Senior Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer

Company: Lightspeed Commerce, Inc.

Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / UX/UI

Date Posted: 2026-09-08

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid (with significant remote flexibility)

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the end-to-end product design process for the merchant onboarding experience, focusing on simplifying complex workflows and enhancing user journeys.

• Drive user-centricity by translating research and data insights into tangible, delightful product features and interfaces that align with business impact goals.

• Champion design systems and contribute to their evolution, ensuring consistency and scalability across all digital and physical product manifestations.

• Foster a collaborative design culture, acting as a positive role model and advocating for user needs and design excellence within cross-functional teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a Senior Product Designer with a strong emphasis on UX/UI and systems thinking, specifically within the critical merchant onboarding funnel. The "Senior" title implies a need for leadership in design strategy, autonomy in project execution, and the ability to mentor junior team members. The focus on "real business impact" and "raising the bar for quality" suggests a performance-driven environment where design directly influences key business metrics.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design Ownership & Strategy: Lead design initiatives for the onboarding team, taking ownership from concept to delivery, and contributing to the product strategy for merchant adoption and retention.

• User Journey Optimization: Define and optimize the onboarding funnel across diverse retailer profiles, with a clear objective to reduce steps, minimize manual effort, and drive merchants towards key milestones and habitual selling.

• Problem Solving & Innovation: Transform complex business challenges into intuitive, user-friendly, and delightful product features, exploring and integrating AI and emerging technologies to shape innovative solutions.

• Systems Thinking & Design Execution: Apply deep expertise in UX, UI, and design systems to create holistic, elegant, and user-friendly interfaces and flows, ensuring consistency and contributing to the ongoing improvement of the design system.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Actively collaborate with Product Managers, Engineers, Marketing, and other stakeholders, advocating for the user and facilitating design reviews and working sessions to ensure successful product outcomes.

• Data-Driven Design: Leverage user research, analytics, and data insights to inform design decisions, validate hypotheses, and measure the impact of design interventions on key onboarding metrics.

• Mentorship & Culture: Serve as a positive role model for design best practices, mentor team members, and promote a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, and user advocacy within the design studio and the broader organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic thinking ("shape new approaches," "product strategy") and tactical execution ("design holistic systems, flows and interfaces," "turning nebulous concepts into specific ideas"). The explicit mention of AI integration and the focus on "reducing steps, cutting manual effort" point towards a need for efficiency-oriented design solutions.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent practical experience and theoretical knowledge in product design, UX, and UI is expected.

Experience: A minimum of 5 years of practical, in-house product, UX/UI design experience is required. This should include a proven track record of designing for complex workflows and user journeys across digital and physical product manifestations.

Required Skills:

• Product Design Expertise: Proven ability to lead design projects with autonomy, from ideation through to final delivery, with a strong portfolio showcasing end-to-end design process.

• UX/UI Proficiency: Deep understanding of user experience principles, user-centered design methodologies, and user interface design best practices.

• Design Systems Mastery: Extensive experience working with and contributing to design systems, ensuring consistency, scalability, and adherence to established patterns.

• Prototyping & Tool Proficiency: Advanced skills in industry-standard design tools such as Figma, and familiarity with AI prototyping tools and the Google Suite.

• Data & Research Acumen: Ability to draw actionable insights from user research, data analysis, and metrics to inform design decisions and measure impact.

• Communication & Presentation: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions, present work effectively to stakeholders, and facilitate productive design reviews.

• Systems Thinking: Capacity to design holistic systems, flows, and interfaces that are integrated, elegant, and user-friendly.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with AI and emerging technologies in design applications.

• Familiarity with JIRA for project tracking and collaboration.

• Experience designing for both responsive web and native applications.

• A strong understanding of product strategy and the ability to connect design decisions to business objectives.

• Demonstrated ability to mentor or guide junior designers.

