Senior Product Designer, K4B

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer, K4B

Company: KAYAK

Location: Berlin, Germany

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Design / UX Design

Date Posted: September 04, 2026

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid (3 days in office required)

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the end-to-end product design process for KAYAK for Business (K4B), focusing on enhancing the corporate travel shopping experience across web and mobile platforms.

• Champion a human-centered design approach, leveraging user research, usability studies, and data analysis to translate customer insights into impactful design solutions.

• Apply systems thinking to develop scalable and cohesive design solutions that align with business objectives, technical constraints, and user needs.

• Collaborate closely with Product Managers, Engineers, and other Designers in an agile environment to influence strategic product direction and deliver high-quality user experiences.

• Own the success of design projects, demonstrating autonomy, strong communication, and a proactive approach to problem-solving and stakeholder management.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is critical for KAYAK for Business (K4B), a strategic initiative to transform corporate travel. The Senior Product Designer will not only execute design but also significantly influence the product's strategic direction, requiring a blend of strong design craft and business acumen. The emphasis on "owning the success or failure" and "autonomy and collaboration" highlights the need for a self-starter with excellent cross-functional leadership potential.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Conceptualize, design, and prototype user experiences for web and mobile applications within the K4B product suite, ensuring a seamless and intuitive corporate travel booking journey.

• Lead qualitative user research initiatives, including interviews and usability testing, to gather deep insights into the needs and pain points of business travelers and administrators.

• Translate research findings and data analytics into actionable design recommendations, user stories, and iterative improvements for the product backlog.

• Develop and maintain a strong understanding of user needs, business goals, and technical limitations to inform design decisions and ensure feasibility.

• Create comprehensive design documentation, including user flows, wireframes, high-fidelity mockups, and interactive prototypes, to effectively communicate design intent to development teams and stakeholders.

• Facilitate design reviews and critiques, incorporating feedback from cross-functional teams and senior leadership to refine design solutions.

• Advocate for design best practices, including accessibility standards and inclusive design principles, ensuring all experiences are usable by a diverse user base.

• Contribute to and leverage shared design systems to ensure consistency, efficiency, and scalability across the K4B product.

• Actively participate in agile ceremonies, providing design expertise and support throughout the development lifecycle.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a hands-on design role within an agile framework, with a strong focus on user research and data-driven decision-making. The expectation to "apply systems thinking" and "influence strategic direction" points towards a senior individual contributor role that requires proactive problem identification and solution proposal, rather than simply executing assigned tasks.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree or foreign equivalent in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a closely related field.

Experience: 6+ years of experience in a B2B or B2C product design organization, with a proven track record of designing and shipping successful digital products.

Required Skills:

• Mastery of user experience (UX) and interaction design principles, with a demonstrated ability to solve complex product challenges end-to-end.

• Proficiency in modern design tools (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite) for creating wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes.

• Experience conducting qualitative user research, including usability studies, user interviews, and surveys, to inform design decisions.

• Strong understanding of the entire product development lifecycle and experience working within agile software development environments.

• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to articulate design rationale and influence stakeholders at all levels.

• Proven analytical thinking and problem-solving capabilities, with the ability to break down complex issues and propose effective solutions.

• Human-centered design mentality with a strong emphasis on user empathy and data-driven decision-making.

• Demonstrated ability to manage time effectively, prioritize tasks, and work independently with a high degree of attention to detail.

• Experience contributing to or utilizing shared design systems to ensure product consistency and scalability.

• Understanding of accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG) and inclusive design practices. Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing for B2B SaaS products, particularly in the travel or e-commerce sectors.

• Familiarity with AI tools and their application in design workflows or product features.

• Experience with A/B testing and other experimentation methodologies to validate design solutions.

• Knowledge of front-end development principles (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) to better collaborate with engineers.

• Experience with user research platforms and tools.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "6+ years of experience" and "Mastery of user experience and interaction design principles" clearly positions this as a senior role. The emphasis on "end-to-end" problem-solving and the ability to "ship features" within a dynamic company suggests a need for pragmatic designers who can balance innovation with execution. The inclusion of "AI tools" and "accessibility standards" reflects current industry demands.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A curated portfolio showcasing 3-5 end-to-end product design case studies that demonstrate your process from problem definition to final solution.

• Case studies should highlight complex design challenges, your approach to user research, problem-solving methodologies, and the impact of your designs.

• For each case study, clearly articulate the problem statement, your role and contributions, the design process followed, key decisions made, and measurable outcomes or learnings.

• Visualizations of wireframes, user flows, high-fidelity mockups, and interactive prototypes are essential for demonstrating design craft and user experience thinking. Process Documentation:

• Demonstrate a structured approach to product design, including how you gather requirements, conduct user research, iterate on designs, and collaborate with cross-functional teams.

