Senior Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer

Company: Secfix

Location: Berlin, Germany (Remote - EMEA)

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / GTM Operations

Date Posted: 2026-05-26

Experience Level: Senior / Staff / Principal

Remote Status: Fully Remote (EMEA with CET/CEST timezone required)

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the end-to-end product design lifecycle for complex B2B SaaS features, from initial customer discovery to production deployment and ongoing iteration.

• Drive product strategy and execution in a product-led environment, acting as a key stakeholder in product decisions without formal Product Managers.

• Own the development and maintenance of a robust design system and component library, ensuring consistency and efficiency across the product.

• Collaborate closely with a small, agile engineering team to ensure design integrity, technical feasibility, and rapid iteration cycles.

• Leverage AI tools and prompt engineering to enhance design processes, test ideas, and improve overall product development velocity.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a Senior to Principal level Product Designer with significant ownership and strategic input, blurring the lines between design and product management. The emphasis on "owning a feature from the first customer conversation to the version that's live on production" and "writing the spec yourself" highlights a highly integrated GTM and product development process. The requirement for EMEA remote with a specific timezone indicates a need for strong asynchronous and synchronous communication skills.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Conduct customer interviews and user research to deeply understand compliance challenges and identify opportunities for product innovation.

• Translate complex user needs and business requirements into intuitive and high-quality design solutions for dense B2B SaaS interfaces (e.g., tables, filters, permissions, settings).

• Develop detailed technical specifications, user stories, and acceptance criteria that guide engineering development effectively.

• Actively participate in engineering stand-ups, code reviews (PR reviews), and production verification to ensure the shipped product aligns with design intent.

• Define, build, and maintain a comprehensive design system, including reusable components, patterns, and style guides, to accelerate design and development velocity.

• Champion design quality and user experience across the product, acting as a primary advocate for the end-user within the product development team.

• Collaborate with engineering to assess technical feasibility and identify pragmatic design trade-offs that balance user needs with development timelines.

• Utilize AI tools (e.g., Claude) for ideation, spec drafting, edge case identification, and test case generation to augment the design process.

• Contribute to the continuous improvement of the product design process, tools, and team workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a hands-on, "designer-as-product-owner" model, requiring a blend of design craft, strategic thinking, and operational execution. The inclusion of PR reviews and production verification highlights a deep involvement in the engineering lifecycle, typical of highly integrated GTM and product teams.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, HCI, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years of professional experience in Product Design, focusing on B2B SaaS desktop applications.

• Proven track record of working in early-stage startups (<50 employees) and establishing design standards and processes independently.

Required Skills:

• Expertise in Figma: Advanced proficiency in creating complex designs, interactive prototypes, and managing design files efficiently.

• Product Thinking & Strategy: Ability to frame problems, define product strategy, and make critical design decisions that align with business objectives.

• Design System Development: Experience in creating, maintaining, and scaling design systems and component libraries.

• Technical Specification Writing: Proficiency in documenting design requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria for engineering teams.

• User Research & Customer Engagement: Ability to conduct user interviews, gather insights, and translate them into actionable design improvements.

• Strong English Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills for clear and concise collaboration across Slack, Notion, and calls.

• AI Tool Proficiency: Hands-on experience with LLMs (e.g., Claude) for design ideation, spec drafting, and workflow enhancement.

• Agile Development Collaboration: Experience working closely with engineers in small, agile teams, including participation in PR reviews and production verification.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with asynchronous and synchronous communication tools like Gather, Notion, Loom.

• Familiarity with compliance frameworks (e.g., ISO 27001, GDPR, TISAX, SOC 2).

• Understanding of CI/CD pipelines and their implications for design deployment.

• Experience with prompt engineering for design-related AI applications.

📝 Enhancement Note: The experience requirement of "10+ years designing B2B SaaS desktop applications as Staff/Principal Product Designer or similar" and "You've been the only designer, or one of two or three, in companies under 50 people at least once before" strongly suggests a need for candidates with deep individual contributor experience and the ability to operate autonomously in a lean environment, which is critical for GTM and product operations alignment.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• "I" Focused Case Studies: Your portfolio should clearly articulate your individual contributions, decisions, and impact on specific features or products. Highlight your role in problem framing, design execution, and post-launch analysis.