• Experience in the retail, hospitality, or e-commerce technology sectors.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "5 years of practical, in-house product, UX/UI design experience" sets a clear benchmark. The emphasis on "AI and emerging technologies" and "systems thinking" suggests the company is looking for forward-thinking designers who can integrate new tools and approaches into their workflow. The mention of JIRA, while listed as preferred, is a common tool in agile environments, indicating a likely agile development process.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• End-to-End Case Studies: Showcase at least 2-3 comprehensive case studies that detail your involvement in the entire product design lifecycle, from problem definition and user research to final design solutions and post-launch analysis.

• Problem/Solution Framing: Clearly articulate the business problem or user need you addressed, the challenges encountered, and the strategic thinking behind your proposed solutions.

• User-Centric Design: Demonstrate a strong user-centric approach, including examples of user research, persona development, user flow mapping, wireframing, and usability testing.

• Design System Integration: Highlight your experience with design systems, showing how you've utilized existing components, maintained consistency, and potentially contributed to the system's growth.

• Visual Design & UI Excellence: Present high-fidelity mockups and prototypes that exhibit strong visual design skills, attention to detail, and a clear understanding of UI principles.

• Impact & Metrics: Quantify the impact of your design work whenever possible, using metrics related to user engagement, conversion rates, task completion, or other relevant business outcomes.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design: Provide examples of how you've mapped, analyzed, and optimized complex user workflows, particularly in the context of onboarding or similar multi-step processes.

• Iterative Design: Illustrate your iterative design process, showing how you've incorporated feedback from stakeholders and users to refine designs over time.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Describe how you have collaborated with engineering, product management, and other teams throughout the design process, including examples of design reviews and working sessions.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Senior Product Designer role, the portfolio is paramount. It needs to demonstrate not just visual design skills, but strategic thinking, problem-solving capabilities, and a proven ability to drive impact through design. The emphasis on "onboarding funnel" and "reducing steps" suggests a portfolio piece related to process optimization or conversion rate improvement would be highly valuable.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on the Senior Product Designer title, 5-10 years of experience, and the location in Auckland, New Zealand, a competitive salary range is estimated to be between NZD $120,000 - $170,000 annually. This range reflects the seniority of the role, the demand for experienced UX/UI professionals, and typical compensation benchmarks for similar positions in the New Zealand tech market.

Benefits:

• Ownership: Lightspeed share scheme, making employees owners of the company's success.

• Time Off: Unlimited Paid Time Off policy, offering flexibility and work-life balance.

• Remote Flexibility: Ability to work remotely from anywhere in the world for up to 60 days per year, complementing the hybrid work model.

• Health & Wellness: Annual Health and Wellness benefit of $500, plus access to a mental health online platform, counseling, and coaching services.

• Family Support: Paid leave and assistance for new parents.

• Professional Development: Free LinkedIn Learning license for continuous skill enhancement.

• Community Engagement: Paid Volunteer Day to support community initiatives.

• Health Insurance: Premium cover option when signing up with Southern Cross.

• Commuting Support: Subsidised public transportation, covering up to 75% of commuting costs.

• On-site Amenities: Complimentary breakfast and lunch, stocked with fresh fruits, snacks, and beverages.

• Office Perks: Secure full-time parking facilities and a dog-friendly environment.

• Cultural Engagement: Exciting events hosted regularly by the Auckland Culture Club.

Working Hours: The standard working hours are estimated at 40 hours per week, with a flexible working policy that supports a hybrid and remote-friendly environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The listed benefits are extensive and highlight a strong focus on employee well-being, professional growth, and work-life balance. The "Unlimited Paid Time Off" and "Work remotely from anywhere in the world for up to 60 days" are significant perks that offer substantial flexibility. The salary estimate is based on general market data for senior design roles in New Zealand, acknowledging that specific compensation can vary based on exact experience and negotiation.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Lightspeed operates within the Software and Technology sector, specifically providing a cloud-based commerce platform for retail, hospitality, and golf businesses. This positions them at the intersection of SaaS, FinTech, and business management solutions, serving as a critical backbone for global commerce.

Company Size: Lightspeed is a publicly traded company (NYSE: LSPD, TSX: LSPD) with a significant global presence, indicating a medium to large enterprise size. This means operations professionals can expect structured processes, opportunities for specialization, and potential for large-scale impact, while still retaining agility.

