Senior Product Designer & Builder

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer & Builder

Company: Blueground

Location: Athens, Attica, Greece

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / Operations Technology

Date Posted: 2026-09-10

Experience Level: 5-10 years

Remote Status: Hybrid (with remote flexibility)

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the end-to-end product design lifecycle for Blueground's internal Property Management System (BlueB), focusing on enhancing operational efficiency and business performance.

• Drive product innovation by translating complex internal workflows into intuitive, scalable, and user-centered solutions using advanced interaction and visual design principles.

• Develop production-faithful prototypes leveraging Figma and AI-assisted coding tools to bridge the gap between design and engineering, accelerating decision-making.

• Contribute directly to the codebase with targeted UI enhancements and refined interaction details, ensuring seamless integration and delivery of design specifications.

• Evolve and maintain Blueground's design system, Blueprint, ensuring consistency, scalability, and best practices across all internal tools.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a hybrid between traditional product design and front-end development, with a strong emphasis on building and contributing to the internal operational tools. The "Builder" aspect implies a hands-on contribution to the codebase, requiring a solid understanding of front-end technologies and the ability to create functional prototypes.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Identify and prioritize opportunities for design to significantly improve Blueground's operational efficiency and overall business performance through internal tools.

• Take ownership of design projects from initial concept and problem definition through to final delivery, working autonomously to create clear, scalable, and impactful solutions.

• Simplify intricate internal operational workflows by applying thoughtful interaction design, intuitive information architecture, and a clean visual design aesthetic.

• Construct production-faithful prototypes using Figma and AI-assisted coding tools to effectively validate design concepts, test interactions, and facilitate collaboration between product, engineering, and operations teams.

• Directly contribute targeted UI improvements and refine interaction details within the existing codebase, providing hands-on support to the engineering team during implementation and conducting thorough design quality assurance (QA).

• Actively participate in the evolution and expansion of "Blueprint," Blueground's comprehensive design system, contributing to components, patterns, design tokens, and documentation.

• Foster strong, collaborative partnerships with Product Managers, Engineers, operational stakeholders, and the broader Product Design team throughout the entire product development lifecycle, from discovery to deployment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic product thinking, hands-on design execution, and direct contribution to front-end development. The emphasis on "production-faithful prototypes" and "contribute targeted UI improvements directly to the codebase" signifies a more integrated role than a typical pure designer.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience: 5-10 years of professional experience in product design, with a significant focus on complex B2B, enterprise, or internal product development.

Required Skills:

• Proven track record of designing complex, data-dense interfaces for enterprise-level or internal applications.

• Exceptional product judgment and the ability to strategically align user needs with tangible business objectives and operational improvements.

• Demonstrated confidence in working autonomously, creating structure and clarity from ambiguous problem spaces.

• Strong command of interaction design and visual design craft, with a keen eye for detail in handling complex states and data visualization.

• Hands-on experience in building, scaling, and maintaining design systems, including components, patterns, and documentation.

• Solid understanding of HTML, CSS, and component-based front-end development principles, enabling effective collaboration and communication with engineering teams.

• Practical experience utilizing AI-assisted tools (e.g., Cursor, Claude) for building functional prototypes and contributing to production UI.

• Proficiency in design and prototyping tools, with a strong emphasis on Figma. Preferred Skills:

• Experience with React, Next.js, and Material UI, aligning with the company's technology stack.

• Familiarity with user research methodologies and tools such as Dovetail, Hotjar, or Posthog.

• Experience collaborating within agile environments using tools like Jira and Confluence.

• A strong portfolio showcasing product thinking, systems thinking, exceptional design craft, and technical prototyping capabilities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The experience level is inferred from the "Senior" title and the expectation of leading projects autonomously and contributing to design systems and codebase. The technical skills are directly mapped from the "About you" section and the "Our tool stack."

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio that clearly demonstrates a strong foundation in product thinking, showcasing an understanding of user needs and business goals within an operational context.

