Senior Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer

Company: Kevel

Location: Porto, Portugal; Australia; Spain; Denmark (Remote)

Job Type: Full-Time, Salaried FT

Category: Product Design

Date Posted: April 29, 2026

Experience Level: Senior (8+ years)

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the end-to-end product design lifecycle, from initial discovery and user research to high-fidelity specifications, ensuring a seamless user experience.

• Define and champion a cohesive design vision across Kevel's product lines, translating business objectives into scalable design principles and a robust design system.

• Lead strategic design initiatives by partnering with senior leadership, including the Chief Product Officer (CPO) and R&D leadership, to influence product direction.

• Mentor and provide direction to other designers, fostering a culture of design excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement within the product team.

• Integrate modern AI tools into the design practice to enhance production efficiency and maintain design component integrity, aligning with industry advancements.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a Senior Product Designer, reporting directly to the CPO, indicating a high level of autonomy and strategic influence. The emphasis on "systems thinking" and "scalable design system" suggests a need for a designer who can think holistically about the product ecosystem rather than just individual features. The explicit mention of AI tools highlights a forward-thinking approach to design operations.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Define and champion a cohesive design vision and strategy across Kevel's product lines, aligning with business goals and translating them into actionable design principles.

• Lead end-to-end design processes for key product surfaces, encompassing user research, wireframing, prototyping, and creating high-fidelity specifications for engineering handoff.

• Conduct comprehensive user research, synthesize insights effectively, and translate findings into data-driven design decisions that enhance user satisfaction and product utility.

• Build, maintain, and evolve a scalable design system, ensuring consistency, efficiency, and a high standard of craft across all product interfaces.

• Implement and leverage AI tools within the design workflow to accelerate production cycles and maintain design component integrity.

• Collaborate closely with engineering teams to ensure the quality and fidelity of design implementation, facilitating smooth development cycles.

• Act as a proactive design advocate within product and engineering planning sessions, aligning stakeholders early and fostering constructive design critiques.

• Set UX/UI strategy and design direction in partnership with the CPO, guiding the evolution of Kevel's user interfaces.

• Mentor and provide constructive feedback, direction, and guidance to other designers on the team, fostering their professional growth.

• Define and track key UX metrics to evaluate design effectiveness and identify areas for continuous improvement and optimization.

• Facilitate workshops, design sprints, and review sessions with stakeholders, employing current UX and design thinking methodologies.

• Collect and synthesize feedback from customer-facing teams and product managers to continuously inform and refine the design direction.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic leadership and hands-on execution, typical of a senior role. The emphasis on "scalable design system," "UX metrics," and "AI tools" suggests a data-driven and efficiency-focused approach to design operations within the product development lifecycle.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a strong foundation in design principles and user-centered methodologies is implied. Candidates with formal education in Design, HCI, Computer Science, or related fields may have an advantage.

Experience: 8+ years of progressive experience in UX/UI and product design, with a demonstrated track record of operating at a strategic level and influencing product direction.

Required Skills:

• 8+ years of UX/UI/product design experience, with significant experience at a strategic level.

• A robust portfolio showcasing systems thinking and refined design craft (UI/UX).

• Proficiency in Figma and other industry-standard prototyping tools for creating interactive mockups and user flows.

• Demonstrated experience and proficiency with using AI tools within the design practice to enhance efficiency and output.

• Proven ability to partner with senior leadership (e.g., CPO, R&D leadership) and influence product strategy and direction.

• Solid understanding and practical application of user research methodologies to gather insights and inform design.

• Comfort with ambiguity, demonstrating the ability to drive clarity and provide direction independently in complex situations.

• Clear and effective communication skills, capable of articulating complex design decisions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• A strong passion for creating highly functional and delightful user experiences.

• Experience in defining and managing scalable design systems.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in the Ad Tech or API infrastructure space, understanding the unique design challenges and opportunities within these domains.

• Familiarity with conducting design critiques and facilitating design reviews effectively.

• Experience in defining and tracking UX metrics to measure product success and iterate on designs.

• Proficiency in facilitating workshops, sprints, and design thinking sessions.

• Experience collecting feedback from customer-facing teams and product managers.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for 8+ years of experience and strategic involvement indicates this role is for a seasoned professional. The emphasis on Figma, AI tools, and a strong portfolio points to the need for a hands-on designer with modern skillsets. The "systems thinking" requirement is crucial for candidates to highlight in their portfolios.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrates systems thinking: Showcase projects where you've designed interconnected components or a cohesive design system that scales across multiple products or features.

• Exhibits refined craft: Present high-fidelity designs, prototypes, and final UI implementations that highlight attention to detail, aesthetic quality, and user-centered design principles.

