Product Designer at Savvy Talent

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer

Company: Savvy Talent

Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Product Design / UX/UI

Date Posted: July 30, 2026

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

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

This role focuses on defining and shaping the user experience for marketplace and subscription products, requiring ownership of the full design lifecycle from discovery to UI delivery.
The Product Designer will translate complex user needs and business goals into intuitive, elegant, and scalable product interfaces for a growth-stage company.
Collaboration with Product Managers and Engineers is key to scoping and prioritizing design solutions, ensuring rapid iteration based on user data and KPIs.
A significant aspect of this role involves maintaining and evolving a consistent design system to ensure scalability and visual cohesion across the product suite.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Product Designer," the responsibilities and required skills strongly indicate a focus on UX/UI design within a product development context. The emphasis on "end-to-end design lifecycle," "wireframing," "prototyping," "UI delivery," and "design system" aligns with a dedicated product design function focused on user experience and interface design. The mention of "SaaS, marketplace, or product-led growth company" experience is a critical qualifier for this role.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

Own the complete product design lifecycle, encompassing user research, in-depth wireframing, interactive prototyping, and final UI asset delivery.
Translate intricate user needs and strategic business objectives into intuitive, elegant, and user-friendly product experiences.
Actively collaborate with product management and engineering teams to effectively scope, prioritize, and implement design solutions.
Develop detailed user flows, wireframes, and interactive prototypes to clearly articulate design decisions and gather stakeholder alignment.
Champion the maintenance and continuous evolution of a unified design system, ensuring scalability, consistency, and visual cohesion across all product touchpoints.
Advocate for user-centric design principles while adeptly balancing business priorities, technical constraints, and aggressive shipping timelines.
Drive rapid iteration on design solutions by leveraging user data, customer feedback, and key product performance indicators (KPIs).
Produce high-fidelity visual designs and meticulously prepared assets that are optimized for seamless engineering implementation.
Contribute to the development and refinement of user research methodologies, gathering actionable insights to inform design strategy.
Proactively identify opportunities for design improvements and workflow optimization within the product development process.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities listed are derived from the provided description and expanded upon with typical duties for a mid-level Product Designer in a SaaS/marketplace environment. The focus on "end-to-end lifecycle," "design system," "user data," and "KPIs" highlights the data-informed and iterative nature of the role.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, or a related field is often preferred for foundational understanding. However, a strong portfolio and demonstrated experience are paramount.

Experience: Minimum of 3+ years of progressive experience in Product Design, UX/UI Design, or a closely related role within a SaaS, marketplace, or product-led growth (PLG) company.

Required Skills:

Product Design Lifecycle: Proven ability to manage the entire design process, from initial concept and user research through wireframing, prototyping, visual design, and final delivery.
UX/UI Design Expertise: Deep understanding of user-centered design principles, interaction design patterns, information architecture, and visual design best practices.
Design Tools Proficiency: Mastery of modern design and prototyping tools, with a strong emphasis on Figma or equivalent industry-standard software.
Wireframing & Prototyping: Skill in creating detailed wireframes, user flows, and interactive prototypes to effectively communicate design concepts and gather feedback.
Responsive Design: Solid grasp of designing for various screen sizes and devices, ensuring a consistent and optimal user experience across web and mobile platforms.
Usability Principles: Thorough knowledge of usability heuristics, accessibility standards, and best practices for creating intuitive and efficient user interfaces.
Design System Management: Experience in contributing to, maintaining, or evolving design systems, ensuring consistency and scalability in UI elements and patterns.
Cross-functional Collaboration: Demonstrated ability to work effectively with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders, fostering strong communication and alignment.
User Research & Feedback Integration: Aptitude for conducting or leveraging user research, and a strong capacity to translate user insights and feedback into actionable design improvements.
Data-Driven Design: Ability to utilize product data, analytics, and KPIs to inform design decisions and measure the impact of design changes.
Startup Environment Acumen: Comfort and proficiency in working within a fast-paced startup environment, characterized by limited resources, high autonomy, and a need for self-sufficiency.
English Fluency: Professional proficiency in English for effective communication in a global or multi-cultural team setting.

