Senior Product Designer- Hardware (fixed term 12 months)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer - Hardware (12-Month Fixed Term)

Company: SumUp

Location: Berlin, Germany

Job Type: Full-Time, Temporary

Category: Product Design (Hardware Focus)

Date Posted: August 27, 2026

Experience Level: Senior (5-10 years estimated)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead end-to-end product design for SumUp's Solo hardware payment readers, integrating embedded systems, on-device UI, companion app, and backend services.

• Drive product strategy and user experience for next-generation hardware, translating complex technical constraints into intuitive and high-quality merchant solutions.

• Collaborate closely with product management and engineering teams to define product vision, user flows, and information architecture, ensuring successful product launches.

• Contribute to and evolve SumUp's global design system (Circuit UI) and the Solo hardware UI library, maintaining design consistency and excellence.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is a fixed-term 12-month contract, which is a critical detail for candidates to understand regarding the duration of employment. The emphasis on "Hardware" and "embedded systems" indicates a specialized design role beyond typical digital product design, requiring an understanding of physical product integration. The "office-first setup" also clarifies the work environment expectations.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the entire product design lifecycle for the Solo hardware, from problem definition and user research to UX flow design, information architecture, and the delivery of production-ready specifications.

• Partner with product management and cross-functional engineering teams (embedded systems, app, backend) to devise optimal solutions that address merchant needs and business goals.

• Articulate and justify design trade-offs, balancing user experience quality with real-world technical constraints and limitations inherent in hardware development.

• Collaborate with product teams to define key success metrics for design initiatives and leverage quantitative data (e.g., user analytics) to validate design decisions and iterate on product improvements.

• Actively contribute to the enhancement and maintenance of SumUp's global design system, Circuit UI, and the specific UI library for Solo hardware, ensuring a cohesive and scalable design language.

• Participate in the wider design chapter, sharing expertise, providing constructive feedback, and contributing to the continuous improvement of design craft and processes within SumUp.

• Translate technical specifications and constraints into clear, actionable design documentation for engineering teams, facilitating smooth implementation in an agile development environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a broad scope, covering the entire design process from conception to implementation, with a strong focus on cross-functional collaboration and the unique challenges of hardware product design. The explicit mention of defining success metrics and using data to validate decisions highlights a data-driven approach expected in this role.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a background in Design (e.g., Product Design, UX/UI Design, Industrial Design), Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field is typically expected for senior roles.

Experience: Extensive experience (estimated 5-10 years) in owning complex product design initiatives independently, demonstrating deep expertise in either UX or UI design, with strong proficiency in the other. Proven track record of shipping complex products through full development cycles within an agile environment is essential.

Required Skills:

• Demonstrated ability to own and drive complex product design projects end-to-end with minimal supervision.

• Deep expertise in either User Experience (UX) design or User Interface (UI) design, with strong complementary skills in the other discipline.

• Proficiency in defining intricate multi-step user flows and information architecture, meticulously accounting for edge cases and dependencies across the entire user journey.

• Fluency with industry-standard design and prototyping tools, with a specific emphasis on Figma.

• Application of a human-centered design process, supported by robust qualitative and quantitative user research methodologies.

• Ability to translate complex technical constraints into clear design trade-offs and document them effectively in detailed specifications.

• Proven experience successfully shipping complex products through a full development lifecycle in an agile environment. Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing for hardware products, smart devices, or Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.

• Experience launching products in new or global markets, including considerations for localization, cultural nuances, and multi-screen experiences.

• Familiarity with embedded systems UI design principles.

• Experience contributing to or managing design systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The experience level is inferred from the "Senior" title and the expectation of owning complex projects independently. The requirement for deep expertise in one area (UX/UI) and strong skills in the other suggests a well-rounded senior designer. The "nice to have" skills are crucial for candidates to highlight if they possess them, as they directly relate to the specialized nature of the Solo hardware product.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrate end-to-end ownership of complex product design projects, showcasing problem framing, research, UX/UI design, and final specifications.

• Include detailed case studies of at least one significant hardware-related product or complex digital product with hardware integration, highlighting the design process and outcomes.

• Showcase your ability to define and map complex user flows and information architecture, detailing how edge cases and dependencies were managed.

• Present examples of how you've translated technical constraints into design trade-offs and documented them clearly, ideally with visual examples.

• Include examples of contributions to or utilization of design systems, illustrating your understanding of scalability and consistency. Process Documentation:

• Provide documentation or case studies that illustrate your process for conducting user research (both qualitative and quantitative) and how insights informed design decisions.

• Show evidence of your workflow for designing and documenting multi-step user journeys, including wireframes, prototypes, and final UI specifications.

