Senior / Staff Product Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior / Staff Product Designer

Company: Clera

Location: Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Product Design / AI Product Development

Date Posted: 2026-08-07

Experience Level: Senior / Staff (5-10 years)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• This pivotal role focuses on designing the user experience for an AI-powered procurement intelligence platform, specifically defining how agentic AI capabilities are integrated and presented to non-technical users.

• You will be instrumental in shaping the interaction patterns for AI agents, including their status, findings, and human-in-the-loop collaboration, ensuring AI feels natural, trustworthy, and useful.

• The position demands a hybrid skill set, encompassing visual design, interaction design, product thinking, and hands-on prototyping in code to ensure a high standard of product craft and coherence.

• You will collaborate closely with product managers, engineers, and procurement domain experts to translate complex, data-heavy workflows into intuitive and actionable user experiences that drive real cost savings for customers.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the core job title is "Product Designer," the emphasis on AI capabilities, complex workflows, and direct code contributions positions this role as a highly specialized and senior opportunity within the product development lifecycle, closely aligned with GTM strategy through its impact on customer adoption and value realization.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Define and design intuitive interaction patterns for agentic AI capabilities, including status indicators, result presentation, and human-AI collaboration interfaces.

• Develop user workflows that foster trust and transparency, positioning AI and human judgment as complementary forces in procurement processes.

• Create short-horizon vision work, including runnable prototypes and tangible design artifacts, to align product strategy and guide engineering efforts.

• Elevate the overall product craft, visual design, and user experience coherence as the company scales its engineering velocity and feature output.

• Contribute directly to the codebase by making last-mile interaction tweaks and reviewing Pull Requests (PRs) to ensure design fidelity before feature releases.

• Partner cross-functionally with product management, engineering, and domain experts to translate complex, data-intensive requirements into clear, usable, and effective product experiences.

• Actively use AI tools (e.g., Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor) for research, ideation, and prototyping to inform design decisions and stay at the forefront of AI-driven product development.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibility to "Work directly in code for last-mile polish" and "check out PRs and fine-tune interactions before features ship" is a significant differentiator for this role, moving beyond traditional UX/UI design into a more integrated product development function. This requires a deep understanding of engineering workflows and a "block-shaped" design approach.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong educational foundation in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Computer Science, or a related field is often implied for senior-level roles. Equivalent practical experience is highly valued.

Experience: 5-10 years of professional product design experience, with a proven track record of shipping impactful work, particularly within B2B SaaS, complex workflow environments, or data-intensive product domains.

Required Skills:

• Senior-level product design expertise with a robust portfolio showcasing shipped B2B SaaS products or solutions for complex, data-heavy workflows.

• A "block-shaped" designer profile: proficient and capable across visual design, interaction design, product thinking, and hands-on prototyping in code.

• Demonstrated ability to create runnable prototypes that effectively communicate design intent, user behavior, and edge cases, extending beyond static tools like Figma.

• Strong comfort and practical experience with code-level interaction adjustments and contributing to code reviews (PRs) for feature releases.

• Articulate and well-formed opinions on the ethical and practical considerations of AI in product design, focusing on trust, transparency, appropriate automation, and avoiding over-automation.

• Adept at operating within ambiguity and pioneering new design patterns for novel and complex problem spaces.

• Active daily user of AI tools (e.g., Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor) integrated into your design workflow for research, ideation, and prototyping. Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing for non-technical end-users within complex B2B domains such as procurement, supply chain, manufacturing, or finance.

• Prior hands-on experience designing and shipping features involving agentic or autonomous AI functionalities.

• Familiarity with the nuances and typical software contexts found in industrial or procurement sectors.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "block-shaped" designer requirement and the explicit need for code-level interaction tweaks are critical filters. Candidates must demonstrate proficiency across the entire design and development spectrum, not just UI/UX. The emphasis on AI tools in daily workflow is also a strong indicator of the company's forward-thinking approach.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a minimum of 2-3 significant B2B SaaS projects with demonstrable shipped impact, ideally involving complex data or AI-driven features.

