Principal Product Designer - ZEOS (all genders)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Principal Product Designer - ZEOS (all genders)

Company: Zalando

Location: Berlin, Germany

Job Type: Full time

Category: Product Design / UX/UI Design / B2B Product Design

Date Posted: 2026-08-12

Experience Level: Principal / Senior

Remote Status: Hybrid (up to 60% remote)

🚀 Role Summary

• Define and drive the Customer Experience (CX) vision for B2B logistics services within the ZEOS department, focusing on a 3-year strategic horizon.

• Lead strategic, cross-product initiatives, fostering systems thinking and building connections between diverse teams and topics to inspire a shared direction.

• Spearhead design operations (Design Ops) initiatives to improve team health, enhance ways of working, and build knowledge-sharing channels across the design community.

• Mentor fellow designers, role-model user-centered design practices, and contribute to raising the bar for design quality and evaluation methods within Zalando's Product Design community.

• Oversee the end-to-end iterative design process for complex B2B experiences, ensuring high-quality deliverables and impactful solutions for merchants and their end customers.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a Principal Product Designer, indicating a senior leadership and strategic influence component beyond typical senior designer responsibilities. The focus on B2B logistics within ZEOS (Zalando Logistics department) suggests a need for expertise in complex operational workflows and partner-facing digital solutions. The emphasis on "systems thinking" and a "3-year horizon" points towards a strategic, long-term vision setter.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Develop and articulate the overarching CX vision for Zalando's B2B logistics service offerings, aligning with the ZEOS mission to empower fashion and lifestyle brands.

• Plan and execute user research (quantitative and qualitative) in collaboration with researchers and product managers to assess new problem spaces and validate design solutions.

• Translate merchant and customer insights into strategic design projects, identifying and prioritizing opportunities for value delivery through user experience enhancements.

• Define, activate, and champion design principles to ensure consistency and high quality across all ZEOS product experiences.

• Solve complex design challenges by leveraging technological innovations and setting standards for solution designs and customer journeys.

• Scope, define, and oversee the delivery of design artifacts, ensuring product development teams are well-equipped and that launched products meet a high-quality bar.

• Lead and mentor junior and mid-level designers, providing constructive feedback and fostering their growth in user-centered design practices.

• Drive key design operations initiatives focused on improving team efficiency, collaboration, and knowledge sharing within the ZEOS design team and the broader Zalando design community.

• Contribute to the Zalando Product Design community through thought leadership, teaching, writing, and active participation in design reviews.

• Produce high-quality design work, regardless of task complexity, demonstrating mastery of the end-to-end design process.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic leadership, hands-on design execution, and team development, characteristic of a Principal-level role. The focus on B2B, logistics, and partner-facing solutions requires a deep understanding of business objectives and operational workflows.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While not explicitly stated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, HCI, or a related field is typically expected for Principal-level roles. Equivalent practical experience will also be considered.

Experience: Significant product design experience (likely 7-10+ years) leading strategic, cross-product initiatives with a proven track record of raising design quality and delivering robust, scalable B2B experiences.

Required Skills:

• Strategic Visioning & Systems Thinking: Ability to define long-term CX visions (3-year horizon) and connect disparate teams and topics within a complex B2B ecosystem.

• End-to-End Design Process Mastery: Proficiency in research, design thinking, user stories, journey mapping, wire-framing, prototyping, design systems, user testing, and high-fidelity visuals.

• B2B Experience Design: Proven track record of designing and delivering scalable B2B solutions, understanding complex operational workflows and partner needs.

• Leadership & Mentoring: Ability to guide collaborators through uncertainty, influence executive stakeholders, and mentor fellow designers.

• Collaboration & Stakeholder Management: Skill in building connections across products and organizations, aligning diverse teams, and communicating effectively with executive-level stakeholders.

• Analytical & Insight-Driven Design: Strong ability to interpret quantitative and qualitative data to inform creative decisions and drive strategic projects.

• Proficiency in Design Tools: Mastery of industry-standard design and collaboration tools, with a mandatory requirement for Figma.

• Human-Centered Design: Deep commitment to placing users at the center of the design process to solve real human needs.

• Delivery & Quality Assurance: Experience overseeing design quality at scale across multiple workstreams and ensuring high standards for product development teams.

