Lead Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Lead Product Designer

Company: Crimson Tide

Location: Tunbridge Wells, Kent, United Kingdom

Job Type: Contractor

Category: Product Design / UX/UI Operations

Date Posted: 2026-06-02

Experience Level: 5-8 Years (Senior)

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead end-to-end UX and visual design for a B2B SaaS frontline operations platform, encompassing web, mobile, and admin interfaces.

• Translate complex operational workflows into intuitive and effective user experiences tailored for diverse user roles, from frontline staff to head office management.

• Drive product discovery through rigorous user research, customer feedback analysis, and real-world usage data to inform design decisions.

• Develop and maintain a robust design system to ensure consistency, quality, and scalability across the mpro5 platform.

• Collaborate closely with engineering, customer success, and delivery teams to ensure high-fidelity implementation and gather critical real-world insights.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a senior individual contributor, reporting directly to the Chief Product Officer. The emphasis is on practical, user-centric design for a B2B SaaS product used in operational environments, requiring a strong understanding of how design impacts adoption and effectiveness for frontline workers and management alike. The "Contractor" employment type suggests a project-based engagement, potentially with a defined scope and duration.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the complete user experience (UX) and visual design lifecycle for the mpro5 platform, spanning web, mobile, and administrative interfaces, from initial ideation and discovery through to final delivery.

• Create user flows, interaction designs, and interfaces that are equally effective for warehouse operatives using mobile devices and operations directors monitoring dashboards.

• Ensure all design decisions are empirically grounded in user research methodologies such as interviews, usability testing, and direct observation, as well as customer feedback and analytics data, rather than relying on assumptions.

• Architect, build, and actively steward a comprehensive design system to ensure visual and interactive consistency, maintain high standards of quality, and facilitate efficient scaling of product features.

• Lead and participate in user research initiatives to deeply comprehend the daily work realities of customers and their frontline teams, translating these insights into actionable design improvements.

• Transform intricate operational workflows into genuinely simplified design solutions that enhance efficiency and usability, avoiding mere superficial visual enhancements.

• Integrate design thinking into the earliest stages of product discovery, working collaboratively with the Chief Product Officer (CPO) and engineering teams to precisely define problems before solutioning.

• Foster close working relationships with engineers to guarantee designs are implemented with exceptional fidelity, while also understanding technical constraints and possibilities to creatively address user experience challenges.

• Actively partner with customer success and delivery teams to bring their direct, day-to-day customer insights back into the product design and development process.

• Contribute strategically to the product roadmap by proactively identifying UX-driven opportunities for enhancement, moving beyond a reactive design execution role.

• Establish and rigorously uphold a high standard of design quality across all product releases and updates.

• Produce clear, detailed, and developer-ready specifications and assets to minimize ambiguity during the implementation phase.

• Conduct thorough reviews of shipped features against original design intent, systematically feeding learnings back into the ongoing design and development process.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a deep dive into the practical application of design in a B2B operational context. The emphasis on "mobile-first," "complex operational workflows," and "frontline users" indicates a need for design that is resilient, intuitive, and highly functional in non-desk environments. The expectation to contribute to the product roadmap suggests a strategic design role, not just an execution one.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent practical expertise in product design, UX, and visual design is paramount.

Experience: 5 to 8 years of dedicated product design experience, with a proven track record of successfully designing complex, multi-role B2B or enterprise software solutions.

Required Skills:

• Comprehensive UX and visual design expertise across web, mobile, and administrative interfaces.

• Demonstrable experience designing for complex, multi-role B2B or enterprise software, ideally with exposure to products serving both frontline operational users and head-office management.

• Essential mobile-first design experience, reflecting the significant usage of the mpro5 platform on mobile devices in operational settings.

• Advanced proficiency in Figma, including the creation and management of component libraries and design systems.

• Proven experience in leading or significantly contributing to user research, including activities like interviews, usability testing, and observational studies.

• Ability to translate research findings and customer feedback directly into effective design decisions.

• Strong comfort and adaptability in an agile development environment, capable of rapid iteration and incremental feature shipping.

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to articulate design rationale clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders. Preferred Skills:

• Familiarity with designing for specific operational sectors such as facilities management, food safety, or retail.

• Experience with design system governance and evolution.