• End-to-End Ownership Examples: Showcase projects where you managed the entire design lifecycle, from initial customer conversations and problem definition through to spec writing, engineering collaboration, and production verification.

• Design System Contributions: Include examples of your work on design systems, demonstrating your ability to create reusable components, establish patterns, and maintain consistency.

• Technical Collaboration Evidence: Provide evidence of your collaboration with engineers, including how you've handled technical feasibility discussions and trade-offs.

• Impact Metrics: Quantify the impact of your designs using relevant metrics (e.g., conversion rates, user satisfaction, efficiency gains, reduction in support tickets).

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design & Optimization: Demonstrate your ability to map out and improve product development workflows, particularly how design integrates with engineering and customer feedback loops.

• Specification Clarity: Include examples of clear, concise technical specifications you've written for engineering teams.

• AI Integration in Process: Showcase how you've integrated AI tools into your design workflow to enhance efficiency or product quality.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "I" versus "we" in the portfolio, along with the need to demonstrate end-to-end ownership and technical collaboration, points to a requirement for candidates who can clearly articulate their individual impact and operational contribution within a cross-functional team. This aligns with a GTM focus on individual accountability and measurable outcomes.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: While specific figures are not provided, given the Senior/Staff/Principal level, 10+ years of experience, and the Berlin/Germany location (despite being remote), a competitive total compensation package would typically fall within the range of €90,000 - €130,000+ per year for base salary, plus equity. This is benchmarked against similar senior design roles in European tech hubs and the company's funding status.

Benefits:

• Generous Equity: Significant stock options, reflecting an "everyone is an owner" philosophy.

• Holiday Allowance: 26 days of paid holiday per year, plus local public holidays.

• Comprehensive Health Insurance: Full health coverage.

• Personal Development Budget: €1,000 annually for professional growth, training, and skill development.

• Remote Workspace & Co-working Budget: Support for setting up an effective home office and contributing towards co-working spaces.

• Latest Equipment: Provision of up-to-date hardware and tools.

• Team Summits: 1-2 annual in-person team gatherings in diverse locations (e.g., Costa Brava, Austrian Alps, Milan).

• Local Hubs & Visa Support: Access to physical hubs in Munich, Berlin, and London, with visa support for relocation if desired.

Working Hours: Standard full-time hours, with an emphasis on "in-sync culture with thoughtful coms mindset." While the company operates remotely, it requires team members to be within CET/CEST time zones for effective collaboration, suggesting a core working block rather than fully flexible asynchronous work. Estimated 40 hours per week.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on industry benchmarks for senior product designers in major European tech cities, considering the company's funding and stage. The equity component is highlighted as significant, suggesting a strong incentive for long-term commitment. The emphasis on "in-sync culture" and CET/CEST timezone requirement is crucial for understanding the expected work rhythm.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Cybersecurity (Compliance Automation) / SaaS. Secfix operates in a critical and growing market, automating complex security compliance processes for SMBs. This demand is amplified by regulatory requirements and enterprise customer mandates.

Company Size: Early-stage startup, with the engineering team having doubled and plans to hire more designers, indicating growth from a small core team (likely <50 employees based on the designer experience requirement). This size implies a highly agile, hands-on, and collaborative environment.

Founded: Secfix was founded with the goal of automating the manual, time-consuming, and painful process of security compliance (ISO 27001, GDPR, TISAX, SOC 2). The company has successfully raised €17M in total funding, including a €12M Series A, positioning it for significant growth and market leadership.

Team Structure:

• Product-Led & Designer-Driven: Product development is largely driven by designers and engineers, with no dedicated Product Managers. Designers are expected to take on product ownership responsibilities.

• Small, Agile Project Teams: Designers typically work in small, temporary teams with one or two engineers per project, fostering close collaboration and rapid iteration.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Strong emphasis on direct collaboration between design and engineering, with designers deeply involved in the engineering lifecycle (specs, pairing, PR reviews, production verification).

