Lead Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Lead Product Designer - Cortex

Company: Street Group

Location: Manchester, England, United Kingdom

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / UX Design (with a focus on AI and GTM strategy)

Date Posted: 2026-08-14

Experience Level: 10+ years (Lead level)

Remote Status: Hybrid (up to 4 days WFH)

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the strategic direction of agentic AI user experience across Street Group's product suite, defining a new category in PropTech.

• Collaborate closely with senior stakeholders, Product Managers, and Engineering to translate complex AI capabilities into intuitive and trustworthy user interfaces.

• Own the end-to-end design process, from concept and prototyping to user testing and iterative shipping of high-impact features.

• Define and establish design patterns for agentic AI, setting the standard for how users interact with intelligent automation within real estate workflows.

• Champion a data-informed design approach, linking design decisions to commercial outcomes and product performance metrics.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a strategic leadership opportunity within a rapidly evolving AI-driven product. The emphasis on "agentic AI" and defining a "new category" suggests a high degree of autonomy, innovation, and cross-functional influence, extending beyond traditional UX responsibilities into product strategy and business impact. The "Lead Product Designer" title, combined with the expectation of driving direction and working with senior stakeholders, indicates a need for strong strategic thinking and the ability to influence product roadmaps.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the design vision and execution for agentic AI features within the Street and Spectre platforms, focusing on user trust, transparency, and control.

• Design intuitive user interfaces and workflows for complex agency tasks such as valuation, prospecting, marketing, enquiry handling, sales progression, and property management.

• Develop and maintain a consistent design system and reusable patterns for agentic AI interactions across the entire product suite.

• Conduct rapid prototyping and user research with real estate agents to validate design concepts and iterate quickly based on feedback.

• Translate technical AI capabilities into user-centric solutions that effectively automate busywork and enhance agent productivity.

• Collaborate with Product Management and Engineering to ensure seamless integration of AI features and maintain design integrity throughout the development lifecycle.

• Act as a design thought leader, staying abreast of the latest advancements in AI, UX design, and the PropTech industry.

• Define success metrics for AI-driven features and analyze performance data to inform future design iterations and strategic decisions.

• Present design concepts and rationale clearly to diverse stakeholders, including senior leadership, to gain alignment and drive product direction.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a need for a designer who can operate at a strategic level, not just executing tasks but defining the "how" and "why" of agentic AI in the property sector. The breadth of product areas mentioned (valuation, prospecting, etc.) indicates a requirement for strong contextual understanding and the ability to manage complexity across a broad product surface.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent expertise and understanding of design principles, AI interaction design, and strategic product thinking is essential.

Experience: Typically around 8+ years of experience in product/UX design at a senior individual contributor level, with a proven track record of operating at a "Lead altitude" in terms of scope, autonomy, and judgment. Experience in SaaS or complex product environments is beneficial.

Required Skills:

• Agentic AI Expertise: Non-negotiable; demonstrated hands-on experience designing, prototyping, or shipping multi-step, tool-using AI agents. Deep understanding of how agentic AI works, its limitations, and potential failure points.

• Agentic UX Point of View: A well-formed perspective on designing for systems that exhibit variability, building user trust, ensuring transparency, and maintaining user control. Understanding of human-in-the-loop paradigms.

• Strategic Design Leadership: Ability to drive product direction, influence roadmaps, and make design trade-offs informed by commercial objectives and product performance.

• Prototyping & User Research: Proficiency in rapid prototyping (including code-based prototyping as a plus) and conducting user research with target audiences (real estate agents) to gather actionable insights.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Experience partnering effectively with Product Managers and Engineers as a peer, contributing to product strategy and execution.

• Ambiguity Navigation: Comfort and effectiveness in undefined problem spaces, with the initiative to define problems and propose solutions.

• Commercial Fluency: Ability to understand and integrate business goals and product performance metrics into design decisions.