• Knowledge of user research methodologies beyond standard usability testing, such as ethnographic studies or diary studies.

• Basic understanding of front-end development principles to better inform design decisions regarding technical feasibility.

• Experience in a publicly listed B2B SaaS company environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "mobile-first design experience" is critical, given the nature of frontline operations. The emphasis on B2B enterprise software, particularly for multi-role usage, indicates a need for designers who can balance the needs of diverse user groups within an organization. The explicit mention of Figma highlights the primary toolset expected.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio showcasing a minimum of 5-8 years of product design experience with a strong emphasis on UX thinking and visual craft.

• Case studies demonstrating the design of complex, multi-role B2B or enterprise software, illustrating the end-to-end design process from problem definition to final solution.

• Evidence of mobile-first design principles applied to real-world projects, highlighting adaptation for operational environments.

• Examples of work involving the creation, maintenance, or significant contribution to design systems and component libraries within Figma.

• Documentation of user research initiatives undertaken, including methodology, findings, and how insights directly influenced design outcomes.

• Projects that clearly articulate the problem space, the user challenges, the design process, and measurable outcomes or impact. Process Documentation:

• Detailed case studies that outline the user research process, including methods used (e.g., interviews, usability testing, surveys) and how findings were synthesized.

• Workflow documentation demonstrating the translation of complex operational processes into simplified, user-friendly digital solutions.

• Demonstrations of how design decisions were made based on data, user feedback, and iterative testing cycles.

• Examples of interaction design specifications and visual design assets provided to engineering teams.

• Case studies that highlight contributions to or the creation of a product's design system.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio is the primary evaluation tool. Candidates must clearly articulate their design process, demonstrating how they approach complex B2B challenges, prioritize user needs in operational contexts, and leverage data and research. Mobile-first and design system experience should be prominent.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: As this is a contractor role and specific salary is not provided, a competitive rate is expected, typically ranging from £400 to £700 per day, depending on experience, skill set, and the specific contract duration/scope. This is based on industry benchmarks for senior contract Product Designers in the UK market, particularly in specialized B2B SaaS environments.

Benefits:

• Competitive daily/hourly rate commensurate with experience and market standards.

• Opportunity to work on a leading B2B SaaS platform with significant market traction and a clear growth trajectory.

• Direct collaboration with senior leadership, including the Chief Product Officer.

• Exposure to a diverse range of operational challenges across multiple industries.

• Potential for contract extension or future engagements based on performance and project needs.

• Contribution to a product that directly impacts the efficiency and safety of frontline operations globally.

Working Hours: A standard 40-hour work week is anticipated, with flexibility often afforded to contractors. The role is hybrid, requiring presence in the Tunbridge Wells office for a portion of the week, likely to facilitate in-person collaboration and team integration. Specific office days will be agreed upon.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the contractor status, benefits are typically limited to the direct compensation. The daily rate estimate is based on typical market rates for senior contract UX/Product Designers in the UK. The hybrid nature implies a need for local candidates or those willing to commute to Tunbridge Wells.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: B2B SaaS, Software Development, Enterprise Solutions, Facilities Management, Food Safety, Retail Technology. mpro5 operates within the critical infrastructure technology sector, providing essential tools for multi-site organizations to manage compliance, tasks, and communication.

Company Size: Publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange, with over 700,000 sites trusting the platform globally. While precise employee numbers are not given, this scale suggests a robust, established company with significant operational capacity, likely several hundred employees.

Founded: 1996. With a history spanning over two decades, mpro5 is an established player in its market, having evolved from its initial offerings to a comprehensive SaaS platform. The company is proudly family-led, suggesting a potential blend of traditional values with modern business practices.

Team Structure:

• The product team is led by the Chief Product Officer (CPO), to whom this Lead Product Designer will report directly.

• This role sits at the "heart of our product team," indicating a central and influential position within product development.

• Collaboration is expected with engineers and customer-facing teams (customer success, delivery).

• The team likely operates in an agile framework, emphasizing cross-functional work. Methodology:

• Software AND Service: mpro5 differentiates itself by offering both the SaaS platform and the service to configure, roll out, and support implementations, indicating a strong customer-centric and service-oriented approach to product delivery.

• Data-Driven Design: Emphasis on user research, customer feedback, and usage data to ground design decisions.