• Evidence of systems thinking, illustrating the ability to design scalable solutions and contribute to or evolve design systems.

• Examples of strong design craft, including interaction design, visual design, and the handling of complex, data-rich interfaces.

• Demonstrations of technical prototyping capabilities, including the use of Figma and AI-assisted coding tools to create functional and production-faithful prototypes.

• Case studies detailing the process of simplifying complex internal workflows and the impact of the designed solutions on operational efficiency. Process Documentation:

• Detailed case studies outlining the end-to-end design process for at least one complex internal or B2B product, from discovery and research to design, prototyping, and implementation support.

• Examples of how design decisions were informed by user needs and business objectives, with clear articulation of the problem statement and proposed solutions.

• Documentation or examples of contributions to a design system, including component design, pattern definition, and adherence to established guidelines.

• Evidence of collaboration with engineering teams, potentially including examples of design QA, UI contributions, or code reviews.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the "Builder" aspect of the role, the portfolio requirements emphasize not only design thinking and craft but also technical prototyping and direct contribution to the development process. This aligns with the need to bridge design and engineering.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for Senior Product Designers in Athens, Greece, with 5-10 years of experience and a hybrid/remote work arrangement, a competitive salary range is estimated between €45,000 - €65,000 annually. This range considers the cost of living in Athens and the specialized skill set required, including AI-assisted coding and front-end contributions.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary

• Flexible paid time off

• Comprehensive group health insurance

• Access to a dedicated training budget and learning resources

• Access to premium AI-powered productivity tools (e.g., Cursor, Claude, ChatGPT)

• Mobile data plan

• Enhanced parental leave

• A dynamic, collaborative work environment fostering innovation and talent development

• Flexibility to work remotely through the Blueground Nomads mobility program

• Complimentary accommodation at Blueground locations worldwide

• A strong commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Working Hours: Standard full-time working hours are expected, likely around 40 hours per week, with a hybrid work arrangement allowing for flexibility between remote and in-office work.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is an estimate based on typical compensation for a Senior Product Designer in Athens, Greece, factoring in the specified experience level and the unique "Builder" component of the role. Regional salary data for tech and design roles in Greece was consulted, alongside general international compensation benchmarks for senior product design positions.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Real Estate Technology (PropTech) / Hospitality. Blueground operates at the intersection of real estate, technology, and hospitality, providing furnished apartments for stays of one month or longer. This industry requires a blend of operational efficiency, customer-centricity, and technological innovation.

Company Size: Blueground is a rapidly growing company with a significant global presence, indicating a dynamic and evolving work environment. The exact number of employees is not specified in the provided data, but the mention of "60,000+ homes around the world" suggests a substantial operational scale.

Founded: Blueground was founded with a mission to redefine living by creating a new category of housing. The company's growth trajectory and ambitious goals suggest a culture that values speed, innovation, and a forward-thinking approach to problem-solving.

Team Structure:

• The role reports to the Design Director, indicating a structured design leadership.

• The Senior Product Designer & Builder will be part of the "BlueB" product team, which focuses on internal operational tools. This team likely includes Product Managers, Engineers, and other designers.

• Collaboration is expected with operational stakeholders across various departments to understand their needs and challenges.

• The wider Product Design team provides a community for design discussions, critiques, and shared learning. Methodology:

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Blueground emphasizes a data-driven approach, utilizing analytics tools for insights into guest experiences and operational performance.

• Agile Development: The use of Jira and Confluence suggests an agile or iterative development process, prioritizing flexibility and continuous improvement.

• User-Centric Design: The core principle of "Guests First" permeates the company culture, extending to the design of internal tools that ultimately support the guest experience.

• Emphasis on Speed and Action: The culture principle "Move Fast" implies an environment that values momentum, proactive problem-solving, and efficient execution.

