Senior Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer

Company: Nexl

Location: Australia

Job Type: Permanent

Category: Product Design / Design Systems

Date Posted: May 20, 2026

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the design strategy and execution for shared platform surfaces, including user management, notifications, and permissions, ensuring a consistent and intuitive user experience across all Nexl products.

• Own the evolution and governance of Nexl's design system, setting standards for tokens, components, and patterns to drive scalability and maintain design integrity as the product and team grow.

• Collaborate directly with engineering leadership in a dual-track role, actively participating in problem definition, scope shaping, and decision-making from conception through to delivery.

• Drive the adoption and consistency of the design system across all product squads, working closely with fellow designers to resolve inconsistencies and ensure alignment with the live product.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a foundational member of a newly created team, indicating a significant opportunity for impact and shaping the future of Nexl's design practices. The emphasis on direct collaboration with engineering leadership, bypassing a traditional PM layer, highlights the need for strong product thinking and strategic influence from the design side.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Platform Product Design:

  • Own the full design lifecycle for shared platform surfaces: user management, notifications, permissions, settings, and other cross-functional areas used across Nexl's squads.
  • Contribute to defining the problem space for your domain: identify gaps, surface opportunities, and shape solutions working closely with the Head of Engineering on prioritization and scope.
  • Partner closely with the Head of Engineering through discovery and delivery, from early problem framing to production-ready UI.
  • Translate complex, interconnected workflows into experiences that feel simple and consistent to end users.
  • Run discovery and validation independently, including usability testing, customer interviews, and assumption testing, and iterate based on learned insights.
  • Communicate design decisions and trade-offs clearly to engineers and senior stakeholders, influencing direction rather than just presenting work.

• Design System Ownership:

  • Own and evolve Nexl's design system: tokens, components, patterns, documentation, and contribution guidelines.

  • Work with designers across product squads to drive adoption, resolve inconsistencies, and keep the system aligned with the live product.

  • Partner with engineering to ensure design system components are implemented accurately and maintained in code.

  • Establish governance processes for component proposals, reviews, versioning, and deprecation as the product scales.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities are clearly divided into two key areas: Platform Product Design and Design System Ownership. This dual focus requires a candidate who can both execute on user-facing features within foundational areas and strategically manage the overarching design system. The expectation of independent discovery and validation suggests a high degree of autonomy.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field is often preferred for senior-level design roles, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience: 5-10 years of proven experience as a Product Designer on digital products, with a strong preference for B2B SaaS environments.

Required Skills:

• Proven experience as a Product Designer on a digital product (B2B SaaS experience strongly preferred).

• Ability to design for shared, reusable surfaces that serve multiple teams and user types beyond individual flows.

• Hands-on experience building, contributing to, or owning a design system in a product environment.

• Strong skills across the full design lifecycle: problem discovery, flows, wireframes, high-fidelity UI, and prototypes.

• Comfortable contributing to problem definition and scope alongside engineering leadership, without relying on a handed-down brief.

• Proficient in using AI tools to accelerate design workflows, prototype iteration, and synthesis of customer insight.

• Comfortable running usability testing, customer interviews, and discovery sessions independently to inform design decisions.

• Demonstrated ability to translate complex workflows and systems into clear, intuitive experiences.

• Experience working directly and closely with engineers, including bridging design intent to implementation.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing complex, data-heavy, or workflow-driven products.

• Familiarity with design token architecture and tooling (e.g., Style Dictionary, Figma Variables).

• Exposure to accessibility auditing and WCAG standards.

• Experience in LegalTech, FinTech, or other professional-services software environments.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Must-haves" strongly emphasize hands-on design system experience and the ability to operate autonomously in a less structured environment, directly collaborating with engineering. The mention of AI tools is a modern requirement that candidates should be prepared to discuss.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrate end-to-end product design ownership for complex features or platform areas, showcasing problem definition, ideation, user flows, wireframing, high-fidelity UI, and prototyping.

• Include detailed case studies of your involvement with design systems, highlighting your contributions to their architecture, component development, documentation, and governance.

• Showcase examples of designing for shared services or foundational components that support multiple product teams or user types.

• Provide evidence of your ability to translate intricate workflows and systems into simple, user-friendly experiences, with clear explanations of your design rationale.

Process Documentation:

• Detail your approach to problem discovery, including methods for identifying user needs, business opportunities, and technical constraints within a B2B SaaS context.

• Outline your process for running user research, usability testing, and customer interviews independently, demonstrating how you synthesize insights to drive design iterations.

• Explain your methodology for establishing design system governance, including processes for proposing, reviewing, versioning, and maintaining components and patterns.

• Document your strategies for collaborating with engineering and stakeholders to communicate design decisions, justify trade-offs, and influence product direction effectively.