• Storytelling: Compelling communication of design vision and decisions to diverse audiences, articulating the "why" behind choices.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience working with prompting tools (e.g., Loveable, Claude) as part of the design process.

• Experience in e-commerce, fashion, or logistics industries.

• Contributions to the broader design community (writing, speaking, teaching).

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirements emphasize seniority, strategic thinking, and leadership, differentiating this from a standard Senior Product Designer role. The explicit mention of Figma and prompting tools indicates a modern, tech-forward design environment.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Strategic Impact: Showcase a minimum of 2-3 complex B2B projects that demonstrate strategic vision, systems thinking, and long-term impact.

• Process Documentation: Clearly articulate your role, the problem space, your design process, and the rationale behind key decisions for each project.

• User-Centered Approach: Provide evidence of user research, validation, and how user insights directly influenced design outcomes.

• Problem Framing: Demonstrate your ability to navigate ambiguous problem spaces, assess worthiness of solving, and identify opportunities for value delivery.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Illustrate how you partnered with product managers, engineers, researchers, and stakeholders to deliver solutions.

• Metrics & Outcomes: Quantify the impact of your designs where possible, using metrics related to user satisfaction, efficiency, business value, or adoption.

• Design Systems & Scalability: Showcase examples of how you've contributed to or leveraged design systems to ensure consistency and scalability.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design & Optimization: Present case studies detailing how you've mapped, analyzed, and optimized complex workflows, particularly in a B2B or operational context.

• Iterative Validation: Detail your approach to iterative design, including how you used research and testing to refine solutions throughout the development lifecycle.

• Design Ops Initiatives: If applicable, include examples of initiatives you've led to improve team processes, knowledge sharing, or design quality standards.

• Cross-Team Alignment: Document instances where you've aligned diverse teams around a shared design direction or vision.

📝 Enhancement Note: A Principal Product Designer's portfolio should emphasize strategic impact, leadership, and the ability to navigate complex, often undefined, B2B problem spaces. The focus should be on demonstrating influence, process innovation, and tangible business outcomes, not just polished UI.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: For a Principal Product Designer in Berlin, Germany, with the described experience level and responsibilities, an estimated annual salary range would be €90,000 - €130,000 gross. This estimate is based on industry benchmarks for senior/principal design roles in major European tech hubs, considering Zalando's scale and the specialized nature of B2B logistics design.

Benefits:

• Generous Holiday Allowance: 27 days of holiday annually, increasing with tenure up to 30 days.

• Paid Volunteering: 2 paid days per year to contribute to community initiatives.

• Hybrid Work Model: Flexibility to work up to 60% remotely per week, with team-defined collaboration practices.

• International Work: Option to work from abroad for up to 30 working days annually.

• Equity: Employee shares program for potential long-term financial growth.

• Discounts: Significant employee discounts on fashion, beauty, and Lounge by Zalando products, plus external partner offers.

• Relocation Assistance: Support available for candidates relocating to Berlin (subject to agreement).

• Family Support: Access to family services, including counseling and support resources.

• Health & Wellbeing: Comprehensive options including Wellhub (formerly Gympass) and mental health support/coaching.

• Professional Development: Access to a dedicated training platform and biannual peer-to-peer reviews for continuous learning and growth.

Working Hours: Standard full-time hours (estimated 40 hours/week), with a hybrid work model offering flexibility.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary is an estimate based on Berlin market rates for principal-level design roles in large tech companies. Benefits are extensive and reflect Zalando's commitment to employee well-being and professional growth.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: E-commerce, Fashion & Lifestyle Technology, Logistics Technology. Zalando operates as a leading pan-European ecosystem for fashion and lifestyle, with ZEOS focusing specifically on B2B logistics solutions for partners. This industry context implies a fast-paced, data-driven, and customer-centric environment, with a strong emphasis on technological innovation and operational efficiency.

Company Size: Zalando is a large, established tech company (likely 10,000+ employees globally). This size suggests structured processes, dedicated specialized teams (like Design Ops), and ample opportunities for cross-functional collaboration and career development.

Founded: Zalando was founded in 2008. This history indicates a mature company with established operations and a proven track record in the e-commerce space, now expanding into sophisticated B2B logistics services.

