Senior Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer

Company: TrustedHousesitters

Location: Remote, United Kingdom

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Product Design / User Experience (UX)

Date Posted: 2026-09-21

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

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the end-to-end product design process for core member experiences across iOS, Android, and web platforms, ensuring a cohesive and mobile-first approach.

• Lead discovery research, define problems, and formulate hypotheses in collaboration with cross-functional squads, utilizing product analytics and qualitative signals to guide iterative design.

• Integrate AI-powered features for matching, personalization, and communication, emphasizing trust and transparency, and leveraging AI tools daily to enhance efficiency across the design workflow.

• Contribute significantly to the evolution and maintenance of a robust, accessible, and cross-platform design system, partnering closely with Design Systems specialists.

• Champion accessibility, craft, and scalable solutions by mapping complex journeys and service relationships, ensuring a high standard of execution and user-centricity.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role is positioned as a Senior Product Designer, implying a need for significant autonomy, strategic input, and the ability to mentor or guide others, even if not explicitly stated as a management role. The emphasis on "owning the moments that matter" and having "real strategic influence" reinforces this senior level. The company's B Corp certification and mission-driven approach suggest a culture valuing ethical design and positive societal impact.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design and iterate on mobile-first user experiences for iOS, Android, and web, adhering to platform conventions while maintaining brand consistency through the established design system.

• Conduct hands-on user research, including interviews, usability testing, and concept testing, to gather insights and inform design decisions, measuring impact through product analytics and qualitative feedback.

• Collaborate closely with Product Managers, Engineers, User Researchers, Content Strategists, and Data Analysts to define problems, develop hypotheses, and select appropriate validation methods for new features and improvements.

• Design and integrate AI-driven features, focusing on user trust, transparency, comprehension, and feedback loops, while actively using AI tools like Cursor and Claude Code for accelerated exploration, prototyping, and synthesis.

• Communicate design rationale clearly to diverse stakeholders, facilitate workshops to achieve alignment, and skillfully negotiate trade-offs to ensure successful product development and delivery.

• Actively contribute to the design system by creating and refining reusable components, patterns, and guidelines, ensuring they are robust, accessible, and scalable across all platforms.

• Map complex customer journeys and service relationships to ensure solutions address systemic issues rather than isolated problems, promoting scalable and efficient design.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic thinking, hands-on execution, and strong collaborative skills. The emphasis on "owning discovery research and testing" and "defining problems and hypotheses" indicates a proactive role in shaping the product roadmap, not just executing on defined briefs. The requirement to "champion craft and accessibility" suggests a focus on high-quality, inclusive design outcomes.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Graphic Design, or a related field is often preferred for senior design roles. Equivalent practical experience will also be considered.

Experience: A minimum of 5-10 years of professional experience in product design, with a significant focus on mobile-first (iOS and Android) and web experiences. Proven experience in a fast-paced, scale-up environment with a strong product and experimentation culture is highly desirable.

Required Skills:

• Exceptional interaction and visual design craft with meticulous attention to detail.

• Advanced prototyping skills using industry-standard tools.

• Deep knowledge of mobile interface guidelines (iOS Human Interface Guidelines, Android Material Design) and best practices.

• Proven ability to design complex customer journeys end-to-end, demonstrating strong systems thinking.

• Hands-on user research skills, including proficiency in selecting appropriate methods and synthesizing insights into actionable design directions.

• Solid understanding of experimentation methods (A/B testing, multivariate testing) and their application in product development.

• Confident daily use of AI-assisted design and prototyping tools (e.g., Cursor, Claude Code).

• Excellent communication, storytelling, and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate design rationale clearly to diverse stakeholders.

• Experience working effectively within empowered, cross-functional product squads.

• Ability to champion craft and accessibility throughout the design and development process. Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing AI/ML-powered features such as recommendation engines and LLMs, with a strong understanding of related UX challenges (trust, comprehension, feedback loops, agency).

• Experience in two-sided marketplaces, subscription/membership businesses, or trust and safety-sensitive products.

• Familiarity with self-serve analytics tools like Amplitude and Mode.

• Experience with research repository tools such as Dovetail or Chattermill.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "What you'll need" section strongly emphasizes practical application and impact. The specific mention of AI tools like Cursor and Claude Code indicates a requirement for hands-on experience, not just theoretical knowledge. The "Nice to have" section points towards specific industry experience that would be advantageous.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio showcasing end-to-end, user-centered design work that demonstrates measurable impact on both customer and business outcomes.