• Showcase experience with user-centered design methodologies, agile development processes, and the use of data (quantitative and qualitative) to guide design decisions.

• Evidence of applying systems thinking to create scalable and consistent design solutions.

• Examples of how you have incorporated accessibility and inclusive design principles into your workflow.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio is crucial for this senior role. Candidates must demonstrate not just visual design skills but a robust, end-to-end design process. The emphasis on "systems thinking," "measurable outcomes," and "data-driven decisions" indicates that the portfolio should showcase strategic problem-solving and impact, not just aesthetic execution.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for Senior Product Designers in Berlin, Germany, with 6+ years of experience, a competitive salary range is estimated to be between €70,000 - €95,000 annually. This estimate considers the cost of living in Berlin, the tech industry’s compensation standards for senior roles, and KAYAK's position as a leading travel search engine.

Benefits:

• 6 weeks of paid vacation

• Work from anywhere for up to 20 days per year

• Comprehensive mental health support: Company-paid therapy sessions via SpringHealth, Company-paid HeadSpace subscription.

• Dedicated recharge time: Company-wide week off annually, No meeting Fridays.

• Paid parental leave and paid volunteer time.

• Professional development: Development Dollars, Leadership development programs, Access to thousands of on-demand e-learnings.

• Travel Discounts

• Employee Resource Groups

• Daily perks: Free lunch 2 days per week, Pension plan contributions, Public transportation subsidies, Bike leasing program, Monthly social events, massages, Thursday happy hours, sports teams.

Working Hours: Standard 40-hour work week, with flexibility. The role requires presence in the Berlin office at least 3 days per week, aligning with a hybrid work model.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is an estimate based on market data for Senior Product Designers in major German tech hubs like Berlin. It accounts for the specified experience level (6+ years) and the strategic nature of the K4B initiative. The extensive list of benefits highlights KAYAK's commitment to employee well-being, work-life balance, and professional growth, which are significant drawcards for experienced professionals.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Online Travel & Technology. KAYAK operates in the highly competitive online travel agency (OTA) and metasearch market, leveraging technology to aggregate travel options and provide users with efficient booking experiences. The K4B initiative represents an expansion into the corporate travel management sector.

Company Size: KAYAK is part of Booking Holdings, a large, publicly traded company. KAYAK itself operates as a significant entity within this portfolio, with a substantial employee base, fostering a culture that balances the agility of a tech company with the resources of a global enterprise.

Founded: KAYAK was founded in 2004. Its history is marked by continuous innovation in travel search technology and strategic acquisitions, positioning it as a leader in the industry. This long-standing presence suggests a stable yet forward-thinking operational environment.

Team Structure:

• The Product Design team likely operates with a flat hierarchy, encouraging direct collaboration. Senior designers are expected to mentor junior members and take ownership of specific product areas.

• Collaboration is highly cross-functional, involving close partnerships with Product Managers, Engineers, Researchers, and Marketing teams.

• The K4B product area will have its dedicated Product Manager, Engineering team, and potentially dedicated user researchers, all working within an agile framework. Methodology:

• Data-driven decision-making is a core methodology, utilizing both quantitative user data and qualitative research insights to guide product development.

• Agile methodologies are employed for software development, emphasizing iterative development, continuous feedback, and rapid prototyping.

• A strong emphasis is placed on user-centric design principles, ensuring that user needs and pain points are at the forefront of all design considerations.

• Systems thinking is encouraged to ensure design solutions are scalable, maintainable, and consistent across the product ecosystem.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: KAYAK's position within Booking Holdings implies access to significant resources and a robust operational infrastructure, while maintaining a culture of innovation typical of a tech-first company. The focus on K4B indicates a strategic push into a new market segment, offering exciting opportunities for designers to shape a relatively nascent product. The emphasis on "start-up to industry leader" implies a dynamic environment where individual contributions are highly valued.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is classified as a Senior Product Designer, indicating a mid-to-senior level position. It requires significant autonomy, end-to-end ownership of design projects, and the ability to influence product strategy. Senior designers are expected to mentor others, tackle complex problems, and drive impact.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Product Designer will likely report to a Lead Product Designer, Head of Design, or a Director of Product. They will work closely with a dedicated Product Manager and Engineering Lead for the K4B product area, forming a core cross-functional team.

Operations Impact: The Senior Product Designer's work will directly impact KAYAK's strategic expansion into the corporate travel market (K4B). By improving the user experience, they will drive adoption, user satisfaction, and ultimately, revenue growth for this new business segment. Their insights and design solutions will shape the future of KAYAK's B2B offering.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Development: Opportunities to lead design initiatives, mentor junior designers, and potentially move into a Lead or Principal Designer role.