Preferred Skills:

2-Sided Marketplace or Creator Economy Platforms: Prior experience designing complex ecosystems involving multiple user types (e.g., buyers/sellers, creators/consumers).
Marketing Website/Landing Page Design: Experience in crafting compelling and conversion-optimized designs for marketing collateral.
Graphic Design & Branding: Background in graphic design, including the creation of marketing assets, social media visuals, or brand identity elements.
Motion & Interaction Design: Familiarity with animation principles and tools for creating dynamic and engaging user interactions.
Rapid Prototyping Tools: Experience with specialized tools for rapid prototyping to test complex interactions or animations.
Front-end Development Knowledge: Basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to enhance collaboration with engineering teams and better understand implementation constraints.

📝 Enhancement Note: The required skills are synthesized from the job description, with an emphasis on core product design competencies. Preferred skills are drawn directly from the "Nice to Have" section and contextualized for operations professionals. The "AI_experience_level" of "2-5" is interpreted as Mid-Level, aligning with the 3+ years requirement.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

End-to-End Case Studies: Showcase at least 2-3 comprehensive case studies detailing your involvement in the full product design lifecycle, from problem definition and user research to final UI delivery and post-launch analysis.
Problem-Solution Framing: Clearly articulate the user problem or business challenge addressed in each case study, and how your design solutions effectively resolved them.
Process & Methodology: Detail your design process, including methodologies used (e.g., user interviews, usability testing, A/B testing), and the rationale behind your choices.
UX & UI Balance: Demonstrate a strong balance between user experience (UX) strategy, wireframing, user flows, and high-fidelity visual (UI) design, including interactive prototypes.
Design System Contribution: Highlight any experience with contributing to, creating, or maintaining design systems, showcasing examples of reusable components and patterns.
Impact & Metrics: Quantify the impact of your design work whenever possible, using relevant metrics such as conversion rate improvements, user engagement increases, task completion rates, or reduction in support tickets.

Process Documentation:

Workflow Design: Provide examples of how you map out complex user workflows and identify key points for optimization or intervention.
Iterative Design: Illustrate your approach to iterating on designs based on user feedback, data analysis, and A/B testing results.
Collaboration Frameworks: Demonstrate how you document and communicate design decisions, research findings, and prototypes to cross-functional teams (Product, Engineering).

📝 Enhancement Note: Portfolio requirements are standard for product design roles and are tailored to highlight the specific needs mentioned in the job description, such as end-to-end ownership, design systems, and data-driven iteration.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $80,000 to $85,000 CAD per year.

Benefits:

Annual Reviews: Structured yearly performance and compensation reviews, offering opportunities for salary adjustments and career advancement.
Paid Time Off: 2 weeks (10 business days) of vacation annually, providing essential time for rest and rejuvenation.
Paid Holidays: Observance of all local and federal holidays in Canada, ensuring time off for national celebrations.
Paid Sick Leave: Comprehensive coverage for sick leave, ensuring financial security and well-being when illness occurs.
Hybrid Work Model: Flexibility to work from home and in the Vancouver office, promoting a balance between collaboration and personal work preferences.

Working Hours: The role is full-time, typically expecting around 40 hours per week, with flexibility often inherent in hybrid and startup environments.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary range and benefits are directly extracted from the job description. The working hours are inferred based on the standard full-time expectation. The "AI_work_arrangement" is confirmed as Hybrid.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: The company operates within the technology sector, likely focusing on SaaS, marketplaces, or product-led growth (PLG) models, as indicated by the required experience. This suggests a dynamic, innovation-driven environment.

Company Size: Savvy Talent is described as a "growth-stage company," implying it is beyond the early startup phase but still in a period of significant expansion. This often means a culture that balances established processes with the agility of a smaller organization.

