Lead Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Lead Product Designer

Company: GTO Wizard

Location: Prague, Czechia (Fully Remote)

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design Leadership

Date Posted: May 12, 2026

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

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead product design strategy and execution, focusing on innovation and user-centric solutions.

• Steward and evolve the company's MUI-based design system to ensure consistency and quality across all products.

• Mentor and develop other designers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and professional growth within the design team.

• Drive the integration of AI technologies into the design process, adapting methodologies to leverage emerging tool capabilities.

• Maintain a direct connection with users through weekly customer interactions to deeply understand needs and validate design decisions.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Lead Product Designer," the role is explicitly an individual contributor without direct reports, focusing on design leadership through expertise, mentorship, and strategic influence rather than people management. The emphasis on "Central European Timezone schedule" suggests a need for candidates to align with this working window, even within a fully remote setup.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Establish and champion the company's overarching product design philosophy and best practices.

• Proactively mentor designers, providing guidance on their professional development, design craft, and career progression.

• Ensure the effective utilization, maintenance, and strategic expansion of the MUI-based design system.

• Take ownership of complex design challenges, contributing hands-on to problem-solving and solution development.

• Conduct at least one direct customer interview per week to gather insights, validate assumptions, and identify unmet user needs.

• Lead the adaptation of design practices to integrate AI tools, staying abreast of advancements and their impact on design quality and efficiency.

• Cultivate an environment of rapid iteration, encouraging quick shipping cycles and learning from user feedback to avoid analysis paralysis.

• Contribute to defining product strategy from a design perspective, ensuring user value is prioritized.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic leadership, hands-on design execution, and user advocacy. The specific mention of "AI Integration" and "MUI-based design system" are critical technical and strategic components that candidates must address.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent knowledge and experience in product design is essential.

Experience: A minimum of 7 years of professional experience in product design, with a proven track record of shipping new products and features.

Required Skills:

• Product Design: Demonstrated ability to design user-centered products and features from ideation to launch.

• Design Systems: Expert-level knowledge of design system principles, implementation, and governance, with specific experience using MUI.

• AI Integration: Experience designing products that leverage AI assistance, understanding its implications for user experience and workflows.

• User Research & Empathy: Proven ability to conduct user interviews, gather insights, and translate customer needs into effective design solutions.

• Mentorship & Leadership: Capacity to guide and elevate the skills of other designers.

• Rapid Iteration & Agility: Experience working in fast-paced environments that prioritize quick shipping and iterative learning.

• English Communication: Clear, professional written and spoken English for effective collaboration and stakeholder communication.

• Poker Understanding: At least the level of a non-professional enthusiast to grasp user context and product application.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with GTO (Game Theory Optimal) concepts in poker or similar complex strategic domains.

• Familiarity with Central European Timezone working dynamics.

• Experience working in a fully remote, fast-growing startup environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The poker knowledge requirement is unique and suggests a need for candidates to demonstrate an ability to quickly learn and understand niche domain specifics, which is a valuable transferable skill for operations roles dealing with specialized industries.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase at least 2-3 comprehensive case studies demonstrating end-to-end product design process for shipped features or products.

• Highlight projects where you established or significantly contributed to a design system, detailing its structure, principles, and impact.

• Include examples of how you integrated AI assistance into your design workflow or designed AI-powered features.

• Demonstrate direct customer interaction and how user feedback influenced design decisions and outcomes.

Process Documentation:

• Detail your approach to establishing and maintaining design system governance, including version control, contribution guidelines, and adoption strategies.

• Illustrate your methods for user research, from planning and execution to synthesis and actionable insight generation.

• Explain your process for incorporating AI tools into design workflows, including prompt engineering, output evaluation, and integration strategies.

