Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Designer

Company: Trade Nation

Location: Lisbon, Portugal

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / UI/UX

Date Posted: May 19, 2026

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

Remote Status: Hybrid (with remote flexibility)

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the end-to-end design process from brief to production-ready UI, ensuring speed, precision, and consistency in all deliverables.

• Act as the primary guardian of Trade Nation's Figma design system, ensuring adherence to established tokens, variables, and naming conventions.

• Collaborate closely with front-end developers to bring component libraries to life and ensure seamless implementation of design specifications.

• Proactively identify and resolve gaps and inconsistencies within the design system to maintain scalability and coherence.

• Ship high-quality UI for web and app-based financial products, leveraging customer feedback, analytics, and competitor insights.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a high-output delivery partner within a dedicated Design Studio, emphasizing efficiency and quality in a hybrid work environment. The focus on financial products and remote team collaboration suggests a need for strong communication and meticulous documentation skills.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Brief Ownership & Clarification: Receive and thoroughly understand briefs from business stakeholders, proactively resolve ambiguities, and confirm deliverables, format, and success criteria before commencing design work.

• High-Quality UI Delivery: Produce production-ready UI designs that meet specifications and agreed-upon timelines, with immediate and transparent communication regarding any potential schedule risks.

• Design System Stewardship: Meticulously adhere to and contribute to the Figma design system, ensuring strict compliance with tokens, variables, design rules, and naming conventions.

• Component Development & Maintenance: Create, maintain, and extend reusable components using atomic design principles to ensure the design system remains clean, consistent, and scalable.

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

• System Improvement: Proactively identify gaps and inconsistencies within the design system and propose well-considered resolutions to enhance its effectiveness and scalability.

• Self-Review & Iteration: Rigorously self-review all design work against brief requirements before submission, and iterate with speed and a positive, constructive attitude.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "fastidious attention to detail," "atomic design principles," and "developer-ready handoffs" highlights the need for a designer who can produce highly polished and technically sound assets for a regulated financial product environment.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating exceptional design skills and a deep understanding of UI/UX principles is paramount.

Experience: Proven experience (2-5 years) in delivering production-ready UI reliably, to brief, and on time, preferably within the financial technology or highly regulated product sectors.

Required Skills:

• Figma Proficiency: Deep expertise in Figma, including advanced capabilities in design systems, components, variants, auto-layout, prototyping, and developer handoff features.

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

• UI Design Delivery: Demonstrated ability to deliver high-quality UI for both app and web-based financial products, meeting strict specifications and deadlines.

• Remote Collaboration: Experience working effectively with remote development teams, ensuring clear communication and producing spec-quality handoffs.

• Customer-Centric Design: A track record of embedding customer feedback, user analytics (e.g., HotJar, Amplitude), and competitor insights into design thinking and decision-making processes.

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

• Design Simplicity: A genuine passion for designing clear and intuitive user experiences, even within complex or highly regulated product environments.

Preferred Skills:

• Financial Product Design: Specific 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: Familiarity with tools like Storybook or similar for documenting and showcasing component libraries.

• AI-Assisted Design: Exposure to AI-assisted design tooling, such as Figma Make or Claude, for enhancing design workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The preference for financial product design experience and HTML/CSS knowledge indicates a need for a designer who can quickly grasp the nuances of a regulated industry and communicate effectively with technical teams. Familiarity with AI design tools suggests the company is forward-thinking in its adoption of new technologies.

📊 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 for complex UI projects, preferably in the financial or regulated product space.

• Design System Examples: Provide clear examples of your contribution to or creation of design systems, highlighting the use of Figma components, variants, auto-layout, and adherence to design tokens.

• Developer Handoff Artifacts: Include examples of developer-ready handoffs, detailing interaction states, edge cases, and responsive layouts, demonstrating your collaboration with engineering.

• Data-Informed Design: Illustrate how customer feedback, analytics data (e.g., HotJar, Amplitude), and A/B testing results have informed your design decisions and led to measurable improvements.

• Process Documentation: Briefly outline your design process for a selected case study, emphasizing how you manage ambiguity, collaborate with stakeholders and developers, and ensure quality.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design: Document the steps taken to translate a business brief into a functional and visually polished UI, emphasizing clarity and efficiency.

• System Implementation: Showcase how you've applied atomic design principles and maintained consistency within a design system, detailing component creation and management.

