UX Design Operations Specialist  (All Genders)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX Design Operations Specialist (All Genders)

Company: zooplus SE

Location: Madrid, Madrid Community, Spain

Job Type: Full-time

Category: UX Design Operations / Product Operations

Date Posted: 2026-02-24

Experience Level: Mid-Level (2-5 Years)

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• This role is pivotal in supporting the Design Ops Leader to cultivate a collaborative, user-centered culture within zooplus's product and technology teams.

• The specialist will focus on defining and refining standard practices, processes, and workflows to enhance operational maturity and foster cross-functional collaboration.

• A key aspect of this role involves supporting the Design System, research operations, and writing operations to build foundational elements for standardized, personalized, and engaging customer experiences across all touchpoints.

• This position requires strong stakeholder management skills and an adaptive mindset to navigate complexity within a fast-paced, evolving environment, ultimately driving zooplus towards becoming a more customer-centric organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "UX Design Operations Specialist," the responsibilities and requirements clearly indicate a broader operational focus that bridges UX, Product, and Tech. The role is not solely focused on UX design execution but on the operational frameworks that enable effective design and product development. This aligns with the growing field of "Product Operations" or "GTM Operations" where operational efficiency is key.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Cross-Functional Connector: Act as a liaison between Product, Design, Engineering, Marketing, and Sales teams, ensuring UX is integrated into planning, road mapping, and OKR setting, thereby elevating the strategic importance of user experience.

• Resource & Backlog Management: Support design and product teams in effectively managing their backlogs and ongoing projects by establishing clear processes and regular operational rituals.

• Process & Framework Optimization: Assist in the refinement, implementation, and adoption of tools, guidelines, and workflows that streamline collaboration, knowledge sharing, and operational efficiency for the experience design team.

• Tool Adoption & Alignment: Support the Design Leader in promoting the adoption and integration of operational tools such as Jira, Asana, and Figma to enhance team productivity and coordination across product development lifecycles.

• Design Ops Maturity: Help establish and mature Design Ops practices, including streamlined workflows, standardized toolsets, and efficient resource allocation, to enable the team to operate effectively at scale and balance skills with workload.

• Transparency & Knowledge Sharing: Champion transparency by communicating updates on design initiatives and making goals and progress visible to all relevant stakeholders.

• Learning & Adaptability: Support operational leaders in organizing and managing rituals and meetings that foster a culture of knowledge sharing and cross-functional learning, ensuring the team remains agile and adaptable to change.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strong emphasis on process improvement, cross-functional alignment, and operational efficiency, which are core tenets of Revenue Operations (RevOps) and Sales Operations, though applied here within a UX/Product context. The mention of OKRs, road mapping, and backlog management indicates a strategic operational role.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

Experience:

• A minimum of 3+ years of experience in UX Operations, Product Operations, Design Operations, or a closely related role within product, design, or technology departments.

Required Skills:

• UX Operations Expertise: Deep understanding of operational frameworks within UX and product development.

• Stakeholder Management: Demonstrated ability to effectively engage and align with diverse stakeholders across Product, Design, Engineering, Marketing, and Sales.

• Adaptive Mindset: Proven ability to adapt quickly, respond to shifting priorities, and thrive in a fast-changing, complex environment.

• Design System Support: Familiarity with the principles and operational aspects of supporting and scaling Design Systems.

• Research & Writing Operations: Understanding of operational processes related to user research and content creation within a product context.

• Product Discovery & Human-Centered Design: Strong grounding in these methodologies and their operational integration.

• Project Management Tools: Proficiency in using tools like Jira, Asana, Figma, and Mural for project tracking, collaboration, and workflow management.

• Design Processes & Workflows: Solid grasp of standard design lifecycle processes and the ability to optimize them.

• Excellent Communication Skills: Ability to articulate ideas clearly, concisely, and persuasively to various audiences.

Preferred Skills:

• Structured Thinking & Organization: A methodical approach to problem-solving and task management.

• Big-Picture & Detail Orientation: Ability to balance strategic vision with meticulous attention to operational details.

• Agile & Lean Development Integration: Experience embedding user-centered practices and operational processes within agile or lean development teams.

• Design Ops Best Practices: Familiarity with established Design Ops frameworks and best practices (e.g., Nielsen Norman Group), including workflow optimization and resource allocation.

📝 Enhancement Note: The experience requirement of "3+ years" and the emphasis on "Design Ops" clearly place this role at a mid-level. The "Preferred Skills" highlight a desire for candidates who can not only execute but also strategize and integrate UX operations within broader agile development methodologies, a key aspect for operations professionals.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Process Improvement Case Studies: Showcase examples of how you have defined, optimized, or implemented operational processes that led to measurable improvements in efficiency, collaboration, or output quality within a design or product context.

• Workflow Design & Documentation: Present examples of designed workflows, process maps, or standard operating procedures that illustrate your ability to create clarity and structure for teams.

• Tool Implementation & Adoption: Demonstrate experience in selecting, implementing, or driving the adoption of collaboration and project management tools (e.g., Jira, Figma, Mural) and how they were integrated to support team operations.

• Metrics & ROI Demonstration: Include examples where you've identified key operational metrics, tracked performance, and communicated the impact (e.g., time savings, increased throughput, improved collaboration scores) of your operational initiatives.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design & Optimization: Evidence of creating clear, actionable documentation for design and product workflows, including process mapping and identifying bottlenecks for improvement.