Company Website: https://theblueground.com

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is explicitly defined by five principles: Guests First, Move Fast, Dive In, Embrace Change, and Keep It Honest. These principles are crucial for understanding how decisions are made and how individuals are expected to contribute within the organization, especially in a role that bridges design and technical implementation.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior-level position, indicating a requirement for significant experience and the ability to work autonomously. The role is critical in shaping the internal tools that drive operational efficiency, positioning the individual as a key contributor to the company's growth and scalability. The "Builder" aspect offers a unique growth path for designers interested in a more technical contribution.

Reporting Structure: The role reports to the Design Director, providing clear leadership oversight. Collaboration will be extensive with Product Managers and Engineers within the BlueB product team, as well as with operational stakeholders across the business. This structure allows for both strategic direction and hands-on execution.

Operations Impact: The Senior Product Designer & Builder will have a direct and significant impact on Blueground's operational excellence. By designing and helping to build more efficient internal tools, this role will streamline complex workflows, reduce operational friction, and ultimately contribute to cost savings and improved service delivery. The "Builder" component allows for a more tangible impact on the functionality and performance of these critical systems.

Growth Opportunities:

• Technical Skill Advancement: Opportunity to deepen expertise in front-end development, AI-assisted coding tools, and modern web technologies (React, Next.js) through practical application and collaboration with engineering.

• Design System Leadership: Potential to take on greater responsibility in evolving and governing the "Blueprint" design system, becoming a subject matter expert.

• Cross-Functional Influence: Develop strong relationships and influence across Product, Engineering, and Operations teams, leading to broader project ownership and strategic input.

• Product Strategy Contribution: Contribute to the product roadmap and strategic direction of internal tools, directly impacting the company's ability to scale operations globally.

• Leadership Potential: As a senior member, there's potential to mentor junior designers and contribute to establishing design best practices within the company.

📝 Enhancement Note: The growth opportunities are tailored to the hybrid nature of the role, emphasizing both design leadership and technical contribution. The ability to work on internal operational tools provides a unique vantage point for understanding and influencing core business processes.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Blueground offers a hybrid work model, combining the benefits of in-office collaboration with the flexibility of remote work. This suggests a modern office setup designed to facilitate teamwork, innovation, and employee well-being.

Office Location(s): The primary location for this role is Athens, Attica, Greece. Blueground also has a global presence, and the "Blueground Nomads" mobility program allows employees to work remotely from various Blueground locations worldwide, offering significant flexibility for travel and extended stays.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: The office environment likely includes collaborative workspaces, meeting rooms, and potentially quiet zones, catering to different work styles and project needs.

• Technology-Rich Environment: Access to a comprehensive tool stack including Figma, React, Next.js, Material UI, and premium AI-powered productivity tools ensures that designers have the necessary resources to perform their jobs effectively.

• Cross-Functional Interaction: The hybrid model and emphasis on collaboration mean frequent interaction with Product Managers, Engineers, and operational teams, fostering a dynamic and integrated work experience.

Work Schedule: While specific hours are not detailed, a standard full-time schedule (approximately 40 hours/week) is implied. The hybrid nature allows for flexibility in managing workdays, balancing in-office presence with remote work, which can be beneficial for focused design or development tasks.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid nature and the "Blueground Nomads" program are significant aspects of the work environment, offering unparalleled flexibility and travel opportunities, which is a strong draw for many professionals.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your application, focusing on resume and portfolio to assess alignment with the role's requirements, particularly experience in complex B2B/internal products and design systems.

• Portfolio Presentation & Discussion: A dedicated session where you will present your portfolio, walking through key case studies. Expect in-depth questions about your product thinking, design process, technical prototyping capabilities, and how you've approached solving complex operational challenges. Be prepared to discuss your contributions to design systems and any direct UI/code contributions.

• Technical/Design Challenge: You may be given a design exercise or a small coding challenge, potentially involving creating a functional prototype or suggesting UI improvements for a given scenario, reflecting the "Builder" aspect of the role.

• Team & Stakeholder Interviews: Meetings with the Design Director, Product Managers, Engineers, and potentially key operational stakeholders to assess collaboration style, communication skills, and cultural fit with Blueground's principles.