• Document how you measure the success and impact of your design work, linking it to user value and business objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: A strong portfolio is paramount for this role, particularly emphasizing design system expertise, AI integration, and user-centric problem-solving. Candidates should be prepared to articulate their process clearly and demonstrate tangible results.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on the role's seniority (7+ years experience), leadership responsibilities, and location (Prague, Czechia), a competitive salary range is estimated between €60,000 - €90,000 annually. This range accounts for the cost of living in Prague and benchmarks for Lead Product Designer roles in similar European tech markets, particularly for remote positions.

Benefits:

• Fully Remote Work: Flexibility to work from anywhere year-round.

• Annual Bootcamp: An in-person team gathering for collaboration and bonding.

• Real Impact: Opportunity to shape a product used by hundreds of thousands of users.

• Strong Product Culture: Focus on user value over vanity metrics.

• Autonomy & Ownership: Freedom to execute and take responsibility for your work.

• Supportive Environment: Collaboration with a sharp, passionate team that values excellence without ego.

Working Hours: The company operates on a Central European Timezone schedule, implying a need for alignment during core working hours, likely around 40 hours per week, with flexibility inherent in a remote, results-oriented environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary estimation is based on typical Lead Product Designer compensation in Prague/Central Europe for roles requiring significant experience and specialized skills like design systems and AI integration. The fully remote nature and annual bootcamp are key differentiators.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Online Poker Training & Education, leveraging Artificial Intelligence.

Company Size: Under 100 employees, indicating a lean, agile, and fast-paced environment where individual contributions have significant visibility and impact.

Founded: The founding date is not specified, but the company's focus on AI and GTO solutions suggests a modern, technology-forward organization.

Team Structure:

• The design team is likely small, with this role serving as a senior individual contributor and mentor.

• Reporting directly to the Chief Product Officer (CPO), indicating close alignment with product strategy and leadership.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: Emphasis on user value and data to inform decisions, moving away from vanity metrics.

• Rapid Iteration: A culture that encourages shipping quickly and learning from user feedback.

• AI Integration: Actively exploring and incorporating AI into product development and design processes.

• User-Centricity: Direct engagement with customers to ensure product solutions meet real needs.

Company Website: https://www.gtowizard.com/ (Inferred from domain_derived)

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on AI and its leadership in poker training suggests a highly specialized and technically adept team. The culture values impact, autonomy, and continuous improvement, which are attractive to experienced operations professionals.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role represents a senior individual contributor position within the product design function, often referred to as a "Lead" or "Principal" designer in this context. It's a step beyond senior designer, requiring strategic thinking, mentorship capabilities, and ownership of key design initiatives like the design system and AI integration.

Reporting Structure: Reports directly to the Chief Product Officer (CPO), providing high visibility and direct influence on product strategy and design direction. This structure allows for rapid decision-making and close alignment with business objectives.

Operations Impact: The Lead Product Designer's work directly influences the usability, consistency, and effectiveness of GTO Wizard's AI-powered poker training tools. By improving the user experience and design system, this role contributes significantly to user acquisition, retention, and overall product adoption, which are critical drivers of revenue and growth in an education-focused SaaS business.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Potential to grow into a formal Design Manager role if the team expands, or to become the de facto head of design for specific product areas.

• Strategic Influence: Deeper involvement in product strategy, roadmap planning, and cross-functional team leadership.

• AI Design Specialization: Becoming a recognized expert in designing AI-powered products within the online gaming or specialized education sectors.

• Technical Skill Expansion: Opportunity to deepen expertise in MUI, advanced design system architecture, and emerging AI design tools.

📝 Enhancement Note: While not a traditional "operations" role, the strategic and process-oriented nature of design leadership aligns well with operations career trajectories. The growth path emphasizes specialized expertise and strategic impact.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully Remote. The company embraces a distributed workforce, eliminating the need for a physical office space for daily work.

