Mid-level Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Mid-level Product Designer

Company: Xelix

Location: London, England, United Kingdom

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Product Design / UX/UI Design

Date Posted: April 20, 2026

Experience Level: Mid-level (2-5 years)

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Execute end-to-end product design, from initial discovery and wireframing to high-fidelity prototyping and final delivery, ensuring user-centricity and visual consistency.

• Contribute to and leverage a robust design system to maintain product cohesion and scalability across the platform.

• Collaborate closely with Product Managers and Engineering teams to translate complex requirements into intuitive and functional user experiences.

• Participate in user research initiatives, including usability testing and feedback sessions, to gather insights and drive design iterations.

• Champion best practices in responsive design, accessibility (WCAG), and modern design tool proficiency (e.g., Figma).

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a mid-level Product Designer within a fast-paced scale-up environment. The emphasis is on execution, collaboration, and contributing to a growing product. The company's focus on AI for financial controls suggests a need for designers who can handle complex workflows and potentially visualize data-intensive applications.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the design process for specific product features, from concept ideation and user flow mapping to detailed wireframes, interactive prototypes, and pixel-perfect high-fidelity mockups.

• Collaborate with Product Managers to deeply understand user needs, business objectives, and technical constraints, translating these into effective design solutions.

• Partner with Engineers to ensure the accurate and high-quality implementation of designs, providing clear specifications and supporting during development.

• Conduct and participate in user research activities, including user interviews, usability testing, and heuristic evaluations, to gather qualitative and quantitative feedback.

• Analyze research findings and user data to derive actionable insights that inform design decisions and product strategy.

• Apply and extend the existing design system, contributing to its evolution by documenting new patterns, components, and guidelines for consistency and scalability.

• Ensure all designs adhere to accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA or higher) and promote inclusive design principles.

• Clearly articulate design rationale, decisions, and trade-offs to cross-functional teams and stakeholders through presentations and workshops.

• Proactively identify areas for design improvement and innovation within the product suite.

• Stay abreast of emerging design trends, tools, and technologies, and share knowledge within the design team.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a hands-on design execution role with significant collaboration. The mention of "extending our design system" and "contributing to documentation" indicates an expectation for designers to actively participate in maintaining and growing the design infrastructure, a key aspect for scaling product organizations.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, or a related field is often beneficial but not strictly required if equivalent practical experience is demonstrated.

Experience: 2-4 years of professional experience in product design, with a proven track record of shipping user-centered, high-quality digital products. Experience within a fast-paced scale-up, startup, or agency environment is highly valued.

Required Skills:

• Proficiency in modern design and prototyping tools, with a strong emphasis on Figma.

• Demonstrated ability to create wireframes, user flows, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity designs.

• Solid understanding of user-centered design principles and methodologies.

• Experience contributing to or working with design systems to ensure product consistency.

• Knowledge of responsive design principles and how to design for various screen sizes and devices.

• Familiarity with accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG) and best practices for inclusive design.

• Strong collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions and rationale effectively.

• Problem-solving capabilities and comfort navigating ambiguity in a dynamic environment.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience planning and conducting user research and usability testing sessions.

• Awareness of front-end development technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) and their implications for design implementation.

• Experience working in fast-moving environments, such as scale-ups, startups, or agencies.

• Curiosity and aptitude for quickly learning new domains, particularly finance and accounting.

• A portfolio showcasing a broad range of product design skills, including interaction design, visual design, and user research.

• Comfort experimenting with new design tools and workflows to enhance efficiency and creativity.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "big plus points" are crucial for candidates to highlight. Demonstrating curiosity about finance, experience in rapid environments, and a holistic approach to design (research, interaction, visual) will significantly differentiate candidates. The emphasis on Figma is a direct technical requirement.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A curated portfolio showcasing 2-4 impactful product design projects, demonstrating the full design lifecycle from problem definition to shipped solution.

