Senior Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer

Company: Commonwealth Bank

Location: Eveleigh, NSW - 1 Locomotive Street, Australia / Sydney CBD, NSW, Australia

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / UX/UI Design / Digital Experience Design

Date Posted: May 29, 2026

Experience Level: 7+ Years

Remote Status: Hybrid (50% Office Attendance)

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the design of core online banking experiences for millions of customers within the NetBank Next initiative, focusing on improving clarity, usefulness, and customer-centricity.

• Act as a senior design partner within cross-functional product teams, collaborating closely with Product and Engineering to shape product direction and translate complex problems into intuitive digital solutions.

• Lead continuous customer discovery efforts to deeply understand user needs, frame critical problems, test hypotheses, and inform product decisions with actionable insights.

• Apply systems thinking across various digital channels to ensure consistency in patterns, behaviors, and interaction models, creating a cohesive and familiar user experience.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is pivotal in modernizing a 27-year-old digital banking platform, requiring a blend of strategic vision and hands-on UX/UI craft. The emphasis on "NetBank Next" and "CD&AI" (likely Customer & Digital/AI) suggests a focus on next-generation digital experiences leveraging modern design practices and potentially AI-driven features. The "50% Office Attendance" indicates a hybrid model requiring strong self-management and remote collaboration skills.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Partner with Product Managers and Engineering leads to define product and experience direction, leveraging customer evidence, business priorities, and team ambition to identify key opportunities and actionable next steps.

• Implement systems thinking to create consistent design patterns, behaviors, and interaction models across multiple digital touchpoints, enhancing the overall coherence and ease of use for customers.

• Spearhead continuous discovery initiatives to deeply understand customer needs, effectively frame problems, rigorously test assumptions, and generate early, frequent customer learning to guide product strategy and design decisions.

• Function as a senior design partner within the product trio, balancing customer value, technical feasibility, business viability, risk mitigation, and overall experience quality.

• Collaborate with adjacent value streams and business units to shape more integrated digital and assisted customer journeys, thereby reducing complexity and friction for users.

• Rapidly translate qualitative and quantitative insights into concepts, user flows, and interactive prototypes, including AI-enabled and code-assisted prototypes, to validate assumptions early and build confidence prior to full-scale delivery.

• Develop clear, intuitive, and polished UX/UI designs, progressing from low-fidelity conceptual explorations to high-fidelity, production-ready deliverables, ensuring alignment with the established design system, accessibility standards, and broader digital experience patterns.

• Demonstrate exemplary design practice through active participation in design critiques and daily work, providing constructive feedback and contributing to elevated thinking, collaboration, and delivery quality across the entire team.

• Measure and optimize digital experiences both pre- and post-launch, utilizing qualitative and quantitative data to assess impact, iterate on solutions, and disseminate reusable learnings across the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strategic and execution-oriented approach. The emphasis on "continuous discovery," "systems thinking," and "AI-enabled prototypes" points to a forward-thinking design team. The expectation to "design clear, intuitive and polished UX/UI" from "low-fidelity exploration through to high-fidelity delivery" indicates a need for a designer proficient across the entire design lifecycle. The requirement to "measure and improve experiences" underscores a data-driven design philosophy.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While not explicitly stated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, or a related field is typically expected for a Senior Product Designer role. Equivalent practical experience will also be considered.

Experience: 7+ years of progressive experience in designing complex digital products, services, or platforms end-to-end within agile, cross-functional product teams.

Required Skills:

• UX/UI & Interaction Design Craft: Demonstrated excellence in creating intuitive, accessible, and polished user interfaces and interaction models with meticulous attention to detail.

• Systems Thinking: Ability to apply a holistic approach to design, understanding how individual components interact within a larger system and ensuring consistency across various channels and touchpoints.

• Continuous Discovery & Customer Research: Proven experience in leading and applying customer research practices, including user interviews, usability testing, and data analysis, to inform design decisions and identify unmet needs.

• Prototyping & Concept Development: Proficiency in rapidly translating insights and ideas into tangible concepts, user flows, and interactive prototypes, including experience with modern tools and methods like AI-assisted prototyping.

• Strategic Design Capability: Strong ability to connect detailed design solutions to overarching customer and business goals, demonstrating strategic foresight in UX, service, and systems design.

