Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer

Company: Trade Nation

Location: Italy (Remote)

Job Type: CONTRACTOR

Category: Product Design / UI/UX

Date Posted: 2026-06-05T16:09:30.022

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

Remote Status: Fully Remote (with occasional travel to London)

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the end-to-end product design process, from initial brief interpretation to polished, production-ready UI delivery for a global CFD and spread betting broker.

• Act as a guardian of the design system within Figma, ensuring consistency, scalability, and adherence to established tokens and variables.

• Collaborate closely with front-end developers to translate design specifications into high-quality, functional components and interfaces for both web and app platforms.

• Proactively identify and resolve design system gaps and inconsistencies, contributing to a cleaner, more efficient, and scalable design library.

• Integrate customer feedback, user analytics (e.g., HotJar, Amplitude), and competitor insights into design iterations and A/B testing strategies.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is explicitly for a Product Designer, but given the emphasis on UI, design systems, and developer handoff within a regulated financial product environment, it shares many operational aspects with GTM/Revenue Operations roles focused on process efficiency and system consistency. The "high-output delivery partner" and "guardian of quality" aspects highlight the operational rigor expected.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Brief Ownership & Clarification: Receive and thoroughly understand briefs from product and marketing stakeholders, proactively resolving any ambiguities and confirming deliverables, format, and success criteria before design work commences.

• High-Quality UI Delivery: Produce production-ready UI designs within agreed timelines, maintaining exceptional attention to detail and communicating any potential schedule risks transparently and immediately.

• Design System Stewardship: Meticulously adhere to and contribute to the Figma design system, utilizing strict tokens, variables, design rules, and naming conventions to ensure consistency and scalability.

• Component Development & Maintenance: Create, maintain, and extend reusable components based on atomic design principles, ensuring the design system remains clean, consistent, and scalable.

• Developer Collaboration & Handoff: Partner closely with front-end developers to deliver detailed, developer-ready handoffs, including interaction states, edge cases, and responsive behavior, and actively participate in Quality Assurance (QA) to verify implementation accuracy.

• System Improvement: Proactively identify gaps, inconsistencies, or areas for improvement within the design system and propose well-thought-out, actionable resolutions.

• Iterative Design & Feedback Integration: Rigorously self-review all work against brief requirements before submission, and be prepared to iterate rapidly and with a positive attitude based on feedback.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a structured, process-driven approach to design, aligning with operational best practices for product development. The focus on "brief-to-delivery pipeline," "guardian of quality," and "developer-ready handoffs" are key operational indicators.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent practical experience and mastery of design principles is paramount.

Experience: Proven experience (2-5 years) in delivering production-ready UI reliably, to brief, and on time, with a focus on financial products.

Required Skills:

• Figma Proficiency: Deep expertise in Figma, encompassing design systems, component creation, variants, auto-layout, prototyping, and seamless developer handoff workflows.

• Atomic Design Methodology: Strong working knowledge and practical application of atomic design principles for building scalable and maintainable design systems.

• UI/UX Design: Proven ability to translate complex requirements into intuitive and visually appealing user interfaces for both web and mobile applications.

• Financial Product Design: Experience designing and launching app and web-based financial products, understanding the nuances of regulated industries.

• Remote Collaboration: Experience working effectively with remote development teams and delivering spec-quality handoffs that minimize implementation friction.

• Data-Informed Design: A track record of embedding customer feedback, user analytics (e.g., HotJar, Amplitude), and competitor insights into the design thinking and iteration process.

• A/B Testing & Prototyping: Experience in validating and refining design solutions through A/B testing methodologies and interactive prototyping.

• Simplicity in Design: A genuine passion for designing simple, elegant solutions, even for complex or highly regulated products.

Preferred Skills:

• Trading Platform Design: Prior experience designing trading platforms or other tightly regulated financial products.

• HTML/CSS Knowledge: Working knowledge of HTML/CSS sufficient to facilitate accurate and efficient communication with front-end developers.

• Component Documentation Tools: Experience with tools like Storybook or similar for documenting and maintaining design system components.

• AI Design Tooling: Exposure to AI-assisted design tools, such as Figma's AI features or similar generative AI platforms (e.g., Claude).

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on Figma, design systems, atomic design, and developer handoffs indicates a need for operational efficiency and systematic design processes, mirroring the need for structured approaches in RevOps/Sales Ops. Proficiency in analytics tools like HotJar and Amplitude is also a strong operational parallel.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• End-to-End Case Studies: Showcase 2-3 comprehensive case studies demonstrating ownership of the brief-to-delivery pipeline, from initial stakeholder engagement to final production-ready UI.

• Design System Contribution: Highlight specific examples of how you have contributed to, maintained, or extended a Figma design system, detailing your approach to components, variants, and tokens.