• Demonstrate how you collaborate with engineering and product management, including examples of spec handoffs and iterative feedback loops within an agile framework.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a senior hardware design role, a portfolio is paramount. The requirements emphasize not just the final output but the depth of the process, the ability to handle complexity, and the specific application to hardware and technical constraints. Documenting collaboration and design system contributions is also key.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: For a Senior Product Designer in Berlin, Germany, with an estimated 5-10 years of experience and a 12-month fixed-term contract, the annual salary range is typically between €70,000 and €95,000. This range can vary based on the specific skills, depth of hardware experience, and the candidate's negotiation. The fixed-term nature might also influence the rate.

• Methodology: This estimate is based on recent market data for senior product design roles in Berlin, considering the Fintech industry, the specified experience level, and the current cost of living in Berlin. Data sources include industry salary surveys, reputable job boards, and insights into compensation for contract roles in similar tech hubs. Benefits:

• Virtual Stock Option Programme: Opportunity to own a stake in SumUp's future success, aligning personal incentives with company growth.

• Annual L&D Budget: A dedicated €2,000 budget for individual professional development, including conferences and further education.

• Corporate Pension Scheme: SumUp matches up to 20% of your contributions, supporting long-term financial planning.

• Generous Time Off: 28 days of paid leave per year, plus public holidays and special leave days.

• Urban Sports Club Subsidy: Access to a wide range of sports and fitness facilities.

• Kita Placement Assistance: Support for finding childcare.

• Subsidised Office Lunches: Contributing to daily meal expenses.

• Break4Me Sabbatical: A 1-month paid sabbatical after 3 years of continuous service.

• Referral Bonus: Additional rewards for successfully referring qualified candidates.

Working Hours: The role implies a standard full-time work schedule, likely around 40 hours per week, with an "office-first setup" in Berlin. While specific flexibility isn't detailed, standard European working hours and SumUp's culture suggest a balance, though the fixed-term nature might mean a focus on project delivery.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is an estimate for a fixed-term contract role. The benefits package is comprehensive and reflects SumUp's commitment to employee well-being and professional growth, which is attractive even for contract positions. The "office-first setup" is a key detail regarding work arrangement.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Fintech, Financial Services, Payment Technology. SumUp operates in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving sector, focusing on providing accessible payment solutions for small and medium-sized businesses globally. This context means a fast-paced environment driven by innovation, regulatory compliance, and customer-centricity.

Company Size: Over 3,000 employees. This indicates a well-established scale-up or mid-sized company, offering stability while retaining a dynamic and innovative atmosphere. For operations professionals, this size often means structured processes but also opportunities to influence and improve them.

Founded: SumUp was founded in 2012. Its relatively recent founding and rapid growth suggest a company culture that values agility, entrepreneurship, and a forward-thinking approach to business challenges.

Team Structure:

• The role sits within the "Hardware" team, specifically the "Solo squad." This suggests a focused, agile team structure dedicated to a particular product line.

• The team works across embedded systems, on-device UI, companion app, and backend, indicating a highly cross-functional and integrated development environment.

• Designers are part of a broader "design chapter," implying a community of practice for designers across different squads and product areas, facilitating knowledge sharing and consistent design standards. Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: The role explicitly mentions partnering with product to define success metrics and using data to validate design decisions, indicating a strong emphasis on analytics and evidence-based design.

• Agile Development: The team operates in an agile environment, requiring iterative development, close collaboration, and adaptability to changing requirements.

• Human-Centered Design: The core philosophy emphasizes understanding and addressing merchant needs through user research and a focus on user experience.

• Design System Integration: A commitment to evolving and utilizing a global design system (Circuit UI) points to a structured approach to design consistency and efficiency.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is characterized by its mission-driven approach to empowering small businesses, a global outlook, and a strong emphasis on diversity, inclusion, and continuous learning. The "office-first setup" is a key cultural element for this role.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is at a Senior Product Designer level, implying a high degree of autonomy, expertise, and responsibility. Senior designers are expected to lead projects, mentor junior colleagues, and significantly influence product strategy and execution. The fixed-term nature means the immediate focus is on project delivery and contribution within the 12-month period.

Reporting Structure: The designer will report within the Hardware team's structure, likely to a Design Lead or Head of Hardware Design, and will work closely with Product Managers and Engineering Leads within the Solo squad. The existence of a "design chapter" suggests a matrixed reporting or community structure for professional development and standards.

Operations Impact: The role has a direct and tangible impact on SumUp's core offering – the merchant payment experience. Decisions made by this designer will shape how millions of merchants interact with SumUp's hardware, directly influencing customer satisfaction, transaction success rates, and ultimately, SumUp's revenue and market position.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization in Hardware Design: For the duration of the contract, the primary growth lies in deepening expertise in designing for hardware-integrated products, understanding the unique challenges and opportunities of embedded systems and physical device UIs.