Founded: While the founding date is not provided, the "growth-stage" descriptor suggests it is likely a company with several years of operation, having achieved product-market fit and now focused on scaling.

Team Structure:

Reporting: The Product Designer will report directly to Product Managers, indicating a close working relationship within product teams.
Collaboration: Close partnership with an existing senior product designer and cross-functional collaboration with product managers and engineers is fundamental.
Design Focus: The presence of a senior designer suggests a growing emphasis on design maturity within the organization.

Methodology:

User-Centric Approach: The role emphasizes translating "user needs" and "user experience" into product design, indicating a strong focus on user research and empathy.
Data-Informed Decisions: Iteration based on "data and user feedback" and "product KPIs" points to a data-driven methodology where design choices are validated and refined through metrics.
Agile Development: The need to "ship fast" and "iterate quickly" suggests an agile or lean product development process where design is integrated closely with engineering sprints.

Company Website: https://jobs.workable.com/company/kWoMjDm9ne9ryTYCyku18A/jobs-at-savvy-talent

📝 Enhancement Note: Company context is inferred from "growth-stage company" and the industry specifics mentioned in the role requirements (SaaS, marketplace, PLG). This paints a picture of a dynamic, user-focused tech environment.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Product Design Career Level: This role is positioned as a Mid-Level Product Designer, suitable for individuals with 2-5 years of experience. It offers significant ownership and the opportunity to impact product direction, moving beyond junior-level execution to strategic design thinking.

Reporting Structure: The designer reports to Product Managers, fostering direct collaboration within product squads. This structure allows for clear direction and alignment on product strategy and user needs.

Design Impact: The Product Designer will have a direct and visible impact on hundreds of thousands of users by shaping the user experience of core marketplace and subscription products. Their work will directly influence user engagement, satisfaction, and potentially conversion rates, contributing to the company's growth objectives.

Growth Opportunities:

Design System Leadership: As the company grows, there will be opportunities to take on more ownership of the design system, potentially leading its evolution and ensuring its adoption across new features and products.
Specialization: The "Nice to Have" section indicates potential growth into specialized areas like 2-sided marketplaces, creator economy platforms, marketing design, or advanced interaction/motion design.
Senior Design Role: With proven success and expanded impact, progression to a Senior Product Designer role, mentoring junior designers and taking on more complex strategic initiatives, is a likely career path.
Cross-functional Leadership: Developing strong relationships and expertise across product and engineering can lead to opportunities for influencing product strategy and roadmapping from a design perspective.

📝 Enhancement Note: Career growth potential is extrapolated based on the mid-level nature of the role, the company's growth stage, and the typical progression paths within product design teams in tech companies.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is designated as Hybrid, meaning employees are expected to work from the Savvy Talent office in Vancouver part of the time, with the remainder being remote. This offers a blend of in-person collaboration and remote flexibility.

Office Location(s): The primary office location is Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Specific details about the office environment (e.g., open-plan, dedicated desks) are not provided, but it is assumed to be a professional workspace conducive to collaboration.

Workspace Context:

Collaborative Spaces: The hybrid model suggests opportunities for in-person brainstorming sessions, team meetings, and design critiques within the Vancouver office.
Tools & Technology: Employees will have access to modern design tools like Figma, likely within a company-provided or standardized tech stack. Collaboration will be facilitated through digital tools and platforms.
Team Interaction: Regular interaction with Product Managers, Engineers, and a Senior Product Designer is expected, fostering a dynamic and communicative work environment.

Work Schedule: While the standard is 40 hours per week, the hybrid and startup nature of the company may offer some flexibility in daily start/end times, provided core collaboration hours are met and project deadlines are achieved.

