Senior Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer

Company: Dovetail

Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / UX/UI

Date Posted: 2026-08-17

Experience Level: Mid-Senior (5-10 years)

Remote Status: Hybrid (4 days in office)

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive product innovation by translating customer feedback and research into intuitive, high-quality user experiences for B2B cloud software.

• Champion design excellence and attention to detail, ensuring seamless integration of visual, interaction, and UX design principles.

• Collaborate closely with Product, Engineering, and Go-To-Market (GTM) teams to deliver impactful features and evolve the company's design system.

• Leverage AI tools and fast prototyping approaches to enhance design processes, improve efficiency, and explore new design methodologies.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is critical for a growing company that emphasizes data-driven decision-making through customer intelligence. The Senior Product Designer will be instrumental in shaping user experiences that directly impact customer adoption and satisfaction, aligning with Dovetail's mission to empower teams with confident product development, sales, and service. The hybrid work model indicates a strong emphasis on in-person collaboration for core workdays.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Conduct regular customer interviews, usability testing, and qualitative research to deeply understand user needs, pain points, and goals, translating insights into actionable design strategies.

• Develop and iterate on user flows, wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes for new features and product enhancements, ensuring a balance between user needs, business objectives, and technical feasibility.

• Partner with Product Managers to define product requirements and strategy, and collaborate with Engineering teams to ensure high-fidelity implementation of designs, maintaining quality throughout the development lifecycle.

• Actively contribute to the growth and refinement of Dovetail's design system by creating, documenting, and advocating for reusable components and patterns, ensuring consistency and scalability across the product.

• Participate in cross-functional GTM strategy discussions, providing design expertise to inform marketing, sales enablement, and customer support materials and initiatives.

• Mentor and guide junior designers, fostering a collaborative and high-performing design team culture that prioritizes continuous learning and quality output.

• Champion the adoption and effective use of AI tools within the design process, exploring innovative applications for research synthesis, ideation, and rapid prototyping.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "championing customer feedback in every decision" and "driving design through collaboration" highlights a strategic role beyond just execution. This Senior Product Designer is expected to be a proactive voice in product strategy and a key collaborator across departments, particularly GTM, influencing how the product is perceived and adopted. The expectation to "help shape our design team culture" also indicates a leadership component.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent practical experience and a deep understanding of design principles is paramount.

Experience: 5-10 years of professional experience in product design, with a significant focus on modern B2B cloud software environments, ideally within startup or fast-paced product teams.

Required Skills:

• Product Design Expertise: Proven ability to design complex B2B cloud software applications, with a portfolio showcasing end-to-end design solutions.

• Design Process Breadth: Proficiency across the entire design lifecycle, from product discovery and user research to detailed visual design and high-fidelity prototyping.

• Visual Design & Prototyping: Strong skills in creating intuitive user interfaces, crafting compelling visual designs, and developing interactive prototypes using industry-standard tools.

• Usability Testing & User Research: Experience in planning and conducting evaluative testing, user interviews, and leveraging qualitative data to inform design decisions.

• Design System Contribution: Experience in creating, maintaining, or contributing to design systems, including component design and pattern development.

• Collaboration & Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with a proven ability to articulate design rationale, build consensus, and manage stakeholder expectations effectively.

• AI Tool Integration: Curiosity and demonstrated ability to experiment with and integrate AI tools into design workflows for enhanced efficiency and innovation.

• Attention to Detail: A meticulous approach to design, with a keen eye for visual polish and a commitment to delivering high-quality, pixel-perfect solutions.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience working in a Customer Intelligence Platform or similar data-centric SaaS environment.

• Familiarity with AI/ML concepts and their application in user interfaces.

• Experience with data visualization or dashboard design.

• Contributions to open-source design projects or communities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "5-10 years" of experience aligns with a "Senior" title, suggesting a need for demonstrated leadership and independent problem-solving capabilities. The emphasis on "modern B2B cloud software" and "startups" indicates a preference for candidates who understand agile development and the unique challenges of scaling a product in a competitive market. The explicit mention of AI tools suggests a forward-thinking approach to design, requiring candidates to be adaptable and innovative.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase 2-3 comprehensive case studies demonstrating end-to-end product design projects for B2B SaaS applications.