• Facilitation, Storytelling & Influencing: Excellent communication skills, including the ability to facilitate workshops, present compelling narratives, give constructive design critique, align stakeholders, and positively influence team workflows.

• AI-Forward Mindset: An understanding and willingness to explore and leverage emerging AI tools and prototyping methodologies to enhance design exploration, learning, and collaboration with engineering teams.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience specifically within the financial services or digital banking sector.

• Familiarity with Commonwealth Bank's existing design system and accessibility guidelines.

• Experience in designing for complex, large-scale enterprise platforms.

• Proficiency in A/B testing and data analysis to measure design impact.

• Experience mentoring junior designers.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "7+ years" experience requirement positions this as a senior role, implying a need for leadership qualities and the ability to work autonomously. The specific mention of "AI-forward mindset" and "AI-enabled and code-assisted prototypes" is a key differentiator, suggesting the company is embracing cutting-edge design technologies. The emphasis on "strategic design capability" and "systems thinking" indicates a need for a designer who can see the bigger picture beyond individual screens.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrated Craftsmanship: Showcase high-quality UX/UI design work with a clear focus on usability, accessibility, and aesthetic appeal.

• Strategic Insight: Provide examples where strategic thinking and customer insights directly influenced design decisions and outcomes.

• End-to-End Process: Illustrate your involvement across the entire product design lifecycle, from initial discovery and ideation to detailed design, prototyping, and post-launch iteration.

• Measurable Outcomes: Include case studies that highlight the impact of your designs, preferably with quantifiable results (e.g., improvements in conversion rates, task completion times, customer satisfaction scores, reduction in support queries).

• Systems & Pattern Design: Present examples of how you've applied systems thinking or contributed to design systems to ensure consistency and scalability.

Process Documentation:

• Discovery & Research: Clearly articulate your approach to customer discovery, problem framing, and hypothesis testing, showing how research informed your design process.

• Ideation & Prototyping: Detail your methods for rapid ideation, concept development, and prototyping, including any use of AI-assisted tools or code-assisted methods.

• Collaboration & Iteration: Explain how you collaborated with Product Managers, Engineers, and other stakeholders, and how feedback was incorporated to iterate on designs.

• Delivery & Measurement: Describe your process for handing off designs to development and how you measured the success and impact of your deployed solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: A strong portfolio is critical for this role, as explicitly stated. It needs to go beyond just showcasing visual design; it must demonstrate strategic thinking, problem-solving skills, and a deep understanding of the end-to-end design process, with a particular emphasis on customer data and measurable impact. The mention of "AI-enabled and code-assisted prototypes" implies that showcasing experience with these advanced methods would be highly beneficial.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: For a Senior Product Designer role in Sydney with 7+ years of experience, the estimated salary range in Australia is typically AUD $150,000 - $200,000 per year, depending on specific skills, experience, and performance. This range reflects industry benchmarks for senior design professionals in major Australian cities and the financial sector.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health & Wellness: Likely includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, with potential for wellness programs and mental health support.

• Retirement Savings: Generous superannuation contributions (beyond the statutory minimum) are common in Australian corporate roles.

• Work-Life Balance: Hybrid work model (50% office attendance), potential for flexible working hours, and ample paid time off (annual leave, personal/carer's leave).

• Professional Development: Investment in employee growth through coaching, learning opportunities, access to design communities, and potential for conference attendance or further certifications.

• Financial Services Perks: Potential for employee banking benefits, discounted financial products, and other industry-specific advantages.

• Employee Assistance Programs: Confidential counseling and support services for employees and their families.

Working Hours: Standard full-time working hours are typically 37.5 to 40 hours per week. The hybrid model allows for flexibility in structuring workdays around the required 50% office attendance.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on current market data for Senior Product Designers in Sydney, Australia, considering the experience level and the company's standing as a major financial institution. Benefits are inferred based on typical offerings for large corporations in Australia, with a focus on aspects that appeal to design professionals seeking long-term career growth and well-being.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Financial Services / Banking. Commonwealth Bank is one of Australia's largest financial institutions, operating in retail banking, wealth management, and business banking. This context means a strong emphasis on security, compliance, customer trust, and innovation within a regulated environment.

Company Size: Large Enterprise (over 10,000 employees). This implies a structured environment with opportunities for career progression, access to substantial resources, and complex organizational dynamics. For operations professionals, this means working within established processes but also having the potential to influence significant change.

