are potential opportunities to collaborate with or learn from design teams in other regions and contribute to global initiatives.
- Skill Development: Continuous learning through challenging projects, feedback, and potential access to industry conferences, workshops, and training programs.
π Enhancement Note: The "Staff" title signifies a high level of individual contribution and influence, often a step before Principal or Director roles. The growth opportunities emphasize leadership, strategic impact, and domain expertise, aligning with typical career paths for senior designers in tech companies.
π Work Environment
Office Type: The role is based on-site in Dubai, indicating a traditional office-based work environment. This setup is designed to foster collaboration, spontaneous ideation, and a strong team culture. Office Location(s): The office is located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dubai is a major international business hub, offering a modern and dynamic professional environment. Specific details about office accessibility or amenities would typically be provided during the interview process.
Workspace Context:
- Collaborative Hub: The office environment is likely designed to encourage interaction among team members, with shared spaces, meeting rooms, and potentially open-plan work areas that facilitate cross-functional communication.
- Technology & Tools: Access to modern design tools, collaboration software, and company-provided hardware necessary for design work.
- Team Interaction: Frequent opportunities for in-person collaboration with product managers, engineers, and fellow designers, fostering a strong sense of teamwork and shared purpose.
Work Schedule: The role is full-time, with standard working hours expected to be around 40 hours per week. While on-site, the company likely offers a degree of flexibility within the workday to accommodate individual work styles and team coordination needs, crucial for efficient workflow management and design iteration.
π Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement in Dubai is a key detail, signaling a preference for in-person collaboration. This environment is often conducive to spontaneous problem-solving and team building, which are valuable for complex design challenges.
π Application & Portfolio Review Process
Interview Process:
- Initial Screening: A review of your application, focusing on resume and portfolio to assess experience and qualifications.
- Portfolio Presentation & Discussion: A session where you will present your portfolio, walking through 1-2 key case studies. Expect in-depth questions about your design process, problem-solving approach, collaboration, and the impact of your work.
- Design Challenge/Exercise: Potentially a take-home assignment or a live design exercise to assess your problem-solving skills, design thinking, and ability to apply your expertise to a specific problem relevant to talabat.
- Cross-functional Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers, Engineers, and potentially other stakeholders to evaluate collaboration skills, communication style, and cultural fit.
- Hiring Manager/Team Lead Interview: A final discussion to assess overall fit, strategic thinking, and alignment with the team's vision.
Portfolio Review Tips:
- Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 projects that best showcase your skills in problem-solving, user research, complex interaction design, and measurable impact, particularly relevant to e-commerce or discovery features.
- Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process you followed (research, ideation, design, testing), the challenges faced, your design decisions (and why), and the final outcome/impact with supporting metrics.
- Highlight Thought Process: Emphasize your thinking and decision-making rationale over just final visuals. Show wireframes, user flows, research insights, and iterations.
- Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, use data (e.g., conversion rate improvements, user satisfaction scores, task completion times) to demonstrate the effectiveness of your designs.
- Tailor to talabat: If possible, subtly tailor your presentation to address challenges or opportunities relevant to a food/grocery delivery platform.
Challenge Preparation:
- Understand the Domain: Familiarize yourself with the talabat app, its competitors, and common user journeys in food and grocery discovery and ordering.
- Practice Problem Decomposition: Be ready to break down ambiguous problems into smaller, manageable parts and articulate your approach.
- Design Thinking Framework: Be prepared to apply design thinking principles, focusing on empathy, definition, ideation, prototyping, and testing.
- Communicate Clearly: Practice articulating your ideas concisely and persuasively, especially under time pressure.
π Enhancement Note: The interview process heavily emphasizes the portfolio. Candidates must be prepared to deeply articulate their design process, rationale, and the impact of their work, not just present polished visuals. The "design challenge" is a common element for senior design roles, testing practical application of skills.
π Tools & Technology Stack
Primary Tools:
- Design & Prototyping: Sketch, InVision, Zeplin (explicitly mentioned). Candidates should also be familiar with or adaptable to Figma, Adobe XD, or similar industry-standard tools.
- User Research Platforms: Familiarity with tools for conducting user interviews, usability testing, surveys (e.g., UserTesting.com, Hotjar, SurveyMonkey, Qualtrics).
- Collaboration Tools: Jira, Confluence, Slack, Miro (or similar for remote whiteboarding and team communication).
Analytics & Reporting:
- Web/App Analytics: Google Analytics, Amplitude, Mixpanel, or similar platforms for tracking user behavior and feature adoption.
- Data Visualization: Tableau, Power BI, or in-house dashboards for reporting and communicating insights.
CRM & Automation:
- While not explicitly mentioned for this design role, familiarity with CRM concepts (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) and marketing automation platforms can be beneficial for understanding the broader customer journey.
π Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Sketch, InVision, and Zeplin indicates these are core tools. Proficiency in these, or the ability to quickly adapt to them, is essential. The inclusion of analytics and collaboration tools highlights the need for designers to be integrated into broader product development workflows and to be data-informed.
π₯ Team Culture & Values
Operations Values:
- Adaptable: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment, embracing change and new challenges.