Preferred Skills:

• Technical Fluency: Hands-on experience with coding for prototyping can be a significant advantage, given the close alignment of design with AI system functionality.

• SaaS Product Experience: Familiarity with designing for Software-as-a-Service platforms.

• PropTech Industry Knowledge: While not required, prior experience or understanding of the property technology landscape can be beneficial.

• Design Systems: Experience in creating or contributing to comprehensive design systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "agentic AI" as a non-negotiable requirement and the explicit distinction from simply using AI tools is crucial. This signals that candidates must possess deep, practical knowledge of designing AI systems, not just surface-level familiarity. The "Lead altitude" requirement suggests the expectation of a candidate who can operate with significant autonomy and strategic foresight.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Agentic AI Case Studies: Showcase 1-2 detailed case studies of agentic AI products or features you have designed, prototyped, or shipped. Focus on the problem, your approach to designing for AI, user trust mechanisms, and tangible outcomes.

• Strategic Design Impact: Demonstrate instances where your design strategy directly influenced product direction or commercial performance. Quantify the impact where possible.

• Workflow Optimization: Examples of how you have designed systems to streamline complex workflows and improve user efficiency, particularly relevant to business operations.

• System Design Thinking: Illustrate your ability to think holistically about a product suite and define consistent design patterns and interactions across multiple domains.

Process Documentation:

• User Research & Iteration: Provide evidence of your process for user research, prototyping, and iterative design based on feedback, ideally with examples of how this led to successful product outcomes.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Detail how you typically collaborate with Product Managers and Engineers, including your methods for aligning on requirements, design, and implementation.

• Metrics-Driven Design: Show how you define and track success metrics for your designs and use data to inform design decisions and improvements.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are heavily skewed towards demonstrating practical experience with agentic AI and strategic impact. Candidates should be prepared to articulate their design process specifically through the lens of AI systems and their contribution to business objectives, rather than purely aesthetic or usability improvements.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: £70,000 - £90,000 per annum (dependent on experience and scope). The company has chosen not to publish a fixed band, indicating a willingness to tailor the package to the individual candidate's expertise and the value they bring.

Benefits:

• Hybrid Working: Flexibility to work from home up to 4 days per week.

• Holiday Bonus: £1,000 towards a holiday after the first year.

• Learning & Development: £500 yearly budget for career development.

• Birthday Off: Paid day off for your birthday.

• Volunteering: 2 paid days for volunteering.

• Enhanced Parental Pay: Enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption pay.

• Well-being Support: Mental health and well-being support via Health Assured.

• Flexible Working Hours: Adaptable work schedule.

• Commuting Support: Public transport season ticket loans.

• Menopause Leave: Paid menopause leave.

• Holiday Buying Scheme: Option to purchase additional holiday days.

• Cycle to Work Scheme: Encourages cycling for commuting.

• Electric Car Scheme: Electric car salary sacrifice option.

• Company Culture: Join an exciting business with huge ambition, passionate about improving the property industry.

• Cutting-Edge Technology: Opportunity to work on innovative AI-driven products.

• Office Perks: Relaxed office space, office dogs welcome, stocked fridge with Friday beers.

• Social Events: Company and team off-sites, events, and happy hours.

• Sustainability: Part of a climate-positive company.

Working Hours: While specific daily hours aren't fixed, the role implies a standard full-time commitment, with the benefit of flexible working hours to accommodate personal needs and optimize productivity. The hybrid model suggests a minimum of 1 day in the office.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is provided as a guideline, but the company's explicit statement about building the package around experience suggests that candidates with exceptional agentic AI design skills and strategic impact may command a salary at the higher end or even beyond this range. The benefits package is extensive and highlights a company culture that values employee well-being, development, and work-life balance.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: PropTech (Property Technology). Street Group is focused on transforming the UK estate agency sector through technology, aiming to elevate the experience for agencies.

