Mid-level Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Mid-level Product Designer

Company: Xelix

Location: London, United Kingdom

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / UX/UI Design

Date Posted: 2026-05-08T08:01:21

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

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Design and execute user-centered product solutions from concept to delivery, ensuring usability, accessibility, and visual consistency.

• Collaborate closely with Product Managers and Engineers to translate user needs and business requirements into functional and impactful designs.

• Contribute to user research initiatives, including usability testing, to gather insights and iterate on designs based on evidence and data.

• Apply and extend the company's design system to maintain a cohesive and scalable user experience across the platform.

• Foster continuous growth by staying updated on design trends, participating in critiques, and developing leadership skills within a fast-paced scale-up environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: While this role is for a Product Designer, the company's focus on AI solutions for financial controls and Accounts Payable teams means that understanding the operational workflows and data challenges within finance departments will be a significant asset. The role requires a blend of strong UX/UI craft with an understanding of business process automation.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end design process for features and product areas, from initial discovery and ideation through to detailed wireframes, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity visual designs.

• Conduct and contribute to user research activities, including user interviews, usability testing, and heuristic evaluations, to deeply understand user pain points and validate design hypotheses.

• Translate complex user needs and business requirements into intuitive and effective user interfaces, ensuring alignment with Xelix's product vision and strategic objectives.

• Implement and champion the use of Xelix's established design system, ensuring consistency, scalability, and efficiency across all product touchpoints, while also contributing to its evolution.

• Collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, including Product Management, Engineering, and Customer Success, to ensure design solutions are technically feasible, meet business goals, and address user needs comprehensively.

• Advocate for user-centered design principles throughout the product development lifecycle, using data and user feedback to inform design decisions and drive product improvements.

• Partner with engineers during the implementation phase to ensure design fidelity is maintained and to troubleshoot any design-related challenges, ensuring a high-quality final product.

• Contribute to the documentation and maintenance of design standards, patterns, and guidelines within the design system to promote consistency and knowledge sharing across the design and product teams.

• Proactively identify opportunities for product improvement and innovation through design thinking and user advocacy.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strong emphasis on end-to-end design ownership and cross-functional collaboration, typical for a mid-level role in a scale-up. The mention of "AI solutions" and "Accounts Payable teams" suggests that understanding enterprise SaaS workflows, data management, and process automation will be key to designing effective solutions.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating practical application of design principles is paramount. A background in Design, HCI, Computer Science, or a related field is beneficial.

Experience: 2-4 years of professional experience in product design, with a proven track record of shipping user-centered and high-quality product work. Experience working within cross-functional teams on complex projects from inception to launch is essential. Exposure to or direct participation in user research and usability testing is required.

Required Skills:

• Design Execution: Proficiency in creating wireframes, user flows, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity visual designs.

• Design Tools: Expert-level proficiency with modern design and prototyping tools, with a strong emphasis on Figma.

• User-Centered Design: Deep understanding and application of user-centered design principles and methodologies.

• Design Systems: Experience working with and contributing to design systems, ensuring visual and interaction consistency.

• Responsive & Accessible Design: Solid understanding of responsive design principles and accessibility standards (WCAG).

• Collaboration: Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to articulate design rationale clearly to diverse stakeholders.

• Problem-Solving: Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with comfort in ambiguous situations and a proactive approach to finding solutions.

• Agility: Adaptability and eagerness to learn and grow within a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Preferred Skills:

• User Research: Experience planning and conducting user research, usability testing, and translating findings into actionable insights.

• Front-end Awareness: Familiarity with front-end technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) and an understanding of how designs translate into code.

• Finance/Accounting Domain: Curiosity and a foundational understanding of finance or accounting basics, particularly Accounts Payable processes.

• SaaS/Scale-up Experience: Prior experience working in fast-moving environments such as scale-ups, startups, or agencies.

• Broad Design Skills: Interest in developing skills across research, interaction design, and visual design.