• Clearly articulate your role, process, and contributions within each project, highlighting problem definition, user research, ideation, prototyping, and final design solutions.

• Demonstrate a deep understanding of user-centered design principles, with specific examples of how customer feedback and data informed your design decisions.

• Include examples of visual design polish, interaction design details, and high-fidelity prototypes that reflect a high bar for quality.

• Highlight any experience with design systems, including contributions to component libraries or pattern development. Process Documentation:

• Case studies should detail your approach to user research methodologies, including methods for gathering and synthesizing qualitative customer feedback.

• Illustrate your prototyping techniques and tools used to test and iterate on design concepts with stakeholders and users.

• Explain your process for collaborating with engineering teams, including how you ensure design fidelity during implementation.

• Document your approach to contributing to or maintaining a design system, emphasizing consistency and scalability.

• If applicable, showcase how AI tools were leveraged to enhance efficiency, ideation, or research synthesis within your design process.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Senior Product Designer role, the portfolio is paramount. It needs to go beyond just showcasing finished UIs. Candidates should be prepared to walk through their thought process, the strategic decisions made, and the measurable impact of their designs. The emphasis on B2B and AI integration means case studies that address these areas will be highly valued.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: The typical salary range for a Senior Product Designer in Sydney, Australia, with 5-10 years of experience in B2B SaaS, is AUD $130,000 - $180,000 per annum. This estimate is based on industry benchmarks for similar roles in major Australian tech hubs, considering the company's growth stage and the specialized skills required.

Benefits:

• Equity: Competitive base salary plus stock options, aligning employee success with long-term company growth.

• Learning & Development: A generous annual allowance of $3000 for professional development or $1000 for wellness, supporting continuous skill enhancement and personal well-being.

• Paid Time Off: Four weeks of accrued annual leave, plus floating public holidays and gifted bonus "Kit Kat days" for rejuvenation.

• Flexibility: "Four weeks from anywhere" policy, allowing employees to work remotely from anywhere in the world for up to four weeks annually.

• Parental Leave: Generous parental leave provisions, including 20 weeks for primary caregivers and 12 weeks for secondary caregivers, with return-to-work support.

• Loyalty Benefit: An additional four weeks of paid leave after four years of service to encourage long-term commitment and prevent burnout.

• Health & Wellness: Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance (for US employees, with potential for similar benefits in Australia), and a 401(k) plan (US-specific, inquire about Australian retirement savings equivalents).

• Team Connection: Regular team bonding events ("Doveclub"), company-wide celebrations, and opportunities for connection.

Working Hours: Standard full-time hours are assumed to be around 40 hours per week, with an in-office expectation of 4 days per week in Sydney. The company culture suggests flexibility within these parameters, as long as productivity and collaboration are maintained.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary is estimated based on market data for Senior Product Designers in Sydney, Australia, for B2B SaaS companies. The provided benefits are extensive and highlight Dovetail's commitment to employee well-being, growth, and work-life balance, including unique offerings like "four weeks from anywhere" and a loyalty leave bonus. It's important for candidates to clarify the specifics of Australian retirement savings plans and health benefits.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Customer Intelligence Platform / SaaS (Software as a Service)

Company Size: 100+ employees. This size indicates a company that has moved beyond the early startup phase, likely with established processes but still retaining agility and a close-knit feel. For designers, this means opportunities to influence processes and systems while working within a structured environment.

Founded: 2017. Founded in 2017, Dovetail has a history of innovation and growth, positioning itself as a stable yet dynamic player in the tech landscape.

Team Structure:

• The design team is described as "small but quickly growing," implying a dynamic environment where individual contributions have a significant impact.

• Designers work closely with Product Managers, Engineers, and Go-To-Market (GTM) teams, fostering a highly collaborative and cross-functional atmosphere.