Founded: Founded in 2005 in Montreal, Canada, Lightspeed has a history of innovation and growth. Its origins in the LGBTQ+ community and its ongoing commitment to inclusion from the outset are core to its identity, fostering a diverse and welcoming environment.

Team Structure:

• The Senior Product Designer will join the "Onboarding team," suggesting a specialized group focused on a critical part of the customer lifecycle. This team likely comprises Product Managers, Engineers, and other designers dedicated to improving the initial merchant experience.

• Reporting structure will likely be within a Product Design or broader Product organization, with a direct manager who is likely a Design Lead or Head of Product Design.

• Cross-functional collaboration is a cornerstone, with close partnerships expected with Product Management, Engineering, Marketing, and potentially Data Analytics and User Research teams. Methodology:

• Lightspeed emphasizes a data-driven approach, using research and metrics to inform design decisions and measure impact on key business objectives like merchant adoption and retention.

• The company likely employs agile development methodologies, facilitating iterative design and continuous improvement in response to user feedback and market dynamics.

• Emphasis is placed on systems thinking and leveraging AI, indicating a forward-looking approach to process optimization and feature development.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on "building communities through commerce" and its inclusive ethos from its founding are key cultural differentiators. For operations professionals, this means a company that values diversity, collaboration, and a strong sense of purpose. The "agile enough for real impact" statement suggests a dynamic environment where individual contributions are recognized.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is classified as "Senior," indicating a level of expertise and autonomy beyond mid-level positions. Senior Product Designers are expected to lead complex projects, influence product strategy, mentor junior designers, and act as key contributors to the design team's overall direction and quality standards. They are often seen as subject matter experts in specific design domains.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Product Designer will report into the Onboarding team's leadership, likely a Design Manager or Head of Design within the Product organization. They will work closely with Product Managers and Engineering Leads within their specific team.

Operations Impact: The role has a direct and significant impact on Lightspeed's business success by optimizing the merchant onboarding funnel. Successful onboarding is crucial for customer acquisition, retention, and revenue growth. By making it easier for merchants to get started, this role directly contributes to Lightspeed's mission of empowering businesses and driving commerce.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Development: Opportunities to take on more complex projects, lead design initiatives, and potentially mentor and manage junior designers as the team grows.

• Skill Specialization & Expansion: Deepen expertise in specific areas such as user research, design systems, AI-driven design, or product strategy, or expand into related fields like UX strategy or product management.

• Cross-Functional Mobility: Potential to move into different product teams or areas within Lightspeed, leveraging acquired knowledge and experience.

• Impactful Projects: Work on high-traffic, global products that offer significant challenges and opportunities for professional development and portfolio enhancement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" designation implies a path towards leadership, whether through technical expertise, project leadership, or people management. The emphasis on AI and emerging technologies suggests opportunities to stay at the forefront of design innovation. The company's growth trajectory and global reach offer substantial avenues for career advancement.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Lightspeed offers a hybrid work environment with a primary office located in Newmarket, Auckland. This suggests a blend of in-office collaboration and remote work flexibility.

Office Location(s): The primary office is in Newmarket, Auckland, New Zealand, a well-established commercial hub. Specific details on accessibility and commute benefits are provided, indicating a well-supported physical workspace.

Workspace Context:

• The office is described as "newly renovated," suggesting a modern and potentially collaborative workspace designed to foster interaction.

• The environment is "dog friendly," contributing to a more relaxed and inclusive atmosphere.

• On-site amenities like complimentary breakfast, lunch, snacks, beverages, and parking facilities aim to create a comfortable and productive work environment, reducing daily friction for employees.

• The culture club actively hosts events, promoting social interaction and team building.

Work Schedule: The work schedule is flexible, supporting the hybrid model and the remote work policy. While a standard 40-hour week is implied, the emphasis is on output and flexibility rather than strict hours, allowing operations professionals to manage their time effectively around data analysis and process optimization tasks.