• Skill Specialization: Deepen expertise in specific areas such as B2B SaaS design, travel technology, user research methodologies, or design systems.

• Strategic Influence: Grow influence over product strategy and roadmap by consistently delivering high-impact design solutions and contributing to business objectives.

• Cross-Functional Expertise: Develop a deeper understanding of product management, engineering processes, and business operations through close collaboration.

• Learning & Development: Utilize "Development Dollars" and extensive e-learning resources for continuous skill enhancement and professional growth.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" title, coupled with responsibilities like influencing strategic direction and owning projects end-to-end, suggests a clear path for career advancement within KAYAK. The company's investment in "Development Dollars" and "Leadership development" further reinforces this, indicating a commitment to nurturing talent within its design teams.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role requires working from the KAYAK office in Berlin at least 3 days per week. This suggests a modern, collaborative office space designed to facilitate teamwork, innovation, and employee well-being.

Office Location(s): The office is located in Friedrichshain, Berlin, a vibrant and well-connected district known for its tech scene, offering easy access to public transportation and amenities.

Workspace Context:

• The office environment likely promotes collaboration through open-plan layouts, meeting rooms, and communal areas.

• Designers will have access to up-to-date design tools and technology, supporting efficient workflow and prototyping.

• Regular opportunities for informal and formal interactions with colleagues across product, engineering, and design teams, fostering a strong sense of community and shared purpose.

• The hybrid model allows for focused individual work at home on remote days, balanced with collaborative in-office time.

Work Schedule: A standard 40-hour work week is expected, with flexibility to manage work hours around core collaboration needs and personal well-being. The "No meeting Fridays" policy is a significant perk, allowing for uninterrupted deep work or personal time.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid work model with a requirement for 3 days in the Berlin office indicates a structured approach to balancing remote flexibility with in-person collaboration. The specific mention of an office in Friedrichshain and the array of social events suggest a company that values employee engagement and a positive work environment.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will review your application and portfolio to assess qualifications and fit.

• Portfolio Presentation & Design Exercise: You will likely be asked to present 1-2 case studies from your portfolio, discussing your process, rationale, and impact. A take-home design challenge or an in-person/virtual design exercise may also be part of this stage.

• Cross-functional Interviews: Interviews with Product Managers, Engineers, and other Designers to evaluate collaboration skills, problem-solving abilities, and technical design understanding.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A final interview with the hiring manager to discuss role fit, career aspirations, and assess overall cultural alignment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select case studies that best showcase your end-to-end design process, problem-solving skills, and impact relevant to B2B SaaS or travel tech.

• Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process, your key decisions, and the quantifiable results or learnings. Use visuals effectively.

• Highlight Collaboration: Emphasize how you worked with cross-functional teams, incorporated feedback, and influenced outcomes.

• Showcase Systems Thinking: Demonstrate how you approach scalability, consistency, and the broader impact of your design solutions.

• Address Accessibility: If possible, include examples of how you've incorporated accessibility and inclusive design.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Context: If given a take-home challenge, thoroughly understand the problem, target users, and business goals.

• Process Over Polish: Focus on demonstrating your design process, research, and rationale, rather than just a polished final deliverable.

• Time Management: Allocate your time wisely to ensure you can address all aspects of the challenge.

• Presentation Readiness: Prepare to clearly articulate your approach, decisions, and any trade-offs made.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to assess not only design craft but also strategic thinking, collaboration, and the ability to integrate into an agile, data-driven team. A strong portfolio that clearly articulates the design process and impact is paramount. The emphasis on "end-to-end" and "systems thinking" in portfolio requirements suggests that interviewers will probe deeply into how candidates approach complex problems.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (highly probable, given industry trends), Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop).

• User Research & Usability Testing: Tools like UserTesting.com, Lookback, Maze, or in-house solutions.

• Collaboration: Slack, Jira, Confluence.

• Design Systems: Figma Libraries, Storybook (potentially).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Web Analytics: Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics.

• Data Visualization: Tableau, Looker, or internal BI tools for understanding user behavior and business metrics.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly a designer's tool, understanding the CRM (e.g., Salesforce) and automation platforms (e.g., Marketo, HubSpot) used by B2B sales and marketing can provide valuable context for the K4B product.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in modern design and prototyping tools like Figma is expected. The mention of "AI tools" suggests familiarity with emerging technologies that can aid in the design process, such as AI-powered design assistants or content generation tools. Understanding how design integrates with analytics and business intelligence platforms will be beneficial for demonstrating impact.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• User-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and serving the needs of users, driving all design decisions based on empathy and research.

• Collaboration: Fostering a team environment where open communication, constructive feedback, and shared ownership are paramount.