• Clearly articulate your design process, from initial research and problem definition to iteration and final implementation, highlighting your contributions at each stage.

• Provide specific examples of how you translated complex, data-heavy requirements into clear, usable, and effective user experiences.

• Include evidence of your ability to prototype beyond static mockups, demonstrating interactive and runnable prototypes that convey dynamic behavior and edge cases.

• Detail instances where you collaborated closely with engineering and product management, particularly emphasizing your contributions to code-level polish and PR reviews. Process Documentation:

• Demonstrate a structured approach to designing for AI, including methodologies for building trust, ensuring transparency, and managing human-in-the-loop interactions.

• Present case studies that illustrate how you’ve designed for complex workflows and translated them into intuitive user journeys for non-technical audiences.

• Provide examples of your rapid prototyping capabilities, showcasing how you iterate quickly on concepts and validate them with stakeholders or users.

• Document your understanding of how to raise overall product craft and coherence within a scaling engineering environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio is crucial for this role, not just for showcasing visual design but for demonstrating a deep understanding of complex systems, AI integration, and the ability to contribute to the final implementation through code. Candidates should be prepared to walk through their process and specific contributions, especially regarding AI interaction patterns and code-level refinements.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: For a Senior/Staff Product Designer role with these responsibilities in Munich, Germany, a competitive salary range is estimated to be between €80,000 - €120,000 annually, depending on the candidate's specific experience, demonstrated skills, and negotiation.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary and potential for equity/stock options in a well-funded Series A company.

• Opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI product development and shape the future of procurement intelligence.

• High ownership, high visibility, and direct impact on product direction within a small, high-craft design team.

• Collaboration with a team comprised of experienced professionals from leading strategy, consulting, and enterprise software organizations.

• Potential for professional development, including learning opportunities at the frontier of agentic AI product design.

• Standard German benefits package, likely including health insurance, paid time off, and retirement contributions.

Working Hours: The role is full-time, with an expected 40 hours per week. While an on-site presence is required, the company likely offers some flexibility within standard working hours, conducive to iterative design processes and cross-functional collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is an estimate based on industry benchmarks for senior-level product design roles in Munich, Germany, considering the company's Series A funding status and the specialized nature of AI product design. Specific compensation will depend on the candidate's qualifications and the company's compensation structure.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology, specifically AI-powered Procurement Intelligence Software. Clera operates within the B2B SaaS sector, modernizing industrial sector procurement processes.

Company Size: Series A funded, indicating a growth-stage startup environment. This typically means a lean, agile team with significant opportunities for individual impact and rapid scaling. Expect a dynamic, fast-paced atmosphere.

Founded: The company's founding date is not specified, but its Series A funding suggests it is a relatively young but established entity, likely a few years old and focused on product-market fit and growth.

Team Structure:

• The design team is small, high-craft, and embedded closely with product managers, engineers, and domain experts, fostering a collaborative and integrated development environment.

• This structure allows for direct communication and rapid decision-making, crucial for an AI product where rapid iteration and experimentation are key.

• Cross-functional collaboration is a core tenet, with designers expected to work hand-in-hand with technical and business stakeholders. Methodology:

• Data-driven product development, leveraging AI to inform product decisions and user experiences.

• Emphasis on creating AI that is "natural, trustworthy, and genuinely useful," suggesting a focus on user-centric design principles applied to advanced AI capabilities.

• Agile development methodologies are likely employed, with short-horizon vision work and rapid prototyping playing a significant role.

• A strong focus on translating complex data and AI outputs into understandable and actionable insights for non-technical users.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on AI agents for procurement intelligence, serving non-technical users, highlights a key challenge: making complex technology accessible and trustworthy. The culture likely values innovation, pragmatism, deep technical understanding, and strong communication skills to bridge the gap between advanced AI and business needs.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as Senior or Staff level, indicating a significant degree of autonomy, expertise, and leadership potential. A Senior Designer is expected to lead projects, mentor junior designers, and influence product strategy. A Staff Designer often implies a higher level of technical depth, strategic impact, and potentially leadership across multiple product areas or initiatives.