• Each project case study should clearly articulate the problem statement, your role and contributions, the design process undertaken (including research, ideation, iteration), key design decisions, and measurable outcomes.

• Visual examples of wireframes, user flows, prototypes, and high-fidelity designs are essential.

• Evidence of applying user-centered design principles and incorporating user feedback.

Process Documentation:

• Case studies should detail the specific design processes followed, such as user journey mapping, persona development, affinity diagramming, or usability testing methodologies.

• Highlight how research findings were translated into actionable design improvements, showcasing evidence of iteration based on user insights.

• Demonstrate an understanding of how to collaborate with engineering and product management within an agile or iterative development framework.

• For projects involving design systems, provide examples of component usage, pattern application, or contributions to design system documentation.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio is the primary tool for evaluating a candidate's design craft and process. Candidates should select projects that best represent their mid-level capabilities, focusing on ownership, problem-solving, and tangible results. A strong emphasis on the "why" behind design decisions, supported by user data or research, will be critical.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: £55,000 to £70,000 per annum, commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Benefits:

• Competitive Salary: As outlined in the range above, reflecting experience and market value.

• Generous Annual Leave: 27 days of annual leave, inclusive of 3 days during Christmas closure, with the flexibility to roll over 3 days.

• Hybrid Working Model: A balanced approach with one dedicated day per week in the vibrant, dog-friendly Shoreditch Exchange office.

• On-site Amenities: Access to an on-site gym at the London office.

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Private medical and dental insurance through Vitality.

• Enhanced Parental Leave: Generous pay for parental leave to support new parents.

• Professional Development: An annual personal budget of £500 dedicated to learning and development, encouraging skill enhancement and career growth.

• Sustainability Focus: Contribution to a carbon-neutral company actively pursuing ambitious carbon reduction goals.

• Team Engagement: Regular team socials, activities, and an annual team retreat to foster camaraderie and connection.

Working Hours: Standard working hours are 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday through Friday, totaling 40 hours per week. The hybrid model offers flexibility in terms of location for 4 days of the week.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is competitive for a mid-level Product Designer in London. The benefits package is robust, with particular emphasis on professional development, health, and work-life balance, aligning with the company's culture of growth and employee well-being. The hybrid model specifies one mandatory office day.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, specifically focused on AI-driven automation for financial controls and Accounts Payable (AP) processes. This places Xelix at the intersection of FinTech and AI, a rapidly evolving and high-impact sector.

Company Size: Xelix is a fast-paced scale-up with over 100 employees, having recently secured Series B funding. This size indicates a dynamic, growth-oriented environment where individual contributions are highly visible and impactful, but also where processes are maturing.

Founded: The company was founded with a mission to automate and strengthen financial controls using AI. This foundational goal drives innovation and a commitment to leveraging technology to solve complex business problems.

Team Structure:

• The Product Design team is likely integrated within a broader Product department, working in close proximity to Product Management and Engineering.

• Designers will collaborate with Product Managers who define product strategy and requirements, and Engineers who build the product.

• Cross-functional collaboration is key, with designers expected to engage with stakeholders across departments to gather requirements and align on solutions.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Decisions: Emphasis on user research, usability testing, and data analysis to inform design choices and product direction.

• Agile & Iterative Development: Working within a fast-paced environment suggests an agile methodology, where designs are iterated upon based on continuous feedback and evolving priorities.

• Design System Adoption: A commitment to using and contributing to a design system ensures efficiency, consistency, and scalability in design and development.

• Ownership and Impact: Employees are trusted to take ownership, move fast, and make a meaningful impact, reflecting a culture of empowerment.

Company Website: https://xelix.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: Xelix operates in a high-growth, technology-focused environment. The culture values speed, ownership, and innovation, particularly within the complex domain of financial controls. Designers will need to be comfortable with rapid iteration and close collaboration across product and engineering teams.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is firmly at the "Mid-Level" stage, typically requiring 2-4 years of dedicated product design experience. It signifies a transition from junior responsibilities to greater autonomy and ownership, with an expectation to contribute significantly to product development cycles. The role is positioned as a stepping stone towards more senior design positions, where greater strategic input and leadership are expected.