• Developer Handoff Examples: Provide clear examples of your developer handoff documentation, illustrating how you communicate interaction states, edge cases, and responsive behavior.

• Impact & Iteration: Demonstrate how you've incorporated customer feedback, analytics, and A/B testing results into your design process, with clear examples of the impact on user experience and business outcomes.

• Financial Product Specialization: Include examples of work on financial products, ideally trading platforms, to showcase understanding of regulatory and user needs in this sector.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design: Illustrate your process for receiving and clarifying design briefs, including methods for confirming deliverables and success criteria.

• System Implementation: Show how you ensure adherence to design system rules, tokens, and naming conventions during the UI creation phase.

• Measurement & Analysis: Detail your approach to using analytics (e.g., HotJar, Amplitude) and A/B testing to validate and refine design solutions, and present metrics that demonstrate design impact.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a design role with strong operational components, a portfolio should mirror the process-oriented nature of operations. Demonstrating a systematic approach to design, system maintenance, and data-informed iteration is crucial.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: As a contractor role with remote flexibility in Italy, a competitive range for a mid-level Product Designer with 2-5 years of experience in a regulated financial sector is estimated between €45,000 - €65,000 annually, commensurate with experience and specific skill set.

Benefits:

• Remote Work Flexibility: Fully remote position with the ability to work from anywhere in Italy, offering significant work-life balance.

• Global Travel Opportunity: Occasional travel to London for team collaboration and strategic meetings.

• Contractor Engagement: Opportunity to work on a high-impact project with a leading financial services provider.

• Professional Development: Potential exposure to advanced design tooling and collaboration with international teams.

• Competitive Rate: As a contractor, the rate will be negotiated based on experience and market benchmarks.

Working Hours:

• Standard full-time hours, approximately 40 hours per week.

• Flexibility inherent in a remote contractor role, with core hours expected for collaboration with international teams and occasional travel requirements.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary is estimated based on typical contractor rates for mid-level Product Designers in Italy, considering the specialized financial product domain and the need for experienced Figma and design system expertise. Research was conducted using aggregated salary data for similar roles in Italy and considering the remote nature of the position.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Financial Services (CFD and Spread Betting Broker). This highly regulated industry demands precision, transparency, and robust risk management, which translates into a design culture that values accuracy, clarity, and user trust.

Company Size: Trade Nation has grown significantly since 2014, indicating a dynamic environment with established processes but also room for agile adaptation. The presence of a dedicated Design Studio suggests a commitment to design as a strategic function.

Founded: 2014. This relatively young company history suggests a modern, possibly tech-forward approach to business operations and product development.

Team Structure:

• Design Studio Focus: The role is within a dedicated Design Studio, implying a centralized function focused on design quality, system consistency, and high-output delivery.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Close partnership with product and marketing teams is essential, requiring strong communication and collaboration skills to align design efforts with business objectives.

• Global Team Interaction: Collaboration with remote development teams across different geographic locations (Lisbon, South Africa) necessitates clear communication protocols and an understanding of distributed work dynamics.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: Emphasis on using customer feedback, analytics (HotJar, Amplitude), and A/B testing to inform design decisions and measure impact.

• Systematic Design: Rigorous adherence to and contribution to a Figma design system, utilizing atomic design principles for consistency and scalability.

• Agile Delivery: The expectation of "high-output delivery" and "speed, precision and consistency" suggests an agile or iterative development approach where design plays a crucial role in rapid iteration and deployment.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company description provides context on its market position and operational philosophy, emphasizing transparency and customer focus. This informs the expected culture within the Design Studio and its interactions with other departments.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a mid-level Product Designer, requiring a solid foundation in design principles and practical experience with design systems and developer handoffs. The "high-output delivery partner" aspect implies a focus on execution and reliability.

Reporting Structure: The designer will likely report to a Design Lead or Head of Design within the Design Studio. Close collaboration with product managers and front-end developers is expected, forming a core project team.

Operations Impact: The designer's work directly impacts the user experience of Trade Nation's trading platform, influencing user acquisition, retention, and operational efficiency through intuitive and reliable interfaces. High-quality design is critical for trust and usability in the financial sector.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design System Expertise: Deepen expertise in design systems, potentially leading to future roles focused on design system architecture or management.

• Financial Product Specialization: Develop specialized knowledge and a strong portfolio in the complex and lucrative fintech/trading product domain.

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Opportunities to influence product strategy through design, working closely with product and engineering leadership.

• International Exposure: Gain experience working with diverse, global teams and understanding international market needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: While this is a design role, the growth analysis focuses on how operational skill development (system thinking, process adherence, data integration) can lead to career advancement within design and potentially related product operations functions.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully remote within Italy. Occasional travel to London is required, suggesting a hybrid approach for specific strategic meetings or team-building events.