• The reporting structure for this Senior role likely involves reporting to a Design Lead or Head of Product, with direct influence over feature development and design system evolution. Methodology:

• Customer-Centricity: Dovetail's core mission revolves around unifying customer feedback. Design decisions are heavily influenced by customer data and direct user interactions.

• Data-Driven Insights: The platform itself is built on turning customer interaction "noise into signal." This implies a data-driven approach extends to internal decision-making.

• Agile Development: Working in a startup environment with close collaboration with engineering suggests an agile or iterative development methodology.

• AI Integration: A proactive stance on embedding AI into daily work, including design processes, is a key methodological differentiator.

Company Website: https://dovetail.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: Dovetail's culture appears to be a blend of a fast-paced startup environment with a strong emphasis on quality, customer understanding, and collaborative innovation. The company's product, the Customer Intelligence Platform, suggests a data-rich environment where designers are expected to be analytical and strategic. The "in-person first" approach for the Sydney office indicates a preference for hands-on collaboration.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Senior Product Designer. This level signifies a highly experienced individual contributor who is expected to lead design initiatives, mentor others, and have a significant impact on product strategy and execution. They are responsible for tackling complex design challenges and driving high-quality outcomes.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Product Designer will likely report to a Design Lead or Head of Product. They will work in close partnership with Product Managers and Engineering Leads, influencing product roadmaps and feature prioritization through design insights and strategic input.

Operations Impact: This role has a direct impact on Dovetail's core value proposition. By crafting intuitive and effective user experiences, the Senior Product Designer will:

• Drive user adoption and retention of the Dovetail platform.

• Enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty by addressing user needs effectively.

• Contribute to revenue growth by enabling sales and customer success teams with a superior product.

• Influence product strategy by translating customer intelligence into actionable design solutions. Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Opportunity to grow into a Design Lead or Manager role as the design team scales, taking on more strategic responsibilities and team management.

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in areas such as AI-driven design, complex B2B UX, or design system architecture.

• Cross-Functional Impact: Expand influence across product strategy, GTM initiatives, and potentially contribute to company-wide operational improvements.

• Skill Development: Continuous learning through L&D allowances, exposure to cutting-edge AI tools, and collaboration with a talented team.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" title coupled with the "small but quickly growing" design team suggests significant opportunities for career advancement and leadership within Dovetail. The role is positioned to be a key player in shaping both the product and the design function itself.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Dovetail's Sydney office is described as "built for in-person first collaboration." This suggests a modern, well-equipped workspace designed to foster teamwork and creative problem-solving.

Office Location(s): The role is based in Surry Hills, Sydney, NSW, Australia. This is a vibrant, central business district area known for its accessibility and amenities.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hub: The office environment is designed to support the "in-person first" model, encouraging spontaneous interactions, brainstorming sessions, and close-knit team collaboration.

• Tools & Technology: Expect access to industry-standard design software, hardware, and potentially specialized tools for AI experimentation. The company culture values providing employees with what they need to excel.

• Team Interaction: The hybrid model (4 days in office) means designers will have ample opportunity to interact with product managers, engineers, and fellow designers, facilitating a fluid design process.

Work Schedule: While a standard 40-hour work week is typical, the company culture emphasizes a pragmatic mindset, suggesting flexibility. The "four weeks from anywhere" policy also indicates a broader acceptance of flexible working arrangements, provided core responsibilities and collaboration needs are met.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "in-person first" for the Sydney office, combined with the hybrid model, signals a workplace that values face-to-face collaboration for key design and product development activities, while still offering a degree of flexibility.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of application, resume, and portfolio to assess experience and alignment with role requirements.

• Portfolio Presentation & Discussion: A dedicated session where candidates present 1-2 key case studies from their portfolio, discussing their process, decisions, and impact. This is often followed by in-depth Q&A.

