Senior Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer

Company: CoLab Software

Location: Canada, Remote

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Product Design / UX Design (with a focus on Enterprise SaaS platforms)

Date Posted: 2026-06-26

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Fully Remote (within Canada)

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the design of complex, technically demanding, and strategically critical areas of an AI-driven engineering platform, focusing on enterprise SaaS solutions.

• Drive product strategy and design direction for large customers, shaping how they interact with CoLab's platform and ensuring scalability across global organizations.

• Collaborate closely with Product Managers and Engineering Leads to define roadmaps, align user experiences, and ensure product cohesion and intuitive design.

• Mentor junior designers, contributing to the growth of the UX design organization and elevating UX thinking across cross-functional teams.

• Translate intricate requirements into clear, usable, and scalable design solutions, playing a pivotal role in product development from problem definition to execution.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Senior Product Designer," the description strongly emphasizes leadership within the UX design organization, mentorship, and influencing product strategy, aligning this role more closely with a Lead or Principal UX Designer designation within an enterprise SaaS context. The focus on complex systems, integrations, and platform interfaces is a key differentiator.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Partner with product and engineering leads to shape the roadmap and architectural decisions for CoLab’s platform, focusing on technically demanding and strategic areas.

• Translate complex requirements for enterprise customers into clear, usable, and scalable design solutions that enhance user workflows and decision-making.

• Elevate design quality across the entire product by contributing to shared patterns, components, and the evolution of CoLab's design system.

• Mentor other designers within the organization, fostering a culture of design excellence and elevating UX thinking across product and engineering teams.

• Conduct comprehensive customer discovery, workflow analysis, usability testing, and prototype validation to inform product direction and validate design decisions.

• Drive alignment and clarity in complex problem spaces that involve significant technical challenges and organizational risk.

• Facilitate the discovery of the right problems by deeply understanding user needs and business objectives before designing solutions.

• Integrate customer evidence and data into product discussions to empower teams to make more confident and informed decisions.

• Contribute to the design of intricate workflows, integrations, and system interfaces that define how enterprise clients engage with CoLab.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of hands-on design, strategic influence, and leadership. The emphasis on "complex workflows, integrations, and system interfaces" and "enterprise SaaS" suggests a focus on backend, platform, or admin-level user experiences rather than just consumer-facing features.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio and relevant experience in UX/Product Design are paramount. A degree in Design, HCI, Computer Science, or a related field is often beneficial for understanding technical constraints.

Experience: 6+ years of product or UX design experience, with a minimum of 4 years specifically within enterprise SaaS environments.

Required Skills:

• Deep experience designing complex systems, administrative tools, or enterprise platform features for large-scale organizations.

• Strong UX architecture skills and a robust systems thinking approach, with a proven ability to design for scalability and adaptability.

• Fluency in Figma for design, prototyping, and collaboration.

• Proficiency in developing and utilizing structured design systems to ensure product consistency and efficiency.

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with a proven ability to work effectively with technical partners (Product Managers, Engineers).

• Experience conducting customer discovery, workflow analysis, usability testing, and validation research throughout the product development lifecycle.

• Demonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity, independently drive complex initiatives, and manage the full product development cycle from problem definition to execution.

• A proactive approach to identifying opportunities and bringing new ideas, supported by customer understanding and strong design rationale. Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing products specifically for engineering, manufacturing, industrial, construction, or other highly technical domains.

• Experience working directly with subject matter experts in complex operational environments to deeply understand their workflows and challenges.

• Familiarity with AI-enhanced design tools (e.g., Figma Make, Lovable, Galileo AI) is a plus.

• Experience designing for or working closely with enterprise IT, security, or PLM/ERP systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "6+ years of product or UX design experience, with at least 4 in enterprise SaaS" and "Deep experience designing complex systems, admin tools, or enterprise platform features" indicates a need for a senior-level candidate with a proven track record in B2B enterprise software. The "Nice to have" section points towards domain expertise in technical industries, which is highly valuable.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a minimum of 2-3 complex enterprise SaaS design projects that demonstrate your ability to handle intricate workflows, system interfaces, or platform features.