Team Structure:

• ZEOS Logistics Department: This is a specialized division focused on partner-facing logistics solutions. The design team within ZEOS likely comprises Product Designers, UX Researchers, and potentially UX Writers, working closely with Product Managers, Engineers, and business stakeholders.

• Reporting Structure: A Principal Product Designer would likely report to a Head of Design, Design Lead, or Director of Product. They would also have significant influence across product teams and collaborate closely with senior leadership.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Expect extensive collaboration with Product Management, Engineering, Data Science, Business Development, and Partner Success teams within ZEOS and potentially broader Zalando logistics operations.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Zalando heavily relies on data analytics to inform product decisions, optimize processes, and measure impact.

• Agile Development: Likely employs agile methodologies for product development, requiring designers to be adaptable and iterative.

• User-Centricity: A strong commitment to understanding and serving the needs of both end consumers and B2B partners.

• Design Systems: Utilizes and contributes to robust design systems to ensure consistency and efficiency across its digital products.

Company Website: https://www.zalando.com/, https://www.zeos.eu/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company context suggests a large, innovative tech environment with a strong focus on e-commerce and logistics. The ZEOS department represents a strategic growth area for Zalando, offering unique challenges in B2B product design.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Principal-level Product Designer role, signifying a senior individual contributor with significant strategic influence, leadership capabilities, and subject matter expertise. It's a position that requires not only exceptional design craft but also the ability to shape product strategy, mentor teams, and drive organizational change within the design function.

Reporting Structure: The Principal Designer will likely report to a Design Lead or Head of Design within ZEOS and will work closely with Product Managers and Engineering Leads. They are expected to influence direction and mentor other designers, indicating a leadership role without direct people management responsibilities for all team members.

Operations Impact: The role has a direct impact on the success of Zalando's B2B logistics services (ZEOS). By defining and delivering exceptional customer experiences for merchants and their end customers, this role contributes significantly to partner acquisition, retention, profitability, and the overall growth of Zalando's logistics ecosystem. The strategic vision component means impacting the long-term direction and competitive positioning of ZEOS.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership Advancement: Potential to move into formal management roles (e.g., Design Manager, Head of Design) or further specialize as a Principal/Staff Designer with broader organizational impact.

• Strategic Product Influence: Opportunity to shape the product roadmap and strategic direction of a key business unit (ZEOS) within a major e-commerce player.

• Cross-functional Expertise: Deepen understanding of logistics, e-commerce operations, and B2B SaaS product development.

• Mentorship & Community Building: Develop leadership skills through mentoring and actively contribute to and influence the broader Zalando design community.

• Skill Specialization: Opportunity to become a recognized expert in B2B CX design, systems thinking, or design operations within the company.

📝 Enhancement Note: The Principal level signifies a career pinnacle for individual contributors, offering substantial strategic impact and leadership opportunities within a large, dynamic organization.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Zalando operates with a hybrid working model. This means the primary work environment is a modern office space in Berlin, designed to foster collaboration, innovation, and team cohesion, supplemented by remote work flexibility.

Office Location(s): The role is based in Berlin, Germany. Zalando has multiple office locations within Berlin, often featuring open-plan workspaces, meeting rooms, collaboration hubs, and amenities to support employee well-being. Specific office details would be provided upon joining.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: Offices are equipped with areas conducive to brainstorming, workshops, and team discussions, essential for a design team.

• Technology & Tools: Access to high-speed internet, modern IT equipment, and the latest design and collaboration software (e.g., Figma, Miro).

• Team Interaction: Regular opportunities for in-person interaction with design colleagues, product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders, fostering strong working relationships and spontaneous knowledge sharing.

Work Schedule: The role is full-time, with an estimated 40-hour work week. The hybrid model allows for flexibility in structuring the work week, balancing in-office collaboration days with remote focus time. This structure supports deep work on design tasks while maintaining team connection.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model is a key feature, indicating a balance between the benefits of in-office collaboration and the flexibility of remote work, common in modern tech companies.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will review your application and portfolio. Be prepared to discuss your most impactful B2B projects and strategic contributions.

• Hiring Manager Interview: Deeper dive into your experience, leadership style, strategic thinking, and fit with the ZEOS team. Expect questions about how you've handled ambiguity and driven change.