• Design Challenge/Exercise: A practical exercise, potentially involving a small design problem, system thinking task, or a critique of an existing product, to assess problem-solving skills, design thinking, and attention to detail.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers, Engineers, and potentially GTM team members to evaluate collaboration style, communication skills, and ability to work within a team.

• Hiring Manager/Leadership Interview: A final discussion to assess cultural fit, strategic thinking, leadership potential, and overall alignment with Dovetail's vision.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Storytelling is Key: Structure your case studies as narratives. Clearly define the problem, your approach, the challenges faced, your solutions, and the measurable outcomes.

• Show Your Process: Don't just present final screens. Include wireframes, user flows, research insights, and iterations to demonstrate your design thinking.

• Highlight Impact: Quantify the impact of your designs whenever possible (e.g., improved conversion rates, increased user engagement, reduced support tickets).

• Address B2B & AI: If possible, include case studies relevant to B2B SaaS or demonstrate how you've incorporated AI into your design process.

• Be Ready to Discuss: Prepare to answer detailed questions about your decisions, trade-offs, and how you handled challenges.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Dovetail's Product: Research Dovetail's Customer Intelligence Platform. Think about its users, key features, and potential areas for improvement.

• Focus on Problem-Solving: Practice breaking down complex problems, generating multiple solutions, and justifying your chosen approach.

• Design System Thinking: Be prepared to discuss design systems, componentization, and consistency.

• AI Integration: Consider how AI could be practically applied to solve user problems or improve the design process for a product like Dovetail.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to thoroughly evaluate a candidate's design skills, strategic thinking, collaborative abilities, and cultural fit. The portfolio review is a critical component, requiring candidates to articulate their design journey and impact effectively, with a specific eye towards B2B SaaS and AI integration.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (highly probable, industry standard for collaborative design), Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop).

• Prototyping Tools: InVision, Principle, Framer (for more advanced interactive prototypes).

• Design System Management: Tools integrated with Figma/Sketch, or dedicated platforms like Zeroheight.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics: Mixpanel, Amplitude, Google Analytics (for understanding user behavior and product adoption).

• Customer Feedback Tools: Dovetail's own platform, alongside tools like UserTesting.com, Hotjar, SurveyMonkey for gathering qualitative and quantitative feedback.

• Data Visualization: Tableau, Power BI (less common for designers but useful for understanding data trends).

CRM & Automation:

• CRM: Salesforce, HubSpot (for understanding customer lifecycle and GTM integration).

• Project Management/Collaboration: Jira, Asana, Trello, Slack (essential for cross-functional collaboration).

• AI Tools: Candidates are expected to be embedding AI into their work; this could include AI-powered research assistants, generative design tools, or AI for content creation/synthesis.

📝 Enhancement Note: While Dovetail likely uses its own platform for customer intelligence, designers will need proficiency in leading design tools like Figma. Familiarity with product analytics and a proactive approach to integrating emerging AI tools are key expectations for this role.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Obsession: Placing customer needs and feedback at the forefront of all design decisions, ensuring the product delivers tangible value.

• Quality & Craftsmanship: Maintaining an exceptionally high bar for design quality, detail, and polish in all aspects of the product.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Working openly and honestly with all teams, sharing insights, and building alignment towards shared goals.

• Pragmatism & Resourcefulness: Navigating ambiguity and changing priorities with a solutions-oriented mindset, making sensible trade-offs to achieve strategic objectives.

• Innovation & Experimentation: Embracing new technologies like AI and exploring novel approaches to design and problem-solving.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Designers are integrated into product teams, working hand-in-hand with Product Managers and Engineers throughout the development lifecycle.

• Feedback-Driven: A culture that encourages constructive feedback, both giving and receiving, to continuously improve designs and processes.

• Shared Understanding: Utilizing tools like archetypes and journey maps to build a common understanding of the customer across different departments.

• Design System Advocacy: Promoting the use and contribution to the design system to ensure consistency and efficiency across the product.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company values emphasize a results-oriented, customer-focused, and collaborative approach. The "pragmatic mindset" and "great attitude" requirements suggest a team that values adaptability, resilience, and a positive contribution to the work environment, especially within a fast-growing startup.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Innovation with Scalability: Designing for a rapidly evolving B2B SaaS product while ensuring the design system and architecture can scale effectively.