• For each project, clearly articulate the problem space, your role, the design process followed, key decisions made, and the measurable impact of your solutions.

• Highlight your systems thinking approach, illustrating how you designed for scalability, consistency, and future adaptability within the product.

• Include examples of your work with design systems, demonstrating your understanding of component-based design, pattern libraries, and contribution to their evolution.

• Showcase your experience with user research and validation, detailing how you gathered insights and used them to inform and iterate on your designs. Process Documentation:

• Detail your approach to user research and discovery, including methodologies for understanding complex user workflows and identifying pain points in enterprise environments.

• Illustrate your process for translating ambiguous requirements into clear, actionable design specifications and interactive prototypes.

• Provide examples of how you collaborated with engineering and product teams, showcasing your ability to drive alignment and manage technical constraints.

• Demonstrate your methodology for problem definition, ensuring that solutions are aligned with well-understood user needs and business objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Senior Product Designer role focused on enterprise SaaS, a portfolio must go beyond visual design. It needs to demonstrate strategic thinking, complex problem-solving, systems design capabilities, and a deep understanding of user workflows in technical B2B environments. Emphasis on research, validation, and cross-functional collaboration is crucial.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on the role being Senior Product Designer, fully remote within Canada, and requiring 6+ years of enterprise SaaS experience, a competitive salary range can be estimated. For a Senior/Lead UX Designer in Canada with this specialization, the typical range could be CAD $110,000 - $160,000 annually, depending on the specific province, candidate experience, and exact responsibilities.

Benefits:

• Extended Health and Dental Package: Comprehensive coverage for medical, dental, and vision needs.

• Stock Options: Opportunity to gain equity in a rapidly growing, recognized company.

• Unlimited Paid Vacation: Flexibility and trust in employees to manage their time off effectively.

• 5% RRSP Matching: Employer contribution to retirement savings plans, enhancing financial security.

• Attractive Compensation Package: Includes competitive base salary, stock options, and other incentives.

Working Hours: The standard working hours are likely around 40 hours per week. Given the fully remote nature and unlimited vacation policy, there's an expectation of flexibility and autonomy, allowing designers to manage their schedules effectively while meeting project deadlines and collaboration needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary estimation is based on general Canadian tech industry benchmarks for senior-level design roles, adjusted for the remote nature and the company's growth stage and recognition (Deloitte Fast 50™, Globe and Mail/Financial Post recognition). Specific provincial cost of living and compensation norms within Canada can influence the final range.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Software / AI / Engineering Technology. CoLab operates within the rapidly evolving field of AI-driven product development, specifically for mechanical engineering teams. This industry demands innovation, technical depth, and a strong understanding of complex user workflows.

Company Size: Rapidly scaling company from its founding in 2019. Recognized on Deloitte’s Fast 50™ and Fast 500™, indicating significant growth and market traction. This implies a dynamic, fast-paced environment with evolving processes and opportunities.

Founded: 2019 in St. John’s, Newfoundland. This relatively young company history suggests a culture that is still maturing but is driven by innovation and a clear mission to disrupt traditional engineering processes.

Team Structure:

• The UX design team is integrated within "Build Teams," implying a cross-functional structure where designers work closely with Product Managers and Engineers.

• As a Senior Product Designer, you will be a leader within the UX design organization, responsible for technically demanding and strategically critical areas.

• This role involves mentoring other designers and driving cross-functional thinking about UX quality and product cohesion, indicating a potential for informal or formal leadership. Methodology:

• Focus on AI-driven decision-making and knowledge repositories for design feedback.

• Emphasis on understanding user workflows and decision-making processes in engineering contexts.

• Commitment to iterative design, research, and validation to inform product direction.

• Drive for efficiency and speed in bringing products to market ("years sooner").

