Principal Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Principal Product Designer

Company: Epicor Software Corporation

Location: Hyderabad, India / Bengaluru, India

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / UX/UI

Date Posted: 2026-06-14

Experience Level: 10+ Years (Principal/Senior Level)

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the strategic design vision and interaction architecture for a significant product area within Epicor's enterprise SaaS portfolio, ensuring coherence and impact across features and releases.

• Drive end-to-end design processes, from problem framing and stakeholder alignment to solution design and post-launch impact measurement for complex B2B SaaS products.

• Act as a strategic partner to Product and Engineering leadership, influencing roadmap decisions, investment priorities, and architectural trade-offs with a strong design point of view.

• Mentor and elevate senior and mid-level designers, shaping their problem-solving approaches and fostering a culture of high-quality craft and systems thinking within the design team.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a Principal Product Designer, indicating a senior leadership capacity focused on strategic design direction, mentorship, and significant influence over product strategy and execution. The emphasis on "AI fluency," "AI-native products," and "agent-based systems" suggests a forward-thinking approach to product development, requiring designers to not only use AI tools but also understand and design for AI-driven product architectures. The career level implies a need for demonstrated impact in complex enterprise environments.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Define and own the design vision, interaction architecture, and design patterns for a designated product area, ensuring consistency and scalability across the user experience.

• Lead the complete design lifecycle for complex, ambiguous product challenges, from initial problem definition and user research to detailed interaction design, prototyping, and post-launch performance analysis.

• Collaborate closely with Product Management and Engineering leadership to influence product strategy, roadmap prioritization, and technical decisions, acting as a design advocate.

• Drive design quality and consistency across the product area through rigorous design critiques, reviews, and direct contributions, maintaining and elevating established design standards.

• Foster cross-team design collaboration, ensuring seamless integration of product area patterns with the global design system and adjacent product surfaces.

• Mentor and coach senior and mid-level designers, guiding their strategic thinking, problem-solving methodologies, and execution excellence.

• Translate business objectives and strategic goals into actionable design direction, advocating for design-informed decision-making at the organizational level.

• Contribute to the evolution of Epicor's design system, focusing on aspects like token architecture, governance, and scalability across different frameworks.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic leadership, hands-on design execution, and team mentorship. The emphasis on "ambiguous problem spaces," "cross-functional challenges," and "second-order effects" points to a need for a designer who can navigate complexity and think holistically about product impact. The expectation to "partner with Product and Engineering leadership as a strategic equal" underscores the senior nature of this role.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, HCI, Computer Science, or a related field is typically expected for a Principal-level role, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience: 8+ years of progressive product design experience, with a significant portion focused on enterprise or B2B SaaS environments, demonstrating a proven track record of shipping impactful products.

Required Skills:

• Product Design Leadership: Proven ability to own and define the design vision and direction for a product area, making strategic trade-offs and aligning stakeholders.

• Complex Interaction Design: Mastery in designing intricate workflows, data-dense operational interfaces, role-based user experiences, and cross-product patterns for enterprise applications.

• Design Systems Fluency: Deep understanding of design system principles, including token architecture, governance, component scalability, and cross-framework application.

• Figma Proficiency: Strong command of Figma for complex design, prototyping, and collaboration.

• AI Product Design Acumen: Ability to design for AI-native products and AI-driven systems, understanding AI architecture, agents, protocols, and context-aware systems beyond just using AI tools.

• Strategic Communication: Exceptional ability to influence cross-functional teams, present to senior leadership, and articulate design rationale effectively under scrutiny.

• Team Elevation: Demonstrated experience in mentoring designers, setting quality standards, and leading by example to elevate team capabilities.

• Problem Framing: Skill in identifying, framing, and solving complex, ambiguous product challenges with strategic foresight.

Preferred Skills:

• Vibe Coding/Agent-Assisted Development: Hands-on experience in building functional prototypes using advanced AI-assisted development techniques.

• Deep AI Infrastructure Understanding: Knowledge of AI infrastructure concepts like MCP, agent orchestration, tool-use patterns, and context management for designing AI agent experiences.