Methodology:

• Customer-Centric Design: Prioritizes understanding and solving real customer problems through direct engagement and research.

• Quality & Craftsmanship: Focuses on delivering a high-quality, polished product experience, viewing design as integral to the product's functionality and reliability.

• AI-Augmented Development: Actively integrates AI tools (Claude) into the design and development process to enhance efficiency, testing, and ideation.

• Iterative Development: Employs rapid iteration cycles, moving from initial concepts to production-ready solutions within hours or days, supported by a strong component library.

Company Website: https://secfix.com

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is defined by a strong emphasis on ownership, cross-functional collaboration between design and engineering, and a commitment to quality and craft. The absence of PMs means designers are expected to bridge the gap, making this role attractive for those who want significant product influence.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role represents a Staff/Principal level Product Designer position. It signifies a senior individual contributor role with significant autonomy, strategic influence, and responsibility for shaping product direction and development processes. The focus is on deep expertise and the ability to operate independently and set high standards.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Product Designer will likely report to a Head of Product, CTO, or a Co-founder, given the startup environment and the lack of formal PMs. They will work closely with a small team of engineers.

Operations Impact: The role has a direct and substantial impact on Secfix's Go-To-Market strategy and product success. By owning features end-to-end, driving design quality, and enhancing development processes, this designer will directly contribute to customer acquisition, retention, and overall product-market fit. Their work in automating compliance processes is central to the company's value proposition.

Growth Opportunities:

• Product Leadership: Potential to grow into a Design Lead or Head of Design role as the company scales, shaping the future of the design team and its processes.

• Strategic Product Input: Opportunity to significantly influence product strategy, roadmap prioritization, and the company's approach to leveraging AI in product development.

• Process Innovation: Chance to architect and refine the product development and design processes, setting best practices for a growing team.

• Deep Domain Expertise: Develop specialized knowledge in the complex field of cybersecurity compliance automation.

• Entrepreneurial Experience: Gain valuable experience in a fast-growing, well-funded startup environment, contributing to market leadership.

📝 Enhancement Note: The growth trajectory for this role is less about traditional hierarchical promotion and more about increasing scope, strategic influence, and ownership as the company scales. The emphasis on "setting the bar" and "pushing the design system forward" suggests opportunities for leadership in establishing operational excellence.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully Remote. Secfix operates as a remote-only company, fostering a distributed workforce.

Office Location(s): While remote, the company requires team members to be within EMEA time zones (CET/CEST) for synchronous collaboration. They maintain physical hubs in Munich, Berlin, and London, which may serve as optional co-working spaces or meeting points for local team members.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Virtual Environment: Utilizes tools like Gather for a virtual office experience, simulating in-person interaction for spontaneous communication and team building.

• Technology Stack: Access to modern design and collaboration tools, including Figma, Notion, Loom, and AI platforms, supporting efficient remote work.

• Team Interaction: Encourages "in-sync culture" with thoughtful communication, balancing asynchronous documentation (Notion, specs) with synchronous loops (Gather, calls) for quick feedback and problem-solving.

Work Schedule: The role requires adherence to CET/CEST time zones, ensuring overlap for core working hours and team meetings. While not strictly 9-to-5, the emphasis is on responsiveness and collaborative availability within the defined time zone. Estimated 40 hours per week.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote-first nature combined with specific timezone requirements and the use of virtual office tools like Gather indicates a company that has invested in creating a connected and collaborative remote work environment, aiming to mitigate some of the challenges of distributed teams.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Intro Call with Talent Team: An initial screening to assess general fit, motivation, and basic qualifications.

• Portfolio Conversation with Product Designer: A deep dive into your design philosophy, process, and past work with a peer designer. Focus will be on your approach to problem-solving, user-centered design, and collaboration.

• Take-home Design Exercise & Presentation: A practical exercise (~3 hours) designed to evaluate your design skills, product thinking, and ability to articulate your solutions. This will be followed by a presentation to the team.