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

📝 Enhancement Note: CoLab's focus on AI and its rapid growth suggest a culture that values innovation, technical expertise, and a data-driven approach. The company's recognition indicates a successful product-market fit and a strong trajectory, appealing to ambitious professionals. The "build team" structure implies agile methodologies and close collaboration.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Senior Product Designer with explicit leadership responsibilities, including mentorship and shaping product strategy. It represents a significant step in a product design career, moving beyond individual contribution to influencing team direction and product vision. Candidates are expected to be seasoned professionals capable of handling complex challenges independently.

Reporting Structure: While not explicitly stated, a Senior Product Designer often reports to a Head of Design, Director of Product, or VP of Product. They will work closely with PMs and Engineering Leads within their respective "Build Teams," indicating a matrixed reporting or strong collaboration structure.

Operations Impact: This role has a direct and substantial impact on revenue and business decisions by shaping the core user experience of CoLab's AI platform. By making complex engineering workflows intuitive and efficient, the designer contributes to faster product development cycles for CoLab's enterprise clients, thereby driving customer satisfaction, retention, and adoption—all critical factors for revenue growth. The design of platform features and integrations directly influences how large organizations leverage CoLab, impacting their ability to scale and gain value.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Development: Opportunity to formally or informally lead design initiatives, mentor junior designers, and influence the overall UX strategy and design culture of a rapidly growing company.

• Strategic Product Influence: Play a key role in shaping the roadmap and architectural decisions for a cutting-edge AI platform, directly impacting product strategy at a senior level.

• Domain Expertise: Deepen expertise in designing for complex technical domains (mechanical engineering, AI, SaaS platforms), becoming a valuable specialist in a high-demand niche.

• Career Advancement: Potential to grow into a Lead Product Designer, Design Manager, or Principal Designer role as the company scales.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role is explicitly described as a "leadership role within our UX design org," indicating significant growth potential beyond a standard senior IC role. The emphasis on influencing product strategy and mentoring signifies a path towards leadership and broader organizational impact.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: While CoLab has a physical office in St. John’s, NL, this position is fully remote. The company culture likely supports a hybrid or remote-first approach for Canadian employees, emphasizing asynchronous communication and collaboration tools.

Office Location(s): St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. However, the role is open to fully remote work from anywhere within Canada.

Workspace Context:

• Remote Collaboration: Expect a highly collaborative remote environment utilizing digital tools for communication, design reviews, and project management.

• Operations Tools & Technology: Access to industry-standard design and collaboration tools (Figma, likely project management software like Jira, communication platforms like Slack).

• Cross-functional Interaction: Frequent opportunities to interact with Product Managers, Engineering Leads, and other designers across different "Build Teams," fostering a rich exchange of ideas and perspectives.

Work Schedule: The role is full-time, with an expectation of approximately 40 hours per week. However, the unlimited vacation policy and remote nature suggest a focus on results and flexibility, allowing individuals to manage their work hours effectively to meet deadlines and maintain work-life balance.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "fully remote from anywhere in Canada" aspect is key here. It implies a company that has optimized its processes and culture for distributed teams, likely relying heavily on digital collaboration and asynchronous communication.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess alignment with the core requirements, especially enterprise SaaS experience and complex system design.

• Portfolio Presentation & Discussion: Expect to present 1-2 key projects from your portfolio, detailing your process, decision-making, and impact. This will likely involve discussions with a Design Lead or Hiring Manager.

• Cross-functional Interviews: Interviews with Product Managers and Engineering Leads to assess collaboration style, technical understanding, and ability to navigate complex problem spaces.

• Design Challenge/Exercise: Potentially a take-home assignment or live design exercise focusing on a complex problem space relevant to CoLab's product, allowing them to evaluate your problem-solving approach and design thinking.

• Final Interview: A discussion with senior leadership (e.g., Head of Product, Head of Design) to assess strategic thinking, cultural fit, and long-term potential.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Enterprise SaaS & Complexity: Prioritize projects that showcase your experience with enterprise platforms, complex workflows, B2B products, or systems design. Avoid purely consumer-facing or simple app designs unless they demonstrate transferable skills in complex problem-solving.