📝 Enhancement Note: The description of the Auckland office suggests a commitment to providing a positive and functional workspace that supports employee well-being and collaboration, even within a hybrid model. The combination of office amenities and remote flexibility caters to a modern workforce's needs.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter call to assess basic qualifications, cultural fit, and interest in the role.

• Portfolio Review & Design Challenge: A more in-depth session where candidates present their portfolio, discussing case studies and demonstrating their design process. This may be followed by a design exercise or challenge designed to assess problem-solving skills, systems thinking, and application of their expertise to a specific Lightspeed scenario.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers, Engineers, and potentially other designers or stakeholders to evaluate collaboration style, communication skills, and technical understanding.

• Final Interview: Likely with a senior leader (e.g., Head of Design, VP Product) to assess strategic thinking, leadership potential, and overall fit with the company's vision and values.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 of your strongest case studies that best represent your experience with complex problems, user-centric design, and measurable impact, ideally related to onboarding, workflow optimization, or similar B2B SaaS challenges.

• Tell a Story: Structure your case studies to clearly outline the problem, your role, your process (research, ideation, iteration, solution), the challenges faced, and the outcomes achieved, emphasizing your thought process.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals, wireframes, prototypes, and data where appropriate to illustrate your design decisions and the evolution of your solutions.

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

• Highlight Collaboration: Be prepared to discuss how you worked with cross-functional teams, managed stakeholder feedback, and navigated design challenges within a team environment.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Context: Research Lightspeed's products, target users (merchants), and the specific challenges of their onboarding process.

• Focus on Process: For any design challenge, emphasize your thinking process, how you approach problem-solving, and how you would leverage data and user feedback.

• Systems Thinking: Be prepared to discuss how your proposed solutions fit into the broader product ecosystem and design system.

• AI Integration: Consider how AI could potentially enhance the onboarding experience or your design process itself.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "Supported Interviews" is a significant aspect of Lightspeed's hiring process, encouraging candidates to bring support. This highlights a commitment to inclusivity and reducing interview stress for all candidates. The portfolio review will be critical for a Senior role, so candidates should prepare to articulate their strategic contributions and impact.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core design and prototyping tool, expected for wireframing, UI design, and creating interactive prototypes. Proficiency is essential.

• Google Suite: Likely used for documentation, presentations, and collaboration (e.g., Google Docs, Slides, Sheets).

• JIRA: Commonly used for project management, bug tracking, and workflow management within agile development teams. Familiarity is beneficial.

• AI Prototyping Tools: Mentioned as a requirement, indicating an interest in leveraging AI for faster iteration, concept exploration, or even generating design elements. Specific tools may vary, but a willingness to explore and utilize them is key.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly listed as tools for the designer, understanding how to interpret data from analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude) and reporting dashboards will be crucial for data-driven design. CRM & Automation:

• Lightspeed's platform itself is a form of CRM/business management tool. Designers will need to understand how their work integrates with the broader commerce platform.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Figma and AI prototyping tools highlights the company's modern tech stack. A Senior Product Designer is expected to be proficient in these core tools and adaptable to new technologies that enhance the design process and product outcomes.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Impact-Driven: A strong focus on delivering tangible business impact, particularly in optimizing the merchant onboarding process to drive adoption and revenue.

• User-Centricity: Deep empathy for customers and a commitment to understanding and solving their problems through thoughtful design.

• Collaboration: Fostering a team-oriented environment where ideas are shared, feedback is constructive, and cross-functional partners are integral to success.

• Innovation & Curiosity: Encouraging the exploration of new technologies, including AI, and continuously evolving design processes to deliver better products.

• Quality & Excellence: A commitment to high standards in design execution, user experience, and overall product quality.

Collaboration Style:

• Partnership: Working closely with Product Management and Engineering as true partners, ensuring alignment on goals and shared ownership of product outcomes.

• Open Communication: Encouraging open dialogue, active listening, and constructive feedback loops to refine designs and solve challenges collectively.

• Design Advocacy: Acting as a champion for design principles and user needs within the organization, while also being receptive to insights from other disciplines.