Office Location(s): While the role is fully remote, the company operates on a Central European Timezone (CET) schedule. This implies that candidates should be located in or willing to align with CET working hours. The company also conducts a two-week annual in-person bootcamp, the location of which is not specified but would be a key opportunity for team interaction.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: Despite being remote, the culture emphasizes collaboration, excellence without ego, and knowledge sharing. Expect active participation in design critiques, strategy discussions, and cross-functional meetings.

• Tools & Technology: Access to necessary design tools, likely including Figma or similar, and proficiency with the MUI component library will be crucial. The team is also expected to be forward-thinking regarding AI design tools.

• Team Interaction: Regular interaction through virtual meetings, asynchronous communication tools (e.g., Slack), and the annual in-person bootcamp.

Work Schedule: Primarily focused on delivering results within the Central European Timezone schedule. While fully remote, core hours for collaboration and meetings are expected. The emphasis on rapid iteration suggests a dynamic schedule that prioritizes output and responsiveness.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote-first approach combined with a CET timezone requirement and an annual in-person gathering creates a unique work environment. Candidates should be comfortable with asynchronous communication and self-management.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of resume and portfolio to assess qualifications, experience, and alignment with company culture.

• Design Challenge/Portfolio Review: A deep dive into selected portfolio case studies, focusing on design process, problem-solving, system thinking, AI integration, and user impact. This may involve a presentation or a working session.

• Behavioral & Cultural Interview: Discussion around leadership style, mentorship approach, handling feedback, collaboration, and alignment with company values like authenticity, quality, and user focus.

• Customer Empathy Assessment: Questions to gauge understanding of user needs and how the candidate incorporates customer feedback into their design process.

• Final Interview: Potentially with the CPO or other key stakeholders to discuss strategic vision and final fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Storytelling: Structure case studies to tell a clear story: problem, your role, process, solution, and quantifiable results/impact.

• Design System Focus: Clearly articulate your contributions to design systems, showcasing your understanding of scalability, consistency, and governance.

• AI Integration Examples: Be ready to discuss how you've used AI in design, the benefits, challenges, and future potential.

• User-Centricity: Emphasize how user research and feedback drove your decisions and led to positive outcomes.

• Conciseness: Given the rapid iteration culture, present your work efficiently and highlight key achievements.

Challenge Preparation:

• Be prepared for a design challenge that might involve evolving an existing feature, designing a new AI-assisted workflow, or addressing a complex user problem within the poker training domain.

• Focus on demonstrating your problem-solving process, strategic thinking, and ability to work within constraints.

• Articulate your thought process clearly, explaining your design choices and rationale, especially concerning AI and design system application.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will heavily scrutinize the candidate's portfolio, emphasizing their ability to lead design, mentor others, and strategically integrate emerging technologies like AI within a robust design system framework.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design System: MUI (Material-UI) is explicitly mentioned as the foundation. Expertise in implementing, extending, and maintaining MUI-based design systems is critical.

• Design & Prototyping: Proficiency in modern design tools such as Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD is expected. Figma is a strong possibility given its collaborative features.

• AI Design Tools: Experience with AI assistants for design, such as those integrated into design software or standalone AI tools for content generation, ideation, or workflow automation.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly stated, familiarity with product analytics tools (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics) would be beneficial for understanding user behavior and measuring design impact.

CRM & Automation:

• Understanding of how design integrates with customer-facing platforms and workflows. While not directly managing CRM, knowledge of its role in customer lifecycle and feedback loops is advantageous.

📝 Enhancement Note: Deep expertise in MUI is a non-negotiable requirement. Candidates should also be prepared to discuss their experience and forward-thinking approach regarding AI tools in the design lifecycle.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Authenticity: Leading through genuine interactions and transparent communication.

• Quality & Consistency: A commitment to elevating design standards and maintaining a cohesive user experience through the design system.

• User Focus: Deeply understanding and prioritizing customer needs and use cases.

• AI as Opportunity: Viewing AI tools as catalysts for scaling impact and improving efficiency, rather than threats.

• Rapid Iteration & Learning: Embracing a fast-paced approach to product development, prioritizing quick shipping and continuous improvement.