• Articulate Your Process: Clearly explain your end-to-end design process for each case study, emphasizing user research, problem definition, ideation, iteration, and validation.

• Highlight Impact & Metrics: Quantify the impact of your designs whenever possible. Use metrics related to user efficiency, task completion rates, adoption, satisfaction, or business outcomes.

• Showcase Systems Thinking: Demonstrate how you approach designing for scale, consistency, and maintainability through design systems, component libraries, or architectural considerations.

• Be Ready to Discuss Trade-offs: Enterprise design often involves navigating complex constraints (technical, business, security, legacy systems). Be prepared to discuss how you managed trade-offs and made informed decisions.

• Tailor to CoLab: Research CoLab's product and target audience (mechanical engineers, design reviewers) and try to align your portfolio examples or discussion points to their domain.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Familiarize yourself with the challenges faced by mechanical engineering teams and the role of AI in product development.

• Focus on Problem Definition: If given a challenge, spend significant time defining the problem, identifying user needs, and clarifying business goals before jumping into solutions.

• Demonstrate Systems Thinking: Think about how your proposed solution fits into a larger system and how it might scale.

• Communicate Your Rationale: Clearly articulate the "why" behind your design decisions, referencing research, best practices, and strategic objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "complex problem spaces," "technical constraints," and "enterprise SaaS" means the interview process will likely probe deeply into your strategic thinking, ability to handle ambiguity, and experience with large-scale B2B products, not just your visual design skills.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Core tool for UI design, prototyping, and collaboration. Fluency is a strict requirement.

• Design Systems: Experience with creating, maintaining, and contributing to structured design systems is essential for ensuring scalability and consistency.

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

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly listed as a design tool, understanding how to leverage product analytics (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel) or user feedback platforms to inform design decisions and measure impact is highly valuable.

• Experience with A/B testing or other experimentation frameworks to validate design hypotheses. CRM & Automation:

• Not directly applicable to the designer's core toolset, but understanding the principles of CRM and automation within an enterprise SaaS context can provide valuable perspective on user workflows and system integrations.

• Familiarity with PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) or ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems, as mentioned in the "nice to have" section, would be a significant advantage for understanding the target user's environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Figma and structured design systems highlights the company's commitment to modern, efficient design practices. Experience with these tools is non-negotiable. The "nice to have" about PLM/ERP systems is a strong indicator of the technical depth and domain knowledge they value.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and serving the needs of engineers and technical users, creating intuitive and trustworthy enterprise software.

• Data-Driven Decisions: Utilizing customer evidence, research, and analytics to inform product direction and design choices, ensuring solutions are grounded in user needs and business objectives.

• Collaboration & Mentorship: Fostering a supportive environment where designers work closely with product and engineering, share feedback openly, and mentor each other to elevate collective skills.

• Clarity in Complexity: Embracing ambiguity and complexity as design opportunities, bringing clarity to dense problem spaces and simplifying difficult tasks.

• Product Ownership & Proactivity: Taking initiative to identify opportunities, drive complex initiatives, and contribute to product strategy with strong design rationale.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Designers are integral members of "Build Teams," working closely with PMs and engineers to co-create solutions.

• Open Feedback Culture: The emphasis on mentorship and shared learning suggests a culture where constructive feedback is welcomed and valued.

• Knowledge Sharing: Expect active sharing of insights, best practices, and learnings across the design and product teams to foster continuous improvement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company values are derived from the description's emphasis on understanding users, driving decisions with evidence, collaboration, mentorship, and tackling complex problems. This points to a culture that is both technically focused and people-oriented.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Technical Complexity: Designing for intricate engineering workflows and AI-driven platforms requires a deep understanding of technical concepts and the ability to translate them into user-friendly interfaces.