• Tool Experimentation: Comfort in exploring and experimenting with new design tools and workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "2-4 years" experience requirement, combined with the expectation of shipping product work and contributing to research, positions this as a solid mid-level role. The "big plus points" strongly suggest that candidates with exposure to enterprise SaaS, finance, or fast-paced environments will have a distinct advantage.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A curated portfolio showcasing a minimum of 2-3 comprehensive product design case studies.

• Each case study should clearly articulate the problem statement, your role and responsibilities, the design process undertaken, key decisions made, and the final outcomes.

• Demonstrate end-to-end ownership across the design lifecycle, from initial user research and ideation to final UI implementation and post-launch iteration.

• Highlight your ability to translate user needs and business objectives into functional, user-friendly, and visually appealing designs.

Process Documentation:

• Case studies should detail the user research methodologies employed, such as user interviews, surveys, and usability testing, and how findings informed design decisions.

• Provide evidence of how you applied or contributed to a design system, illustrating consistency and scalability in your design solutions.

• Demonstrate your understanding of design for accessibility (WCAG guidelines) and responsive design principles.

• Include clear explanations of your collaboration process with product managers and engineers, highlighting how you navigated constraints and technical feedback.

• Quantify impact where possible; for example, improvements in user task completion rates, reduction in support queries, or positive feedback from user testing.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a mid-level Product Designer, a portfolio is crucial for demonstrating practical skills and process. The emphasis on end-to-end ownership, user research integration, design system application, and collaboration with engineering will be key evaluation criteria. Quantifiable results are always a bonus.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: £55,000 - £65,000 per annum, dependent on experience and qualifications.

Benefits:

• Competitive Salary: A market-aligned salary reflecting your experience and contribution.

• Annual Leave: 27 days of annual leave, plus an additional 3 days during the Christmas period, with an option to roll over 3 days.

• Hybrid Working: A flexible hybrid model with 1 day per week expected in the London office.

• Office Amenities: Access to a dog-friendly office space in Shoreditch, including an on-site gym.

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

• Family Support: Enhanced parental leave pay for eligible employees.

• Professional Development: An annual personal budget of £500 for learning and development, supporting your continuous growth.

• Sustainability Commitment: Employment with a company actively working towards ambitious carbon reduction goals and committed to being carbon-neutral.

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

Working Hours: Standard working hours are 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday through Friday, totaling 40 hours per week.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is competitive for a mid-level Product Designer in London. The benefits package is comprehensive, with a strong emphasis on work-life balance, health, and professional development, which are attractive to candidates in the tech and design fields. The hybrid policy with a specific office day is standard for this arrangement.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software / Technology, specifically focusing on AI-powered Financial Controls and Accounts Payable automation. Xelix operates within the FinTech and Enterprise SaaS space, providing solutions that streamline complex financial operations for large enterprises.

Company Size: Xelix is a fast-paced scale-up with over 100 employees, having successfully raised Series B funding. This indicates a growth-oriented environment with established processes but still retaining the agility and ownership culture of a smaller company.

Founded: While the founding date isn't explicitly stated, the Series B funding in June 2025 suggests a relatively established but rapidly growing company. This implies a culture that balances innovation with a need for scalable, robust solutions.

Team Structure:

• The Product Design team is likely integrated within broader Product and Engineering departments. As a mid-level designer, you would report to a Design Lead or Head of Product/Design.

• You will work closely with Product Managers who define the "what" and "why," and Engineers who build the "how."

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Decisions: Designs are expected to be informed by user research, usability testing, and product analytics, aligning with Xelix's focus on intelligent workflows.

• Agile Development: The fast-paced scale-up environment suggests an agile or iterative approach to product development, where design plays a key role in rapid prototyping and feedback loops.

• Design System Utilization: A strong emphasis on applying and contributing to a design system ensures efficiency, consistency, and scalability in product development.

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

Company Website: https://careers.xelix.com

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's positioning as a fast-paced scale-up with significant funding suggests an environment that offers rapid growth opportunities and the chance to contribute significantly to product evolution. The focus on AI and financial controls means that understanding business processes and complex data interactions is key, differentiating it from purely consumer-focused design roles.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as "Mid-level Product Designer," indicating an individual contributor role with a solid foundation in design craft and process. It requires the ability to take ownership of design tasks, work independently on defined features, and collaborate effectively within a team. The expectation is for the designer to grow into greater ownership and responsibility, potentially leading design for specific product areas over time.