• Highlights end-to-end design process: Include case studies that clearly articulate your involvement from user research and problem definition through to solution design, testing, and implementation.

• Showcases strategic impact: Detail how your design decisions contributed to business goals, user adoption, or key performance indicators (KPIs), ideally with quantifiable results.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design and Optimization: Clearly outline the design process followed for key projects, emphasizing how you identified user needs, defined problems, and iterated on solutions.

• System Implementation Standards: Showcase examples of how you contributed to or managed a design system, detailing its components, guidelines, and how it ensured consistency and efficiency.

• Measurement and Performance Analysis: Present how you defined and tracked UX metrics for your designs, illustrating how data was used to evaluate success and inform future design iterations.

• Collaboration and Handoff: Illustrate your collaboration process with engineering and product management, including how you prepared and delivered design specifications for seamless implementation.

📝 Enhancement Note: A strong portfolio is critical for this role. Candidates should prepare case studies that not only display their design skills but also their strategic thinking, ability to work with complex systems, and impact on business outcomes. Emphasizing the use of Figma and AI tools will be beneficial.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Kevel utilizes external, third-party market data to determine compensation based on the candidate's specific working location and experience level. They adopt a "no negotiation" approach to ensure fair, equitable, and inclusive pay practices. The salary will be determined in relation to existing team members' compensation based on these factors.

Benefits:

• Fully Remote Team: Work from home, a Kevel office, or a co-working space globally.

• Flexible Working Hours: Trust and flexibility to work when you are most productive.

• Comprehensive Health Benefits: Employer-paid medical benefits for employees and their families (packages vary by location).

• Unlimited Personal Time Off: Trust-based policy for taking necessary time off.

• Kevel Holiday Break: December 24th to January 1st.

• Kevelfest: Annual four-day in-person corporate retreat for collaboration and team building.

• Home Office Stipend: Includes a new Windows or Mac machine and a $500 allowance for home office setup.

• Parental Leave Support: Salary continuation and benefits for growing families.

• Free Press Benefits: $300 annual allowance for news subscriptions.

• Award-Winning Team: Recognition through multiple "Best Places to Work" awards and industry accolades for innovation and products.

• Full Transparency: Access to Kevel's Company Constitution, Employee Bill of Rights, About Us, and Careers pages.

Working Hours: While not explicitly stated as a fixed number, the mention of "Flexible Working Hours" suggests an adaptable schedule, but the role is listed as Full-Time, implying a standard workload consistent with a 40-hour work week, depending on location and team needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit "no negotiation" policy is a significant factor for candidates. Compensation will be benchmarked against local market data and the candidate's experience level. The benefits package is comprehensive, emphasizing work-life balance, employee well-being, and professional development.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Kevel operates in the Ad Tech and API infrastructure sector, providing the foundational APIs for publishers to build custom ad platforms and drive revenue. This is a B2B SaaS environment focused on enabling publishers to compete with larger players.

Company Size: Kevel is a growing company with employees spread across multiple countries. The exact number is not specified, but the global remote structure suggests a distributed team that values autonomy and asynchronous communication.

Founded: Founded in 2010 in Durham, North Carolina, Kevel (formerly Adzerk) has a history of innovation in the ad tech space.

Team Structure:

• The design team likely operates within a product development structure, reporting up to the Chief Product Officer (CPO).

• As a Senior Product Designer, you will be a key individual contributor and potentially a mentor for other designers.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: Emphasis on user research, UX metrics, and stakeholder feedback to inform design decisions.

• Systems Thinking: Focus on building scalable design systems and cohesive product visions rather than isolated features.

• Agile/Lean Principles: Implied through the mention of sprints, workshops, and iterative design processes.

• Remote-First Collaboration: Utilizing tools and practices that support effective asynchronous and synchronous communication across a distributed team.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Kevel's culture appears to be built on transparency, inclusivity, and a commitment to empowering publishers. The remote-first and flexible approach suggests a need for self-motivated individuals who can thrive in a distributed environment.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior Product Designer role, indicating a position of significant influence and responsibility within the design function. It requires not only strong design execution skills but also strategic thinking, leadership potential, and the ability to mentor others.

Reporting Structure: You will report directly to the Chief Product Officer (CPO), placing you at a high level within the product organization and providing direct access to executive decision-making.

Operations Impact: As a Senior Product Designer, your impact will be measured by your ability to shape Kevel's product strategy, enhance user experience across product lines, contribute to a scalable design system, and mentor junior designers. Your work will directly influence product adoption, user satisfaction, and ultimately, Kevel's ability to drive revenue for its publisher clients.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Development: Opportunity to grow into a Design Lead or Manager role, potentially overseeing a team of designers.

• Strategic Influence: Deeper involvement in product strategy, roadmap planning, and cross-functional initiatives.