- Curious: A genuine desire to understand user needs, market trends, and underlying problems, driving exploration and innovation.
- Present: Engaged and focused during collaborations, meetings, and design sessions, contributing actively and thoughtfully.
- Organized: Efficiently manage multiple work streams, prioritize tasks, and maintain clarity in design documentation and communication.
- Exceptional Storytelling & Communication: Ability to articulate design rationale, user insights, and strategic vision compellingly to diverse audiences.
- Growth Mindset: Openness to feedback, continuous learning, and a proactive approach to skill development and self-improvement.
Collaboration Style:
- Cross-functional Integration: Seamless collaboration with Product Management and Engineering to ensure design solutions are feasible, aligned with business goals, and technically sound.
- Design Chapter Contribution: Active participation in the design community, sharing knowledge, providing constructive feedback, and contributing to best practices.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Proactive communication and engagement with stakeholders to build buy-in, gather input, and ensure alignment on design direction.
- Feedback Culture: Embrace and provide constructive feedback as a means of continuous improvement for both individuals and the product.
π Enhancement Note: The values listed are highly indicative of a modern, forward-thinking tech company culture. "Adaptable," "Curious," and "Growth Mindset" are particularly important for roles in dynamic industries like e-commerce and delivery. "Exceptional Storytelling & Communication" is a core requirement for senior designers influencing strategy.
β‘ Challenges & Growth Opportunities
Challenges:
- Balancing User Needs with Business Goals: Effectively mediating between user desires and the company's strategic objectives and technical constraints to deliver optimal outcomes.
- Navigating Complexity in a Large Organization: Understanding and influencing product direction within a large, global company structure, requiring strong navigation and communication skills.
- Driving Innovation in a Competitive Market: Continuously innovating within the "Finding & Discovery" domain to stay ahead of competitors and meet evolving user expectations.
- Measuring Impact Effectively: Defining and tracking meaningful metrics that accurately reflect the success of design interventions, especially in complex user journeys.
Learning & Development Opportunities:
- Advanced Design Skills: Deepen expertise in specific areas of UX/UI, such as complex information architecture, personalization, or AI-driven discovery features.
- Product Strategy: Gain exposure to and influence product strategy at a higher level, contributing to long-term roadmaps.
- Mentorship & Leadership: Develop leadership capabilities through mentoring junior designers and potentially leading design initiatives.
- Industry Trends: Stay abreast of cutting-edge design trends, technologies, and methodologies through company-sponsored learning or industry events.
π Enhancement Note: Identifying potential challenges helps candidates prepare and assess their fit. The growth opportunities highlight how this role can serve as a stepping stone for further career advancement within design and product leadership.
π‘ Interview Preparation
Strategy Questions:
- "Describe a time you had to influence product strategy with a design recommendation. What was your process, and what was the outcome?" (Focus: Strategic thinking, influence, product rationale)
- "How do you approach understanding a new product domain and identifying key user problems?" (Focus: Research methodology, problem definition, domain expertise)
- "Walk us through a complex design challenge you solved. What were the constraints, your approach, and how did you measure success?" (Focus: Problem-solving, process, impact measurement)
Company & Culture Questions:
- "What excites you about talabat and Delivery Hero's mission?" (Focus: Company alignment, motivation)
- "How do you contribute to a collaborative and supportive team culture, especially when mentoring junior designers?" (Focus: Teamwork, mentorship, cultural fit)
- "How do you balance user needs with business objectives and technical feasibility?" (Focus: Pragmatism, negotiation, stakeholder management)
Portfolio Presentation Strategy:
- Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, use a clear story arc: Problem -> Your Role -> Process -> Solution -> Impact -> Learnings.
- Visual Aids are Key: Use mockups, user flows, wireframes, research findings, and data visualizations to support your narrative.
- Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about specific design decisions, trade-offs made, alternative solutions considered, and how you validated your work.
- Highlight Collaboration: Explicitly mention how you worked with PMs, engineers, and other stakeholders throughout the project.
- Quantify Everything Possible: Be ready to discuss the metrics used and the actual impact achieved by your designs.
π Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic thinking, a robust design process, strong collaboration skills, and a data-informed approach, all supported by concrete examples from the candidate's portfolio.
π Application Steps
To apply for this Staff Product Designer position:
- Submit your application through the provided link on SmartRecruiters.
- Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features 2-3 in-depth case studies that highlight your problem-solving process, user research integration, cross-functional collaboration, and measurable impact, ideally related to e-commerce, discovery, or complex user journeys.
- Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to emphasize your 5-6+ years of experience in agile, consumer-focused environments, highlighting specific UX/UI achievements, proficiency in design tools, and experience with user research and workshop facilitation.
- Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design philosophy, walking through your portfolio case studies with a clear narrative, and preparing for potential design challenges by researching the talabat app and its competitive landscape.
- Company Research: Thoroughly research Delivery Hero and talabat, understanding their mission, values, market position, and recent product developments, and consider how your design approach aligns with their "experience-first" ethos.
β οΈ 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.
Application Requirements
Candidates should have a Bachelorβs Degree in a relevant field and a minimum of 5-6 years of UX & UI design experience. They must possess strong problem-solving skills, experience in user interaction, and proficiency in design tools.