• Balancing User Needs with Technical Constraints: Enterprise SaaS often involves significant technical limitations, security requirements, and legacy systems that must be reconciled with user experience goals.

• Driving Alignment Across Stakeholders: Gaining consensus and driving alignment among Product Managers, Engineering Leads, and potentially enterprise clients on design decisions can be challenging.

• Defining Problems in Ambiguous Spaces: Helping teams discover and clearly define the right problems before designing solutions requires strong analytical and strategic thinking skills.

• Maintaining Design Quality at Scale: Ensuring consistent user experience and high design quality as the product and user base grow rapidly.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Design Leadership: Opportunities to refine leadership skills through mentorship and strategic product influence.

• Domain Specialization: Deepen expertise in the mechanical engineering software domain and AI applications in product development.

• Cross-functional Collaboration Mastery: Enhance skills in working effectively with diverse technical teams.

• Exposure to AI in Design: Potential to explore and integrate AI tools into the design workflow, as hinted at by the "nice to have" section.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges reflect the inherent complexities of enterprise SaaS design, particularly in a technical domain with AI integration. Growth opportunities are tied to leadership, specialization, and adapting to evolving technologies.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to design a complex system or workflow for an enterprise SaaS product. What were the key challenges, and how did you approach them?" (Focus on your process, decision-making, and problem-solving for enterprise B2B scenarios.)

• "How do you approach understanding the needs of highly technical users, such as mechanical engineers? Can you give an example of how this understanding informed your design?" (Highlight your user research methods and ability to empathize with specialized user groups.)

• "Imagine you're tasked with designing a new feature for our AI platform that requires integrating with existing complex systems. How would you approach defining the problem, gathering requirements, and ensuring scalability?" (Demonstrate your strategic thinking, systems thinking, and ability to handle ambiguity.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "Why are you interested in CoLab Software and our mission to improve engineering decisions with AI?" (Research CoLab's mission, product, and recent achievements.)

• "How do you see your experience with enterprise SaaS design contributing to our product and team?" (Align your skills and experience with CoLab's specific needs.)

• "Describe your experience mentoring other designers or contributing to a design system. What is your philosophy on elevating UX quality within an organization?" (Showcase your leadership potential and collaborative spirit.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Select Strategic Projects: Choose 2-3 projects that best showcase your experience with complex enterprise SaaS, systems design, and technical domains.

• Structure Your Narrative: For each project, clearly outline: the problem, your role, the user, your process (research, ideation, design, testing), key decisions and trade-offs, and the measurable impact.

• Emphasize "Why": Be prepared to explain the rationale behind every significant design decision you made.

• Showcase Collaboration: Highlight how you worked with PMs, engineers, and other stakeholders.

• Demonstrate Systems Thinking: Explain how your designs were scalable, maintainable, and integrated within a larger system.

• Prepare for Q&A: Anticipate questions about edge cases, alternative solutions, and trade-offs.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic thinking, deep understanding of enterprise SaaS nuances, strong problem-solving skills for complex systems, and effective collaboration with technical teams. The portfolio presentation is a critical element.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the Greenhouse portal linked on the CoLab Software job board.

• Customize Your Resume: Highlight your 6+ years of product design experience, with at least 4 years specifically in enterprise SaaS. Emphasize your experience with complex systems, admin tools, and platform features. Quantify achievements wherever possible.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest enterprise SaaS projects that demonstrate your ability to handle complex workflows, system interfaces, and technical problem spaces. Ensure your portfolio clearly articulates your process, role, and the impact of your designs.

• Prepare Your Portfolio Presentation: Practice walking through your selected case studies, focusing on your strategic thinking, problem-definition process, and how you collaborated with technical teams. Be ready to discuss trade-offs and justify your design decisions.

• Research CoLab Software: Understand their mission, product (AI platform for engineering decisions), target audience (mechanical engineers), and recent company milestones (Deloitte Fast 50™). This will help tailor your application and interview responses.

⚠️ 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.