• Performance Analysis: Present any metrics or outcomes that demonstrate the impact of your designs, such as improvements in user engagement, conversion rates, or task completion times, derived from analytics or A/B testing.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are heavily focused on demonstrating practical application of design systems, effective collaboration with developers, and a data-driven approach to UI/UX within a product context. Case studies should clearly articulate the problem, solution, and impact.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for a Mid-Level Product Designer in Lisbon, Portugal, with experience in financial products and advanced Figma skills, the estimated salary range is €40,000 - €60,000 annually. This range accounts for the cost of living in Lisbon and the specialized nature of the role.

Benefits:

• Competitive Salary: A strong base salary reflecting your skills and experience.

• Discretionary Annual Bonus: Performance-based bonus opportunities.

• Private Healthcare: Comprehensive private healthcare coverage.

• Active Lifestyle Allowance: Support for maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle.

• Generous Annual Leave: Annual leave entitlement exceeding the statutory minimum.

• Work from Anywhere Allowance: Up to 3 weeks per year to work from any location globally, offering significant flexibility.

Working Hours: The standard working hours are 40 hours per week. While the role is hybrid, the company offers flexibility, including the ability to work remotely for up to 3 weeks from any location, suggesting a results-oriented work culture.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on data from reputable salary aggregators for similar roles in Lisbon, adjusted for the specified experience level and the specialized domain (financial products). The "work from anywhere" allowance is a significant perk that enhances the hybrid nature of the role.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Trade Nation operates in the FinTech sector, specifically as a global CFD (Contract for Difference) and spread betting broker. This industry is characterized by rapid technological advancement, stringent regulatory compliance, and a focus on data security and customer trust.

Company Size: Trade Nation is a growing international company with offices across Europe, South Africa, Asia-Pacific, and key offshore regions. Its size suggests a structure that balances established processes with the agility needed to innovate in the FinTech space.

Founded: Established in 2014, Trade Nation has a decade of experience in the financial brokerage market, indicating a stable yet evolving organization with a clear understanding of its market and customer needs.

Team Structure:

• Design Studio Focus: The role is part of a dedicated "Design Studio," implying a specialized team focused on delivering design excellence.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Designers work in close partnership with product managers, marketing teams, and front-end developers, requiring strong communication and collaboration skills.

• Reporting Line: While not explicitly stated, a Product Designer typically reports to a Design Lead, Head of Design, or Product Manager, within a hierarchical structure common in growing tech companies.

Methodology:

• Agile Product Development: Likely follows agile methodologies, with a focus on iterative design and development cycles.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Emphasizes the use of customer feedback, analytics, and A/B testing to inform design decisions.

• Design System Centricity: A core operational methodology is the development and maintenance of a robust design system to ensure consistency and efficiency.

Company Website: https://tradenation.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture values craft, clarity, and reliable delivery. The "commitments to each other" section ("We have each other’s backs," "We challenge each other," "We thrive together") suggests a collaborative and supportive environment that encourages growth and mutual respect, vital for a hybrid and international team.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Mid-Level Product Designer (2-5 years of experience). It requires a strong foundation in design principles, proficiency with core design tools, and the ability to work independently on defined projects. The responsibilities include owning the brief-to-delivery process, contributing significantly to the design system, and collaborating effectively with development teams.

Reporting Structure: The designer will likely report to a Design Lead or Head of Design, and will work closely with Product Managers and Front-End Developers. This structure allows for mentorship and guidance while fostering autonomy.

Operations Impact: The Product Designer plays a critical role in shaping the user experience of Trade Nation's trading platform and marketing materials. Their work directly impacts customer acquisition, retention, and overall user satisfaction, contributing significantly to the company's mission of helping traders make better decisions through intuitive and reliable tools.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design System Specialization: Deepen expertise in design systems, potentially leading to a role as a Design System Lead or specialist.

• Product Design Expertise: Grow into a Senior Product Designer role, taking on more complex projects, mentoring junior designers, and contributing to design strategy.

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Develop skills in product strategy and user research, potentially moving into a Product Manager role or a UX Lead position.

• Skill Expansion: Opportunities to learn and implement AI-assisted design tools and gain deeper insights into regulated financial product design.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role offers a clear path for growth within product design, with opportunities to specialize in design systems or take on broader product responsibilities. The company's international presence also suggests potential for exposure to different market needs and global product strategies.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Trade Nation offers a hybrid work environment. Employees can choose to work from their Lisbon office, South African offices (Cape Town or Johannesburg), or remotely within Portugal (and other locations for up to 3 weeks). The offices are designed to be comfortable, inclusive, and conducive to collaboration.

Office Location(s):

• Lisbon, Portugal: Marquês de Pombal area, with excellent public transport access and proximity to amenities and Parque Eduardo VII. The office features dedicated wellbeing and communal spaces.