• Case studies should clearly articulate the problem statement, your role, the design process undertaken (including research, ideation, prototyping, and testing), and the resulting impact with specific metrics.

• Evidence of designing complex customer journeys and systems, illustrating strong systems thinking and the ability to map service relationships.

• Examples of mobile-first designs for iOS and Android, alongside responsive web designs.

• Demonstrations of exceptional interaction and visual design craft, highlighting attention to detail.

• Inclusion of work that showcases contributions to or utilization of mature design systems. Process Documentation:

• Portfolios should detail how user research and product analytics were leveraged to inform design decisions and drive iteration.

• Case studies should explain how complex challenges were framed into clear problem statements and testable hypotheses, outlining the chosen validation methods.

• Documentation of AI tool usage within the design process, illustrating how AI was employed for efficiency in exploration, prototyping, or synthesis.

• Evidence of collaboration with cross-functional teams, including how design rationale was communicated and alignment was achieved.

• Examples of how accessibility and platform conventions were considered and implemented in the design solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "measurable impact" and "end-to-end" work in the portfolio requirements is crucial. Candidates must be prepared to present data-driven case studies that not only showcase design skills but also demonstrate business acumen and the ability to deliver tangible results. The company's "What you'll bring" section directly states, "You'll own the product design process end-to-end," reinforcing the need for a portfolio that reflects this ownership.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: £70,000 - £80,000 per year.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary which is reviewed annually.

• Discretionary 10% quarterly bonus scheme.

• Generous equity package for permanent employees.

• Pension scheme: 5% employee contribution, 3% employer contribution.

• 25 days of annual leave, plus bank holidays and a festive closure between Christmas and New Year (totaling up to 36 days for some roles).

• Premium TrustedHousesitters Combined membership annually, with additional benefits like free airport lounge passes, Sit Cancellation Plan, and Home and Contents Plan.

• Five Premium memberships to gift to friends and family.

• Up to £500 per year contribution towards travel costs for working remotely from house sits.

• Adoption fee coverage for rescue pets, plus "pawternity" leave.

• SimplyHealth healthcare cash plan.

• Bupa Health Insurance and Dental Insurance plan.

• Specsavers eyecare scheme.

• Weekly virtual yoga sessions.

• Optional enrollment onto the Trusted Giving scheme, including employee giving via Charities Trust and 2 days paid annual volunteering allowance.

• £200 annual budget for home office equipment.

• Provision of a Macbook and Apple accessories upon starting.

• Access to Spaces co-working locations globally.

• All-expenses-paid meetups each quarter and funded team events throughout the year.

• Coverage of costs for personal development resources, with dedicated time for learning and growth.

• Option to customize work hours based on role and personal schedule.

• £500 recruitment referral bonus.

Working Hours: While not explicitly stated as a fixed 40-hour week, the mention of "Competitive salary" and "Discretionary 10% quarterly bonus scheme" implies a performance-oriented environment where output and impact are key. The flexibility in "customise your work hours" suggests a focus on results rather than strict adherence to a 9-to-5 schedule, common in remote, modern tech companies.

📝 Enhancement Note: The compensation and benefits package is exceptionally comprehensive, reflecting the company's B Corp status and commitment to employee well-being and work-life balance. The equity and discretionary bonus, combined with extensive health and lifestyle benefits, indicate a strong focus on rewarding performance and fostering employee loyalty. The salary range is competitive for a Senior Product Designer role in the UK, especially for a fully remote position. The note on work hours reflects the company's emphasis on flexibility and autonomy.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Online Marketplace / Travel / Pet Care. TrustedHousesitters operates within the rapidly growing pet tech and travel sectors, leveraging a unique community-driven model. As a B Corp Certified company, it prioritizes social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency alongside profit. This means a strong emphasis on ethical practices, community impact, and sustainability is woven into the company's fabric.

Company Size: Over 100 brilliant humans (as of the description), indicating a scale-up phase with growth potential. This size typically means a dynamic environment where individuals can have significant influence and see the direct impact of their work, but also requires clear processes and strong collaboration to maintain efficiency.

Founded: The founding date is not explicitly provided, but the company has grown to have members in over 140 countries, suggesting a well-established presence and significant market traction. The focus on "big plans" and growing to "1 million members" indicates an ambitious growth trajectory.

Team Structure:

• The design team operates within empowered, cross-functional squads, likely comprising Product Managers, Engineers, UX Researchers, and other specialists.