• Design System Contribution: Opportunity to contribute to and influence a large-scale, global design system, which is a valuable experience for any product designer.

• Cross-functional Leadership: Leading design initiatives within a cross-functional squad and collaborating closely with engineering and product management provides opportunities to hone leadership and strategic communication skills.

• Industry Exposure: Working within a leading Fintech company like SumUp offers exposure to cutting-edge payment technologies and business models.

📝 Enhancement Note: While this is a fixed-term role, the "Senior" designation still points to significant growth potential within the scope of the contract, particularly in specialized hardware design and design system development. The impact on millions of users is a strong motivator.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: SumUp promotes an "office-first setup" in Berlin. This suggests a collaborative work environment where in-person interaction, team cohesion, and spontaneous collaboration are prioritized. The office is likely equipped to support creative and technical work.

Office Location(s): The primary location for this role is Berlin, Germany. This vibrant city offers a rich ecosystem for tech professionals, with excellent infrastructure and a strong talent pool.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: Expect a workspace designed to foster collaboration, with meeting rooms, common areas, and potentially open-plan desks conducive to cross-functional team interaction.

• Tools & Technology: Access to industry-standard design software (Figma), prototyping tools, and potentially hardware testing equipment relevant to the Solo product.

• Team Interaction: Regular interaction with product managers, engineers, researchers, and fellow designers within the Solo squad and the broader design chapter.

Work Schedule: A standard full-time schedule (approx. 40 hours/week) is expected, likely with some flexibility, though the "office-first" approach suggests a strong emphasis on being present and engaged during core working hours. The fixed-term nature may require a dedicated focus on project timelines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "office-first" approach is a critical aspect of the work environment, indicating that remote work is not the primary mode for this role and that in-person collaboration is highly valued.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process: SumUp typically employs a multi-stage interview process designed to assess skills, experience, and cultural fit. For a Senior Product Designer role, expect:

• Initial Screening: A brief call with a recruiter to assess basic qualifications, experience, and interest.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A deeper dive into your background, experience, and approach to product design, focusing on your portfolio and relevant projects.

• Design Challenge/Portfolio Review: This is a crucial stage. You will likely be asked to present your portfolio in detail, walking through 1-2 key case studies. A specific design challenge (take-home or live) might be assigned to assess your problem-solving skills, design process, and ability to handle technical constraints.

• Cross-functional Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers and Engineering Leads from the Solo squad to evaluate your collaboration skills, technical understanding, and ability to work within an agile hardware development context.

• Final Interview/Culture Fit: Potentially a final conversation with a senior leader to assess cultural alignment and overall fit with SumUp's values.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 projects that best showcase your end-to-end product design capabilities, ideally including hardware or complex digital product experience. Highlight your role and contributions clearly.

• Focus on Process: Don't just show final screens. Detail your problem-solving process, user research methods, design iterations, and how you handled technical constraints and trade-offs.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, include metrics demonstrating the success of your designs (e.g., improved conversion rates, increased user satisfaction, reduced error rates).

• Hardware Relevance: If you have hardware design experience, make sure it's prominently featured and explained. If not, emphasize how your digital design skills can translate to the unique challenges of embedded UI and hardware integration.

• Storytelling: Present your case studies as compelling narratives, explaining the context, your approach, the challenges, your solutions, and the outcomes.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Context: If given a take-home challenge, thoroughly research SumUp, the Solo product, and its target users (small businesses).

• Embrace Constraints: Be prepared to work within defined constraints, mimicking real-world development scenarios. Show how you would navigate technical limitations.

• Communicate Clearly: Practice articulating your design rationale, process, and decisions concisely and effectively, as if presenting to a mixed audience of designers, engineers, and product managers.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a detailed portfolio review and potentially a design challenge highlights the practical, hands-on nature of this role. Candidates should prepare to articulate their design process and rationale in detail, especially concerning hardware constraints.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential for UI design, prototyping, and collaboration. Proficiency is a core requirement.

• Prototyping Tools: Beyond Figma, familiarity with other advanced prototyping tools (e.g., ProtoPie for more complex interactions) might be beneficial.

• Design System Tools: Experience with tools used for managing and contributing to design systems (e.g., Zeplin, Abstract, or Figma's own capabilities).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Data Analysis Tools: Familiarity with tools like Amplitude, Mixpanel, or Google Analytics for understanding user behavior, validating design decisions, and defining success metrics.

• Business Intelligence Tools: Exposure to BI platforms (e.g., Tableau, Looker) for understanding business context and performance metrics.

CRM & Automation:

• While not a direct requirement for the designer role, understanding how CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) and marketing automation tools integrate with product experiences can provide valuable context for user journeys.