• Agile Development: Comfort with iterative development and shipping incrementally.

• User Advocacy: A core tenet of the role is to be the advocate for the user (frontline and head office) within the product team.

Company Website: https://crimsontide.co.uk/ (Note: The provided URL crimsontide.bamboohr.com/careers is for their HR system; the company website is likely crimsontide.co.uk or a related domain for mpro5.)

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Software AND Service" model is a key differentiator. It means the design team must consider not just the digital product but also the human element of implementation and ongoing support, which can inform design choices for clarity and ease of adoption. The family-led aspect might imply a more collaborative, long-term thinking culture.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a "Lead Product Designer" role, signifying a senior individual contributor position. It's a pivotal role within the product team, responsible for shaping the user experience and visual design of the core platform. It requires a deep understanding of B2B SaaS product design, user-centric methodologies, and the ability to operate with significant autonomy.

Reporting Structure: The Lead Product Designer reports directly to the Chief Product Officer (CPO). This direct line of reporting offers high visibility and the opportunity to influence product strategy at a senior level. It also suggests a relatively flat organizational structure within the product leadership.

Operations Impact: The design of the mpro5 platform directly impacts the adoption, efficiency, and effectiveness of frontline operations for large multi-site organizations. Well-designed interfaces can significantly reduce errors, improve task completion rates, enhance compliance adherence, and ultimately drive operational efficiency and cost savings for clients. This role has a direct impact on the usability and perceived value of the product, influencing customer satisfaction and retention.

Growth Opportunities:

• Strategic Influence: As a senior member reporting to the CPO, there's potential to influence the product vision and strategy, moving beyond pure design execution to strategic product thinking.

• Design System Leadership: Opportunity to own and evolve the design system, becoming a subject matter expert and potentially mentoring junior designers if the team expands.

• Industry Expertise: Deepen understanding of critical operational sectors (food safety, facilities management, retail), becoming a specialist designer in these domains.

• Technical Collaboration: Further develop skills in bridging the gap between design and engineering, understanding technical constraints and opportunities.

• Contract to Permanent: Depending on performance and business needs, there may be opportunities for conversion to a permanent role, offering further career progression within Crimson Tide/mpro5.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Lead" title in a senior individual contributor role typically implies a high degree of ownership and influence. The direct reporting to the CPO is a significant indicator of the role's strategic importance and potential for impact. The growth opportunities are framed around increased strategic involvement and specialization.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is described as "Hybrid," indicating a balance between remote work and in-office presence. This suggests a modern work environment that values flexibility while recognizing the benefits of in-person collaboration.

Office Location(s): The primary location is Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 8BS, United Kingdom. This location will serve as the hub for in-office collaboration and team meetings.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: As a hybrid role, the office space is likely designed to foster collaboration, with meeting rooms, breakout areas, and potentially open-plan seating for team interactions. The emphasis on working closely with engineers and customer-facing teams suggests a need for accessible communication channels.

• Tools and Technology: The design team will primarily use Figma. Access to other relevant design and collaboration tools is expected. The company's B2B SaaS nature implies a robust IT infrastructure.

• Team Interaction: Hybrid work requires intentional efforts to maintain team cohesion and communication. Expect regular team syncs, design critiques, and cross-functional project meetings, both virtually and in person. The "Software AND Service" model might also mean opportunities to interact with implementation and support teams.

Work Schedule: A standard 40-hour work week is typical for contract roles. While flexibility is often a feature of contract work, the hybrid requirement means specific days will be dedicated to office presence. This schedule needs to accommodate agile development cycles, user research sessions, and collaborative design reviews.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model in Tunbridge Wells requires candidates to be local or willing to commute. The emphasis on collaboration suggests the office environment is geared towards teamwork and knowledge sharing, even for a senior individual contributor.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Likely a brief call with HR or a recruiter to assess basic qualifications, contract details, and alignment with the role.

• Portfolio Review & Design Discussion: A session with the Chief Product Officer (and potentially other senior product/design members) to walk through your portfolio. Expect in-depth questions about your design process, decision-making, and impact on past projects.

• Technical/Skills Assessment: This could involve a practical design exercise or a deep dive into your Figma proficiency and design system experience. Questions might focus on how you'd approach specific challenges on the mpro5 platform.