• The Senior Product Designer is the "primary designer in your squad," indicating a lead role within that specific team unit.

• There is a dedicated "Design Systems" team with whom the Senior Product Designer will partner, suggesting a collaborative model for design system evolution.

• Reporting structure likely involves a Design Lead or Head of Design, though not explicitly stated. Methodology:

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Strong reliance on product analytics and qualitative signals to guide iteration and measure impact.

• Experimentation Culture: Emphasis on defining problems, formulating hypotheses, and choosing appropriate validation methods, suggesting frequent use of A/B testing and other experimentation techniques.

• Agile/Lean Principles: The squad-based structure and iterative approach imply adherence to agile methodologies.

• Customer-Centricity: A core value, starting with the customer and using research to inform all design decisions.

• AI Integration: Proactive adoption of AI tools to enhance efficiency and innovation across the design process.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is a significant differentiator. Being a B Corp Certified company means a strong emphasis on purpose beyond profit. The "fish out of water" section provides candid insights into cultural expectations and potential mismatches, which is highly valuable for candidates. The description of the team as "more than 100 brilliant humans" suggests a collaborative and talented workforce.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Senior Product Designer. This role is a key individual contributor position, requiring a high degree of autonomy, strategic thinking, and design leadership within a specific product squad. It involves owning significant areas of the user experience, influencing product direction, and driving measurable business impact. It's a position that typically requires 5-10 years of relevant experience.

Reporting Structure: While not explicitly stated, the Senior Product Designer works within an empowered, cross-functional squad and likely reports to a Design Lead or Head of Design. They will collaborate closely with Product Management and Engineering partners within their squad.

Operations Impact: The Senior Product Designer is expected to drive measurable impact for both members and the business. This includes shaping core experiences, improving key metrics related to member acquisition, retention, engagement, and satisfaction, and contributing to the company's goal of becoming the world's most-loved travel solution for pet people. The role has strategic influence over its area's direction.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership: Potential to grow into a Lead Product Designer role, managing a team of designers or taking ownership of larger product areas.

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in specific areas such as AI-driven design, marketplace dynamics, or accessibility.

• Cross-functional Expertise: Develop a broader understanding of product strategy, business operations, and engineering, potentially leading to Product Management or similar roles.

• Mentorship: Opportunity to mentor junior designers within the team or contribute to design system development.

• Impactful Projects: Work on high-visibility projects that directly contribute to the company's ambitious growth targets (e.g., scaling to 1 million members).

📝 Enhancement Note: The role offers significant scope for impact and growth. The emphasis on "strategic influence" and "owning discovery research" points to a position where designers are empowered to shape product strategy, not just execute on briefs. The company's ambitious growth plans provide ample opportunity for career advancement and significant contributions.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Fully Remote. The company explicitly states "Fully Remote (UK based)" and "Work fully remotely from anywhere in the world - as long as you follow compliance as a UK tax resident." This indicates a commitment to a distributed workforce.

Office Location(s): While the role is remote, the company mentions access to "Spaces co-working locations across the globe." This provides flexibility for remote employees who may wish to work from a professional co-working space rather than solely from home, or for travel. The primary requirement is UK tax residency for compliance.

Workspace Context:

• Flexibility: Employees have the option to customize their work hours to better align with personal schedules, emphasizing work-life balance and autonomy.

• Home Office Support: A £200 annual budget for home office equipment and the provision of a Macbook and Apple accessories upon starting support a comfortable and productive remote workspace.

• Collaborative Tools: While specific tools are listed in a separate section, the remote nature implies heavy reliance on digital collaboration platforms for communication, design reviews, and project management.

• Team Connection: Despite being remote, the company fosters connection through "all-expenses-paid meetups each quarter" and funded team events, ensuring opportunities for in-person interaction and team building.

Work Schedule: The company offers flexibility in work hours, stating, "Depending on your role within the business, you’ll have the option to customise your work hours to better align with your personal schedule." This suggests a results-oriented approach rather than a rigid 9-to-5 structure, allowing for adaptation to personal needs while ensuring work completion and collaboration within teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The fully remote nature, coupled with a global co-working space access and a focus on flexible work hours, creates a highly adaptable and modern work environment. The provision of home office equipment and regular in-person meetups aim to mitigate potential downsides of remote work, such as isolation and lack of connection.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Intro Call with Hiring Manager: An initial screening to assess cultural fit, understand motivations, and discuss the role in more detail. Prepare to articulate your interest in TrustedHousesitters' mission and your suitability for a senior design role.