📝 Enhancement Note: Figma is explicitly mentioned and is a critical tool. The role also requires an understanding of how design decisions tie into data analytics and business outcomes, necessitating familiarity with relevant tools.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values: SumUp's core values are likely to influence the team culture:

• Empowerment: Fostering an environment where team members feel trusted and capable of taking ownership of their work.

• Simplicity: Striving for elegant, straightforward solutions that are easy for merchants to understand and use.

• Collaboration: Working effectively across teams and disciplines to achieve common goals.

• Commitment: Dedication to SumUp's mission and to delivering high-quality products.

• Agility: Adaptability and responsiveness to market changes and user needs.

• Inclusivity: Valuing diverse perspectives and creating a welcoming environment.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: High emphasis on working closely with Product Management and Engineering. Expect frequent syncs, joint problem-solving sessions, and shared ownership of product outcomes.

• Feedback-Driven: A culture that encourages constructive feedback, both given and received, to drive continuous improvement in design and product development.

• Knowledge Sharing: Active participation in the design chapter, sharing insights, best practices, and learnings to uplift the entire design team.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's stated values of empowerment, simplicity, collaboration, and inclusivity are key indicators of the expected team culture and how designers are expected to operate.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Hardware Integration Complexity: Designing for hardware involves unique constraints (processing power, screen limitations, physical form factor, regulatory standards) that differ significantly from pure digital design.

• Balancing Technical Constraints with User Needs: A constant challenge will be to innovate while respecting the limitations of embedded systems and hardware development cycles.

• Cross-functional Alignment: Ensuring that design decisions are understood, agreed upon, and effectively implemented by diverse engineering and product teams.

• Fixed-Term Contract: Adapting quickly to the team and project, and delivering significant impact within a 12-month timeframe.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Specialized Hardware Design Skills: Gain hands-on experience designing for a complex hardware product, understanding its lifecycle and constraints.

• Design System Evolution: Contribute to a mature, large-scale design system, enhancing skills in scalability, governance, and consistency.

• Fintech Product Experience: Deepen understanding of the payment processing industry and the unique user needs of small businesses in a global context.

• Agile Hardware Development: Learn how to effectively design and iterate within an agile framework for hardware products.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary challenges are rooted in the specific domain of hardware design and the fixed-term nature of the role. Growth opportunities are focused on specialized skill acquisition within this domain.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Product Vision & Strategy: Be prepared to discuss how you would approach defining the product vision for the next generation of Solo hardware, considering user needs, business goals, and technical feasibility.

• Handling Trade-offs: Expect questions like, "Describe a time you had to make significant design trade-offs due to technical constraints. How did you approach it, and what was the outcome?"

• Data-Informed Design: Prepare to discuss how you use data (qualitative and quantitative) to inform your design decisions and measure success. Have examples ready.

• Design System Philosophy: Discuss your experience with design systems – how you've contributed to them, maintained consistency, and advocated for their use.

Company & Culture Questions:

• SumUp's Mission: Research SumUp's mission to empower small businesses and be ready to articulate why this resonates with you.

• Hardware Design Philosophy: Discuss your perspective on designing for hardware versus purely digital products, and how you approach the unique challenges of each.

• Collaboration Experience: Be ready to share examples of how you've successfully collaborated with engineers and product managers on complex projects.

• Agile Environment: Discuss your experience working in agile development cycles and how you adapt your design process accordingly.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: Begin with a brief overview of your career and design philosophy. Then, dive into 1-2 detailed case studies.

• Problem-Solution-Outcome: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role and process, the proposed solution, the challenges encountered, and the measurable outcomes.

• Visual Storytelling: Use visuals (wireframes, user flows, mockups, prototypes) to illustrate your process and final designs.

• Technical Nuance: Be prepared to explain how your designs account for hardware limitations and integrate with backend systems.

• Q&A Readiness: Anticipate questions about your decision-making process, alternative solutions you considered, and how you would handle future iterations.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating a strong understanding of hardware design nuances, the ability to manage complex projects autonomously, and effective collaboration within an agile, cross-functional team.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer - Hardware position:

• Submit your application through the SumUp careers portal linked in the job posting.

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features projects that highlight your end-to-end design ownership, complex problem-solving, and any experience with hardware, embedded systems, or intricate digital product integrations. Tailor your case study selection to align with SumUp's mission and the Solo product.

• Resume Optimization: Update your resume to emphasize senior-level responsibilities, specific achievements in product design, experience with Figma and other relevant tools, and any exposure to fintech or hardware development. Quantify your impact with metrics where possible.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, decision-making rationale, and how you handle technical constraints. Prepare to present your portfolio confidently, focusing on storytelling and the impact of your work.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research SumUp's products (especially Solo), mission, values, and recent news. Understand their target market (small businesses) and the competitive landscape in fintech payments.

⚠️ 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.

---