• Cape Town, South Africa: Tygervalley, a well-established commercial district offering good connectivity.

• Johannesburg, South Africa: Rosebank, a vibrant area with excellent accessibility, near Rosebank Mall and the Gautrain Station.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: Offices are equipped with communal spaces designed to foster connection and collaboration, supporting the hybrid work model.

• Technology Access: While specific tools are detailed in the "Tools & Technology Stack" section, it's expected that employees will have access to the necessary hardware and software to perform their roles effectively, whether in-office or remote.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for in-person interaction with colleagues in the Lisbon or South African offices, balanced with remote collaboration tools for seamless communication across distributed teams.

Work Schedule: The role is for 40 hours per week. The hybrid nature and the "work from anywhere" allowance suggest a focus on results and flexibility, rather than strict adherence to office hours, provided deliverables are met.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model and the global "work from anywhere" allowance are key features, indicating a modern, flexible workplace culture that trusts its employees to manage their time effectively, regardless of location, as long as work is delivered to a high standard.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your application and portfolio to assess fundamental skills and experience alignment.

• Technical Interview: Likely includes a deep dive into your Figma proficiency, design system experience, and understanding of atomic design principles. You may be asked to walk through specific case studies from your portfolio.

• Design Challenge/Case Study Presentation: You might be given a small design task or asked to present a significant case study from your portfolio, focusing on your problem-solving approach, design process, and ability to articulate design decisions and their impact.

• Team/Cultural Fit Interview: Discussions with potential team members (designers, developers, product managers) to assess collaboration style, communication skills, and alignment with Trade Nation's values.

• Final Interview: Potentially with senior leadership to discuss your career aspirations and overall fit within the organization.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 of your strongest case studies that best demonstrate the required skills: brief-to-delivery ownership, design system contribution, developer collaboration, and data-informed design.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process you followed, the tools and methodologies used, the design solutions, and the measurable outcomes or impact.

• Highlight Design System Work: Dedicate specific sections or examples to showcase your experience with Figma design systems, components, variants, and atomic design principles.

• Emphasize Developer Handoff: Include examples or descriptions of how you prepare assets and specifications for developers, demonstrating your understanding of their needs.

• Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, use data and metrics to illustrate the success of your designs (e.g., conversion rate improvements, reduced task completion times, user satisfaction scores).

• Tailor to Trade Nation: Briefly explain why your skills and experience are a good fit for Trade Nation's specific context (FinTech, regulated products, hybrid work).

Challenge Preparation:

• Figma Mastery: Be prepared for exercises or questions that test your advanced Figma skills, including auto-layout, components, variants, and prototyping.

• Design System Thinking: Understand how to audit, extend, and maintain a design system. Be ready to discuss best practices for component creation and documentation.

• Problem-Solving: Practice breaking down ambiguous briefs into actionable design steps and articulating your decision-making process.

• Collaboration Scenarios: Consider how you would communicate design decisions, handle feedback, and resolve conflicts with developers and stakeholders in a hybrid environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes practical skills and a proven ability to deliver. Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate their expertise with Figma, their understanding of design systems, and their capacity for data-driven, collaborative design work.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core design tool for UI design, prototyping, and design system management. Proficiency with advanced features like components, variants, auto-layout, and collaborative editing is essential.

• Prototyping Tools: Integrated within Figma, but may also include dedicated prototyping tools for more complex interactions or user testing.

Analytics & Reporting:

• User Analytics Platforms: Experience with tools like HotJar and Amplitude is required to track user behavior, gather feedback, and inform design decisions.

• A/B Testing Tools: Familiarity with platforms used for validating design hypotheses and optimizing user flows through experimentation.

CRM & Automation:

Documentation:

• Storybook (Preferred): Experience with Storybook or similar tools for documenting and showcasing component libraries, facilitating developer collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma is non-negotiable. The emphasis on user analytics and A/B testing tools indicates a strong data-driven approach to design, where user behavior and performance metrics are central to the design process.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Craftsmanship & Quality: A strong emphasis on producing high-quality, polished, and production-ready UI with meticulous attention to detail.

• Clarity & Precision: Thriving on clarity in briefs, designs, and communication, ensuring that complex products are presented simply and effectively.

• Reliability & Consistency: A commitment to shipping great work reliably and maintaining consistency across the platform through adherence to the design system.

• Collaboration & Ownership: Taking ownership of the brief-to-delivery pipeline and working in close partnership with cross-functional teams.

• Curiosity & Boldness: Encouraged to be more creative, curious, and bold in problem-solving and design exploration.