2. Technical Portfolio Review with PM, Design Lead, and Engineering Partner: This is a deep dive into your design work. Be ready to present 2-3 key case studies, focusing on your process, problem-solving, impact, and how you've used research and data. Expect questions about your collaboration style, design systems, and how you handle trade-offs.

3. Leadership and First 90 Days Presentation: This stage likely involves a presentation where you outline your strategic approach to the role, how you'd tackle key challenges (potentially based on a hypothetical scenario or your understanding of the product), and your vision for your first 90 days. This assesses your strategic thinking, leadership potential, and ability to plan and execute.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Impact: Clearly articulate the "so what?" of your projects. Quantify results whenever possible (e.g., increased conversion rates, reduced task completion time, improved user satisfaction scores).

• Show Your Process: Don't just show final screens. Explain your thought process, research methods, design iterations, and how you incorporated feedback. Use visuals to illustrate your journey.

• Highlight Collaboration: Demonstrate how you worked with product managers, engineers, researchers, and other stakeholders. Showcase your ability to communicate design rationale and build consensus.

• Address AI Integration: Be prepared to discuss your experience with AI design tools and how you see AI enhancing the design process for this role. Showcase specific examples if possible.

• Tailor to the Role: Emphasize projects that align with designing complex customer journeys, mobile-first experiences, and potentially marketplace or trust-sensitive products.

Challenge Preparation:

• Strategic Thinking: Prepare to discuss how you would approach defining and solving problems for TrustedHousesitters' core member journeys (onboarding, listing, finding sits, etc.). Think about user needs and business goals.

• AI in Design: Be ready to discuss your perspective on AI in design and how you would leverage tools like Cursor or Claude Code to drive efficiency and innovation.

• Design Systems & Accessibility: Understand how you contribute to and leverage design systems, and how you ensure accessibility in your designs.

• First 90 Days: Outline concrete, actionable steps you would take to understand the product, team, and company, and how you would start making an impact.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is structured to assess not only design craft but also strategic thinking, collaboration, and leadership potential. The "Leadership and first 90 days presentation" is a key differentiator, requiring candidates to demonstrate forward-thinking and strategic planning capabilities beyond just design execution.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (implied, standard for modern design teams), Sketch (possible, but Figma is more common for cross-platform collaboration).

• AI-Assisted Design: Cursor, Claude Code (explicitly mentioned), and potentially other AI tools for ideation, content generation, or code assistance.

• Prototyping: Advanced prototyping capabilities within design tools or dedicated tools like Protopie.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics: Amplitude, Mode (explicitly mentioned as "nice to have," indicating common usage within the company).

• User Research Synthesis: Dovetail, Chattermill (explicitly mentioned as "nice to have," indicating potential use for organizing and analyzing qualitative data).

CRM & Automation: Not explicitly mentioned for the design role, but typical systems in a scale-up might include Salesforce, HubSpot, or similar for customer management and marketing automation. Integration tools might also be in use.

Design Systems: Collaboration with a dedicated Design Systems team, implying a well-established design system that is actively maintained and evolved.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of AI tools like Cursor and Claude Code, along with analytics platforms like Amplitude and Mode, signals a modern, data-informed, and AI-embracing technology stack. Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate proficiency or a strong willingness to learn these specific tools.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer-Centricity: "We start with the customer." This is the foundational value, driving all decisions and design efforts.

• Trust & Transparency: Explicitly stated as how they operate daily, extending to honest feedback and clear communication. This applies to internal team dynamics and user-facing product design.

• Collaboration: Working in "empowered, cross-functional squads" and partnering with Design Systems implies a highly collaborative environment where different disciplines work together seamlessly.

• Impact & Ownership: The role emphasizes "real strategic influence" and "measurable impact," fostering a culture of accountability and proactive contribution.

• Innovation & AI Adoption: The explicit requirement to use AI tools daily indicates a forward-thinking culture that embraces new technologies to drive efficiency and improve outcomes.

• B Corp Values: Embedded values of social and environmental responsibility, ethical practices, and community impact influence decision-making and product development.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Squads: Design is integrated within product teams, working closely with Product, Engineering, and Research.

• Open Communication: Encouragement of "honest feedback" and comfort in "staying in the room" to resolve disagreements fosters a direct and constructive communication style.