• Virtual Team Onsite: A final round of interviews with multiple team members (likely engineers and founders) to assess cultural fit, collaboration style, and strategic alignment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight "I" Ownership: Clearly delineate your individual contributions and decision-making processes in each case study. Use "I" when describing your actions and rationale.

• Showcase End-to-End Process: Detail your approach from problem identification through to post-launch analysis, including how you gathered requirements, collaborated with engineers, and measured impact.

• Quantify Impact: Present quantifiable results and metrics that demonstrate the success of your designs. Focus on business outcomes and user value.

• Explain Trade-offs: Be prepared to discuss design decisions, trade-offs made due to technical constraints or business needs, and the rationale behind them.

• Demonstrate Technical Partnership: Show evidence of how you worked effectively with engineers, including your role in writing specs, reviewing code, and verifying production.

• AI Integration: If applicable, highlight how you've used AI tools to enhance your design process and outcomes.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Secfix's Product & Market: Research Secfix's platform, target customers (SMBs needing compliance), and the competitive landscape of compliance automation.

• Focus on Dense Interfaces: The exercise will likely involve designing for complex B2B SaaS scenarios. Practice creating clear, usable interfaces for data-heavy applications.

• Articulate Your Process: Be ready to explain your design process step-by-step, justifying each decision.

• Prepare for Technical Discussions: Anticipate questions about technical feasibility, AI integration, and working with engineers.

• Practice Presentation Skills: Develop a clear, concise, and engaging presentation for your take-home exercise.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes practical application and deep collaboration. The take-home exercise and portfolio review are critical for demonstrating not just design skill but also the ability to operate as a product owner and technical partner, which is key for this role's operational integration.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The core design tool for creating interfaces, prototypes, and design system components. Expect advanced usage and efficiency.

• AI Tools (Claude, LLMs): Integrated into the workflow for ideation, spec drafting, edge case identification, and potentially prototype generation. Proficiency in prompt engineering is a plus.

Analytics & Reporting:

CRM & Automation:

• Notion: Used for writing detailed specifications, documentation, and potentially knowledge management.

• Gather: The virtual office platform for real-time team communication and collaboration.

• Loom: For asynchronous video communication, design reviews, and feedback.

Other Potential Tools:

• Version Control (e.g., Git): Understanding of how designs integrate with code repositories may be beneficial.

• Customer Support/Feedback Platforms: Understanding how to access and interpret customer feedback.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Figma, AI tools like Claude, Notion, Gather, and Loom highlights the modern, remote-first, and AI-augmented tech stack Secfix utilizes. Proficiency in these tools is crucial for seamless integration into the team's operational workflows.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Ownership & Accountability: Team members are expected to take full ownership of their work, from conception to delivery and iteration.

• Quality & Craftsmanship: A deep commitment to delivering high-quality, polished, and reliable products, viewing design as a core component of product excellence.

• Customer Focus: Prioritizing user needs and feedback to build solutions that solve real problems effectively.

• Collaboration & Transparency: Open communication and close partnership between design and engineering, with a focus on thoughtful and efficient communication methods.

• Pragmatism & Speed: Balancing ambitious design goals with technical feasibility and development timelines, making smart trade-offs to ship value quickly.

• AI Integration: Embracing AI as a tool to augment human capabilities and drive innovation, not replace critical thinking.

Collaboration Style:

• Design & Engineering Partnership: Designers and engineers work in small, integrated teams, with designers actively participating in the engineering process (specs, pairing, PR reviews).

• Thoughtful Communication: A deliberate approach to communication, using appropriate tools (Gather for real-time, Notion for specs, Loom for reviews) to optimize clarity and efficiency.

• Feedback Loops: Encourages rapid feedback cycles, with a culture of iteration and continuous improvement based on input from teammates and customers.

• Knowledge Sharing: Implicitly encourages sharing of best practices, design patterns, and AI insights to elevate the entire team's capabilities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture values individuals who are proactive, collaborative, and deeply invested in product quality and user experience. The emphasis on "thoughtful communication" and "in-sync culture" suggests a desire for effective remote teamwork that minimizes unnecessary meetings and maximizes focused work.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Bridging Design & Product Management: Operating without dedicated PMs requires taking on strategic product responsibilities, including problem framing and prioritization, which can be demanding.