📝 Enhancement Note: The work environment description is based on the "Hybrid" designation and general characteristics of growth-stage tech companies.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess qualifications and alignment with the role's requirements.
Portfolio Presentation & Discussion: An interview where you'll present 1-2 of your strongest case studies, discussing your process, decisions, and impact. This is a critical stage to evaluate your end-to-end design capabilities.
Technical/Design Challenge: Potentially a take-home assignment or a live design exercise focused on a specific problem relevant to the company's products, evaluating your problem-solving skills, design thinking, and ability to work within constraints.
Cross-functional Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers and Engineers to assess collaboration skills, communication style, and technical understanding.
Hiring Manager/Leadership Interview: A final discussion focusing on cultural fit, career aspirations, and overall alignment with the company's vision and values.

Portfolio Review Tips:

Curate Strategically: Select case studies that best showcase your end-to-end product design process, focusing on marketplace or SaaS examples if possible. Highlight your role and contributions clearly.
Tell a Story: Structure your case studies as narratives: Problem, Your Process, Solution, and Impact. Explain the "why" behind your design decisions.
Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals (wireframes, mockups, prototypes, user flows) effectively. If possible, include interactive prototypes.
Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, present metrics that demonstrate the success of your designs. If direct metrics aren't available, discuss anticipated outcomes based on user research or industry benchmarks.
Highlight Collaboration: Mention how you collaborated with PMs, engineers, and other stakeholders throughout the process.
Address Design Systems: If you have experience with design systems, dedicate a section to it, explaining your contribution and its benefits.

Challenge Preparation:

Understand the Context: If given a take-home challenge, thoroughly research Savvy Talent's products and market space to inform your approach.
Focus on Process: For live or take-home challenges, prioritize demonstrating a clear, logical design process over delivering a perfectly polished final UI.
Time Management: Practice managing your time effectively to complete the challenge within the given timeframe, ensuring you can articulate your thought process.
Clarify Assumptions: Be prepared to state any assumptions you make and how they influence your design decisions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process and portfolio/challenge preparation advice are tailored for a Product Designer role, emphasizing the importance of case studies and demonstrating a user-centered, data-informed design process.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Design Tools:

Figma: Essential for wireframing, UI design, prototyping, and collaboration. Proficiency is a core requirement.
Other Design Software: Familiarity with tools like Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop), or InVision may be beneficial for specific tasks or historical projects.

Prototyping & Interaction:

Figma Prototyping: For creating interactive flows and user testing.
Specialized Tools (Nice to Have): Experience with tools like Principle, ProtoPie, or After Effects for advanced motion and interaction design.

User Research & Feedback:

Survey Tools: Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, Typeform for user surveys and feedback collection.
User Testing Platforms: UserTesting.com, Maze, or similar for remote usability testing.
Analytics Platforms: Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude (for understanding user behavior post-launch).

Collaboration & Project Management:

Project Management: Jira, Asana, Trello, or similar for tracking design tasks and sprints.
Communication: Slack, Microsoft Teams for daily team communication.
Documentation: Confluence, Notion, or similar for documenting design decisions and research findings.

Development Knowledge (Nice to Have):

HTML/CSS/JavaScript: Basic understanding to facilitate better communication and collaboration with front-end engineers.

📝 Enhancement Note: The tools listed are standard for Product Designers, with Figma being the primary focus as specified. "Nice to Have" development knowledge is included as per the job description.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Product Design Values:

User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and serving the user's needs and improving their experience.
Data-Driven Innovation: Using quantitative and qualitative data to inform design decisions and measure impact, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
Collaboration & Communication: Openness to feedback, active participation in cross-functional discussions, and clear articulation of design rationale.
Agility & Iteration: Embracing a fast-paced environment, willingness to iterate quickly, and comfort with ambiguity inherent in a growth-stage company.
Ownership & Accountability: Taking responsibility for design outcomes, from concept to delivery, and driving projects to completion.

