Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer

Company: Sama

Location: Stockholm, Sweden (Remote - Europe)

Job Type: CONTRACTOR

Category: Product Design / GTM Operations

Date Posted: May 12, 2026

Experience Level: 3-5 Years Professional Experience

Remote Status: Fully Remote (Europe-based candidates preferred)

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead and execute end-to-end product design for key areas of the Sama platform, from initial discovery through final delivery, ensuring a user-centered approach.

• Develop intuitive and engaging user experiences by creating wireframes, user flows, high-fidelity mockups, and interactive prototypes.

• Collaborate closely with Product Managers and Engineers to translate user needs and business objectives into elegant, functional design solutions.

• Contribute to and actively evolve Sama's design system to ensure consistency, scalability, and efficiency across all product touchpoints.

• Design marketing and sales collateral, including landing pages, ads, and presentations, to maintain brand consistency across the entire customer journey.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role blends core Product Design responsibilities with Go-to-Market (GTM) design support, indicating a need for an operations-minded designer who can bridge product development with external-facing marketing and sales efforts. The "contractor" employment type and "part-time/contract basis" suggest a flexible engagement focused on specific project deliverables and ongoing design system maintenance.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the design process for critical product features, encompassing user research, ideation, wireframing, prototyping, and high-fidelity design.

• Translate complex user needs, business goals, and technical constraints into clear, intuitive, and visually appealing product solutions.

• Actively participate in user research initiatives and usability testing sessions to gather actionable insights that inform and validate design decisions.

• Develop and maintain comprehensive design documentation, including user flows, style guides, and interaction specifications for engineering teams.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including Product Management, Engineering, Marketing, and Sales, to ensure alignment and successful product launches.

• Design marketing materials such as landing pages, digital ads, and campaign visuals, ensuring brand consistency and resonance with target audiences.

• Support the sales team by creating compelling presentation decks, one-pagers, and other collateral that effectively communicate product value.

• Contribute to the ongoing development and governance of Sama's design system, promoting reusability and efficiency in design and development.

📝 Enhancement Note: The dual focus on product design and marketing/sales collateral suggests the ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of both user experience (UX) principles and brand storytelling. The emphasis on "limited structure and processes" and "entrepreneurial mindset" points towards a need for a proactive designer who can establish and refine design workflows.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field is often preferred for product design roles. Equivalent practical experience will also be considered.

Experience: 3-5 years of professional experience in product design, with a strong preference for experience within a SaaS environment and/or start-up settings.

Required Skills:

• Proven experience in end-to-end product design, from discovery to delivery, for web or mobile applications.

• Proficiency in industry-standard design and prototyping tools, with a strong emphasis on Figma.

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

• Solid understanding of design systems, component-based design, and their application for scalability and consistency.

• Experience with user research methodologies and conducting usability testing to inform design decisions.

• Strong visual design aesthetic and a keen eye for detail in typography, color, and layout.

• Experience designing responsive web and/or mobile applications.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with marketing design, branding, or motion graphics.

• Familiarity with designing for B2B SaaS platforms.

• Experience working in fast-paced start-up environments with evolving processes.

• Understanding of how to align product design with marketing and sales objectives.

• Experience with creating marketing assets such as landing pages, ads, and sales collateral.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "3-5 years of professional experience" suggests a mid-level to senior individual contributor role, where the candidate is expected to work autonomously and drive design initiatives with minimal supervision. The preference for SaaS and start-up experience indicates a need for adaptability and a proactive approach to problem-solving.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio showcasing end-to-end product design projects, clearly demonstrating your process from problem definition to final solution.

• Case studies that highlight user-centered design methodologies, including problem identification, user research, ideation, prototyping, and testing.

• Examples of contributions to design systems, illustrating your understanding of component-driven design, scalability, and consistency.

• Visuals of responsive web and/or mobile application designs, demonstrating your ability to create adaptable and user-friendly interfaces.

Process Documentation:

• Demonstrate your ability to document design processes effectively, including user flows, wireframes, and prototypes.

• Provide examples of how you've collaborated with engineering teams, including handoff documentation and ongoing communication to ensure design fidelity.

• Showcase how you've incorporated user feedback and data from usability testing into iterative design improvements.