📝 Enhancement Note: A strong portfolio is critical for this role, especially given the emphasis on design systems and platform-level design. Candidates should be prepared to present detailed case studies that highlight their strategic thinking, system-level approach, and collaborative abilities, particularly in relation to engineering partnerships.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: For a Senior Product Designer in Australia with 5-10 years of experience, particularly in a B2B SaaS environment and with design system ownership responsibilities, the estimated annual salary range would typically fall between AUD $140,000 and $190,000. This estimate considers the seniority of the role, the specialized skills in design systems and platform design, and the high growth environment of a tech company.

Benefits:

• Employee Stock Options (ESOP): Opportunity to share in the company's financial success and growth.

• Modern AI-first Tools: Access to cutting-edge technology and AI-powered tools to enhance productivity and innovation.

• Work Laptop: Provision of a company-provided laptop to facilitate work.

• Birthday Leave: A paid "Nexl Day" during the week of your birthday, promoting work-life balance.

• Transparent Communication: Participation in fortnightly all-hands meetings covering strategy, metrics, wins, and learnings.

• Purposeful Connection: Opportunities for team offsites and meet-ups to foster camaraderie and collaboration.

• Values-led Culture: Embodiment of "The Nexler Way," emphasizing care, humanity, and purposeful innovation.

Working Hours: The role implies a standard full-time commitment, likely around 40 hours per week, with the flexibility often associated with hybrid work arrangements in the tech industry.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on industry benchmarks for senior product designers in Australia, factoring in the specific demands of B2B SaaS and design system leadership. The benefits package highlights a focus on employee ownership, modern tooling, and a strong, transparent company culture.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, specifically B2B SaaS, likely serving professional services industries such as LegalTech or FinTech, given the "Nice to have" preferences. Nexl is building "shared foundations" for products, suggesting a platform or infrastructure-focused SaaS offering.

Company Size: The description implies a scaling startup environment. While not explicitly stated, the mention of a "newly created team" and a "deliberately lean" structure suggests a company that is past the very early seed stage but still in a high-growth, foundational phase, likely ranging from 50-250 employees.

Founded: The company was founded recently enough to be establishing "shared foundations" and creating new teams, but has enough traction to be hiring senior roles with significant ownership.

Team Structure:

• The Senior Product Designer will be a founding member of a new, lean team focused on shared platform surfaces and the design system.

• This individual will report directly to the Head of Product and work in close partnership with the Head of Engineering, who serves as the technical lead and product voice for the squad.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Design decisions are expected to be grounded in evidence, user research, and product context, not assumptions.

• Customer-Led Outcomes: The culture aims to be customer-led and outcome-focused, with a strong emphasis on accountability.

• Agile Collaboration: The dual-track role with direct engineering partnership suggests an agile or lean development methodology, where design and engineering work iteratively and closely together.

• Design System Governance: A structured approach to managing and evolving the design system is a core methodological component.

Company Website: nexl.cloud

📝 Enhancement Note: Nexl appears to be a rapidly growing B2B SaaS company that values autonomy, ownership, and a direct, collaborative approach between design and engineering. The emphasis on "shared foundations" and a design system suggests a strategic focus on scalability and consistency.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is at a Senior level, requiring significant independent contribution and strategic influence. It's a key individual contributor role with the potential to shape foundational aspects of Nexl's product and design practice. The "founding member" aspect indicates an opportunity to establish best practices.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Product Designer reports to the Head of Product. However, they will work in a highly collaborative, almost co-lead capacity with the Head of Engineering on their specific domain. This structure emphasizes cross-functional partnership over a strict hierarchy for day-to-day work.

Operations Impact: The impact of this role is substantial. By owning shared platform surfaces and the design system, the Senior Product Designer will directly influence:

• Product Consistency & Quality: Ensuring a unified and high-quality user experience across all Nexl products.

• Development Efficiency: Providing engineers with a robust and well-documented design system to accelerate development cycles.

• Scalability: Building foundational elements that allow Nexl to scale its product offerings and engineering teams effectively.

• Design Culture: Setting a precedent for design excellence, user-centricity, and strong engineering-design partnerships.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership in Design Systems: The opportunity to architect and lead the growth of Nexl's design system offers a path towards becoming a recognized expert and leader in this domain within the company.

• Product Domain Ownership: Deep ownership of critical platform areas provides a chance to become a subject matter expert and significantly influence the strategic direction of those domains.

• Mentorship & Team Building: As the team grows, there will be opportunities to mentor junior designers and contribute to building out the design function at Nexl.

• Strategic Influence: Direct collaboration with Heads of Product and Engineering provides visibility and influence at a strategic level.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a unique blend of individual contribution and strategic influence, with clear pathways for growth related to design system leadership, product domain expertise, and shaping the design culture of a scaling company.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The "Hybrid" work arrangement suggests a flexible model where employees split their time between working remotely and in a physical office. This likely indicates a modern office space designed to facilitate collaboration and focused work.