Collaboration Style:

• Partnership with Development: A close working relationship with front-end developers, ensuring seamless handoffs and high-fidelity implementation.

• Stakeholder Engagement: Proactive communication and collaboration with business stakeholders to clarify briefs and confirm deliverables.

• Design System Community: Contributing to and benefiting from a shared design system, fostering a sense of collective ownership and best practice.

• Feedback Integration: Openness to receiving and providing feedback within the design team and with cross-functional partners to continuously improve designs and processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture values a blend of individual craft and collaborative effort. The commitment to "challenging each other" and "thriving together" suggests an environment where constructive feedback is welcomed, and continuous improvement is a shared goal.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Speed and Quality: The need to deliver production-ready UI with speed and precision in a fast-paced FinTech environment can be demanding. Mitigation involves robust design systems and efficient workflows.

• Navigating Complex Regulations: Designing for tightly regulated financial products requires a deep understanding of compliance and risk, demanding meticulous attention to detail and clarity.

• Maintaining Design System Scalability: As the product grows, ensuring the design system remains scalable, maintainable, and inclusive of new features presents an ongoing challenge. Proactive system audits and component development are key.

• Remote Collaboration Effectiveness: Ensuring seamless communication and design quality across distributed teams requires strong documentation, clear processes, and proactive engagement.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Design System Expertise: Opportunity to become a go-to expert in Trade Nation's design system, influencing its evolution and best practices.

• Financial Product Design Specialization: Deepen knowledge and experience in the nuances of designing for trading platforms and regulated financial services.

• Emerging Design Technologies: Exposure to and potential adoption of AI-assisted design tools, offering opportunities to enhance workflow efficiency and creativity.

• Cross-Functional Skill Development: Gain deeper insights into product management and development processes through close collaboration, fostering a broader understanding of the product lifecycle.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are typical for a growing FinTech company with a global reach. The growth opportunities are well-aligned with the role's responsibilities, offering paths for specialization and broader skill development.

💡 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 different teams and products?" (Prepare to discuss atomic design, tokens, variants, and contribution workflows).

• Brief Interpretation & Ambiguity: "Imagine you receive a brief that is vague on user flows and success metrics. How would you proceed to clarify requirements and ensure you're designing for the right problem?" (Focus on your proactive communication and problem-solving steps).

• Developer Collaboration: "Walk me through your process for handing off designs to front-end developers. What information is crucial, and how do you handle implementation feedback or discrepancies?" (Highlight your use of Figma's dev tools, clear annotations, and collaborative QA).

Company & Culture Questions:

• Trade Nation's Mission: "How do you see your role as a Product Designer contributing to Trade Nation's mission of helping traders make better decisions?" (Connect your design skills to user empowerment and clarity in financial markets).

• Hybrid Work Environment: "What are your expectations for collaborating and contributing effectively in a hybrid work environment with some remote flexibility?" (Emphasize your communication strategies, self-discipline, and proactive engagement).

• Design Impact Measurement: "How do you measure the success of your designs? Can you provide an example of how data (analytics, A/B testing) influenced a design decision and led to a positive outcome?" (Prepare a specific case study that quantifies impact).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Narrative Arc: Structure each case study with a clear beginning (problem/brief), middle (your process, solutions, challenges), and end (outcome/impact).

• Visual Storytelling: Use high-quality visuals of your designs, prototypes, and system components. Annotate key decisions and challenges.

• Focus on Process: Clearly articulate your thought process, how you tackled ambiguity, and how you collaborated with others.

• Quantify Results: Present metrics and data prominently to demonstrate the tangible impact of your work.

• Conciseness & Clarity: Be prepared to present your key case studies efficiently, focusing on the most impactful aspects. Practice your delivery to ensure it's clear, confident, and engaging.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating not just design skills, but also a strategic understanding of product development, a collaborative mindset, and an ability to deliver within a regulated industry. Be ready to articulate your process and the impact of your work.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided Workable link.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight projects demonstrating your expertise in Figma, design systems, and experience with app/web-based financial products. Select 2-3 best-in-class case studies that showcase your brief-to-delivery ownership and data-informed design approach.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly lists your proficiency with Figma, atomic design, and any experience with financial products, analytics tools (HotJar, Amplitude), and developer collaboration. Quantify achievements where possible.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, your contributions to design systems, and how you collaborate with developers. Prepare to discuss specific examples from your portfolio that address the role's requirements.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Trade Nation's platform, its mission, and its values. Understand the FinTech industry and the specific challenges/opportunities of designing for regulated financial products.

⚠️ 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.