• Illustrate your understanding of how to maintain brand consistency across both digital product interfaces and marketing/sales collateral.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the dual focus of this role and the "contractor" employment type, a portfolio that clearly articulates the candidate's ability to manage projects independently and deliver tangible results across different design disciplines (product, marketing, sales) will be highly valued. Emphasizing the impact and outcomes of design decisions is crucial.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

Sama offers a compensation structure that includes a base retainer and project-based fees.

• Retainer: $1,500/month (USD) for a part-time/contract basis.

• Project Fees: Additional compensation will be determined based on the scope, complexity, and level of involvement for specific projects.

Benefits:

• Professional Coaching: Access to unlimited professional coaching through the Sama app, a unique benefit reflecting the company's core offering.

• Regular Training and Development: Opportunities for ongoing learning and skill enhancement relevant to design and professional growth.

• Growth Opportunities: Ample room for career advancement as the company expands and takes on new ambitious projects.

• Remote Work Flexibility: The ability to work remotely, with a preference for candidates based within Europe.

Working Hours:

This is a part-time/contract role. While specific hours are flexible, successful candidates are expected to dedicate sufficient time to meet project deadlines and collaborate effectively with the team. The company mentions a 40-hour work week as a benchmark for full-time, implying a proportional commitment for this role.

📝 Enhancement Note: The compensation model is a hybrid retainer/project-fee structure, common for contract roles. The $1,500 monthly retainer, when annualized and considering the full-time equivalent, suggests a salary range of approximately $18,000-$30,000 USD per year, depending on the volume and scope of projects undertaken. This falls within the typical range for a part-time, remote product designer with 3-5 years of experience, especially in European markets when converted. However, the project-based compensation is a significant variable.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology / SaaS / Professional Development & Coaching. Sama operates in the B2B SaaS space, providing a platform that leverages AI and professional coaching to enhance employee development and productivity.

Company Size: The provided LinkedIn data indicates Sama has between 201-500 employees. This suggests a growing company that is past the early start-up phase but still maintains a dynamic and agile environment.

Founded: Sama was founded in 2018. This relatively young age aligns with the description of a company that is still building its structure and processes, offering opportunities for early team members to shape its trajectory.

Team Structure:

• The Product Design role is part of a growing team, indicating potential for collaboration with other designers, product managers, and engineers.

• The reporting structure for this contract role is likely to be directly to a Design Lead or Head of Product, with close collaboration across Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Sales departments.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: The role emphasizes user research and usability testing, pointing towards a data-informed approach to design decisions.

• Agile Development: Collaboration with Product Managers and Engineers suggests an agile or iterative development process where design is integrated throughout.

• Design System Governance: The focus on evolving a design system indicates a commitment to scalable, efficient, and consistent design practices.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's mission to "elevate the corporate environment" and "build the future of work" suggests a culture focused on innovation, employee well-being, and impactful solutions. The emphasis on "thinking like owners" and "delivering amazing experiences" points to a high-performance culture where initiative and ownership are valued.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as an experienced Product Designer with a dual focus on product and GTM collateral. It’s an individual contributor role where the designer is expected to take ownership of design projects from conception to execution. The "contractor" status implies a project-based engagement rather than a traditional full-time career path within the company.

Reporting Structure: The designer will likely report to a Product Lead or Design Manager, working closely with Product Managers and Engineering teams on product features, and with Marketing and Sales teams on GTM assets.

Operations Impact: The Product Designer's impact is crucial for both user adoption and external perception. By creating intuitive product experiences, they drive user engagement and retention. By ensuring brand consistency in marketing and sales materials, they support GTM efforts, lead generation, and brand building.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Expansion: Opportunity to deepen expertise in product design while also gaining experience in marketing and sales collateral design, broadening the designer's skillset.

• Design System Leadership: Potential to take a lead role in evolving and scaling the design system, a highly valuable experience in the design community.

• Project Diversity: Exposure to a variety of projects, from core product features to marketing campaigns, offering diverse challenges and learning experiences.

• Entrepreneurial Experience: Working in a less structured environment with "limited structure and processes" provides valuable experience in defining and implementing design workflows, which is highly transferable.