Reporting Structure: The designer will likely report to a Design Lead, Head of Product, or a Senior Product Manager. They will work closely with Product Managers and Engineers, forming a core part of product development squads. The structure supports cross-functional collaboration and direct interaction with engineering on implementation details.

Operations Impact: While not a direct "operations" role in the RevOps or SalesOps sense, the Product Designer's work directly impacts the operational efficiency of Xelix's clients. By designing intuitive and automated workflows for Accounts Payable teams, this role contributes to streamlining critical business operations for Xelix's customers, thereby driving customer satisfaction, adoption, and retention – all key metrics for a SaaS company. The impact is measured through user adoption, efficiency gains for clients, and overall product success.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Specialization: Opportunity to deepen expertise in specific areas of product design, such as user research, interaction design, or visual design, by taking on more complex projects.

• Product Ownership: Potential to grow into owning the design for a significant product module or feature set, gaining deeper domain knowledge in FinTech and AI.

• Leadership Development: As the company scales, opportunities may arise to mentor junior designers, lead design initiatives, or contribute to shaping the design team's strategy and processes.

• Domain Expertise: Develop a strong understanding of financial controls, Accounts Payable, and AI-driven automation, becoming a valuable expert in a niche but critical industry.

• Cross-functional Leadership: Gain experience influencing product strategy and collaborating with senior stakeholders across Engineering, Product, and potentially executive leadership.

📝 Enhancement Note: The growth trajectory from Mid-level to potentially Senior or Lead Designer is clear. The company's focus on AI and FinTech also presents a unique growth path in terms of domain expertise, which is highly valuable in the enterprise SaaS market.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid working model with 1 designated day per week in the London office. The office is described as "dog-friendly." This suggests a modern, collaborative workspace designed to facilitate team interaction and focused work when in person.

Office Location(s): Shoreditch Exchange, London, E2 8JF. This is a well-connected and vibrant area in East London, known for its tech and creative scene.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hub: The office serves as a hub for in-person collaboration, team meetings, workshops, and fostering company culture on designated days.

• Tools & Technology: Access to standard office technology and likely a well-equipped design environment. The company's core business relies on advanced AI and software, implying a tech-forward environment.

• Team Interaction: The hybrid model encourages intentional in-person interaction, allowing for spontaneous brainstorming, team-building activities, and direct mentorship opportunities with colleagues present in the office.

Work Schedule: The standard working hours are 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday to Friday, totalling 40 hours per week. While hybrid, the expectation is for a structured work week, with flexibility potentially offered depending on team needs and project demands, balanced with the need for collaborative availability.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid setup with a specific office day is common and allows for both focused remote work and in-person collaboration. Shoreditch is a prime location for tech companies, suggesting a dynamic and connected work environment.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Introductory Call: A brief initial conversation with a Talent Partner to assess basic fit, discuss career aspirations, and provide an overview of the role and company culture.

• Preparation: Be ready to articulate your interest in Xelix, your design philosophy, and your career goals. Have a concise summary of your experience ready.

1. Hiring Manager Interview: A more in-depth discussion (30-45 mins) with the Hiring Manager (e.g., Design Lead or Head of Product) to explore your past work, design process, problem-solving skills, and cultural fit.

• Preparation: Prepare specific examples from your portfolio that demonstrate your problem-solving approach, collaboration skills, and how you handle design challenges. Understand Xelix's product and target audience.

1. Technical Task or Presentation: This stage involves a role-relevant exercise to assess your practical design skills and strategic thinking. It could be a design challenge, a portfolio presentation, or a case study deep-dive.

• Preparation: Focus on showcasing your process, not just the final output. Be prepared to walk through a selected case study from your portfolio, explaining your rationale, decision-making, and the impact of your design.

1. Final On-site Interview: An in-person meeting at the London office with senior leadership, potentially including co-founders. This is to assess overall fit, strategic alignment, and enthusiasm for Xelix's mission.