• Philosophical Perspective on AI & Design: A well-developed viewpoint on how AI impacts the design discipline, craft, and originality, and how human judgment remains critical.

• Experimental & Pragmatic Approach: A disposition towards rapid iteration, learning from failure, and shipping to learn.

• Domain Expertise: Experience designing for industries such as manufacturing, distribution, supply chain, or retail operations.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "8+ years" requirement, coupled with the "Principal" title, suggests that candidates should ideally have 10+ years of experience, with the last few years in senior or lead roles. The emphasis on AI fluency is critical and goes beyond surface-level tool usage, requiring a deeper understanding of AI's architectural implications in product design. The "What Could Set You Apart" section highlights advanced AI and philosophical understanding as key differentiators for this Principal-level role.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Strategic Impact: Showcase case studies demonstrating ownership of design vision for a product area, including problem framing, strategic trade-offs, and alignment with business goals.

• End-to-End Design: Present projects that illustrate leading complex, ambiguous design challenges from inception through to shipped outcomes, detailing your process and impact.

• Enterprise/B2B SaaS Focus: Highlight experience with complex interaction design, data-dense interfaces, and systems of workflows relevant to enterprise or B2B SaaS products.

• AI-Native Design: Include examples of designing for AI-driven features, AI agents, or AI-native product experiences, demonstrating your understanding of AI's role in user interaction.

• Design System Contribution: Provide evidence of working with or contributing to design systems, ideally with insights into token architecture or governance.

• Shipped Impact & Metrics: Quantify the impact of your design work using relevant metrics (e.g., efficiency gains, user satisfaction, adoption rates, ROI).

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design & Optimization: Detail how you've designed and optimized complex workflows, operational interfaces, and user journeys within enterprise systems.

• AI Integration & Design: Explain your process for integrating AI capabilities into product design, including how you approach designing for AI agents and context-aware systems.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Document your methods for partnering with Product Management and Engineering, including influencing roadmaps and driving consensus on design direction.

• Mentorship & Quality Standards: Illustrate how you've mentored designers and upheld design quality standards within a team.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Principal-level role, especially one focused on AI and enterprise SaaS, the portfolio is crucial. It needs to go beyond visual design to demonstrate strategic thinking, leadership, complex problem-solving, and a deep understanding of AI's implications in product. Case studies should clearly articulate the "why" and the "impact," not just the "what."

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for Principal Product Designers with 8-10+ years of experience in enterprise SaaS, particularly in major Indian tech hubs like Hyderabad and Bengaluru, the estimated annual salary range would be ₹25,00,000 to ₹45,00,000 (approximately $30,000 - $54,000 USD, subject to exchange rates). This range can vary based on the candidate's specific experience, AI expertise, and negotiation.

Benefits:

• Health and Wellness: Comprehensive health and wellness benefits, designed to support overall well-being.

• Internal Mobility: Opportunities for mentorship, continuing education, and focused career goal setting, with a significant percentage of positions filled internally.

• Career Development: Free LinkedIn Learning licenses for all employees, complemented by a dedicated Mentoring Program.

• Education Support: Geographically specific programs to assist with the costs of continued learning and personal development.

• Inclusive Workplace: Collaboration within a diverse, global team that fosters innovation and celebrates partnership.

• Work-Life Balance: Policies built on mutual trust and support, encouraging time off for rest and rejuvenation.

• Global Mobility: Comprehensive support for international relocations and permanent residency processes.

Working Hours: Standard full-time working hours are expected, likely around 40 hours per week, with flexibility offered to accommodate hybrid work arrangements and project demands.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary is estimated based on market data for Principal Product Designers in India, considering the specified experience level and the specialized domain of AI product design. The provided benefits are extensive and align with what is typical for senior roles in large tech corporations.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, with a focus on manufacturing, distribution, supply chain, and retail operations. Epicor powers essential industries that are critical to the global economy.

Company Size: Approximately 5,000+ employees globally. This size indicates a well-established organization with structured processes but also potential for cross-functional collaboration and impact.