📝 Enhancement Note: While this is a contract role, the growth opportunities lie in skill diversification and the chance to contribute significantly to a growing company's design maturity. For individuals seeking long-term career growth, demonstrating exceptional performance in this contract role could lead to opportunities for full-time positions or future engagements.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully Remote. Sama is open to candidates across Europe, with a preference for those located in Stockholm, Sweden, or within the European region, indicating a distributed team model.

Office Location(s): While the job is remote, the mention of Stockholm, Sweden, as a primary location suggests it's a key operational hub or where the company has a significant presence. Candidates are expected to be based within Europe to facilitate collaboration with timezone-aligned teams.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The role requires close collaboration with Product Managers, Engineers, Marketing, and Sales teams, suggesting a team-oriented and communicative work atmosphere.

• Tools & Technology: Access to Sama's product, including their coaching app, will likely be provided. The design team will utilize standard design software (e.g., Figma) and project management tools.

• Operations Team Interaction: While not an operations role, the designer will interact with GTM operations by producing assets that support sales and marketing processes. This requires understanding the downstream impact of their designs.

Work Schedule: Flexible, part-time/contract basis. While there's a $1,500/month retainer, the actual workload and hours will vary based on project needs. Candidates should be prepared for periods of high activity and be able to manage their time effectively to meet deadlines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote-first nature of the role, coupled with the emphasis on collaboration, means strong communication skills and self-discipline are paramount. The preference for European-based candidates suggests an effort to align working hours and foster a cohesive team dynamic across different regions.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess experience, skills, and alignment with the role requirements.

• Portfolio Presentation & Discussion: A deeper dive into your portfolio, where you'll be expected to walk through 1-2 key projects, explaining your design process, decision-making, and the impact of your work. This is where your user-centered approach and problem-solving skills will be evaluated.

• Cross-functional Interview: Conversations with Product Managers and potentially Engineers to assess collaboration skills, understanding of technical constraints, and ability to communicate design effectively.

• Cultural Fit Interview: An assessment of your entrepreneurial mindset, autonomy, curiosity, and ability to work in a less structured environment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Showcase Process, Not Just Pixels: Clearly articulate your thought process, research methods, and decision-making rationale for each project.

• Highlight Impact: Quantify the results of your design work whenever possible. For product design, this could be user engagement metrics; for marketing/sales design, it could be conversion rates or lead generation.

• Demonstrate Versatility: Include examples of both product design and marketing/sales collateral design to showcase your broad skillset.

• Design System Contributions: If you have experience building or contributing to design systems, highlight this prominently, as it's a key requirement.

• Tailor to Sama: Briefly explain how your skills and experience align with Sama's mission and the specific needs of this role.

Challenge Preparation:

• Be prepared for a potential design challenge or a take-home assignment that simulates real-world tasks, such as designing a new feature or creating marketing assets.

• Focus on demonstrating your ability to work efficiently, think critically, and deliver a polished solution within a given timeframe.

• Practice articulating your design choices and rationale concisely and persuasively.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the "contractor" status and part-time nature, the interview process will likely be streamlined but will heavily emphasize a candidate's ability to hit the ground running with minimal onboarding. A strong, well-curated portfolio is your most critical asset.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: This is the primary design and prototyping tool required. Proficiency in Figma for wireframing, high-fidelity mockups, interactive prototyping, and component creation is essential.

• Other Design/Prototyping Tools: Familiarity with alternatives like Sketch, Adobe XD, InVision, or similar tools may be beneficial for understanding broader industry practices, though Figma is the stated preference.

Analytics & Reporting:

CRM & Automation:

• Marketing/Sales Collateral: Experience designing assets for CRM platforms or marketing automation tools (e.g., HubSpot, Mailchimp) might be relevant for creating campaign visuals and landing pages.

Collaboration & Project Management:

• Jira/Asana/Trello: Experience with project management tools used by engineering and product teams for tracking tasks and progress.

• Slack/Microsoft Teams: Standard communication platforms for remote team collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Figma as a required tool underscores its importance. Candidates should be prepared to discuss their experience with Figma's advanced features, including its collaborative capabilities and design system functionalities.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Entrepreneurial Mindset & Ownership: Individuals are expected to think like owners, taking initiative and responsibility for their work and its outcomes. This translates to a proactive approach to problem-solving and a drive to improve processes.

• Bias for Action & Doer Mentality: A strong emphasis on execution and getting things done, rather than getting bogged down in analysis paralysis. This means being comfortable with making decisions and moving forward.