• Final Interview: A concluding conversation, likely with senior leadership, to discuss overall fit, career aspirations, and finalize any offer details.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight B2B/Internal Product Experience: Showcase projects that demonstrate your ability to design for complex workflows, data-dense interfaces, and internal user needs.

• Emphasize Process & Problem-Solving: Clearly articulate the problem you were solving, your design process, the trade-offs you made, and the measurable impact of your solutions. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) where appropriate.

• Demonstrate Technical Prototyping: Include examples of functional prototypes built using Figma or AI-assisted coding tools. Show how these prototypes bridged the gap between design and engineering.

• Showcase Design System Contributions: Detail your involvement in creating, scaling, or evolving design systems. Explain your approach to component design, pattern definition, and documentation.

• Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, use metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs – e.g., improvements in task completion time, reduction in errors, increased user satisfaction, or operational efficiency gains.

• Tailor to BlueB: Research Blueground's internal tools and operational challenges. If possible, subtly tailor your presentation to show how your skills align with their specific needs.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand BlueB's Context: Familiarize yourself with Blueground's business model and the potential challenges of managing operations at scale. Think about the types of internal tools needed.

• Practice Prototyping: Be ready to quickly mock up or prototype solutions in Figma. If a coding element is involved, brush up on HTML, CSS, and potentially React basics.

• Articulate Design Rationale: Be prepared to clearly explain the "why" behind your design decisions, linking them back to user needs, business goals, and operational efficiency.

• Prepare for AI Tool Discussion: Be ready to discuss your experience with AI-assisted coding tools and how you leverage them in your workflow.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process and portfolio review tips are specifically crafted to address the unique "Builder" aspect of this role, emphasizing technical prototyping and direct contribution to the codebase alongside traditional product design skills.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (primary design tool), AI-assisted coding tools (e.g., Cursor, Claude) for building production-faithful prototypes and contributing UI enhancements.

• Frontend Development: React, Next.js, Material UI. A strong understanding of these technologies is essential for effective collaboration and direct contribution.

• Design System: "Blueprint" - Blueground's internal design system. Proficiency in working with and contributing to design systems is critical.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Dovetail: For organizing and analyzing user research data.

• Hotjar: For user behavior analysis, heatmaps, and session recordings.

• Posthog: For product analytics, event tracking, and A/B testing. Collaboration & Project Management:

• Slack: For real-time communication and team collaboration.

• Jira: For project tracking, task management, and agile workflow management.

• Confluence: For documentation, knowledge sharing, and project planning.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section is populated directly from the "Our tool stack" provided in the job description, highlighting the specific technologies and platforms the candidate will be expected to use and contribute to.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Guests First: Every design decision for internal tools should ultimately consider how it impacts the guest experience, even indirectly. Efficiency gains in operations should translate to better service.

• Move Fast: Embrace iterative development and rapid prototyping. Be comfortable with quick decision-making and launching solutions efficiently to gather feedback.

• Dive In: Be prepared to deeply understand complex operational workflows and the intricacies of the "BlueB" system. The role requires detailed problem-solving.

• Embrace Change: Be adaptable and open to evolving requirements and new technologies, particularly AI tools, as the company and its products grow.

• Keep It Honest: Foster transparency in communication, design decisions, and feedback exchanges with team members and stakeholders.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: The role requires close collaboration with Product Managers, Engineers, and operational teams. Expect regular syncs, joint problem-solving sessions, and a shared responsibility for project success.

• Iterative Feedback Loops: Be open to constructive criticism and actively provide feedback to others, fostering a culture of continuous improvement for both products and processes.

• Knowledge Sharing: Contribute to the team's collective knowledge by sharing insights from design research, technical findings, and best practices in design systems and front-end development.

📝 Enhancement Note: The team culture and values are directly drawn from Blueground's stated principles, interpreted in the context of a product design and development role focused on internal operations.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Design Craft with Technical Contribution: The primary challenge is effectively merging deep product design thinking and user experience expertise with hands-on front-end development and AI-assisted coding. This requires managing different skill sets and priorities within a single role.