Collaboration Style:

• Mentorship-Driven: A willingness to share knowledge, provide constructive feedback, and foster the growth of fellow designers.

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Seamless collaboration with Product Management, Engineering, and potentially AI/Data Science teams to achieve shared product goals.

• Ego-Free Excellence: A team environment that values high performance and quality without personal ego, encouraging open discussion and constructive debate.

• Proactive Improvement: Taking initiative to identify and implement enhancements to processes, tools, and team practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The values emphasize a mature, collaborative, and impact-oriented culture. Candidates should demonstrate how they embody these principles in their work and interactions.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Mentorship with IC Duties: Effectively dividing time and energy between hands-on design work and mentoring junior designers.

• Evolving AI Design Landscape: Staying ahead of rapid advancements in AI tools and integrating them effectively and ethically into design workflows.

• Maintaining Design System at Scale: Ensuring the MUI design system remains robust, scalable, and adopted across a growing product suite.

• Bridging Poker Niche with Design Best Practices: Translating complex poker strategy into intuitive and effective user experiences.

• Remote Collaboration Dynamics: Fostering strong team cohesion and effective communication in a fully remote setting, while managing CET timezone alignment.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI Design Specialization: Becoming a leader in the application of AI to product design within a specialized industry.

• Design System Architecture: Deepening expertise in scalable design system strategies and governance models.

• Product Strategy Influence: Gaining more direct input into the company's product roadmap and strategic direction.

• Cross-functional Skill Development: Enhanced understanding of AI technology, product management, and engineering processes.

• Leadership through Mentorship: Developing strong coaching and mentorship skills.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are significant but offer substantial growth prospects for a proactive and adaptable designer. The opportunity to shape the design function in a growing AI-focused company is a key draw.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach establishing GTO Wizard's product design philosophy and best practices from scratch, given our focus on AI and poker?"

• "Describe your experience mentoring designers. What is your approach to fostering professional growth and elevating design quality within a team?"

• "Walk us through your process for managing and evolving a design system like MUI. What are the key governance considerations and how do you ensure adoption?"

• "How do you see AI tools changing the future of product design, and what specific strategies would you employ to integrate them effectively at GTO Wizard?"

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why are you drawn to GTO Wizard specifically, considering our focus on poker and AI?"

• "How do you embody authenticity and lead through influence in a team environment?"

• "What does 'user value over vanity metrics' mean to you in practice?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: Organize your presentation logically, focusing on 2-3 strong case studies. Start with the problem and your role, detail your process (research, ideation, iteration, AI/system usage), showcase the solution, and conclude with impact and learnings.

• Highlight Key Contributions: Clearly articulate your specific contributions, especially regarding design system work and AI integration.

• Metrics & Impact: Quantify results whenever possible (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced task completion time, increased user satisfaction). If quantitative data is unavailable, focus on qualitative impact and user feedback.

• Concise Explanations: Be prepared to explain complex concepts (like GTO or AI integration) clearly and concisely, demonstrating your ability to communicate effectively.

• Engage the Interviewer: Be ready to answer questions about your process, decisions, and potential trade-offs. Show enthusiasm and a genuine interest in the role and company.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic thinking, deep expertise in design systems and AI, strong user empathy, and a proactive, collaborative leadership style. The poker context is a unique element to address thoughtfully.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Lead Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the GTO Wizard careers portal.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight your experience with MUI, design system leadership, AI integration in design, and user research methodologies. Select case studies that best demonstrate these skills.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly outlines your 7+ years of product design experience, emphasizing achievements in shipping features, building design systems, and any relevant AI design work. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice articulating your design process, mentorship philosophy, and strategic approach to product design. Be ready to discuss your understanding of poker and how you'd approach its design challenges.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with GTO Wizard's product, target audience, and their use of AI. Understand their stated company values and culture to articulate your fit.

⚠️ 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.

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