• Curiosity & Continuous Learning: A culture that encourages exploration, asking questions, and a desire to understand user needs and industry trends deeply.

• Openness, Trust, and Commitment: Values that foster a transparent and reliable working environment where team members can depend on each other.

• Teamwork: Despite the autonomous nature of the role, being a team player and contributing to collective success is crucial.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Expect to work closely with diverse teams (Product, Engineering, Marketing, Sales), requiring clear communication and the ability to adapt your approach to different stakeholder needs.

• Process Evolution: The environment is described as having "limited structure and processes," implying a collaborative approach to defining and refining workflows, including design handoffs and feedback loops.

• Knowledge Sharing: A culture that likely encourages sharing insights, best practices, and learnings to collectively improve the product and processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The cultural values highlight a dynamic, fast-paced environment that rewards initiative and results. Candidates who thrive in such settings, are self-starters, and enjoy contributing to the growth and definition of a company's processes will be a strong fit.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Limited Structure: The primary challenge will be adapting to an environment with "limited structure and processes." This requires a proactive approach to defining workflows and establishing best practices, rather than relying on pre-existing frameworks.

• Balancing Product and GTM Design: Effectively managing the demands of both core product design and the creation of marketing/sales collateral requires strong organizational skills and the ability to context-switch efficiently.

• Remote Collaboration: Maintaining effective communication and collaboration with a distributed team across different time zones can be challenging and requires deliberate effort.

• Design System Maturity: Contributing to a design system that may still be evolving presents both a challenge and an opportunity to shape its future direction.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Broadened Design Expertise: Gain hands-on experience in marketing and sales design, complementing core product design skills.

• Design System Development: Deepen understanding and practical application of design system principles, potentially contributing to its strategic evolution.

• Agile Project Management: Develop skills in managing projects within an agile framework, including efficient collaboration with engineering and product teams.

• Start-up Environment Acumen: Learn to navigate ambiguity, drive initiatives independently, and contribute to building processes in a growing company.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are directly linked to the growth opportunities. Overcoming the lack of structure and balancing diverse design needs will build resilience, strategic thinking, and a broader skillset, making the candidate more versatile.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to design for an ambiguous problem with limited direction. How did you approach it, and what was the outcome?" (Assesses entrepreneurial mindset, problem-solving, and bias for action.)

• "How would you balance the needs of core product development with the immediate demands of marketing and sales collateral creation in a fast-paced environment?" (Evaluates prioritization, time management, and understanding of GTM support.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Sama's mission to build the future of work and how do you see your design skills contributing to that?" (Assesses alignment with company values and vision.)

• "How do you approach collaboration with product managers and engineers, especially when there are differing opinions on design direction?" (Evaluates teamwork and communication skills.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Select Diverse Case Studies: Choose 1-2 product design projects that showcase your end-to-end process and 1-2 examples of marketing/sales collateral design to demonstrate versatility.

• Focus on Problem/Solution/Impact: For each case study, clearly define the problem, detail your design process and solutions, and quantify the impact or results.

• Highlight Design System Work: Dedicate a section or specific slides to showcase your contributions to design systems, explaining its components and benefits.

• Be Ready for Technical Questions: Anticipate questions about your Figma proficiency, interaction design choices, and handoff processes to engineering.

• Articulate Your 'Why': Be prepared to explain the rationale behind your design decisions and how they align with user needs and business goals.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interviewers will be looking for a candidate who is not only skilled in design but also a proactive, adaptable problem-solver who can contribute to a growing company with evolving processes. Your portfolio should be a testament to this.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Workable.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest projects that best represent your end-to-end product design process, your experience with Figma, and your ability to create marketing/sales collateral. Ensure your portfolio clearly articulates your design thinking and impact.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight your 3-5 years of professional experience, emphasizing your work in SaaS, start-ups, and any experience with design systems, user research, and marketing design. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice walking through your selected portfolio projects, focusing on your problem-solving approach, design decisions, and the outcomes achieved. Be ready to discuss your entrepreneurial mindset and comfort with ambiguity.

• Research Sama: Familiarize yourself with Sama's platform (sama.io), their mission, and their target audience. Understand their product offering and how your design skills can contribute to their success in building the future of work.

⚠️ 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.

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