Office Location(s): The job is posted for "Australia," implying the role is based within Australia, with potential office locations in major tech hubs like Sydney or Melbourne, or a more distributed presence depending on the company's setup. The specific office location(s) would need further clarification.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: The hybrid model and emphasis on cross-functional work suggest an office environment equipped with meeting rooms, collaboration zones, and potentially hot-desking options to support interaction.

• Tools & Technology: A "modern, AI-first" approach implies access to up-to-date design software, collaboration tools, and potentially specialized hardware for prototyping or testing. A work laptop is provided.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for "Purposeful connection" through team offsites and meet-ups, alongside regular team collaboration, will be integral to the work experience.

Work Schedule: A standard full-time schedule is expected, likely around 40 hours per week. The hybrid nature offers flexibility in terms of where work is done, but the core expectations around productivity and collaboration remain. The emphasis on "AI-first ways of working" suggests an environment that values efficiency and smart working practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid work environment at Nexl is designed to balance flexibility with collaborative needs, supported by modern technology and a culture that values both independent work and strong team connections.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess alignment with the required skills and experience, particularly in design systems and B2B SaaS.

• Portfolio Presentation & Discussion: You will likely present a curated selection of your work, focusing on relevant case studies that demonstrate your approach to design systems, platform design, and collaboration with engineering. Expect in-depth questions about your design decisions, rationale, and impact.

• Design Challenge/Exercise: A practical exercise may be given to assess your problem-solving skills, design thinking, and ability to translate complex requirements into intuitive solutions. This could involve a take-home assignment or an in-session collaborative design activity.

• Interviews with Leadership: Discussions with the Head of Product and Head of Engineering to evaluate your strategic thinking, ability to operate autonomously, and cultural fit within their lean, collaborative team structure.

• Cross-Functional/Team Interviews: Conversations with other designers or engineers to assess collaboration style and contribution to team dynamics.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Design Systems: Dedicate significant space to your design system experience. Detail your contributions to its architecture, component library, documentation, and governance. Explain the impact of your stewardship.

• Showcase Platform Design: Include case studies where you designed foundational or shared components/services that served multiple teams or user types. Explain the complexity and how you simplified it.

• Demonstrate Problem Solving: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem you were solving, your process (discovery, ideation, iteration), your specific contributions, and the measurable outcomes or impact.

• Highlight Engineering Collaboration: Illustrate how you partnered with engineers, bridging design intent to implementation. Mention any experience with design tokens or how you ensured design fidelity in code.

• Include AI Tool Usage: If possible, showcase how you leveraged AI tools to enhance your design workflow, research synthesis, or prototyping.

• Structure for Clarity: Organize your portfolio logically, perhaps by case study, with clear headings, concise explanations, and compelling visuals.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Context: If given a take-home challenge, thoroughly research Nexl, its product, and its target market. Consider the implications of designing for "shared foundations" and a design system.

• Focus on Process: Be prepared to articulate your design process, especially how you would approach problem discovery and scope definition without a dedicated PM.

• Emphasize Collaboration: Think about how you would work with engineering leadership and other designers. Be ready to discuss trade-offs and influence.

• Design System Thinking: Anticipate questions or tasks related to design system principles, component design, and governance.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will heavily scrutinize your design system expertise, your ability to operate strategically alongside engineering, and your capacity for independent problem-solving in a fast-paced, high-ownership environment. Your portfolio is your primary tool for demonstrating these capabilities.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (highly probable, given industry standards and design system focus), Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite.

• Design System Tooling: Figma Variables, Style Dictionary (or similar token management tools), potentially Storybook for component documentation (though this is more engineering-focused, designers often interact with it).

• AI Design Tools: Candidates are expected to be proficient, implying tools for generative design, AI-assisted research synthesis, prototyping acceleration, or workflow automation (e.g., tools integrated into Figma, or standalone AI design assistants).

Analytics & Reporting: While not explicitly mentioned for the designer role, familiarity with analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude) to understand user behavior and validate design decisions would be beneficial. Designers may interact with dashboards to review product performance metrics.

CRM & Automation: Not directly applicable to the core design responsibilities, but understanding the underlying CRM (likely Salesforce, HubSpot, or a specialized B2B SaaS CRM) and automation platforms that the product might integrate with could be advantageous for context.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma and a strong understanding of design system tooling are essential. The expectation of using AI tools in design workflows is a key differentiator and should be highlighted by candidates.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Committed to Care: A genuine dedication to the work, the industry (likely B2B SaaS for professional services), and the impact Nexl aims to make. This translates to thoroughness and a high-quality output in design.