Founded: 1911. With over a century of history, CBA has a deep-rooted presence and a legacy of serving Australian customers. This long history suggests a stable organization, but also one that must continually adapt to technological advancements and evolving customer expectations, as evidenced by initiatives like NetBank Next.

Team Structure:

• Cross-Functional Product Teams: The role is embedded within a "crew" that is a cross-functional product team, likely including Product Managers, Engineers, Designers, and potentially Analysts or QA. This agile, squad-like structure promotes collaboration and rapid iteration.

• Design Community: As a Senior Product Designer, you'll be part of a broader design community within CBA, providing opportunities for mentorship, knowledge sharing, and peer feedback across different product areas.

• Reporting: Likely reports to a Design Lead, Head of Product Design, or a Product Director, with direct collaboration within the product trio (Designer, Product Manager, Engineering Lead).

Methodology:

• Agile & Lean Principles: The emphasis on "cross-functional product teams," "continuous discovery," and "rapid translation of insights into concepts" strongly suggests an agile development methodology.

• Design Thinking & Human-Centered Design: The core responsibilities highlight a commitment to understanding customer needs and designing user-centered solutions.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: The requirement to "measure and improve experiences" and use "qualitative and quantitative evidence" points to a data-informed approach to design and product development.

• Systems & Pattern Design: The focus on "systems thinking" and "consistent patterns" indicates a structured approach to building scalable and maintainable digital experiences.

Company Website: https://www.commbank.com.au/

📝 Enhancement Note: Commonwealth Bank's status as a major financial institution means that operational rigor, security, and customer trust are paramount. The "NetBank Next" initiative signals a strategic investment in modernizing digital customer experiences, suggesting a culture that balances established practices with a drive for innovation. The hybrid work model and focus on cross-functional teams indicate a modern workplace approach within a large, established organization.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior Product Designer role. It signifies an individual contributor position with significant autonomy and responsibility. Senior designers are expected to lead design initiatives, mentor junior team members, influence product strategy, and tackle complex design challenges independently. They are key players in shaping the user experience and contributing to the overall success of the product.

Reporting Structure: You will likely report to a Design Lead or Head of Product Design, but your day-to-day work will be embedded within a cross-functional "crew" or "squad," collaborating closely with a Product Manager and Engineering Lead (the "product trio"). This structure allows for direct influence on product direction.

Operations Impact: The Senior Product Designer plays a critical role in the success of digital banking platforms used by millions. By creating simpler, clearer, and more useful experiences, this role directly impacts customer satisfaction, engagement, adoption of new features, operational efficiency (e.g., reduced call center load), and ultimately, the bank's revenue and market position. The focus on "NetBank Next" implies a direct contribution to a major strategic business initiative.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Progression to Principal Product Designer, Design Lead, or Managerial roles within the design organization, overseeing teams and strategy.

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in specific areas such as AI-driven design, accessibility, design systems, or user research.

• Cross-Functional Mobility: Opportunities to move into Product Management or related strategic roles within the digital and technology divisions.

• Mentorship & Coaching: Develop leadership skills by mentoring junior designers and contributing to the broader design community's growth.

• Industry Influence: Contribute to defining best practices and driving innovation in digital banking design.

📝 Enhancement Note: The Senior level suggests a strong emphasis on leadership through influence rather than direct management, with opportunities to shape processes and mentor others. The "NetBank Next" initiative provides a clear avenue for high-impact work that can significantly boost a designer's career trajectory within the organization. The link to AI and modernization also positions this role for future-proofing a career in design.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is based in a hybrid model, requiring 50% office attendance. This suggests a modern office environment designed to support collaboration, idea generation, and team cohesion, alongside the flexibility of remote work for focused individual tasks. The locations mentioned (Eveleigh and Sydney CBD) are likely modern corporate office spaces.

Office Location(s):

• Eveleigh, NSW - 1 Locomotive Street: This is a well-known innovation and technology hub in Sydney, often housing tech-focused teams.

• Sydney CBD, NSW, Australia: Central business district location, offering accessibility and proximity to other corporate facilities.

This dual location possibility suggests flexibility or different teams housed in distinct areas, both central to Sydney's business landscape.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: Offices are likely equipped with meeting rooms, whiteboarding areas, and open spaces conducive to brainstorming and design critiques.