Reporting Structure: The Product Designer will likely report to a Head of Design, Design Lead, or potentially a Senior Product Manager if the design team is nascent. They will work closely with Product Managers and Engineering Leads on a day-to-day basis.

Operations Impact: The Product Designer's impact is directly tied to the usability, efficiency, and adoption of Xelix's AI solutions for financial controls. By creating intuitive and user-friendly interfaces, they will directly contribute to:

• Customer Satisfaction & Retention: Making complex financial processes easier to manage.

• Operational Efficiency: Enabling Accounts Payable teams to automate tasks and reduce errors.

• Product Adoption: Driving the successful implementation and ongoing use of Xelix's platform.

• Revenue Growth: Contributing to a product that attracts and retains enterprise clients.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Specialization: Opportunities to deepen expertise in specific areas like user research, interaction design, visual design, or design systems.

• Increased Ownership: Taking on larger, more complex features or product areas, and potentially leading design efforts for new initiatives.

• Mentorship: Learning from senior designers and potentially mentoring junior designers as the team grows.

• Leadership Potential: Developing skills in design strategy, stakeholder management, and team leadership, paving the way for roles like Senior Product Designer or Design Lead.

• Domain Expertise: Gaining valuable experience and understanding within the FinTech and AI automation space.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "mid-level" designation is key; candidates should be ready to operate with less direct supervision than a junior role but still benefit from guidance. The growth path focuses on deepening design craft and increasing ownership, aligning with typical career progression in product design.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The company offers a hybrid working model. This means a blend of remote work and in-office presence. The office itself is described as dog-friendly, located in Shoreditch, London (Shoreditch Exchange, E2 8JF).

Office Location(s): The primary office is located at Shoreditch Exchange, London, E2 8JF. This is a well-known tech and creative hub in East London, accessible via public transport.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hub: The one mandatory office day per week is designed for collaboration, team building, and fostering a strong company culture. This provides opportunities for in-person brainstorming, design critiques, and spontaneous interactions with colleagues.

• Tooling: While not explicitly stated, a modern design role in a tech scale-up will undoubtedly be equipped with contemporary design and collaboration tools (e.g., Figma, Slack, Jira, Confluence) to support both remote and in-office work.

• Team Interaction: The hybrid model allows for focused work remotely, while the office provides structured opportunities for face-to-face interaction with product managers, engineers, and fellow designers, fostering a sense of team cohesion.

Work Schedule: The standard working hours are 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday to Friday. The hybrid arrangement allows for flexibility in where work is performed for four days a week, with one designated day in the London office.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model is clearly defined with one specific office day. Candidates should appreciate the balance between remote focus and in-person collaboration, and the Shoreditch location is a desirable aspect for many in the London tech scene.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Introductory Call: A brief virtual meeting with a Talent Partner to discuss your background, career aspirations, and suitability for the role and Xelix. This is an initial screening to ensure alignment.

2. Hiring Manager Interview: A more in-depth virtual meeting with the Hiring Manager (e.g., Head of Design or Design Lead) to explore your experience, design philosophy, and how you approach product design challenges. Focus on your portfolio's relevance and your understanding of user-centered design.

3. Technical Task or Presentation: This stage will likely involve a design exercise. It could be a take-home task or a live presentation of a case study from your portfolio that best demonstrates your skills relevant to Xelix's product domain (e.g., designing a feature for financial controls, optimizing a complex workflow). Prepare to articulate your design process, rationale, and outcomes.

4. Final On-site Interview: An in-person meeting at the London office with senior leadership, potentially including co-founders. This assesses cultural fit, strategic thinking, and your potential contribution to Xelix's long-term vision. Be prepared to discuss your career goals and how they align with the company's growth.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select projects that best showcase your mid-level capabilities, focusing on ownership, problem-solving, and impact. Projects involving complex workflows, data visualization, or enterprise software are highly relevant.

• Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly outline the problem, your role, the process, the solution, and the results. Emphasize your decision-making process and how user insights drove your design.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Include high-quality visuals of wireframes, user flows, prototypes, and final designs. Interactive prototypes are a plus.

• Highlight Collaboration: Demonstrate how you worked with Product Managers and Engineers, and how you handled feedback and trade-offs.

• Address Finance/AI: If possible, include projects related to FinTech, B2B SaaS, AI interfaces, or complex data management. If not, articulate how your transferable skills apply.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Xelix: Research Xelix’s product, target audience (AP teams), and the challenges they solve. Familiarize yourself with their existing design system and user interface if publicly available.

• Design for Complexity: Be ready to tackle design problems that involve intricate workflows, data handling, and enterprise-level requirements. Think about how to simplify complexity without sacrificing functionality.

• Accessibility & Inclusivity: Be prepared to discuss your approach to designing accessible and inclusive products, especially important in enterprise software.

• Articulate Rationale: Practice explaining why you made specific design choices, backing them up with user research, design principles, or business goals.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process progresses from initial screening to a hands-on assessment and culminates in a final in-person meeting. The technical task/presentation is a critical point where candidates must demonstrate their practical design skills and ability to apply them to Xelix's domain. Preparing strong, relevant case studies for the portfolio review is paramount.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: This is the core design tool. Proficiency in creating wireframes, interactive prototypes, high-fidelity mockups, and utilizing its collaboration features is essential. Candidates should be comfortable with components, variants, auto-layout, and design system libraries within Figma.

• Prototyping Tools: While Figma includes robust prototyping, familiarity with other tools like InVision or Sketch (if used historically) might be beneficial, though Figma is the stated preference.

Analytics & Reporting:

• User Research Platforms: Experience with tools for conducting usability testing, gathering feedback, and analyzing user behavior (e.g., UserTesting.com, Maze).

• Data Analysis Tools (Awareness): While not primary design tools, an understanding of how product teams use analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics, Amplitude, Mixpanel) to track user behavior and measure feature adoption is advantageous. This helps in designing for measurability.

CRM & Automation:

• Project Management & Collaboration: Proficiency with tools like Jira and Confluence for managing design tasks, tracking progress, and documenting design decisions and specifications.

• Communication Platforms: Expertise in using Slack for real-time team communication and collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma is the central design tool. Candidates should highlight their expertise in Figma and any related workflows that streamline design and development collaboration. Awareness of how design impacts product analytics and team workflows is also a plus.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Ownership & Impact: Employees are encouraged to take full responsibility for their work and drive tangible results. This means proactively identifying problems, proposing solutions, and seeing them through to completion.

• Speed & Agility: The company operates in a fast-paced scale-up environment, demanding adaptability, quick decision-making, and the ability to iterate rapidly.

• Continuous Growth: A strong emphasis on personal and professional development, encouraging learning, seeking feedback, and embracing new challenges.

• Fun & Collaboration: While results are paramount, Xelix also prioritizes a positive and enjoyable work environment, fostering teamwork and celebrating successes together.

• User-Centricity: Decisions are grounded in understanding user needs and delivering solutions that provide genuine value and improve workflows.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Designers are expected to work seamlessly with Product Managers and Engineers, fostering a shared understanding of goals and challenges. This involves open communication, active listening, and collaborative problem-solving.

• Feedback Culture: An environment where constructive feedback is encouraged, both given and received, to continuously improve designs and processes. This includes participating actively in design critiques.

