Senior Product Designer - Schwerpunkt UI & Design Systems

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer - Focus on UI & Design Systems

Company: Forte

Location: Berlin, Germany

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / UI/UX Design

Date Posted: October 1, 2026

Experience Level: Senior (5-10 years)

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the holistic design of sophisticated digital products, from initial discovery and conception through to production-ready interfaces, emphasizing user-centric flows and visual quality.

• Develop, scale, and maintain robust design systems, components, and UI standards, ensuring consistent application across multiple products and platforms.

• Collaborate closely with interdisciplinary teams including UX, Product Management, Development, and Data to translate user needs, business objectives, and technical constraints into compelling product solutions.

• Drive UI quality and consistency by actively identifying and addressing inconsistencies and optimization opportunities with pragmatic, scalable solutions.

• Leverage AI tools strategically within the design process for exploration, prototyping, systemization, and to continuously evolve modern UI workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a senior-level individual contributor with significant ownership over UI and design system strategy. The emphasis on "Schwerpunkt UI & Design Systems" indicates a deep dive into the visual and systematic aspects of product design, requiring not just execution but also strategic development and governance of design assets. The integration of AI tools suggests a forward-thinking approach to design processes.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Take full ownership of designing complex digital products, guiding them from the initial discovery phase through to the creation of production-ready interfaces.

• Craft user-centered workflows, screens, and interactions with an exceptionally high standard for visual quality, consistency, and attention to detail.

• Develop and scale comprehensive design systems, including components, design tokens, and UI standards, ensuring their consistent application across various products and platforms.

• Define robust design principles in collaboration with UX, Product, and Development teams, translating user needs, business goals, and technical requirements into effective product solutions.

• Proactively enhance UI quality by identifying and addressing inconsistencies and optimization potential, proposing pragmatic and scalable solutions.

• Strategically utilize AI tools for design exploration, rapid prototyping, systemization, and to streamline modern UI workflows, continuously improving existing methodologies.

• Foster close collaboration with Product, UX, Development, and Data teams, guiding features from initial exploration to successful implementation.

• Confidently steer design decisions through discussions with clients and stakeholders, moderating diverse requirements and clearly articulating design rationale.

• Ensure technically sound, responsive, and accessibility-compliant implementation by working closely with frontend teams on component-based solutions.

• Optimize the design-to-development process, continuously improving handoff procedures and design system workflows in partnership with relevant teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic design leadership and hands-on execution. The emphasis on "holistic design," "scaling design systems," and "driving UI quality" points to a need for a designer who can not only create but also govern and evolve design at a systemic level. The inclusion of AI tool usage indicates a progressive approach to the design toolkit.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While not explicitly stated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, HCI, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience, is generally expected for a Senior Product Designer role.

Experience: Extensive experience as a Product, UI, or UX Designer in digital product environments, ideally within consulting, agency, or client-facing project settings, is required.

Required Skills:

• Outstanding UI skills with a keen eye for visual quality, typography, layout, interaction, and interface details.

• Proven ability to independently manage complex digital product design tasks from discovery and conception through to implementation.

• Deep experience in building, evolving, and scaling design systems, including components, design tokens, and reusable UI patterns.

• Highly proficient in Figma, specifically utilizing Auto Layout, Components, Variables, Prototyping, and Dev Mode.

• Strong understanding of frontend technologies, developer handoff processes, and component-based development methodologies.

• Demonstrated ability to ensure design quality and consistency across large-scale products, multiple platforms, or diverse teams.

• Skill in structuring complex requirements, persuasively advocating for design decisions, and pragmatically aligning with Product, UX, Tech, clients, and other stakeholders.

• Confidence in leading workshops, presentations, and client meetings, independently managing technical discussions.

• Active and strategic use of AI tools in the design process for exploration, prototyping, systemization, or more efficient design workflows. Preferred Skills:

• Experience with scalable, multi-brand, or white-label design systems.

• Familiarity with Design Tokens, Storybook, or Design-to-Code workflows.

• Experience with AI-powered design systems, generative UI approaches, or AI-based prototyping workflows.

• Experience with data-driven product decisions, product analytics, and experimentation.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Must have" list emphasizes practical, hands-on experience with core design tools and methodologies, particularly Figma and design systems. The "Nice to have" list points to areas where the candidate can bring added value, such as advanced design system scaling or data-informed design practices, and further integration of AI.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a minimum of 2-3 comprehensive case studies demonstrating end-to-end product design ownership from discovery to final UI.

• Highlight specific projects where you built, evolved, or significantly contributed to a design system, detailing its structure, components, and impact.

• Include examples of complex UI challenges and how you addressed them with elegant, user-friendly, and visually cohesive solutions.

• Present work that clearly illustrates your proficiency in Figma, including Auto Layout, component libraries, and interactive prototypes.

• Demonstrate your understanding of responsive design principles and accessibility standards through relevant project examples. Process Documentation:

• Detail your approach to design discovery and user research, including methods for gathering and synthesizing insights.

• Illustrate your process for translating user needs and business requirements into wireframes, user flows, and high-fidelity mockups.

• Explain your methodology for building and maintaining design systems, including version control, component documentation, and governance.

• Show examples of how you collaborate with developers, including handoff processes, utilizing Dev Mode in Figma, and ensuring technical feasibility.

• Provide examples of how you have used AI tools to enhance your design process, such as for rapid ideation or creating system components.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Senior Product Designer role focused on UI and Design Systems, the portfolio is paramount. It needs to go beyond static visuals to demonstrate a deep understanding of process, system thinking, and collaborative execution. The inclusion of AI tool usage in the portfolio would be a significant differentiator.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: For a Senior Product Designer in Berlin with 5-10 years of experience, focusing on UI and Design Systems, a competitive salary range would typically fall between €65,000 and €85,000 annually. This estimate considers the senior level, specialized skills, and the cost of living in Berlin.

Benefits:

• Flexible working arrangements, allowing for a blend of remote and in-office work.

• Flexible working hours, empowering individuals to manage their schedules effectively.

• Workation policy, permitting up to 6 weeks of work from different locations per year.

• A monthly budget that can be allocated to sports, mobility, or personal extras.

• 30 days of paid vacation per year, ensuring ample time for rest and rejuvenation.

• A culture characterized by flat hierarchies, open feedback, and a collaborative team environment.

Working Hours: The role offers flexible working hours, moving away from rigid models to accommodate individual needs, team dynamics, and project requirements, with an assumed standard full-time workload of approximately 40 hours per week.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is estimated based on industry benchmarks for senior design roles in major German tech hubs like Berlin, factoring in specialized skills in UI and Design Systems. The benefits list is directly extracted from the provided text, highlighting flexibility and employee well-being.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Digital Consultancy, Technology Services. Forte operates within the fast-growing DACH region digital consulting sector, focusing on digital product and service development for established enterprise clients.