• Design Challenge / Portfolio Presentation: You will likely be asked to present a case study from your portfolio, detailing a complex B2B project. This will involve explaining your process, decisions, challenges, and outcomes. Some roles may include a take-home design challenge or a live design exercise.

• Team/Peer Interviews: Meet with other designers and potentially cross-functional team members (Product Managers, Engineers) to assess collaboration skills and cultural fit.

• Final Interview: Often with a senior leader (e.g., Head of Design, VP) to discuss vision, strategic alignment, and overall suitability for a Principal role.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Prioritize Strategic Impact: Showcase 2-3 of your most significant B2B projects that demonstrate leadership, systems thinking, and significant business value.

• Tell a Compelling Story: Structure each case study with a clear narrative: problem, your role, process, challenges, solutions, and measurable outcomes. Emphasize the "why" behind your decisions.

• Highlight B2B Nuances: Clearly articulate how your approach differs for B2B products compared to B2C, focusing on operational efficiency, partner value, and complex stakeholder needs.

• Demonstrate Leadership & Mentorship: Include examples of how you've influenced product direction, mentored junior designers, or driven design operations improvements.

• Quantify Results: Use data and metrics whenever possible to demonstrate the impact of your work. If direct metrics are unavailable, use proxies or articulate the intended business impact.

• Showcase Figma Mastery: Ensure your portfolio reflects high-level Figma skills, including complex component usage, prototyping, and collaboration features.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the ZEOS Context: Research Zalando's logistics services, ZEOS's mission, and the B2B e-commerce landscape. Consider potential user needs and pain points for merchants.

• Practice Articulating Strategy: Be ready to discuss how you would approach defining a CX vision for a new B2B service or improving an existing one.

• Prepare for Ambiguity: Anticipate questions about how you handle undefined problems and guide teams through uncertainty.

• Focus on Process: Be prepared to walk through your design process in detail, justifying each step and decision with user insights or strategic goals.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process for a Principal role is rigorous, focusing heavily on strategic thinking, leadership, and the ability to drive impact in a complex B2B environment. A well-curated portfolio is critical.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Mandatory for UI design, prototyping, and collaboration. Expect advanced usage for component libraries, design systems, and complex workflows.

• Prototyping Tools: Beyond Figma, familiarity with tools like InVision, Principle, or similar for advanced interactive prototypes may be beneficial.

• User Research Platforms: Tools for conducting surveys, interviews, usability testing (e.g., UserTesting.com, Maze, Lookback, Qualtrics).

• Collaboration Tools: Miro, Mural, Confluence, Jira for collaborative ideation, workshop facilitation, and project management.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Web Analytics: Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, or similar for understanding user behavior on digital platforms.

• BI Tools: Tableau, Power BI, Looker, or internal Zalando tools for data visualization and dashboard creation to track product performance and user insights.

• Data Analysis: Proficiency in interpreting data from these tools to inform design decisions.

CRM & Automation:

• While not a direct CRM role, understanding how design impacts B2B customer journeys within CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) and marketing automation platforms could be advantageous for context. Prompting Tools:

• Experience working with prompting tools (e.g., Loveable, Claude) as part of the design process is a plus, indicating an interest in leveraging AI in design workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma is a non-negotiable requirement. The inclusion of "prompting tools" suggests Zalando is exploring AI integration in its design processes.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity: A deep-seated commitment to understanding and serving the needs of merchants, their end customers, and Zalando's internal teams. Decisions are grounded in user insights and empathy.

• Data-Driven: Embracing data as a critical tool for informing strategy, optimizing processes, and measuring the impact of design and product initiatives.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Fostering an environment where open communication, constructive feedback, and cross-functional teamwork are paramount. Knowledge sharing is encouraged.

• Innovation & Iteration: A culture that encourages experimentation, learning from failures, and continuously improving products and processes through iterative development.

• Ownership & Accountability: Empowering individuals and teams to take ownership of their work, drive initiatives forward, and be accountable for outcomes.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Designers are embedded within product teams, working daily with Product Managers, Engineers, and Researchers. The Principal Designer will act as a bridge, ensuring alignment across these functions.

• Constructive Feedback Culture: Designers are expected to provide and receive candid, constructive feedback to elevate the quality of work and foster continuous improvement.

• Knowledge Sharing: Active participation in design reviews, internal workshops, and community events to share learnings, best practices, and foster collective growth.