• Preparation: Research Xelix's mission, values, funding, and recent news. Prepare thoughtful questions about the company's long-term vision, product strategy, and company culture.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 of your strongest case studies that best represent your skills and experience relevant to this role (SaaS, enterprise, complex workflows).

• Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly outline the problem, your approach, your specific contributions, the challenges you faced, and the measurable outcomes.

• Highlight Process: Emphasize your design process, including user research, ideation, iteration, and collaboration. Show how you arrived at your solutions.

• Showcase Figma Proficiency: Ensure examples of wireframes, flows, prototypes, and final UI designs are well-presented.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, include metrics or qualitative feedback that demonstrate the success and impact of your designs.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Brief: If given a design challenge, thoroughly understand the problem statement, target users, and constraints.

• Time Management: Allocate your time effectively across research, ideation, design, and preparation for presentation.

• Articulate Rationale: Be prepared to explain every design decision clearly and concisely, linking it back to user needs or business goals.

• Focus on Process: Demonstrate a structured approach to problem-solving and design.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process includes a technical task/presentation, making portfolio preparation critical. The final on-site interview suggests a strong emphasis on cultural fit and alignment with senior leadership.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma is explicitly mentioned as a required tool. This will be the primary platform for wireframing, UI design, prototyping, and collaboration.

• Design Systems: Experience with or ability to contribute to a design system is crucial. This implies familiarity with component-based design and style guides.

• Collaboration Tools: Likely use of tools like Slack for daily communication and Microsoft Teams for meetings, as mentioned in the interview process. Project management tools like Jira or Asana may also be in use for tracking design tasks and sprints.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly listed as required for the designer, awareness of how product analytics tools (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics) are used to track user behavior and inform design decisions would be beneficial.

CRM & Automation:

• The company's core business is in automating financial controls, so familiarity with enterprise SaaS platforms, CRM systems (though not directly used by design), and workflow automation concepts is advantageous for understanding the user's context.

• Awareness of how integrations between different software systems function can also be helpful.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma proficiency is a non-negotiable requirement. The role necessitates an understanding of how design fits into a broader tech stack, including design systems, collaboration tools, and potentially analytics platforms, even if direct use isn't required.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Ownership & Impact: Employees are encouraged to take ownership of their work and strive to make a meaningful impact, reflecting a results-oriented culture.

• Speed & Agility: The "fast-paced scale-up" environment demands quick decision-making, adaptability, and the ability to move swiftly through development cycles.

• Personal & Professional Growth: Xelix prioritizes employee development, offering opportunities for learning and advancement.

• Fun & Celebration: The culture emphasizes enjoying the journey and celebrating milestones, indicating a positive and engaging work environment.

• User-Centricity: A strong commitment to understanding and serving user needs is fundamental to the product design process.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Designers work embedded within product squads, collaborating closely with Product Managers and Engineers. This fosters a shared understanding and collective responsibility for product outcomes.

• Open Communication: The emphasis on moving fast and having a meaningful impact suggests a culture where open communication and constructive feedback are encouraged.

• Knowledge Sharing: Contributing to the design system and participating in team critiques promotes a culture of shared learning and best practices.

• Stakeholder Alignment: Facilitating workshops and clearly communicating design rationale are key to ensuring alignment across diverse teams and stakeholders.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture appears to be a blend of high-performance expectations (speed, ownership, impact) with strong support for employee growth and well-being (personal growth, fun, celebration). This dynamic is common in successful scale-ups.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Speed and Quality: In a fast-paced scale-up, the challenge is to deliver high-quality, user-centered designs quickly without compromising on usability or accessibility.

• Complexity of Domain: Designing for financial controls and Accounts Payable involves complex data, intricate workflows, and regulatory considerations, requiring a steep learning curve for new designers.

• Evolving Product Landscape: As Xelix scales and innovates, the product will evolve, requiring designers to adapt to new features, user needs, and technological advancements.