• Implementation & Automation: Examples of how you've supported the implementation of new processes or tools, potentially including automation strategies where applicable to standard tasks.

• Measurement & Performance Analysis: Demonstrations of how you've set up systems to measure the effectiveness of operational processes and utilized data to inform further optimization.

📝 Enhancement Note: For an operations role, a portfolio is crucial. This section emphasizes practical, results-oriented examples that demonstrate an understanding of operational frameworks, tool integration, and the ability to quantify impact, mirroring requirements in Sales Operations and RevOps for process documentation and ROI.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

Benefits:

• Development Opportunities: Access to programs and resources to shape your career path.

• Training and Support: Opportunities for continuous learning and skill enhancement.

• Wellbeing Offers: Programs designed to support employee health and well-being.

• Subsidised Transport: Financial assistance or benefits related to commuting.

• Bike Leasing: Option to lease a bicycle, promoting sustainable commuting.

• Product Discount: A significant discount on zooplus products.

• Annual Vacation Days: 28 days of annual vacation.

• Private Medical Health Insurance: Comprehensive health coverage.

• Hybrid Working Model: Flexibility to work from home up to 40% of the time.

• International Work Option: Possibility to work from approved countries abroad for up to 20 days per year.

Working Hours:

• The role is full-time, generally aligning with a standard 40-hour work week. The hybrid model allows for flexibility, with approximately 60% of time expected in the office and 40% remote.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on general knowledge of the Spanish job market for tech-adjacent roles and considers the company's likely positioning as a significant e-commerce player. The listed benefits are directly extracted from the provided text and highlight a strong package, particularly the hybrid model and international work option.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Pet E-commerce. zooplus SE is a leading online retailer for pet products in Europe, leveraging technology to serve a large and growing customer base. This industry demands efficient operations to manage logistics, customer experience, and digital platforms.

Company Size: zooplus SE is a large enterprise, indicated by its multiple international offices and extensive customer base. This scale implies a need for robust, standardized operational processes and a focus on scalability.

Founded: Founded over 25 years ago, zooplus has a long history in the e-commerce space, suggesting a company that has evolved significantly and is likely to have established operational frameworks while also embracing modern agile methodologies.

Team Structure:

• The UX Design Operations Specialist will report to a Design Ops Leader, indicating a dedicated function for design operations within the larger Product & Tech department.

• This role requires close collaboration with cross-functional teams including Product Management, Engineering, Data, Marketing, and Sales.

Methodology:

• The company emphasizes a user/human-centered culture and aims to deliver standardized, personalized, and engaging experiences.

• Operations are geared towards supporting agile transformation, optimizing ways of working, and fostering collaboration across departments.

• Data and technology are integral to their strategy, supporting over 12 million customers.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on e-commerce and its established presence suggest a need for highly efficient and scalable operations. The emphasis on "agile transformation" and "customer centricity" indicates a forward-thinking operational approach.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Specialist, typically considered a mid-level position. It involves executing operational strategies, refining processes, and supporting senior leadership (Design Ops Leader) rather than setting overarching strategy. The scope is focused on the UX/Product Design domain but with a broad impact on team efficiency and inter-departmental collaboration.

Reporting Structure: The specialist reports to the Design Ops Leader. This implies a hierarchical structure within the Design Operations function, with opportunities to learn from and contribute to the leader's vision. Collaboration is expected across multiple departments, offering exposure to different operational challenges and strategic objectives.

Operations Impact: The role directly impacts operational efficiency within the design team and influences how effectively UX insights and designs are integrated into product development. By improving processes, standardizing tools, and fostering collaboration, the specialist contributes to faster time-to-market, higher quality user experiences, and a more cohesive product development cycle, ultimately supporting zooplus's customer-centric goals and business performance.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in UX Design Operations, Research Operations, or Design System Operations.

• Leadership: Progress to a Senior UX Design Operations Specialist or potentially a Design Ops Lead role, taking on more strategic responsibilities and team management.

• Cross-Functional Mobility: Develop skills transferable to Product Operations, Project Management, or Program Management roles by gaining broad exposure to different departments and their operational needs.

• Skill Development: Continuous learning through exposure to agile methodologies, various operational tools, and best practices in human-centered design and operational efficiency.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Specialist" title and reporting structure suggest a clear path for growth within operations, either through deepening specialization or moving into broader operational management roles. The emphasis on cross-functional exposure is a significant advantage for career development.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The company offers a hybrid working model, with approximately 60% of time spent in the office and 40% working from home. This suggests a blend of in-person collaboration and remote flexibility.

Office Location(s): The primary office for this role is in Madrid, Spain, specifically at Génova 17, 5plta, 28004. Other company offices are located in Munich, Krakow, Wroclaw, London, and Vienna.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The hybrid model encourages in-office days for team meetings, workshops, and fostering personal connections, while remote days offer focused work time. The emphasis on a "collaborative, user/human-centered culture" implies an environment where open communication and teamwork are valued.

• Tools & Technology: The role will leverage a range of operational tools including Jira, Asana, Figma, and Mural, indicating access to modern digital collaboration and design software.

• Team Interaction: Expect regular interactions with the Design Ops Leader, UX/Design teams, Product Managers, Engineers, and other stakeholders, fostering a dynamic and interactive work environment.

Work Schedule:

• The standard work week is 40 hours, with the hybrid model providing flexibility in how these hours are split between the office and home. This structure is designed to support work-life balance while ensuring