Company Size: Street Group is described as one of the fastest-growing PropTech companies in the UK. While an exact number isn't provided, "fast-growing" implies a dynamic, potentially scaling environment, likely with a significant number of employees and a dedicated product development team.

Founded: The founding date isn't specified, but the company's growth trajectory and focus on cutting-edge technology suggest it is a relatively modern and ambitious organization.

Team Structure:

• The Lead Product Designer will work closely with Product Managers and Engineers, operating as a peer at the table.

• Design is positioned as a "strategic seat," driving direction alongside product and engineering, rather than being a reactive function.

• Collaboration is expected to be close and frequent, with the ability to spin up calls and validate prototypes instantly.

• The role involves working with senior stakeholders and potentially a Co-Founder. Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: Decisions are made based on asking users and asking the product's performance, not guessing.

• Pace & Shipping: The company moves at pace, testing strategy by shipping. Strategic work is not a separate, slower track.

• User-Centricity: Strong emphasis on user feedback and rapid iteration.

• AI Integration: Focus on integrating agentic AI to automate tasks and enhance user capabilities.

Company Website: https://www.streetgroup.co.uk/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is characterized by speed, strategic design, user collaboration, and a commitment to innovation, particularly in the realm of AI. The "fast-growing" nature suggests a dynamic, potentially less bureaucratic environment where individual impact is highly visible.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is at the Lead level, signifying significant autonomy, strategic responsibility, and the expectation to set craft standards. It demands more scope, autonomy, and judgment than a Senior IC role. The Lead Product Designer is expected to shape a new product category and influence the strategic direction of the company's AI initiatives.

Reporting Structure: The Lead Product Designer will likely report to a Head of Design, Head of Product, or a senior executive, working in close partnership with Product Managers and Engineering leads. The final interview is with a Co-Founder, indicating high-level visibility and strategic importance.

Operations Impact: The role has a direct and significant impact on revenue and business decisions by shaping the core AI product that drives agent efficiency and competitive advantage. The success of agentic AI will directly influence customer acquisition, retention, and overall product-market fit in the PropTech space. The designer is expected to be commercially fluent and make design trade-offs informed by how the product performs.

Growth Opportunities:

• Category Definition: Opportunity to be a pioneer in defining agentic UX for the property industry, creating a lasting impact and industry standard.

• Leadership & Mentorship: As a Lead, there is potential to grow into a management role or become a principal designer, mentoring other designers and shaping the design team's future.

• Skill Specialization: Deepen expertise in AI UX, complex system design, and strategic product development within a high-growth PropTech environment.

• Product Ownership: Contribute significantly to product strategy and roadmap development, gaining broad exposure to business operations and growth levers.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is not just about design execution; it's about strategic leadership and defining the future of AI in a specific industry. The growth opportunities are tied to pioneering work, strategic influence, and developing expertise in a cutting-edge field.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is based in Manchester and operates on a hybrid model, allowing up to 4 days of remote work per week. The office environment is described as comfortable and relaxed, with a stocked fridge and Friday afternoon beers, suggesting a social and collaborative atmosphere. Office dogs are also welcome.

Office Location(s): Manchester, United Kingdom. Specific office address details are not provided, but the hybrid model implies a central office presence for collaboration.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The hybrid model and emphasis on "spinning up a call and validating a prototype instantly" suggest an environment that values both focused remote work and spontaneous, in-person collaboration.

• Tools & Technology: While specific tools aren't listed here, the role implies access to modern design and prototyping software, with a potential emphasis on coding for prototyping.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for close partnership with Product Managers and Engineers, as well as direct interaction with senior leadership.

Work Schedule: Flexible working hours are offered, allowing individuals to manage their schedules effectively while ensuring full-time commitment and collaborative availability. This flexibility supports balancing personal needs with the demands of a fast-paced, strategic role.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid nature, coupled with the "comfortable, relaxed office space" and social perks, indicates a modern work environment that balances focused individual work with team-based collaboration and social connection. The flexibility in working hours is a key aspect for professionals managing complex projects.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Stage 1: Introductory Call: An initial screening with the Talent team to assess basic fit, motivation, and alignment with company culture.