Collaboration Style:

Integrated Teams: Design is integrated within product squads, working closely with Product Managers and Engineers throughout the development cycle.
Feedback Loops: Expect regular opportunities for design critiques, user feedback sessions, and cross-functional reviews to ensure alignment and quality.
Knowledge Sharing: Encouragement of sharing design best practices, insights from user research, and learnings from product iterations within the design and product teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: Team culture and values are inferred from the job description's emphasis on user experience, data-driven decisions, collaboration, and working in a fast-paced startup environment.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

Balancing Speed and Quality: The need to "ship fast" while maintaining high design quality and user experience standards requires efficient processes and strong prioritization skills.
Evolving Design System: As a growth-stage company, the design system may still be maturing, presenting an opportunity to contribute significantly but also requiring adaptability to evolving standards.
Resource Constraints: Startups often operate with limited resources, demanding creative problem-solving and efficient use of time and tools.
Navigating Ambiguity: In a growing company, processes and priorities can shift. Adapting to this ambiguity and proactively seeking clarity will be key.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

Design System Mastery: Deepen expertise in building, scaling, and governing design systems.
Specialized Domain Knowledge: Gain in-depth understanding of 2-sided marketplaces, creator economies, or SaaS product strategies.
Cross-functional Acumen: Enhance understanding of product management and software engineering processes, improving collaboration and strategic contribution.
Mentorship: Opportunities to learn from a senior product designer and potentially mentor junior team members as the design function grows.

📝 Enhancement Note: Challenges and growth opportunities are derived from the role's context as a Product Designer in a growth-stage tech company with a hybrid work model.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

"Describe a time you owned the end-to-end design lifecycle for a complex feature. What was your process, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on your structured approach, user research, iteration, and quantifiable impact.)
"How do you balance user needs with business goals and engineering constraints when designing a new feature?" (Highlight your problem-solving skills, negotiation tactics, and ability to find optimal solutions.)
"Walk us through a challenging UX problem you solved. What made it challenging, and how did you approach it?" (Demonstrate your critical thinking, user empathy, and iterative design process.) Company & Culture Questions:
"What interests you about Savvy Talent and this specific role?" (Research the company's mission, products, and recent news. Connect your skills and aspirations to their goals.)
"How do you approach collaboration with Product Managers and Engineers?" (Emphasize your communication style, willingness to understand different perspectives, and experience in cross-functional teamwork.)
"How do you ensure your designs are scalable and maintain design consistency?" (Discuss your understanding and experience with design systems and their importance.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:
Select Impactful Projects: Choose 2-3 case studies that best demonstrate your end-to-end process, problem-solving abilities, and impact. Prioritize projects similar to Savvy Talent's domain (SaaS, marketplace).
Storytelling is Key: Frame each case study as a narrative: the problem, your role, your process (research, ideation, design, testing), the solution, and the measurable outcome or learnings.
Highlight Your Process: Clearly articulate why you made certain design decisions, referencing user research, data, or design principles.
Showcase Visuals: Use high-quality visuals of wireframes, user flows, mockups, and prototypes. If you have interactive prototypes, be ready to demo them.
Quantify Results: Present data and metrics whenever possible to demonstrate the impact of your work. If exact numbers aren't available, discuss anticipated positive outcomes or learnings.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation advice is tailored to the specific requirements of a Product Designer role, focusing on case study presentation, process articulation, and demonstrating collaborative and data-informed design skills.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer position:

Submit your application through the provided Workable link.
Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features 2-3 strong case studies that showcase your end-to-end product design process, focusing on UX/UI, user research, and impact. Tailor your selection to highlight experience relevant to SaaS or marketplace platforms.
Resume Optimization: Update your resume to clearly highlight your 3+ years of experience in Product Design/UX/UI, proficiency in Figma, and experience with design systems and cross-functional collaboration. Use keywords from the job description.
Interview Preparation: Practice presenting your case studies, focusing on clear storytelling, articulating your design process, and quantifying results. Prepare to discuss your experience with user research, iteration, and collaboration with product and engineering teams.
Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Savvy Talent's mission, products, and target market. Understand their approach to design and user experience to articulate your fit and interest during interviews.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

Product Designer