• Technology & Tools: Access to high-performance computing, relevant design software, and potentially advanced prototyping tools (including AI-assisted ones).

• Team Interaction: Regular opportunities for face-to-face interaction with product trios, design teams, and other stakeholders to foster synergy and effective problem-solving.

Work Schedule: A standard full-time schedule (approx. 37.5-40 hours/week) is expected, with the flexibility to balance remote and in-office days to meet the 50% attendance requirement. This structure allows for focused individual work and collaborative team activities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid nature of the role is a key aspect of the work environment. Employees are expected to be present in the office for a significant portion of the week, suggesting that in-person collaboration is highly valued, particularly for complex problem-solving and team building, while remote work offers flexibility for focused tasks.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will review your application, focusing on your CV and portfolio link.

• Portfolio Presentation & Discussion: You will likely be invited to present your portfolio to a panel, which may include design leads, product managers, and engineers. Be prepared to walk through 2-3 key case studies, detailing your process, challenges, and outcomes.

• Skills-Based Interview: Expect questions testing your UX/UI craft, strategic thinking, systems thinking, and experience with customer discovery and AI tools.

• Team/Cultural Fit Interview: Assess your collaboration style, communication skills, and how you would fit within the "crew" and broader design team.

• Final Interview: Potentially with a senior leader to discuss strategic alignment and overall fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 projects that best showcase your end-to-end design process, strategic thinking, complex problem-solving, and measurable impact. Prioritize projects relevant to digital banking or complex platforms.

• Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process you followed (discovery, ideation, design, testing, iteration), the solutions you proposed, and the results achieved. Quantify impact wherever possible.

• Highlight AI Experience: If you have experience with AI-enabled or code-assisted prototyping, ensure this is clearly demonstrated and discussed.

• Showcase Systems Thinking: Illustrate how you've considered the broader system, design patterns, or contributed to design systems.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your decisions, trade-offs you made, and how you handled ambiguity or challenges.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design Exercise: You might be given a short design challenge (e.g., to redesign a feature or solve a specific user problem) to complete within a set timeframe, either take-home or in-session. Focus on your process and rationale.

• Problem-Solving Scenarios: Be prepared for hypothetical questions about how you would approach specific design challenges within the NetBank platform.

• Critique Practice: Practice articulating your thoughts on design critiques, both giving and receiving feedback constructively.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a portfolio, continuous discovery, and AI suggests the interview process will be rigorous and focused on practical application of design skills and strategic thinking. Candidates should be prepared to articulate their design process in detail and demonstrate tangible results.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (highly probable for collaborative design), Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, XD), InVision, Axure RP. Experience with AI-enabled or code-assisted prototyping tools is a plus.

• Collaboration & Project Management: Jira, Confluence, Trello, Asana, Slack, Microsoft Teams.

• User Research & Testing: UserTesting.com, Lookback, Maze, Hotjar, Google Analytics, SurveyMonkey.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Web Analytics: Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics.

• BI Tools (for data insights): Tableau, Power BI (potentially used by Product Managers or Analysts, but designers should understand how to interpret data from them).

CRM & Automation: While less directly used by Product Designers, understanding CRM basics (e.g., Salesforce) and marketing automation platforms can provide context for customer journeys. The focus here is more on the outcomes these systems drive rather than direct tool proficiency.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in industry-standard design tools like Figma is almost a given. The specific mention of "AI-enabled and code-assisted prototypes" suggests that familiarity with emerging tools or the ability to quickly learn them will be highly valued. Understanding how design impacts data and analytics is also crucial for demonstrating effectiveness.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and serving customer needs, making their banking experiences simpler, clearer, and more useful.

• Collaboration & Partnership: Working effectively in cross-functional "crews" and with various stakeholders to achieve shared goals.

• Innovation & Modernization: Driving forward the digital banking platform with a forward-looking approach, embracing new technologies like AI.

• Excellence & Craftsmanship: Upholding high standards in design quality, attention to detail, and delivering polished, accessible experiences.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Using evidence and insights to inform design choices and measure impact.

• Continuous Improvement: A mindset of learning, iterating, and seeking ways to enhance processes and outcomes.