• Integrating AI Thoughtfully: Effectively embedding AI tools into the design process without compromising user experience or introducing unintended biases; educating stakeholders on AI capabilities and limitations.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Ensuring consistent design vision and execution across multiple product areas and collaborating teams with diverse priorities.

• Maintaining High Quality Bar: Upholding exceptional design standards as the company and product team grow rapidly.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Design Leadership Track: Potential to grow into a leadership role, mentoring junior designers and shaping the future of the design team.

• AI in Design Specialization: Opportunity to become a subject matter expert in leveraging AI for product design, a highly sought-after skill.

• Product Strategy Influence: Deeper involvement in product strategy and roadmap planning, contributing to the company's direction.

• Industry Exposure: Access to L&D budgets for conferences, workshops, and online courses to stay ahead of design trends and technologies.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are typical for a growing tech company in a competitive market, particularly one focused on AI and customer intelligence. The growth opportunities are substantial, offering a clear path for career progression and skill development for ambitious designers.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you used customer feedback to significantly change a product direction or design decision. What was your process, and what was the outcome?" (Assesses customer-centricity, research synthesis, and impact demonstration.)

• "How would you approach designing a new feature that leverages AI to automate a complex user workflow within a B2B context? Walk us through your initial thought process." (Evaluates AI understanding, problem-solving, and B2B design thinking.)

• "Imagine you need to gain alignment on a significant design change with engineering, product, and sales teams who have conflicting priorities. How would you approach this?" (Tests stakeholder management, communication, and negotiation skills.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you most about Dovetail's mission and product? How do you see your design skills contributing to our Customer Intelligence Platform?" (Assesses research, alignment with company vision, and self-awareness.)

• "Describe your ideal collaborative environment with product managers and engineers. How do you ensure a smooth handoff and ongoing partnership?" (Probes teamwork, communication style, and process understanding.)

• "How do you stay current with design trends, particularly in areas like AI and B2B SaaS design? How do you balance innovation with pragmatism?" (Evaluates continuous learning, adaptability, and strategic thinking.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: For each case study, clearly state the problem, your role, the solution, and the results. Use visuals effectively to tell the story.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Demonstrate your process through sketches, wireframes, user flows, and interactive prototypes. Explain why you made certain decisions.

• Quantify Outcomes: Whenever possible, present metrics and data that show the success of your designs. If exact metrics aren't available, discuss anticipated impact.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Prepare to answer detailed questions about your design decisions, trade-offs, and how you handled challenges or unexpected feedback.

• Connect to Dovetail: Briefly explain how your experience and approach align with Dovetail's specific needs, especially regarding B2B SaaS, customer intelligence, and AI.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating a holistic understanding of the design process, a strong grasp of B2B SaaS challenges, and a proactive, thoughtful approach to AI integration. Candidates should be ready to articulate their strategic thinking and collaborative capabilities.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby. Ensure your resume and portfolio are up-to-date and tailored to this role.

• Portfolio Customization: Select 2-3 of your strongest B2B SaaS case studies that best showcase your end-to-end design process, problem-solving skills, and impact. Prioritize projects demonstrating visual design polish, strong UX, and ideally, any experience with AI tools or design systems.

• Resume Optimization: Highlight your years of experience in product design, specifically mentioning B2B cloud software and startup environments. Quantify achievements where possible and use keywords from the job description (e.g., "customer feedback," "design system," "prototyping," "AI").

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, decision-making rationale, and the impact of your work. Prepare to discuss your approach to collaboration, user research, and your thoughts on integrating AI into design. Be ready to present your portfolio case studies confidently.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Dovetail's product, mission, and recent news. Understand their position in the customer intelligence market and how their emphasis on AI aligns with your own interests and skills. Prepare thoughtful questions for the interviewers.

⚠️ 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.