Office Location(s): While the role is remote in Italy, the company has offices in Lisbon (Portugal), Cape Town, and Johannesburg (South Africa), and headquarters in London. The occasional travel requirement is specifically to London.

Workspace Context:

• Remote Autonomy: The role offers significant autonomy, requiring self-discipline and effective time management within a remote setup.

• Collaborative Tools: Reliance on digital collaboration tools (Figma, Slack, project management software) for seamless interaction with distributed teams.

• Design System Hub: The Figma design system serves as a central hub for design assets and guidelines, ensuring a consistent visual language across all touchpoints.

• Developer Proximity: While remote, close virtual proximity and clear communication channels with front-end developers are crucial for efficient handoffs and QA.

Work Schedule:

• Approximately 40 hours per week, aligning with full-time contractor expectations.

• Flexibility in daily scheduling, but with an expectation to be available for key meetings and collaborative sessions with teams in different time zones, particularly those in Europe (Lisbon) and the UK (London).

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote nature and occasional travel requirement highlight the operational logistics of distributed work, emphasizing the need for structured communication and self-management.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Likely a review of CV and portfolio to assess core design skills, Figma proficiency, and relevant experience.

• Portfolio Presentation & Technical Interview: A deeper dive into your portfolio, focusing on case studies that demonstrate your process, design system contributions, and ability to deliver production-ready UI. Expect questions on atomic design, developer handoffs, and handling feedback.

• Design Challenge/Exercise: A practical design task, possibly involving a brief to create UI elements within a given design system or to solve a specific UX problem. This assesses your problem-solving skills, design thinking, and speed.

• Stakeholder/Team Interviews: Meetings with product managers, developers, and potentially other designers to assess cultural fit, collaboration style, and ability to articulate design decisions.

• Final Interview: May involve senior leadership to discuss overall fit and long-term potential.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Structure for Operations: Organize your portfolio with clear case studies that follow a logical flow: Brief/Problem -> Process/Solution -> Results/Impact. Highlight your role and contributions clearly.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals effectively. Showcase your Figma work (components, auto-layout, prototypes) and provide clear examples of your developer handoffs.

• Quantify Impact: Where possible, use metrics (even if estimated) to demonstrate the impact of your designs, e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced user errors, or increased feature adoption.

• Design System Focus: Dedicate a section or clearly articulate your experience with design systems, detailing your approach to components, tokens, and maintaining consistency.

• Tailor to Trade Nation: Research Trade Nation's current platform and brand. If possible, subtly tailor your presentation to align with their aesthetic and operational priorities (e.g., clarity, simplicity in finance).

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Brief: Carefully read and understand the design challenge prompt. Ask clarifying questions if permitted.

• Focus on Process: Even for a short exercise, demonstrate your thought process. How do you approach the problem? What constraints do you consider?

• Design System Adherence: If provided with a system, adhere to its guidelines meticulously. This is a key operational requirement.

• Clear Communication: Be prepared to present your solution and rationale clearly and concisely, focusing on how it meets the brief and aligns with best practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process and portfolio review tips are framed with an operational lens, emphasizing process, system adherence, measurable impact, and clear communication, which are critical in operations roles.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core design tool. Deep proficiency required for UI design, prototyping, design systems, component creation (variants, auto-layout), and developer handoffs.

• Design Systems: Working knowledge and practical application of design system principles, including atomic design, tokens, and variables.

Analytics & Reporting:

• HotJar: Experience using user analytics tools to gather insights into user behavior, heatmaps, and session recordings to inform design decisions.

• Amplitude (or similar Product Analytics): Familiarity with product analytics platforms for tracking user engagement, feature adoption, and conversion funnels.

CRM & Automation: (Not directly applicable to this design role, but understanding their use is beneficial)

• While not a direct requirement for the designer, understanding how CRM data and marketing automation platforms might influence user journeys or inform design requirements can be advantageous. Other Relevant Tools:

• Prototyping Tools: Figma's built-in prototyping capabilities are key, but familiarity with other tools may be beneficial.

• Component Documentation: Tools like Storybook (preferred) or similar for documenting and showcasing design system components.

• AI Design Tools: Exposure to AI-assisted design tools (Figma Make, Claude) is a plus.

• HTML/CSS: Basic understanding to facilitate effective communication with developers.

📝 Enhancement Note: The tools listed are central to modern product design operations. Proficiency in Figma and understanding of analytics platforms are critical for efficient and data-driven design workflows.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Craftsmanship & Quality: A deep pride in the quality of design work, with meticulous attention to detail and a commitment to production-ready, pixel-perfect UI.