• Specialization: Potential to become a subject matter expert in areas like design systems, user research, or specific product domains within Kevel.

• Mentorship: Formalizing mentorship responsibilities and developing leadership skills through guiding other designers.

• Industry Impact: Contributing to innovative solutions in the Ad Tech and API infrastructure space, potentially leading to industry recognition.

📝 Enhancement Note: The direct reporting line to the CPO and the emphasis on strategic contribution suggest significant growth potential beyond individual contribution, including leadership and strategic planning roles.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The company operates on a fully remote model. Employees have the flexibility to work from home, one of Kevel's offices (if available in their location), or a co-working space.

Office Location(s): While the role is remote, preferred locations include Porto (Portugal), Copenhagen (Denmark), Spain, and Australia. Other EU locations are also considered.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: Despite being remote, the culture fosters collaboration through tools and practices designed for distributed teams, including virtual workshops, design reviews, and cross-functional communication.

• Technology & Tools: Access to modern design tools like Figma, prototyping software, and AI design tools, supported by a provided hardware setup (Windows or Mac) and a home office stipend.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for interaction through virtual meetings, company retreats (Kevelfest), and asynchronous communication channels.

Work Schedule: Flexible working hours are offered, allowing employees to manage their schedules around personal responsibilities and peak productivity times. However, the role is full-time, implying a commitment to delivering on responsibilities within a standard work week, with coordination needed for cross-time zone collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote-first and flexible work environment is a key aspect of Kevel's culture, designed to attract and retain talent globally. Candidates should be comfortable with asynchronous communication and self-management.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your application and portfolio to assess basic qualifications and alignment with the role.

• Recruitment Team Call: Discussion about your experience, understanding of Kevel's mission, and benefits. This is also where compensation philosophy and location-specific details are discussed.

• Design Challenge/Portfolio Review: A deeper dive into your portfolio, likely involving presenting case studies and discussing your design process, strategic thinking, and collaboration skills. This may include a specific design exercise.

• Stakeholder Interviews: Meetings with the CPO and potentially other senior leaders or cross-functional partners to assess strategic alignment, leadership potential, and cultural fit.

• Final Decision: Offer extended based on overall assessment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-4 of your strongest case studies that best represent your skills in systems thinking, end-to-end design, and strategic impact. Tailor your selection to highlight experience relevant to API infrastructure or B2B SaaS if possible.

• Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process you followed (research, ideation, design, testing), the challenges you faced, and the outcomes achieved. Quantify results whenever possible.

• Highlight Systems Thinking: Explicitly demonstrate how you approached design challenges with a view towards scalability, consistency, and integration within a larger product ecosystem or design system.

• Showcase Craft and Tools: Ensure your portfolio visually represents high-quality UI design and your proficiency with tools like Figma. Mention your experience with AI tools.

• Prepare for Questions: Anticipate questions about your design philosophy, how you handle ambiguity, your mentorship approach, and how you measure design success.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Kevel's Business: Research Kevel's products, target audience (publishers), and competitive landscape (Ad Tech, API infrastructure). Understand their mission to empower publishers.

• Practice Design Thinking: Be prepared to walk through a design problem using a structured approach, from problem definition to solution proposal.

• Articulate Strategic Value: Focus on how design contributes to business objectives, revenue generation for publishers, and overall product strategy.

• Prepare for Mentorship Discussions: Be ready to discuss your approach to mentoring other designers, providing feedback, and fostering a collaborative design environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes strategic alignment, portfolio presentation, and cultural fit. Candidates should prepare thoroughly by researching Kevel and practicing their narrative around their design process and impact.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core design and prototyping tool, essential for creating wireframes, mockups, interactive prototypes, and design system components.

• Prototyping Tools: Beyond Figma's capabilities, other specialized prototyping tools might be used for specific fidelity needs or integrations.

• AI Design Tools: Explicitly mentioned as a requirement, candidates should be proficient in leveraging AI for tasks such as image generation, content creation, code generation assistance, or workflow automation within the design process.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly listed for designers, understanding and utilizing UX metrics is a key responsibility. This implies familiarity with analytics platforms or dashboards that track user behavior, engagement, conversion rates, and other relevant KPIs.

CRM & Automation:

• Not directly within the designer's primary toolset, but an understanding of how design impacts user journeys within potential CRM or marketing automation systems used by Kevel's clients or indirectly within Kevel's operations could be a plus.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma and modern AI design tools is non-negotiable. Candidates should be prepared to discuss how they integrate these tools into their workflow to enhance efficiency and design quality.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Inclusivity, Trust, Empathy, and Respect: These are core values guiding Kevel's operations and interactions, aiming to create a safe and authentic work environment.