• Simplifying Complex Operational Workflows: Internal operational systems often involve intricate, legacy processes. Translating these into intuitive, user-friendly interfaces requires significant analytical and design thinking.

• Evolving Design System: Keeping a design system ("Blueprint") up-to-date and scalable across a growing product suite, while also contributing directly to the codebase, demands strong organizational and technical discipline.

• Rapid Growth Environment: Working in a fast-paced, high-growth company means adapting to changing priorities and continuously iterating on solutions to meet evolving business needs.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Front-End Development Mastery: Deepen expertise in React, Next.js, and Material UI through practical application and direct contribution to production code.

• AI Tool Proficiency: Become highly skilled in leveraging AI-assisted coding tools for rapid prototyping and potentially for code generation or optimization, staying at the forefront of design technology.

• Design System Governance: Gain experience in leading aspects of design system management, influencing its direction and adoption across the organization.

• Operational Domain Expertise: Develop a deep understanding of property management and hospitality operations, which can open doors to future roles focused on operations strategy or technology.

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Enhance skills in stakeholder management, communication, and influencing product direction across different departments.

📝 Enhancement Note: Challenges are identified based on the hybrid nature of the role and the context of a rapidly growing tech company. Growth opportunities are framed around leveraging these challenges for skill development.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to design a complex internal workflow. What was your process, what were the key challenges, and how did your design improve operational efficiency?" (Focus on your product thinking, problem-solving, and ability to quantify impact.)

• "How do you approach balancing user experience and business needs when designing for internal tools? Provide an example." (Demonstrate your ability to connect user needs with operational goals and company values.)

• "Walk us through your experience with design systems. How have you contributed to or evolved them? What are the key principles of a successful design system?" (Highlight your systems thinking and practical experience with design system components and patterns.)

• "Describe a project where you used AI-assisted tools to build prototypes or contribute to UI development. What tools did you use, and what was the outcome?" (Showcase your technical capabilities and forward-thinking approach.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "How do Blueground's core principles (Guests First, Move Fast, Dive In, Embrace Change, Keep It Honest) align with your personal working style and design philosophy?" (Prepare specific examples of how you embody these principles.)

• "What interests you about designing internal operational tools, specifically for a company like Blueground?" (Show genuine interest in the company's mission and the impact of internal technology.)

• "How do you collaborate with engineers and product managers? Describe a situation where you had a disagreement and how you resolved it." (Assess your teamwork and communication skills.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, your process, the solutions you designed (and built/contributed to), and the measurable results.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals effectively – mockups, prototypes, user flows, and any code snippets or UI contributions you can share. Demonstrate the functionality of your prototypes.

• Highlight Technical Contributions: Explicitly call out where you contributed code, refined UI elements, or built production-faithful prototypes. Explain the technical challenges you overcame.

• Quantify Impact: Use data and metrics to demonstrate the value of your work. This could include efficiency gains, error reductions, or improvements in user satisfaction for internal teams.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your design decisions, technical choices, and how you handled trade-offs.

📝 Enhancement Note: These interview questions and preparation tips are specifically designed to probe the unique "Builder" aspect of the role, ensuring candidates are prepared to discuss both their design expertise and their technical contributions.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer & Builder position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Workable.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest projects that best demonstrate your experience in complex B2B/internal product design, design systems, and technical prototyping. Ensure it clearly shows your contribution to the "Builder" aspect.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight keywords and experiences relevant to product design, interaction design, visual design, design systems, front-end development (React, HTML, CSS), AI-assisted tools, and internal/enterprise product development. Quantify achievements whenever possible.

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice walking through your portfolio case studies, focusing on clearly articulating the problem, your process, your specific contributions (design and technical), and the measurable impact. Be ready to discuss your approach to collaboration and problem-solving.

• Research Blueground: Understand their business model, company culture (especially the five principles), and the role of "BlueB" in their operations. This will help you tailor your answers and demonstrate genuine interest.

⚠️ 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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