• Design System Partnership: Collaborative development and maintenance of the design system with dedicated specialists.

• Stakeholder Management: Active engagement with stakeholders across product, engineering, user research, content, data, and commercial teams is expected.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture is characterized by a strong sense of purpose (B Corp mission), a commitment to transparency, and a highly collaborative, empowered team structure. The "fish out of water" section is a candid reflection of the company's directness and its desire for candidates to self-select based on cultural fit.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Member Needs with Business Goals: As a scale-up, there's constant pressure to grow membership and revenue while ensuring the core member experience remains exceptional and trustworthy.

• Integrating AI Ethically and Effectively: Designing AI-powered features requires careful consideration of user trust, transparency, comprehension, and agency, posing unique UX challenges.

• Scaling a Global Marketplace: Designing for a diverse, global user base with varying needs and cultural contexts while maintaining a consistent and reliable platform.

• Evolving a Mature Design System: Continuously contributing to and evolving a robust design system to support new features, platform updates, and accessibility standards.

• Navigating a Fast-Paced Environment: Adapting quickly to changing priorities and iterating rapidly in a scale-up setting.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI in Design Mastery: Deepen expertise in leveraging AI tools and designing AI-driven product features.

• Marketplace Dynamics: Gain specialized knowledge in the complexities of two-sided marketplaces and trust & safety aspects.

• Strategic Product Design: Develop skills in defining product vision, strategy, and roadmaps through hands-on experience in an influential role.

• Design System Leadership: Contribute to the architecture and evolution of a critical design asset, potentially leading to specialization in design systems.

• Cross-functional Skill Development: Enhance understanding of business metrics, product management, and engineering processes through close collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are inherent to a rapidly growing, mission-driven tech company operating in a competitive market. The growth opportunities are substantial, offering a path for designers to become leaders in AI-assisted design, marketplace strategy, and product innovation.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach defining the problem space for improving the 'finding a sit' experience on TrustedHousesitters, considering both owner and sitter perspectives?" (Focus on problem definition, hypothesis generation, and research methods).

• "Describe a complex customer journey you've designed end-to-end. What were the key challenges, how did you ensure scalability, and what was the measurable impact?" (Focus on systems thinking, execution, and outcome quantification).

• "Given our focus on AI, how would you design an AI-powered feature for personalized sit recommendations that builds user trust and transparency?" (Focus on AI UX principles, ethical considerations, and iterative design). Company & Culture Questions:

• "What attracts you to TrustedHousesitters' mission and B Corp status? How do you see your design work contributing to our purpose?" (Focus on alignment with company values and mission).

• "Describe a time you disagreed with a decision within your team. How did you handle it, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on collaboration, conflict resolution, and staying in the room).

• "How do you use product analytics and user research in your design process to measure impact and inform iteration?" (Focus on data-driven design and user-centricity). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure your presentation: Start with an overview of your role and the project's objectives. Then, walk through the problem, your process (research, ideation, design, testing), your specific contributions, and the final outcomes/impact.

• Quantify results: Whenever possible, use data (e.g., conversion rates, task completion times, user satisfaction scores) to demonstrate the impact of your work.

• Tell a story: Connect your projects with a narrative that highlights your problem-solving skills, design thinking, and ability to collaborate.

• Be prepared for deep dives: Anticipate questions about your design choices, trade-offs made, and how you handled specific challenges or feedback.

• Showcase AI usage: Highlight any projects where you utilized AI tools, explaining the benefits and efficiency gained.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview preparation advice is tailored to the specific requirements and culture of TrustedHousesitters, emphasizing AI integration, B Corp values, and a strategic approach to design. The "Leadership and first 90 days presentation" stage is a critical component requiring thorough preparation.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on jobs.lever.co.

• Customize your resume: Highlight experience in product design, mobile-first (iOS/Android) and web design, user research, systems thinking, AI tool usage, and cross-functional collaboration. Use keywords from the job description.

• Curate your portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest case studies that demonstrate end-to-end ownership, measurable impact, and align with the requirements (e.g., complex journeys, AI integration, marketplace experience). Ensure clear articulation of your process and results.

• Prepare for the "First 90 Days" presentation: Think about how you would approach understanding the product, team, and company culture, and outline initial priorities and potential contributions.

• Research TrustedHousesitters: Understand their mission, B Corp status, target audience, and recent product developments. Be ready to articulate why you are a good cultural and strategic fit.

⚠️ 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.