• Human at the Core: Emphasizing relationships and empathy guides interactions. This means collaborative, respectful communication and a focus on user and team well-being.

• Different with Purpose: Encouraging bold, deliberate innovation and a willingness to stand out. This implies an openness to new ideas, experimental approaches, and challenging the status quo in design.

• Ownership & Autonomy: Implicit in the role description, the culture values individuals who take initiative, drive decisions, and feel accountable for their domain.

• Customer-Led & Outcome-Focused: Decisions are driven by user needs and business impact, not just theoretical design.

Collaboration Style:

• Direct & Lean: Close, unfiltered collaboration between design and engineering leadership, bypassing traditional layers.

• Cross-Functional: Active engagement with designers across product squads to ensure system adoption and consistency.

• Transparent: Open communication through regular all-hands meetings and likely within team interactions.

• Evidence-Based: Design decisions are expected to be supported by research and data.

📝 Enhancement Note: Nexl fosters a culture of high ownership, collaborative innovation, and customer-centricity, underpinned by strong relationships and a purposeful approach to differentiation. Candidates should reflect these values in their approach to design and teamwork.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Greenfield Ownership: Building and evolving foundational systems (design system, platform surfaces) from an early stage requires comfort with ambiguity and a proactive, self-directed approach.

• Balancing System vs. Feature Design: Effectively managing the dual responsibility of maintaining and evolving a design system while also delivering user-facing features for shared platform areas.

• Driving Adoption: Convincing and supporting other product teams to adopt and consistently use the design system requires strong communication, advocacy, and excellent documentation.

• Scaling Governance: Establishing and refining governance processes that can adapt as the product and team grow, ensuring efficiency without stifling innovation.

• Bridging Design & Code: Maintaining a high level of fidelity and consistency between design specifications and engineering implementation, especially with evolving design tokens and components.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Design System Expertise: Deepen expertise in design system architecture, tooling, and best practices, potentially becoming a recognized leader in this niche.

• Platform Product Strategy: Gain significant experience in defining and shaping core product infrastructure and user experiences that impact the entire user base.

• Leadership & Mentorship: Opportunity to mentor junior designers and contribute to the growth and strategic direction of the design team.

• Cross-Functional Influence: Hone skills in influencing engineering and product leadership through data, user research, and strong design rationale.

• AI in Design: Explore and implement cutting-edge AI tools to enhance design workflows and outcomes.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents significant challenges related to building and scaling foundational design elements in a high-growth environment, but these challenges are directly tied to substantial opportunities for career advancement and skill development.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you led the creation or significant evolution of a design system. What were the key challenges, how did you establish governance, and what was the impact?" (Focus on your process, decision-making, and quantifiable results.)

• "How would you approach defining the problem space for a new shared platform feature (e.g., notifications) when working directly with engineering leadership, without a Product Manager?" (Highlight your discovery, problem framing, and collaborative scoping methodologies.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "How do you embody 'Different with Purpose' in your design work?" (Connect this to your innovative approaches or how you challenge conventions.)

• "What does 'Committed to Care' mean to you in the context of designing B2B SaaS products for professional services?" (Relate this to user empathy, attention to detail, and product reliability.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Tell a Story: For each case study, frame it as a narrative: the problem, your approach, the solutions, and the outcomes. Emphasize your role and contributions clearly.

• Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, use metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs. For design systems, this could be adoption rates, reduction in design/dev time, or consistency scores. For features, it could be user satisfaction, task completion rates, or business KPIs.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals effectively – sketches, wireframes, high-fidelity mockups, prototypes, and perhaps even examples of the design system components themselves.

• Explain Your 'Why': Be prepared to articulate the rationale behind every significant design decision, linking it back to user needs, business goals, or technical constraints.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your process, your collaboration with engineers, and how you handled trade-offs.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic thinking, system-level design expertise, strong collaboration skills, and a proactive, autonomous work ethic. Your portfolio and your ability to articulate your process and impact are key.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

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

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your most impactful projects that best showcase your experience in B2B SaaS product design and, crucially, your leadership and hands-on work with design systems. Ensure each case study clearly outlines the problem, your process, your specific contributions, and the resulting outcomes.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight keywords and experiences directly aligned with the job description, such as "Design Systems," "B2B SaaS," "Platform Design," "User Management," "AI Design Tools," and "cross-functional collaboration." Quantify achievements where possible.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice presenting your portfolio case studies, focusing on clear storytelling, articulating your design rationale, and demonstrating your ability to collaborate effectively with engineering and stakeholders. Be ready to discuss your approach to problem discovery and system governance.

• Research Nexl: Understand Nexl's mission, product, target market, and company values ("The Nexler Way"). Consider how your skills and approach align with their culture and goals, particularly their emphasis on "shared foundations" and an "AI-first" approach.

⚠️ 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.

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