• Stage 2: Technical Interview & AI Task: A more in-depth session with the Head of UX, including a specific Design & AI Task. This stage will heavily focus on your agentic AI experience, design craft, and problem-solving abilities.

• Stage 3: Final Interview: An interview with a Co-Founder to discuss strategic vision, leadership potential, commercial fluency, and overall cultural fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight Agentic AI: Your portfolio must prominently feature case studies demonstrating your practical experience with agentic AI. Clearly articulate the problem, your unique design approach, how you built trust and control, and the results achieved.

• Show Strategic Impact: Beyond aesthetics, demonstrate how your designs have driven business outcomes, influenced product strategy, or solved complex operational challenges. Quantify impact wherever possible.

• Articulate Your Process: Be prepared to walk through your design process for AI-driven features, explaining your rationale for key decisions, user research methods, and prototyping techniques.

• Address Ambiguity: Showcase examples where you've navigated undefined problem spaces and proactively defined solutions.

• Tailor to Street Group: Research Street Group's mission and the PropTech industry. Connect your experience and portfolio examples to how you can contribute to their specific goals.

Challenge Preparation:

• AI Task Focus: The "Design & AI Task" will likely require you to demonstrate your understanding of agentic AI principles and your ability to translate them into user-friendly designs under a time constraint. Practice designing for systems with unpredictable outputs and focusing on user control.

• Strategic Thinking: Be ready to discuss your approach to defining product strategy, identifying opportunities, and making design trade-offs based on business objectives.

• Stakeholder Communication: Prepare to articulate your design vision and rationale clearly and concisely to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, including senior leadership.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is structured to thoroughly assess both technical/design skills (especially in agentic AI) and strategic/leadership capabilities. The portfolio review is critical and must directly address the core requirements of designing for AI.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping Software: Proficiency in industry-standard tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator), or similar.

• Prototyping Tools: Experience with tools like InVision, Axure, or advanced prototyping capabilities within design software.

• Code-Based Prototyping (Advantageous): Familiarity with languages or frameworks that enable functional prototypes (e.g., HTML/CSS/JavaScript, React) would be a significant plus, given the role's close proximity to AI system functionality.

Analytics & Reporting:

• User Analytics Platforms: Familiarity with tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, or similar for tracking user behavior and feature adoption.

• Data Visualization Tools: Experience with tools that can help in understanding and presenting performance data (e.g., Tableau, Looker, or internal dashboards).

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems: While not directly designing the CRM, understanding how design integrates with systems like Salesforce or similar is beneficial for context.

• Project Management Tools: Familiarity with Agile project management tools like Jira, Asana, Trello for collaborating with engineering teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "technical fluency" and "being hands-on enough to prototype with code is a real advantage" suggests that Street Group values designers who can bridge the gap between design and development, particularly when dealing with complex AI systems. Candidates with this skill will likely stand out.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Innovation & Ambition: A drive to transform the property industry through cutting-edge technology, with a focus on ambitious goals and continuous improvement.

• User-Centricity & Collaboration: A strong belief in deeply understanding user needs and fostering close collaboration across product, engineering, and design.

• Pace & Execution: A culture that values moving quickly, testing hypotheses through shipping, and iterating rapidly.

• Strategic Impact: Design is viewed as a strategic partner, contributing to business objectives and product performance, not just a service function.

• Autonomy & Ownership: Empowering individuals to take ownership of undefined problems and drive direction.

Collaboration Style:

• Peer-to-Peer Partnership: Design works as an equal partner with Product and Engineering, fostering mutual respect and shared ownership.

• Rapid Feedback Loops: Encouraging immediate validation of ideas and prototypes through direct user interaction and internal reviews.