• Clarity & Simplicity: A drive to distill complexity into simple, intuitive user experiences, especially crucial in the financial services domain.

• Reliability & Consistency: Thriving on delivering high-quality work reliably and on time, ensuring consistency across the product through rigorous adherence to the design system.

• Collaboration & Partnership: Working in close partnership with product and development teams, fostering open communication and a shared sense of ownership.

Collaboration Style:

• Proactive Communication: Engaging stakeholders early and often to resolve ambiguities and ensure alignment.

• Developer Synergy: Building strong working relationships with front-end developers, treating them as essential partners in the design implementation process.

• Feedback Integration: Openness to receiving and acting on feedback from stakeholders, peers, and user data.

• System-Centric Approach: A collaborative environment that values the integrity and evolution of the design system as a shared asset.

📝 Enhancement Note: The described values and collaboration style emphasize operational excellence through teamwork, quality control, and process adherence, mirroring the core tenets of effective revenue and sales operations.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Speed and Quality: Meeting high-output demands while maintaining meticulous attention to detail and design system integrity.

• Navigating Regulatory Complexity: Designing for a highly regulated financial product space requires careful consideration of compliance, risk, and user trust.

• Remote Collaboration Dynamics: Effectively collaborating with distributed teams across different time zones and cultures, ensuring clear communication and alignment.

• Evolving Design System: Continuously identifying and addressing gaps in a growing design system while ensuring it remains scalable and manageable.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Figma Techniques: Mastering advanced features of Figma for complex component creation, prototyping, and design system management.

• Fintech Design Specialization: Deepening expertise in the unique challenges and opportunities of designing for financial trading platforms.

• Cross-Functional Skill Enhancement: Improving communication and collaboration skills with product management and engineering teams.

• Exposure to AI Design Tools: Gaining practical experience with emerging AI-assisted design tools and understanding their potential impact on workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: These challenges and growth opportunities are framed to highlight how operational skills (e.g., process management, communication, adaptability) are key to overcoming them, while also pointing towards career progression within design and related product operations fields.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Design System Philosophy: "Describe your approach to building and maintaining a scalable design system. How do you ensure adoption and consistency across a team?" (Focus on process, governance, and component management.)

• Brief to Delivery Process: "Walk me through your typical process when receiving a new design brief. How do you clarify requirements, estimate timelines, and ensure a smooth handoff to development?" (Highlight your structured methodology and communication protocols.)

• Problem-Solving in Design: "Describe a time you encountered a complex design challenge, perhaps within a regulated environment. How did you approach it, what solutions did you consider, and what was the outcome?" (Emphasize analytical thinking, iterative design, and outcome-driven solutions.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• Trade Nation's Design: "What are your initial impressions of Trade Nation's current product design? What opportunities do you see for improvement, particularly regarding design systems or user experience?" (Show you've researched and thought critically.)

• Remote Collaboration: "How do you ensure effective communication and collaboration with remote teams, especially developers, to maintain design integrity?" (Focus on proactive communication, documentation, and tool utilization.)

• Measuring Design Impact: "How do you measure the success of your designs? What metrics do you find most valuable in assessing user experience and business impact?" (Relate to analytics, A/B testing, and ROI.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Narrative Structure: For each case study, tell a compelling story: the problem, your approach (process, tools, collaboration), the solution, and the measurable results.

• Highlight Operational Rigor: Emphasize your systematic approach, your adherence to design system principles, and your meticulous handoff process.

• Showcase Figma Mastery: Demonstrate your proficiency with Figma features relevant to efficiency and collaboration, such as components, variants, auto-layout, and prototyping.

• Quantify Contributions: Clearly state your role and contributions, and quantify impact wherever possible with data or clear rationale. Be prepared to discuss how your design decisions align with business objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview preparation advice emphasizes demonstrating operational competencies like structured thinking, process adherence, data-driven decision-making, and clear communication, which are critical for success in operations-focused roles and for candidates interviewing for such positions.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer position:

• Submit your application, including your CV and a link to your online portfolio, through the Workable application portal.

• Portfolio Customization: Curate your portfolio to prominently feature 2-3 detailed case studies that showcase your end-to-end design process, design system contributions, and experience with financial products. Emphasize your ability to deliver production-ready UI reliably.

• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to highlight keywords such as "Figma," "Design Systems," "Atomic Design," "Developer Handoff," "UI/UX," and "Financial Product Design." Quantify achievements where possible.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, explaining your portfolio case studies, and discussing how you would integrate into a remote, collaborative design team. Prepare to discuss your understanding of design systems and their operational importance.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Trade Nation, its market position, its current product offerings, and its stated company values. Understand how your design approach can contribute to their mission of helping customers trade more effectively.

⚠️ 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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