Collaboration Style:

• Product Trio Focus: Close, daily collaboration within the Product Manager, Engineer, and Designer trio to ensure alignment and rapid decision-making.

• Open Critiques: A culture that values constructive feedback and uses design critiques as a key tool for improving work and elevating team capabilities.

• Cross-Functional Synergy: Proactive engagement with other product teams and business units to ensure a connected and seamless customer experience across the entire bank.

• Knowledge Sharing: Encouragement of sharing learnings, best practices, and insights across the design community and wider teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The values emphasize a balance between rigorous execution in a regulated industry (customer trust, security) and a drive for modernization and innovation (AI, NetBank Next). The collaborative style is typical of agile environments, with a strong emphasis on the product trio and open feedback loops.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Modernizing Legacy Systems: Reimagining and improving a 27-year-old digital banking platform requires navigating technical debt, existing user habits, and complex backend integrations while delivering a modern experience.

• Balancing Innovation with Security/Compliance: Integrating cutting-edge features like AI while adhering to strict financial regulations and security protocols.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Ensuring consistent design vision and execution across multiple product teams, business lines, and stakeholders with potentially competing priorities.

• Driving Adoption of New Experiences: Encouraging millions of users to adopt new interfaces and functionalities, especially those accustomed to older banking methods.

• Working with Ambiguity: Navigating evolving requirements and undefined problem spaces in a large organizational context.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Design Methodologies: Deepen skills in areas like AI-driven design, advanced prototyping, service design, and inclusive design.

• Industry Trends: Stay abreast of the latest developments in digital banking, FinTech, and user experience design through conferences, webinars, and internal knowledge sharing.

• Leadership Skills: Develop coaching, mentoring, and strategic influencing capabilities through hands-on experience and formal training.

• Domain Expertise: Gain in-depth knowledge of the financial services industry, regulatory landscape, and customer financial behaviors.

• Exposure to Scale: Experience designing for a massive user base, providing unique insights into user behavior and product impact.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to transforming a large, established digital product. The growth opportunities are significant, offering a path for designers to become leaders and experts in a critical and evolving industry.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach redesigning the core account overview page for NetBank, considering our goal of making it clearer and more useful?" (Focus on process, discovery, and user-centricity).

• "Describe a time you used systems thinking to solve a complex design problem. What was the outcome?" (Assess ability to see the bigger picture and ensure consistency).

• "How do you balance customer needs with business objectives and technical constraints when designing a new feature?" (Tests product mindset and collaboration within the trio).

• "Tell us about your experience with continuous customer discovery. What methods have you used, and how did they influence your designs?" (Evaluates research and iteration skills).

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What do you know about Commonwealth Bank and our NetBank platform?" (Shows research and interest).

• "How do you give and receive constructive feedback in design critiques?" (Assesses collaboration and learning style).

• "Describe your ideal collaboration with a Product Manager and an Engineer." (Explores team dynamics).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your role, the process, your key contributions, the solution, and the measurable impact.

• Highlight Your Process: Emphasize how you approached discovery, ideation, prototyping, testing, and iteration. Show your thinking, not just the final output.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use data and metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your design decisions, trade-offs, and how you handled challenges. Be honest about what you learned.

• Connect to CBA: Briefly explain why your experience and approach are a strong fit for Commonwealth Bank and the NetBank Next initiative.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating a strong, repeatable design process, strategic thinking, and a deep understanding of user-centered design principles, with a specific emphasis on the requirements mentioned in the job description, such as AI and systems thinking.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the Commonwealth Bank careers portal.

• Curate and Polish Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your most impactful projects that demonstrate end-to-end design process, strategic thinking, and measurable results. Ensure your portfolio clearly highlights your UX/UI craft, systems thinking, and any experience with AI-assisted prototyping.

• Tailor Your CV: Update your resume to emphasize your 7+ years of experience in designing complex digital products, your proficiency in core design skills (UX/UI, interaction, research), and your experience in cross-functional teams. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare Your Portfolio Presentation: Practice walking through your chosen case studies, focusing on clearly articulating the problem, your role, your process, your solutions, and the impact. Be ready to discuss your experience with continuous discovery and AI tools.

• Research Commonwealth Bank and NetBank: Understand the company's mission, values, and the strategic importance of the NetBank Next initiative. Familiarize yourself with the current NetBank platform if possible.

⚠️ 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.