Founded: Founded in 1972, Epicor has a long history in the ERP software market, indicating stability and deep domain expertise.

Team Structure:

• The design team likely operates within a larger Product organization, potentially structured by product lines or strategic initiatives.

• This Principal role will report into a Design Director or VP of Design, with direct influence over a specific product area's design team.

• Close collaboration is expected with Product Managers, Engineering Leads, AI/ML specialists, and potentially UX Researchers. Methodology:

• Epicor is accelerating investments in AI, platform modernization, and cross-product unification, indicating a move towards more integrated and intelligent software solutions.

• The company emphasizes a data-driven and AI-centric approach to product development.

• Design processes are expected to be agile and iterative, with a focus on delivering value in complex operational environments.

Company Website: https://www.epicor.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: Epicor's focus on "essential industries" and its investment in AI and platform modernization suggest a dynamic, albeit established, company. The culture likely values pragmatism, deep domain knowledge, and a forward-thinking approach to technology. The size of the company offers opportunities for broad influence and career growth.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is at the "Principal" level, signifying a senior individual contributor with significant influence and leadership responsibilities. It's a position of strategic importance, often seen as a stepping stone to design management or principal architect roles.

Reporting Structure: The Principal Product Designer will likely report to a Director of Design, VP of Design, or Head of Product Design. They will work closely with Product Management and Engineering leadership, acting as a peer to influence strategic decisions.

Operations Impact: This role is central to shaping the user experience and interaction architecture of Epicor's core products. The Principal Designer's work will directly impact the efficiency, usability, and adoption of software used by businesses in critical operational sectors, thereby influencing revenue and customer satisfaction. The focus on AI and platform modernization means this role is key to Epicor's future product strategy and market positioning.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Potential to move into management roles (e.g., Design Manager, Director of Design) or further specialized principal tracks (e.g., Principal Architect).

• AI Specialization: Deepen expertise in AI-native product design, becoming a recognized leader in this emerging field within the enterprise SaaS space.

• Domain Expertise: Develop profound knowledge in manufacturing, supply chain, or retail operations, becoming a go-to expert for designing solutions in these complex domains.

• Cross-Functional Influence: Expand influence across product lines and contribute to broader company-wide strategic initiatives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The Principal title implies a high degree of autonomy and strategic input. Growth opportunities are geared towards deepening expertise in specialized areas like AI and enterprise domains, or moving into formal leadership positions. The role is positioned to have a significant impact on Epicor's product direction and competitive advantage.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The job is listed as "TELECOMMUTE" with "locations_derived" including Hyderabad and Bengaluru, India, and "remote_derived": false. This strongly suggests a Hybrid work arrangement where employees are expected to work from an Epicor office in India (Hyderabad or Bengaluru) for a portion of the week, with flexibility for remote work on other days.

Office Location(s): Epicor has a presence in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, India. Specific office addresses are not provided but are implied to be the designated work locations for hybrid employees.

Workspace Context:

• Employees will have access to office facilities, including collaborative spaces, meeting rooms, and potentially dedicated design labs.

• The work environment will likely involve a mix of focused individual work (at home or in the office) and collaborative sessions with cross-functional teams.

• Access to standard office technology and potentially specialized hardware for prototyping or AI development will be available.

Work Schedule: Standard full-time business hours (approx. 40 hours/week) are expected, with flexibility inherent in the hybrid model. Collaboration with global teams might require occasional adjustments to working hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "TELECOMMUTE" designation with "remote_derived": false is a common way for job boards to indicate hybrid roles where employees must be based in or near a specified office location. This Principal role would benefit from in-office collaboration for strategic discussions and team mentorship.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will review applications and portfolios to assess qualifications against the role requirements.

• Design Challenge/Portfolio Review: Candidates will likely present their portfolio, discussing key projects in detail, focusing on strategic thinking, problem-solving, impact, and AI design considerations. A specific design challenge or case study presentation might be part of this stage.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Interviews with Product Management and Engineering leadership to assess strategic alignment, collaboration skills, and technical understanding.