• Empowerment & Autonomy: While working towards shared goals, individuals are empowered to make decisions and take initiative within their areas of expertise.

📝 Enhancement Note: Zalando's culture emphasizes a blend of data-driven rigor, user empathy, and collaborative innovation, fitting for a fast-paced e-commerce and logistics tech environment.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating B2B Complexity: Designing for B2B logistics involves understanding intricate operational workflows, diverse partner needs, and potentially long sales cycles, which can be more complex than B2C.

• Defining Ambiguous Problem Spaces: The role involves tackling undefined challenges, requiring strong analytical skills, strategic thinking, and the ability to create clarity from uncertainty for the team.

• Balancing Strategic Vision with Execution: As a Principal, you'll need to balance setting a long-term vision with ensuring high-quality execution and delivery by product teams.

• Influencing Stakeholders: Effectively communicating and gaining buy-in from diverse, potentially senior, stakeholders across different departments and levels of the organization.

• Driving Design Ops Maturity: Spearheading initiatives to improve team processes requires influencing change and gaining adoption across the design team and beyond.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Strategic Design Leadership: Formal and informal opportunities to hone skills in product strategy, CX vision setting, and influencing senior leadership.

• Industry Expertise: Deepen knowledge in e-commerce logistics, B2B SaaS product design, and pan-European market dynamics.

• Mentorship & Coaching: Develop leadership and coaching skills by mentoring junior designers and contributing to the growth of the design function.

• Innovation Exploration: Opportunity to explore and integrate emerging technologies, such as AI/prompting tools, into the design process.

• Community Contribution: Build a personal brand and expertise by contributing to the broader Zalando design community and potentially external design forums.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to a senior, strategic role in a complex industry, offering significant opportunities for professional growth and impact.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you defined a long-term CX vision for a complex product or service. What was your process, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on your strategic thinking, systems thinking, and ability to connect disparate elements.)

• "How do you approach creating clarity and guiding teams through ambiguous or undefined problem spaces? Provide an example." (Highlight your problem-framing skills, analytical rigor, and leadership in uncertainty.)

• "How do you ensure design quality and consistency at scale across multiple product workstreams? What role does design ops play?" (Demonstrate your understanding of design systems, quality assurance, and process improvement.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Zalando's mission and the ZEOS logistics domain specifically?" (Research Zalando's ecosystem, ZEOS's value proposition for partners, and connect it to your interests.)

• "How would you contribute to Zalando's 'Inclusive by Design' philosophy and foster a collaborative design culture?" (Showcase your understanding of DEI in design and your approach to team dynamics.)

• "Describe a situation where you had to influence executive-level stakeholders with a design recommendation. How did you approach it?" (Focus on your storytelling, data articulation, and stakeholder management skills.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly state the problem, your role, the strategic context, your process, key decisions and rationale, challenges faced, and quantifiable outcomes.

• Emphasize B2B Nuances: Clearly articulate the specific needs and complexities of the B2B context and how your design solutions addressed them.

• Showcase Strategic Thinking: Explain how your design decisions aligned with broader business goals and the long-term vision for the product.

• Highlight Leadership & Mentorship: If applicable, detail instances where you led initiatives, mentored others, or drove process improvements.

• Be Prepared for Q&A: Anticipate questions about your design choices, alternative solutions you considered, and how you measured success.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic impact, leadership capabilities, and a deep understanding of B2B product design principles, supported by strong portfolio evidence.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Principal Product Designer position:

• Submit your application: Utilize the provided link to submit your resume and any requested materials through Zalando's Workday portal.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your most impactful B2B projects that best showcase your strategic thinking, leadership, and end-to-end design process. Ensure clear documentation of problems, your role, process, and quantifiable outcomes.

• Optimize Your Resume: Tailor your resume to highlight experience in strategic product design, B2B solutions, leadership, mentoring, and proficiency with Figma. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare Your Presentation: Rehearse your portfolio presentation, focusing on clear storytelling, articulating strategic rationale, and demonstrating your impact in complex B2B environments. Practice answering potential interview questions.

• Research Zalando & ZEOS: Understand Zalando's business model, its B2B logistics offerings (ZEOS), and its company culture, particularly its commitment to "Inclusive by Design."

⚠️ 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.

---