• Cross-functional Collaboration Discussion: An interview focusing on how you collaborate with engineers, product managers, and customer-facing teams. Questions might explore your approach to feedback, technical feasibility, and translating user needs from customer success.

• Final Interview: Potentially a final discussion with senior leadership to assess cultural fit, strategic thinking, and overall suitability for the Lead Product Designer role.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-4 of your strongest B2B enterprise design projects that best showcase your UX thinking, mobile-first approach, and visual craft.

Prioritize projects where you had significant ownership and impact.

• Structure for Clarity: For each case study, clearly outline:

  • The Problem: What was the user or business challenge?
  • Your Role & Responsibilities: What specifically did you do?
  • The Process: Detail your research, ideation, design, and testing phases. Use visuals (wireframes, mockups, user flows, research findings).
  • The Solution: Present the final design and explain key features and decisions.
  • The Impact: Quantify results where possible (e.g., improved conversion, reduced task time, increased adoption). If quantitative data is unavailable, articulate the qualitative impact and anticipated benefits.

• Highlight Design System Work: If you have experience building or contributing to design systems, dedicate a section or specific examples to this. Showcase your Figma proficiency here.

• Be Ready to Discuss Trade-offs: Expect questions about design decisions, compromises made due to technical constraints or business needs, and how you navigated them.

• Showcase Frontline/Operational Context: If possible, include projects that involved designing for users in non-desk or operational environments.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand mpro5: Research the company's mission, target industries (food safety, facilities management, retail), and the mpro5 platform's core functionalities. Understand the challenges of frontline operations.

• Anticipate Design Scenarios: Think about common operational tasks (e.g., compliance checks, task logging, reporting) and how you would approach designing for them on mobile and web.

• Figma & Design System Practice: Ensure you are fluent in Figma's advanced features, especially regarding component libraries and design system management.

• User-Centric Storytelling: Practice articulating your design process and decisions through the lens of user needs and business objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is likely to be rigorous, focusing heavily on portfolio quality and practical design skills. Candidates must be prepared to demonstrate their ability to handle complex B2B environments and articulate their thought process clearly.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: This is explicitly stated as a required proficiency. Candidates must be expert users, including experience with component libraries, design systems, prototyping, and collaborative features.

• Prototyping Tools: While Figma offers robust prototyping, familiarity with other tools like InVision or Adobe XD might be beneficial, though Figma is the primary focus.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly listed as required for the designer, understanding how to interpret and leverage product analytics (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics) to inform design decisions is highly valuable.

• Familiarity with data visualization dashboards (e.g., Tableau, Power BI) could be useful for understanding operational data that the platform presents. CRM & Automation:

• Experience with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) is not directly required for this design role but understanding how a B2B SaaS product integrates with or supports CRM functions could be advantageous.

• Familiarity with project management and workflow tools (e.g., Jira, Asana, Trello) is expected, as these are common in agile development environments for tracking design tasks and progress.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma is the cornerstone of the required toolset. The emphasis is on practical application within a design system context. While direct experience with analytics and CRM tools isn't mandatory for the designer, an understanding of how their designs will be used in conjunction with these systems is a plus.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity: A primary value, emphasizing designing for the actual needs and realities of frontline workers and operational managers, not just for aesthetics.

• Clarity and Rigour: Bringing structure, clear thinking, and a meticulous approach to problem-solving and design execution.

• Collaboration: Working effectively with diverse teams (engineering, customer success, delivery) to achieve product goals.

• Craftsmanship and Quality: Upholding a high standard for design quality in all shipped features.

• Impact-Driven: Focusing on whether the design "works" and delivers tangible benefits to users and the business, rather than just looking impressive.

• Curiosity: A genuine interest in understanding the operational worlds of customers and designing solutions that genuinely improve their daily work.

Collaboration Style:

• Direct and Constructive Feedback: The team values open and honest communication, with the ability to give and receive feedback directly and constructively.

• Cross-Functional Integration: Design is not siloed; it's deeply integrated with engineering, product management, and customer-facing teams. This requires proactive communication and empathy for other disciplines.

• Agile Iteration: A collaborative approach that embraces rapid iteration, learning from feedback, and shipping incrementally.