• Cross-functional Alignment: Ensuring consistent understanding and buy-in on design decisions across diverse teams (Product, Engineering, Sales, etc.) can be challenging.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deepen FinTech/AI Expertise: Gain specialized knowledge in AI-driven automation for finance, a high-demand skill area.

• Expand Design Craft: Opportunity to hone skills in user research, interaction design, visual design, and potentially UX writing through diverse project work.

• Design System Contribution: Play a key role in evolving and maintaining a growing design system, contributing to its scalability and impact.

• Mentorship and Leadership: Learn from senior designers and leaders, with potential to mentor junior team members or lead design initiatives as the company grows.

• Industry Exposure: Access to a £500 annual budget for learning and development, which can be used for courses, conferences, or books relevant to design and FinTech.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "challenges" are framed as opportunities for growth, typical in a supportive scale-up environment. The FinTech and AI domain offers a unique specialization path.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Design Process & Rationale: "Walk me through a challenging project from your portfolio. What was the problem, what was your process, what were the key decisions you made, and what was the outcome? How did you incorporate user feedback?"

  • Preparation: Select a case study that showcases your problem-solving skills, user research integration, and your ability to articulate design decisions clearly. Be ready to defend your choices and discuss trade-offs.

• Collaboration & Stakeholder Management: "Describe a time you had to work with engineers or product managers who disagreed with your design direction. How did you navigate that situation and reach a resolution?"

  • Preparation: Prepare examples demonstrating strong communication, negotiation skills, and empathy for different perspectives. Focus on achieving alignment through data and shared goals.

• Design Systems & Scalability: "How have you used or contributed to a design system in previous roles? What are the benefits, and what are some challenges in maintaining one?"

  • Preparation: Be ready to discuss your understanding of design system principles, component libraries, and the importance of consistency for user experience and development efficiency.

Company & Culture Questions:

• Motivation & Fit: "Why Xelix? What interests you about our product and our mission in automating financial controls?"

  • Preparation: Research Xelix's AI solutions, target market (Accounts Payable, financial controls), and recent news. Connect your skills and career goals to the company's vision.

• Team Dynamics: "What's your preferred way of collaborating with engineers and product managers? How do you contribute to a positive team environment?"

  • Preparation: Highlight your ability to be a proactive and supportive team member, emphasizing clear communication and a collaborative spirit.

• Growth Mindset: "How do you stay current with design trends, and how do you approach learning new skills or technologies?"

  • Preparation: Discuss your learning habits, use of the L&D budget, and your enthusiasm for continuous improvement.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, follow a clear story arc: Problem -> Your Role -> Process -> Solution -> Outcome -> Learnings.

• Focus on "Why": Explain the rationale behind your design decisions. Why this layout? Why this interaction? Why this color?

• Showcase Your Tools: Demonstrate proficiency in Figma by showing diverse outputs (flows, wireframes, interactive prototypes, final UI).

• Quantify Impact: Present any metrics or qualitative feedback that highlight the success of your designs. If direct metrics are unavailable, discuss user feedback or anticipated benefits.

• Be Prepared for Questions: Anticipate questions about your design choices, challenges, and alternative approaches.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes practical skills and cultural fit. A well-prepared portfolio presentation that clearly articulates process and rationale will be key to success. Understanding Xelix's specific domain (FinTech/AI for AP) is crucial for demonstrating genuine interest and strategic thinking.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Mid-level Product Designer position at Xelix:

• Submit your application through the careers portal link provided: https://careers.xelix.com/jobs/7704027-mid-level-product-designer

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight 2-3 relevant case studies that showcase your end-to-end design process, problem-solving skills, and impact, particularly if they relate to complex SaaS products or workflow automation.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly outlines your 2-4 years of product design experience, proficiency in Figma, and any experience with user research, design systems, or working in agile, cross-functional teams. Use keywords from the job description.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, rationale, and collaboration experiences. Prepare specific examples for behavioral questions and be ready to walk through your portfolio with confidence.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Xelix's product, mission, company culture, and recent funding news. Understand their focus on AI for financial controls and Accounts Payable automation to tailor your responses and questions.

⚠️ 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.