• Mentorship/Leadership Discussion: Interviews with senior design leadership to evaluate mentorship capabilities, leadership potential, and alignment with Epicor's design culture.

• Final Round: Potentially a final interview with a senior executive or VP.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-5 of your most impactful projects that best demonstrate your ability to lead design for complex enterprise SaaS products, especially those involving AI or intricate workflows.

• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the user needs, the design process (including strategic decisions and trade-offs), the solutions, and the measurable impact.

• Highlight AI Expertise: Specifically showcase projects where you've designed for AI-native features, AI agents, or leveraged AI in your design process. Explain your understanding of AI architecture and its implications.

• Demonstrate Systems Thinking: Show how you approach design at a system level, including your experience with design systems, token architecture, and ensuring consistency across product areas.

• Quantify Impact: Use data and metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs. Focus on business outcomes, user efficiency, and adoption rates.

• Prepare for Questions: Be ready to discuss your design philosophy, mentorship approach, and how you handle challenging stakeholder situations.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Familiarize yourself with Epicor's core industries (manufacturing, distribution, supply chain, retail operations) and common challenges within these sectors.

• AI & Agent Design: Prepare to discuss how you would approach designing user experiences for AI-powered enterprise tools or systems where AI agents act on behalf of users. Consider trust, control, transparency, and error handling.

• Strategic Role-Play: Be ready to articulate how you would influence product roadmaps, collaborate with engineering, and mentor other designers.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process for a Principal role will be rigorous, focusing heavily on strategic thinking, leadership, and deep domain/technical understanding (especially AI). The portfolio is the primary tool for demonstrating these capabilities.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (primary, with deep fluency expected), potentially Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite.

• AI-Assisted Design Tools: Candidates with experience in "vibe coding" or AI tools for prototyping and development will stand out. This could include AI code assistants, generative design tools, or platforms for agent development.

• Design System Management: Tools for managing component libraries, style guides, and design tokens.

Analytics & Reporting:

• User Analytics: Tools like Google Analytics, Amplitude, Mixpanel, or internal BI tools for tracking user behavior and product adoption.

• Performance Dashboards: Experience with tools like Tableau, Power BI, or Looker for visualizing key product and design metrics.

CRM & Automation:

• While not a direct requirement for design, understanding the CRM landscape (e.g., Salesforce) and common enterprise automation tools can be beneficial for context in B2B SaaS.

• Integration Tools: Awareness of how different systems connect and data flows, which is crucial for enterprise software design.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma is explicitly mentioned as a required skill. The strong emphasis on AI suggests a need for designers who are not only proficient with design tools but also exploring and integrating cutting-edge AI development and prototyping tools into their workflow.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Proactive, Proud, Partners: Epicor emphasizes these core values. A Principal Product Designer should embody proactivity in identifying design opportunities, pride in craft and impact, and a partnership mentality with cross-functional teams and customers.

• Data-Driven & AI-Centric: A strong reliance on data and AI to inform design decisions and product strategy.

• Efficiency & Optimization: Given the focus on manufacturing, distribution, and supply chain, there's an inherent value placed on efficiency, process optimization, and operational excellence.

• Innovation & Future-Ready: A commitment to investing in new technologies like AI and modernizing platforms to stay ahead.

• Craftsmanship: High regard for quality of execution, attention to detail, and strategic thinking in design.

Collaboration Style:

• Strategic Partnership: Working as an equal with Product and Engineering leadership, fostering open communication and shared decision-making.

• Mentorship & Development: A culture that values teaching, learning, and elevating the skills of team members.

• Cross-Functional Integration: Seamless collaboration across design, product, engineering, and potentially marketing or sales teams.

• Feedback Culture: Openness to constructive critique and iterative improvement based on feedback from peers, stakeholders, and users.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Proactive, Proud, Partners" slogan should be a guiding principle for how candidates approach their work and interactions. The emphasis on AI and operational industries suggests a culture that values pragmatism, deep problem-solving, and delivering tangible business value.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Complexity: Designing for intricate, data-intensive enterprise workflows and diverse user roles within critical operational industries.

