Senior Designer, UX Research and Prototyping

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Designer, UX Research and Prototyping

Company: QIMA

Location: Lisbon, Portugal (Preferred: Paris or London, UK)

Job Type: Full-time

Category: UX Design / Product Design Operations

Date Posted: 2026-08-05

Experience Level: 7+ years (Senior Level)

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive rigorous UX research and user discovery practices to deeply understand QIMA's diverse global client base and their unique needs.

• Lead the creation of functional, code-backed prototypes that move beyond static mockups, directly informing engineering decisions and accelerating development cycles.

• Establish and uphold a high standard of UX craft, comparable to leading consumer and enterprise products, by demonstrating an obsessive attention to detail and a commitment to reducing friction.

• Build strong internal partnerships across sales, marketing, operations, and finance to ground design decisions in business context and drive growth through enhanced client digital experiences.

• Design user experiences that are intuitive, efficient, and tailored to the specific working styles of QIMA's clients, balancing simplification for occasional users with speed and control for power users.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a Senior Designer with a strong emphasis on UX Research and Prototyping, indicating a need for an individual who can not only design but also validate and iterate on designs through functional prototypes. The "Operations" aspect comes from the requirement to integrate with and support various business functions (sales, marketing, operations, finance) to drive growth and to build for scale within QIMA's technology vision. The focus on code-backed prototypes and engineering collaboration suggests a bridge between design and development operations.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design and execute comprehensive UX research plans, including client interviews, usability testing, and competitive analysis, to gather actionable insights.

• Develop and iterate on functional prototypes using advanced tools (Figma, no-code/low-code platforms, basic front-end code) that can be directly handed off to engineering teams.

• Translate complex business requirements and client pain points into intuitive and efficient user flows and interface designs.

• Collaborate closely with product managers, engineers, and stakeholders to define product roadmaps and prioritize design initiatives based on user needs and business impact.

• Champion an iterative design process, focusing on rapid prototyping, testing, learning, and continuous improvement to deliver value incrementally.

• Define, track, and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) related to the client digital experience, such as portal adoption, task completion rates, and client retention signals.

• Proactively integrate AI-augmented design practices into daily workflows to accelerate discovery, prototyping, and overall design impact.

• Ensure design decisions are grounded in data and evidence, effectively communicating design rationale and business cases to cross-functional teams and leadership.

• Contribute to the development of a modular design system and ensure adherence to scalability principles across QIMA's diverse service portfolio.

• Foster a collaborative environment, actively seeking feedback and building consensus among stakeholders to drive alignment and successful product adoption.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of deep user-centric design, practical prototyping skills that bridge to engineering, and a strategic understanding of business operations and growth drivers. The emphasis on "code-backed prototypes" and "minimal translation loss" points to a strong need for operations-level efficiency in the design-to-development pipeline.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, or a related field is often preferred for senior roles in this domain. Equivalent practical experience will also be considered.

Experience: A minimum of 7 years of progressive experience in UX research, product design, or a closely related role with a proven track record of owning complex, multi-stakeholder design problems from discovery through to functional prototype delivery. Experience in high-growth or scale-up environments is highly valued.

Required Skills:

• UX Research & Discovery: Proven ability to design and conduct rigorous user research, including qualitative (interviews, contextual inquiry) and quantitative methods, to uncover client needs and pain points.

• Advanced Prototyping: Expertise in creating functional, interactive prototypes beyond static mockups, utilizing tools like Figma's interactive features, no-code/low-code platforms (e.g., Webflow, Bubble for prototyping), or basic front-end code (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) to minimize translation loss for engineering.

• UX Craftsmanship: Demonstrated commitment to high-quality design standards, with an obsessive attention to detail, ability to ruthlessly remove friction, and a portfolio showcasing this discipline.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Strong ability to partner effectively with engineering, product management, sales, marketing, operations, and finance teams, grounding design in business context and driving alignment through evidence and prototypes.

• Data Analysis & Interpretation: Analytical sharpness and the ability to use data (even imperfect data) to support design decisions, prioritize efforts, and measure impact.

• Agile & Iterative Mindset: A strong bias for action and an iterative approach to design, valuing rapid prototyping, testing, learning, and continuous adjustment over waiting for perfect plans.

• AI-Augmented Design: Demonstrable proficiency and daily use of AI tools to accelerate design workflows, push creative limits, and elevate the work of the broader design team.

• Full Professional English Proficiency: Excellent written and verbal communication skills for clear articulation of ideas, research findings, and design rationale to diverse audiences.

• High Agency & Ownership: Proactive problem-solver who defines ambiguity, unblocks challenges, takes initiative, and holds themselves accountable for outcomes.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in Scale-up/High-Growth Environments: Familiarity with the demands of operating in environments that require both startup scrappiness and speed, as well as the ability to design for scale.

• Supply Chain or Quality Control Industry Knowledge: Understanding of QIMA's core business context can be an advantage.

• UI Design Systems: Experience contributing to or maintaining design systems for scalability and consistency.

• Basic Front-End Development: While not strictly required, a foundational understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript can enhance prototyping capabilities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirements emphasize a unique blend of deep UX research capabilities, advanced prototyping skills that can be directly leveraged by engineering, and a strategic business acumen necessary for a senior role impacting growth. The explicit mention of AI-augmented design and functional prototypes positions this as a forward-thinking role within a GTM operations context.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Functional Prototypes: A significant portion of the portfolio must showcase working, clickable prototypes, not just static mockups.