• Shared Ownership: Encouraging a sense of shared responsibility for product success, where designers contribute strategically to the roadmap and problem definition.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture appears to value practical impact and user advocacy. The "Software AND Service" model implies a strong emphasis on customer success and a collaborative approach that extends beyond typical product teams to include service and delivery functions.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for Diverse User Groups: Balancing the distinct needs of frontline operational staff (e.g., mobile-first, low-friction, often in challenging environments) and head-office users (e.g., dashboard analytics, reporting, management oversight).

• Translating Complex Workflows: Simplifying intricate operational processes into intuitive digital interfaces without losing necessary functionality or clarity.

• Mobile-First in Operational Contexts: Ensuring the mobile experience is robust, reliable, and usable in environments with potentially poor connectivity or harsh conditions, and for users who may not be digitally native.

• Maintaining Design System Scalability: As the platform grows and evolves, ensuring the design system remains a powerful tool for consistency and efficiency, rather than becoming a bottleneck.

• Contractual Nature: Adapting to a contractor role, which may involve specific project scopes, timelines, and a need to quickly integrate into a new team and workflow.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Industry Specialization: Gaining in-depth knowledge of critical operational sectors like food safety, facilities management, and retail, becoming a go-to expert in the design challenges of these fields.

• Strategic Product Design: Elevating from execution to strategic product thinking by working closely with the CPO and contributing to the product roadmap and vision.

• Design System Leadership: Taking ownership of the design system, refining it, and potentially establishing best practices for its use across the product development lifecycle.

• Cross-Functional Acumen: Enhancing skills in collaborating with engineering and customer-facing teams, understanding their perspectives and challenges to create more holistic solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to designing for a complex B2B operational SaaS product. The growth opportunities are framed around strategic impact, specialization, and leadership within the design discipline.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a complex B2B enterprise software product you designed. What were the key user groups, and how did you balance their differing needs?"

• "Walk me through a time you translated a challenging operational workflow into a simple, intuitive user experience. What was your process, and what was the outcome?"

• "How do you ensure your mobile-first designs are effective for users in operational environments? Can you provide an example?"

• "Tell me about your experience with user research. How do you incorporate findings into your design decisions, and how do you handle conflicting feedback?"

• "How do you approach building or contributing to a design system? What are the key principles for making it scalable and effective?" Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about mpro5 and our focus on frontline operations?"

• "How do you approach giving and receiving design feedback? Can you share an example of a challenging critique you received and how you responded?"

• "How would you advocate for the user's needs when faced with technical constraints or business pressures?"

• "Describe your ideal collaboration process with engineers and product managers."

• "What are your thoughts on the 'Software AND Service' model, and how might that influence design?" Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Start with Impact: Begin each case study by clearly stating the problem and the intended impact or goal.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals extensively – wireframes, user flows, mockups, prototypes, and even screenshots of the live product if applicable.

• Narrate Your Process: Explain why you made certain design decisions. Connect them back to user research, data, or specific design principles.

• Quantify Results: Whenever possible, present metrics that demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., conversion rates, task completion times, user satisfaction scores). If hard numbers aren't available, articulate the qualitative benefits and business value clearly.

• Highlight Figma/Design System Work: Specifically point out how you utilized Figma's capabilities for design systems, component libraries, and efficient collaboration.

• Be Concise and Focused: Aim for a clear, compelling narrative for each case study, respecting the interviewer's time.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interviewers will be looking for a blend of strong design craft, a deep understanding of B2B/enterprise/operational contexts, and excellent collaboration and communication skills. The portfolio is the primary artifact for demonstrating these capabilities.

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📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Lead Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided Crimson Tide careers link.

• Tailor your CV: Ensure your resume clearly highlights your 5-8 years of experience in product design, specifically mentioning B2B enterprise software, mobile-first design, and proficiency with Figma. Use keywords from the job description.

• Curate a targeted portfolio: Select case studies that best represent your experience in complex B2B or enterprise products, mobile design, and your design process. Ensure it prominently features Figma and any design system work.

• Prepare your portfolio walkthrough: Practice presenting your case studies, focusing on your process, decision-making, and the impact of your designs. Be ready to discuss your approach to user research and collaboration.

• Research Crimson Tide/mpro5: Understand their market, their product's purpose (frontline operations), and their "Software AND Service" model. This will help you articulate your interest and align your responses with their values.

⚠️ 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.