• Knowledge Sharing: Actively sharing insights, best practices, and learnings with the team to elevate collective expertise and foster a learning environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: Xelix's culture is built around empowerment, rapid progress, and a positive team dynamic. Designers should demonstrate a proactive, collaborative, and growth-oriented mindset, comfortable with fast iteration and cross-functional teamwork.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Speed and Quality: In a fast-paced scale-up, designers must deliver high-quality work efficiently without compromising user experience or accessibility. This requires strong prioritization and time management skills.

• Designing for Complexity: Xelix's product deals with intricate financial controls and AI automation, requiring designers to develop a deep understanding of complex workflows and data structures, and translate them into intuitive interfaces.

• Evolving Design System: Contributing to and maintaining a design system in a growing product suite requires ongoing effort and collaboration to ensure consistency and scalability.

• Cross-functional Alignment: Navigating priorities and technical constraints across Product Management and Engineering can be challenging, requiring strong communication and negotiation skills.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deepen FinTech/AI Domain Expertise: Gain significant experience in the specialized field of AI for financial controls, a valuable niche.

• Advance Design Craft: Opportunities to refine skills in user research, interaction design, visual design, and design systems, potentially specializing in one area.

• Leadership Development: Progress towards senior design roles by taking on more complex projects, mentoring junior colleagues, and contributing to design strategy.

• Industry Exposure: Access to learning budgets and company events that can expose designers to new trends, tools, and methodologies within the product design and FinTech industries.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are typical for a mid-level role in a growing tech company. The opportunities focus on building specialized domain knowledge and advancing design leadership skills, offering a clear growth trajectory.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to simplify a complex workflow for users. What was your process, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on problem framing, user research, iterative design, and measurable results.)

• "How do you balance user needs with technical constraints and business goals? Provide an example." (Highlight your approach to trade-offs, collaboration with PMs/Eng, and design rationale.)

• "Walk us through your process for contributing to or utilizing a design system. What are the benefits and challenges?" (Demonstrate understanding of consistency, scalability, and collaboration aspects of design systems.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Xelix's mission and our product in the FinTech/AI space?" (Research Xelix's mission, target market, and technological approach.)

• "How do you approach collaboration within a hybrid work environment? What makes a good cross-functional partnership?" (Discuss your communication style, proactive engagement, and experience with remote/in-person teams.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Select for Impact: Choose 1-2 projects that best represent your mid-level capabilities, ideally showcasing end-to-end ownership and problem-solving within complex domains.

• Structure for Clarity: For each project, follow a clear narrative: Problem -> Your Role -> Process -> Solution -> Outcome/Impact. Use visuals effectively to support your story.

• Articulate Rationale: Be prepared to deep-dive into why you made specific design decisions. Connect these decisions back to user research, business goals, or design principles.

• Showcase Collaboration: Highlight how you worked with Product Managers and Engineers, and how you incorporated their feedback.

• Quantify Results: If possible, present metrics that demonstrate the impact of your design solutions (e.g., increased conversion rates, reduced task completion time, improved user satisfaction scores).

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should prepare to discuss their design process in detail, emphasizing user-centricity, problem-solving, and collaboration. The portfolio presentation is crucial for demonstrating practical skills and strategic thinking. Researching Xelix's specific domain (AI for financial controls) is vital for tailoring responses.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Mid-level Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the Xelix careers page.

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio is up-to-date and highlights projects that demonstrate your mid-level design skills, problem-solving abilities, and experience with Figma and user-centered design. Tailor the selection and presentation to align with Xelix's focus on AI for financial controls if possible.

• Resume Optimization: Craft your resume to clearly articulate your 2-4 years of relevant experience, focusing on achievements and responsibilities that align with the job description, using keywords like "Product Design," "Figma," "User Research," "Design Systems," and "Cross-functional Collaboration."

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process and rationale for key portfolio projects. Prepare to discuss your experience with user research, accessibility, and working in fast-paced environments. Research Xelix thoroughly, understanding their product and mission.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Xelix's company culture, values, and product offerings. Understand the challenges faced by Accounts Payable teams to better contextualize your design approach during interviews.

⚠️ 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.