• Innovation & Agility: Embracing new ideas, experimenting with solutions, and adapting quickly to changing market dynamics and user needs.

• Impact & Accountability: Focusing on delivering measurable business and user value, taking ownership of outcomes, and striving for continuous improvement.

• Inclusivity: Championing accessibility and inclusive design practices to ensure all users have equitable experiences.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Designers work closely with Product Managers and Engineers as integral members of agile teams, contributing throughout the product development lifecycle.

• Open Feedback Culture: Encouraging and actively participating in design critiques and feedback sessions to refine work and foster collective growth.

• Knowledge Sharing: A culture that values sharing best practices, learnings, and insights across design and product teams.

• Data-Informed: Decisions are guided by both qualitative and quantitative data, with a collaborative approach to interpreting insights and forming hypotheses.

📝 Enhancement Note: KAYAK's stated value of "Inclusion" and the emphasis on "No meeting Fridays" and "Company-wide week off" point to a culture that prioritizes employee well-being, work-life balance, and psychological safety, alongside high performance and innovation. The expectation for "autonomy and collaboration" suggests a mature team environment where individuals are trusted and empowered.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing B2C Expectations with B2B Needs: Designing for corporate travel involves catering to different user personas (travelers, administrators, finance teams) with potentially conflicting needs, while also meeting enterprise-level requirements.

• Navigating a Competitive Market: The corporate travel technology space is evolving rapidly; staying ahead requires continuous innovation and a deep understanding of market trends.

• Scaling Design Systems: As K4B grows, ensuring the design system remains robust, scalable, and well-adopted across the product will be a continuous challenge.

• Driving Adoption of New Features: Effectively communicating the value of new design solutions to users and stakeholders to ensure successful adoption and integration into their workflows.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Dive into Corporate Travel: Gain specialized knowledge and expertise in the complex domain of business travel management.

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

• Strategic Product Influence: Hone skills in influencing product strategy, roadmap planning, and stakeholder management, moving beyond execution to strategic partnership.

• Mentorship and Leadership: Develop leadership capabilities through mentoring junior designers and leading design initiatives within the K4B team.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges identified are specific to the K4B initiative and the broader corporate travel market. These present significant opportunities for a Senior Product Designer to develop expertise in a high-growth area and tackle complex, real-world problems that have direct business impact.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to balance conflicting user needs for a product. How did you approach it and what was the outcome?" (Focus on your process, trade-offs, and data used).

• "How would you approach designing a new feature for KAYAK for Business that aims to improve travel policy compliance for companies?" (Demonstrate your end-to-end design thinking, user research, and stakeholder alignment).

• "Explain your approach to systems thinking in design. Can you provide an example of how you've applied it to create scalable solutions?" (Highlight your understanding of consistency, architecture, and long-term impact). Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about KAYAK and specifically about the KAYAK for Business initiative?" (Research K4B's mission and KAYAK's market position).

• "How do you ensure inclusivity and accessibility in your design work, especially for a diverse user base?" (Reference your experience and understanding of standards).

• "Describe your ideal collaboration style with Product Managers and Engineers. How do you handle disagreements?" (Emphasize your communication, empathy, and problem-solving approach). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: Use a clear narrative for each case study: Problem -> Your Role -> Process -> Solution -> Impact/Learnings.

• Visuals: Ensure high-quality visuals that clearly illustrate your design decisions and user flows.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use metrics and data to demonstrate the success of your designs. If direct metrics aren't available, discuss potential impact and how you'd measure it.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about specific design choices, trade-offs, and challenges encountered. Be ready to defend your decisions with rationale.

• Showcase Process: Highlight your research, ideation, iteration, and testing phases. Demonstrate how you arrived at your final solution.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on showcasing not just design skills but also strategic thinking, problem-solving, and collaborative abilities. Candidates should be ready to articulate their process clearly, support their decisions with data and rationale, and demonstrate how they can contribute to the specific goals of KAYAK for Business.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Portfolio Customization: Carefully select and tailor 2-3 of your strongest end-to-end product design case studies that best align with B2B SaaS, travel tech, or complex user experience challenges. Ensure they clearly demonstrate your process, impact, and strategic thinking.

• Resume Optimization: Update your resume to highlight your 6+ years of experience, mastery of UX/interaction design, experience with user research, agile methodologies, and any relevant B2B or travel industry background. Quantify achievements where possible.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice articulating your design process, rationale, and the impact of your work confidently. Be ready to discuss your approach to systems thinking, accessibility, and cross-functional collaboration.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research KAYAK, KAYAK for Business, and the competitive landscape of corporate travel technology. Understand their mission, values, and recent initiatives to articulate your interest and 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.