• Setting Design Standards: As one of the first designers, establishing and maintaining high design standards and processes independently requires strong initiative and leadership.

• Balancing Speed & Quality: The pressure to ship quickly in a startup environment while maintaining a high bar for design quality and technical robustness.

• Integrating AI Effectively: Learning to leverage AI tools strategically to augment, rather than shortcut, the design process and ensure high-quality outputs.

• Complex Domain: Understanding and designing for the intricacies of cybersecurity compliance, which involves regulatory frameworks and technical integrations.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Intensive Product Ownership: Develop strong product management skills by directly owning features from ideation to launch.

• Design System Leadership: Opportunity to significantly shape and expand the company's design system, influencing its future growth.

• AI in Design Mastery: Become a leader in applying AI tools to product design and development workflows.

• Startup Growth Experience: Gain invaluable experience in a rapidly scaling, well-funded tech company, contributing to market leadership.

• Cross-functional Skill Development: Deepen understanding of engineering processes, technical feasibility, and go-to-market strategy through close collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are inherent to early-stage, high-growth startups, particularly those with integrated product development models. The growth opportunities are significant for individuals seeking to expand their influence beyond traditional design roles and contribute strategically to a company's success.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Product Vision & Strategy: "How would you approach defining the product roadmap for a feature like 'Agentic Compliance Workflows' given our current stage and resources?" (Focus on framing, customer needs, and iterative development).

• Design Process & Ownership: "Describe a time you owned a feature end-to-end. What were the key challenges, how did you collaborate with engineering, and what was the outcome?" (Highlight your process, ownership, and collaboration).

• Problem-Solving & Trade-offs: "An engineer estimates a complex feature will take 3 weeks. How would you work with them to find a 1-week version that still delivers significant value?" (Showcase your ability to make pragmatic trade-offs and find efficient solutions).

Company & Culture Questions:

• Remote Culture & Collaboration: "How do you ensure effective collaboration and clear communication in a remote-first, in-sync environment like Secfix?" (Discuss your experience with tools like Gather, Notion, and your communication philosophy).

• Design Philosophy: "What does 'quality is the product' mean to you, and how do you ensure it in your design work?" (Connect your values to Secfix's stated principles).

• AI Integration: "How do you see AI tools like Claude impacting the future of product design, and how have you integrated them into your workflow?" (Demonstrate your forward-thinking approach and practical application).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Tel Me About This Project (The "I" Story): For each case study, start by clearly stating your individual role and the problem you were solving.

• Process, Not Just Pixels: Walk through your entire design process, from research and ideation to prototyping, testing, and implementation. Explain why you made certain decisions.

• Quantify Impact: Present clear metrics and data points that demonstrate the success and business value of your design solutions.

• Highlight Engineering Collaboration: Specifically point out instances where you partnered with engineers, how you handled technical discussions, and your involvement in the build and deployment phases.

• Showcase Design System Elements: If applicable, demonstrate how your work contributed to or utilized a design system.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Expect to be challenged on specific design decisions, trade-offs, and your rationale.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on demonstrating not just design craft but also operational acumen, product thinking, and the ability to function autonomously in a lean, collaborative environment. Anticipate questions that probe your ability to handle ambiguity and drive outcomes.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight your experience in B2B SaaS, dense interfaces, end-to-end ownership, and working in small, fast-paced teams. Use keywords from the job description relevant to product design and GTM operations.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 case studies that best demonstrate your "I" ownership, end-to-end product design process, collaboration with engineering, and measurable impact. Ensure they align with the requirements for complex B2B SaaS applications.

• Prepare Your "Why Secfix": Articulate your interest in Secfix, its mission, and why this specific role aligns with your career aspirations and skill set, particularly your desire for ownership and impact.

• Practice Your Presentation: Rehearse walking through your portfolio case studies, focusing on clear communication, concise explanations of your process, and highlighting key achievements and collaborations. Be ready to discuss your approach to the take-home exercise.

⚠️ 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.