• AI Integration Strategy: Defining and executing a vision for AI-native products, balancing user needs with technological capabilities and ethical considerations.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Gaining buy-in and aligning diverse stakeholders (Product, Engineering, Sales, Executive) on strategic design directions.

• Design System Evolution: Scaling and governing a comprehensive design system across a broad product portfolio, especially with the introduction of AI-native patterns.

• Mentoring Senior Designers: Effectively guiding and developing experienced designers who may have different approaches or specializations.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI Product Design Mastery: Deepen expertise in designing for AI agents, generative AI applications, and AI-driven workflows through practical application and potentially specialized training.

• Industry Domain Expertise: Gain in-depth knowledge of manufacturing, supply chain, and retail operations to inform more effective and impactful design solutions.

• Strategic Leadership Skills: Develop advanced skills in influencing roadmaps, managing design investments, and contributing to broader organizational strategy.

• Platform Modernization: Contribute to and learn from Epicor's initiatives in platform modernization and cross-product unification.

• Mentorship & Coaching: Grow leadership capabilities by mentoring senior and mid-level designers, fostering a high-performing design team.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents significant intellectual challenges related to AI and complex enterprise systems, offering substantial growth opportunities for designers looking to specialize and lead in these areas.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you owned the design vision for a complex product area. How did you set direction, make trade-offs, and align stakeholders?" (Focus on strategic foresight, problem framing, and influence).

• "How would you approach designing an AI-native feature that requires an AI agent to act on behalf of a user in a manufacturing environment? What are the key considerations for trust, control, and error handling?" (Test AI design thinking and domain awareness).

• "How do you balance the needs of a global design system with the specific requirements of individual product areas, especially when introducing new patterns like AI agents?" (Assesses systems thinking and governance understanding).

• "Walk us through a challenging product problem you solved. What was your process, what were the second-order effects you considered, and what was the measurable impact?" (Evaluates problem-solving, strategic thinking, and impact measurement). Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Epicor's mission and its focus on essential industries like manufacturing and supply chain?" (Assess alignment with company mission and domain interest).

• "How do you see AI fundamentally changing the role of product design, and how would you lead a team through that evolution?" (Gauge philosophical perspective on AI and leadership approach).

• "Describe your approach to mentoring senior designers and elevating the overall craft and quality of a design team." (Focus on leadership and team development). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Thematic Curation: Select projects that clearly demonstrate your ability to lead strategic design for complex enterprise SaaS, specifically highlighting AI integration, systems thinking, and measurable impact.

• Narrative Arc: For each case study, structure your presentation with a clear beginning (problem/opportunity), middle (your strategic approach, process, and design solutions), and end (impact, learnings, and future considerations).

• Deep Dive on AI: Be prepared to go into significant detail on any AI-related design work, explaining your rationale for system architecture, agent behavior, and user interaction patterns.

• Quantify Everything: Use data and metrics to support claims of success, efficiency gains, or user satisfaction improvements.

• Engage and Discuss: Treat the portfolio review as a collaborative discussion, inviting questions and showing your ability to articulate your design rationale under scrutiny.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interviewers will be looking for a candidate who can operate at a strategic level, mentor others, and navigate the complexities of enterprise AI product design. The portfolio presentation is a critical opportunity to showcase this.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Principal Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the Epicor Software Corporation careers portal via the provided URL.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your resume and portfolio to highlight your 8+ years of experience in enterprise/B2B SaaS product design, with specific emphasis on complex interaction architecture, AI-native product design, and design systems.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your leadership experience, mentorship capabilities, and quantifiable impact on shipped products. Use keywords like "Product Design," "Interaction Architecture," "Enterprise UX," "B2B SaaS," "Figma," "Design Systems," and "AI Product Design."

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, strategic thinking, and problem-solving methodologies. Prepare specific examples that demonstrate your ability to influence stakeholders and mentor designers.

• Company Research: Understand Epicor's core business, its target industries (manufacturing, distribution, supply chain, retail), and its strategic direction regarding AI and platform modernization. Be ready to discuss how your skills align with these priorities.

⚠️ 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.