• Transparency: A commitment to open communication, evident in their publicly available Company Constitution and Employee Bill of Rights.

• Empowerment: Focused on empowering publishers with the tools to drive revenue and compete with larger platforms.

• Excellence & Innovation: Striving for award-winning products and processes, as recognized by industry awards.

• Efficiency & Scalability: Demonstrated through the focus on design systems and leveraging AI tools.

Collaboration Style:

• Remote-First & Asynchronous: Designed to facilitate effective collaboration across global time zones, valuing clear communication and documentation.

• Cross-functional Integration: Strong emphasis on partnering with Product Management, Engineering, and customer-facing teams to ensure alignment and successful product outcomes.

• Design Critiques & Workshops: Encouraging feedback and collaborative problem-solving within the design team and with broader stakeholders.

• Mentorship & Knowledge Sharing: A culture that values supporting the growth of team members and sharing expertise.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should demonstrate an understanding of and alignment with Kevel's core values, particularly around inclusivity, transparency, and remote collaboration.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Strategic Vision with Ground-Level Execution: Effectively translating high-level product goals into tangible, user-centered designs and scalable systems.

• Navigating Ambiguity: Thriving in a fast-paced, remote environment where clarity may need to be actively driven by the designer.

• Influencing Stakeholders: Effectively communicating design rationale and advocating for user needs to diverse stakeholder groups, including senior leadership.

• Maintaining Design Quality at Scale: Ensuring consistency and high standards across multiple product lines and evolving design systems in a growing company.

• Integrating AI Tools Effectively: Staying current with and strategically applying new AI technologies to enhance the design process without compromising quality or user experience.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Design Strategy: Opportunity to shape product strategy and contribute at a CPO-level.

• Design System Expertise: Deepen knowledge and leadership in building and maintaining scalable design systems.

• Mentorship and Leadership: Develop leadership skills by mentoring junior designers and potentially leading design initiatives.

• Industry Exposure: Working within the dynamic Ad Tech and API infrastructure space, offering exposure to unique technological challenges and business models.

• Continuous Skill Development: Kevel's culture likely supports ongoing learning, potentially through access to resources, conferences, or workshops related to design, AI, and product development.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers significant opportunities for growth in strategic design leadership and specialized areas like design systems and AI integration, provided the candidate can navigate the inherent challenges of a senior remote role.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you defined and championed a design vision for a complex product suite. How did you align stakeholders and translate that vision into actionable design principles?" (Focus on strategic thinking, stakeholder management, and process documentation.)

• "Walk us through a project where you led the end-to-end design process from discovery to engineering handoff. What were the key challenges, and how did you overcome them?" (Showcase your comprehensive design process, problem-solving skills, and collaboration with engineering.)

• "How do you approach setting UX/UI strategy in partnership with executive leadership? Provide an example of how you’ve influenced product direction." (Demonstrate strategic thinking, business acumen, and ability to communicate with senior leaders.)

• "Describe your experience mentoring other designers. What is your philosophy on providing feedback and fostering growth within a design team?" (Highlight leadership potential and team-building capabilities.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Kevel and our mission to empower publishers?" (Show research into the company's business and values.)

• "How do you embody Kevel's core values of inclusivity, trust, empathy, and respect in your work, especially in a remote environment?" (Assess cultural fit and understanding of company ethos.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly articulate the "Why" (problem/opportunity), "What" (your role and solution), and "How" (your process and tools).

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, present metrics that demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., increased conversion, improved user satisfaction, time saved).

• Highlight Systems Thinking: Explicitly point out elements in your portfolio that showcase your ability to design for scalability, consistency, and integration within a larger design system.

• Demonstrate Tool Proficiency: Clearly state the tools used (especially Figma and AI tools) and how they contributed to the outcome.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Expect questions about specific design choices, trade-offs made, and alternative solutions considered.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on articulating strategic impact, demonstrating a robust design process, showcasing systems thinking, and aligning with Kevel's remote-first and values-driven culture.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided application link on Kevel's careers portal.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight your 8+ years of experience, specifically mentioning strategic design leadership, systems thinking, and proficiency with Figma and AI tools. Use keywords from the job description.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 3-4 of your strongest case studies that best exemplify your skills in systems thinking, end-to-end design process, and strategic impact. Ensure it clearly demonstrates your work with Figma and AI tools.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice articulating your design process, decision-making rationale, and the impact of your work. Be ready to discuss your approach to mentorship and collaboration in a remote setting.

• Research Kevel: Thoroughly understand Kevel's business, products, target audience, and company values. Be prepared to discuss how your skills and experience align with their mission.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with Kevel before making application decisions. The "no negotiation" compensation policy is a critical factor to consider.