• Open Communication: A willingness to "spin up a call" and discuss challenges openly, fostering transparency and efficiency.

• Data-Informed Discussions: Debates and decisions are grounded in user feedback and product performance metrics.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture is geared towards high-performers who thrive in dynamic, fast-paced environments, are comfortable with ambiguity, and can operate with significant autonomy. The emphasis on design as a strategic partner is a key differentiator.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Defining a New Category: The primary challenge is establishing the user experience playbook for agentic AI in the property sector, a space with no established best practices. This requires pioneering thinking and significant user empathy.

• Navigating Ambiguity: Cortex is an early-stage product, meaning the problem space is not fully defined. Designers must be comfortable shaping the product direction and defining what needs to be built.

• Balancing AI Capabilities with User Trust: Designing AI that is powerful yet trustworthy, transparent, and controllable is a significant UX challenge, especially in a regulated industry like property.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Ensuring alignment on strategic vision and execution across Product, Engineering, and senior leadership, especially when defining a novel product category.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Pioneering AI UX: Gain unparalleled experience in designing the future of AI-driven user experiences in a specific industry vertical.

• Strategic Influence: Develop skills in influencing product strategy, roadmap, and business outcomes at a senior level.

• Leadership Development: Opportunity to set the standard for design within a critical new product area and potentially grow into broader design leadership roles.

• Industry Expertise: Deepen knowledge of the PropTech industry and the practical application of advanced AI technologies.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are framed as opportunities for significant professional growth and impact, particularly for those interested in cutting-edge AI and strategic product development.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you defined a new product category or significantly shaped the UX for a novel technology. What was your process, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on agentic AI experience).

• "How do you approach designing for systems that don't always behave predictably, like agentic AI? How do you build in trust, transparency, and control for the user?"

• "Imagine you're tasked with automating a core workflow for estate agents (e.g., lead qualification). How would you approach identifying the right tasks for AI, designing the interaction, and ensuring user adoption?"

• "How do you balance user desirability with commercial viability and technical feasibility when making design trade-offs?" Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Street Group's mission to transform the property industry?"

• "How do you see your role as a 'strategic seat' contributing to the success of Cortex and Street Group?"

• "Describe your ideal collaboration model with Product Managers and Engineers, especially when working on complex, cutting-edge technology."

• "What are your thoughts on the company's approach to rapid iteration and shipping strategy?" Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for AI Case Studies: For each AI case study, clearly articulate: the problem (especially the complex agentic AI challenge), your specific design contributions, the user research and validation process, how you addressed trust/transparency/control, the technical considerations, and the measurable impact.

• Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, use data to showcase the success of your designs (e.g., conversion rates, efficiency gains, user satisfaction scores). If exact numbers aren't available, describe the expected impact and how you would measure it.

• Demonstrate Strategic Thinking: Be prepared to discuss the "why" behind your design decisions, linking them to business goals and product strategy. Show how you contributed to defining the problem space itself.

• Technical Fluency Showcase: If you have coding experience for prototyping, be ready to briefly discuss it and how it informed your design process or enabled faster iteration.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on articulating your expertise in agentic AI design, your strategic thinking, and your ability to thrive in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment. Be ready to demonstrate your process and impact with concrete examples.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Lead Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features 1-2 detailed case studies on agentic AI products or features you have designed, prototyped, or shipped. Clearly articulate the problem, your design process, and the impact.

• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to highlight your 8+ years of senior/lead product design experience, your specific expertise in agentic AI, strategic thinking, and cross-functional collaboration skills. Use keywords from the job description.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your experience and thought process for the interview stages, especially the Design & AI Task. Be ready to discuss your strategic approach to defining new product categories and building user trust in AI.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Street Group's mission, the PropTech market, and the company's culture of innovation, speed, and user-centricity. Understand how your contributions will align with their growth ambitions.

⚠️ 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.