• Iterative & Agile: Embracing an iterative approach to design, comfortable with feedback and changes, and focused on delivering value incrementally.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's emphasis on inclusivity, community, and impact suggests a culture that values both individual contribution and collective success. For operations roles, this translates to an environment where process improvement, efficiency, and measurable results are highly valued.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Diverse Merchant Needs: Designing an onboarding experience that effectively serves a wide range of merchants, from single-store operators to large-scale enterprises, each with unique needs and technical proficiencies.

• Simplifying Complexity: Translating the intricate requirements of a comprehensive commerce platform into simple, intuitive user journeys for new users.

• Integrating AI Effectively: Leveraging AI and emerging technologies thoughtfully to enhance user experience and efficiency without introducing unnecessary complexity or compromising user control.

• Driving Adoption in a Competitive Market: Ensuring the onboarding process is compelling enough to retain new users and differentiate Lightspeed in a competitive SaaS landscape.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Design Techniques: Opportunities to explore and implement cutting-edge design methodologies, including AI-assisted design and advanced prototyping.

• Product Strategy Influence: Gain experience in shaping product strategy by contributing to the vision and roadmap for the critical onboarding funnel.

• Cross-Functional Expertise: Develop a deeper understanding of business operations, engineering constraints, and marketing strategies through close collaboration.

• Mentorship & Leadership: Grow into a leadership role, mentoring junior designers and contributing to the overall design practice at Lightspeed.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are typical for a Senior Product Designer in a growing SaaS company. The focus on balancing diverse user needs and simplifying complexity is central to the role's impact. The growth opportunities are aligned with a senior-level career path, emphasizing strategic contribution and leadership.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you significantly improved a complex user workflow through design. What was the problem, your process, and the impact?" (Focus on process, problem-solving, and quantifiable results).

• "How would you approach designing an onboarding experience for a new merchant with no prior experience using POS systems?" (Assesses user empathy, problem decomposition, and solution ideation).

• "Given the rise of AI, how can it be leveraged to improve the merchant onboarding process at Lightspeed? What are the potential pitfalls?" (Tests forward-thinking, understanding of AI applications, and risk assessment).

• "How do you ensure your designs are scalable and maintainable within a design system, and how do you contribute to its evolution?" (Evaluates understanding of design systems and long-term design strategy). Company & Culture Questions:

• "What do you know about Lightspeed's mission and its target customers (merchants)? How does that influence your design approach?" (Assesses research and alignment with company goals).

• "Describe your experience working in a hybrid or remote environment. How do you maintain strong collaboration and communication?" (Evaluates adaptability and collaboration skills).

• "How do you advocate for the user when there are competing business priorities or technical constraints?" (Tests stakeholder management and user advocacy). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Start with the "Why": Clearly articulate the business problem and user need for each case study.

• Walk Through Your Process: Detail your steps, including research methods, ideation techniques, iteration cycles, and design decisions, explaining the rationale behind each.

• Showcase Impact: Present key metrics and outcomes that demonstrate the success and value of your design solutions.

• Highlight Collaboration: Discuss how you worked with cross-functional teams and incorporated feedback.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparing for questions that probe your strategic thinking, problem-solving methodology, and ability to integrate new technologies like AI will be crucial. Demonstrating a clear understanding of Lightspeed's business and its users will also be key.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your most impactful case studies that highlight your experience in user-centric design, complex workflow optimization, and measurable outcomes. Ensure they clearly articulate the problem, your process, and the results.

• Tailor Your Resume: Emphasize your 5+ years of in-house product/UX/UI design experience, your proficiency with Figma and AI tools, and any relevant experience in B2B SaaS, retail, or onboarding processes. Quantify achievements where possible.

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice walking through your portfolio case studies, focusing on your strategic thinking, design process, collaboration, and the impact of your work. Be ready to discuss how you would approach Lightspeed's specific onboarding challenges.

• Research Lightspeed: Familiarize yourself with Lightspeed's commerce platform, its target merchants, and its company values. Understand their mission and how design contributes to their business goals.

⚠️ 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.