Reporting Structure: While not explicitly stated, a Senior/Staff Designer in a small team is likely to report to a Head of Design, VP of Product, or a similar senior leadership role. They will work closely with Product Managers and Engineering leads.

Operations Impact: The impact of this role is directly tied to the adoption and effectiveness of the AI features. By making AI "natural, trustworthy, and genuinely useful," this designer will directly influence customer success, cost savings realization, and ultimately, the company's revenue and market position in the procurement intelligence space. Their work on interaction patterns for AI is foundational to the product's value proposition.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in designing for agentic AI, human-in-the-loop systems, and complex B2B data visualization.

• Leadership: Progress into a Lead Designer role, managing a small design team, or a Staff Designer role with broader strategic influence and potentially cross-product ownership.

• Technical Acumen: Further develop coding skills for prototyping and direct contribution to the product codebase.

• Domain Expertise: Become a subject matter expert in procurement and industrial sector challenges, enabling more impactful design solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Staff" designation suggests potential for technical leadership or a recognized expert role, often involving mentorship and setting technical/design standards. The direct coding requirement also opens avenues for growth into more hybrid design-engineering roles.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is strictly "on-site in Munich, Germany," indicating a traditional office-based work environment designed for in-person collaboration.

Office Location(s): Munich, Bavaria, Germany. This is a major European hub for technology and innovation, offering a vibrant professional ecosystem.

Workspace Context:

• Designed for close collaboration between designers, product managers, and engineers, facilitating rapid iteration and problem-solving.

• Access to necessary tools and technology for both design and development, including potentially advanced hardware for prototyping and code development.

• Opportunities for direct interaction with procurement domain experts, ensuring designs are grounded in real-world user needs and industry challenges.

Work Schedule: Full-time (40 hours/week), on-site. While the company is a startup, the on-site requirement suggests a structured work environment. However, the nature of design and development work often allows for some flexibility in daily scheduling to accommodate deep work sessions and collaborative sprints.

📝 Enhancement Note: The strict on-site requirement in Munich means candidates must be willing to relocate and work from the office daily. This environment is optimized for the close, iterative collaboration needed for complex AI product development.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Initial Screening: A brief call with a recruiter or hiring manager to assess basic qualifications, interest, and cultural fit.

2. Portfolio Presentation & Design Challenge: A more in-depth session where you present your portfolio, focusing on relevant B2B SaaS, complex workflow, or AI-related projects. This may be followed by a take-home design challenge or a live, collaborative design exercise.

3. Technical/Coding Assessment: A discussion or practical exercise focusing on your ability to prototype in code and your comfort with reviewing PRs. This is a critical step given the role's requirements.

4. Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with product managers, engineers, and potentially domain experts to evaluate your collaboration skills, product thinking, and understanding of the procurement domain.

5. Final Interview: A discussion with senior leadership to assess strategic thinking, leadership potential, and overall fit with the company's vision and culture.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Ruthlessly: Focus on 2-3 projects that best demonstrate your skills in B2B SaaS, complex data, AI integration, and code-level contributions.

• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, your process, the constraints, your solutions, and the measurable outcomes. Emphasize your unique contributions, especially concerning interaction patterns for AI and code refinements.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Include interactive prototypes, code snippets (if appropriate and anonymized), and clear visuals that illustrate your design decisions and their impact.

• Highlight AI & Complexity: Specifically address how you approached designing for AI (trust, transparency, etc.) and how you simplified complex data or workflows.

• Code Contribution: Be prepared to discuss your experience with code-level tweaks and PR reviews, perhaps by explaining a specific instance where you made such a contribution and its impact.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Research procurement processes, common challenges in sourcing and supplier management, and the role of AI in this field.

• AI Interaction Patterns: Think critically about how users interact with AI agents – how to communicate progress, present findings clearly, handle errors, and build trust.

• Prototyping in Code: Be ready to discuss your preferred tools and languages for prototyping (e.g., React, Vue, HTML/CSS/JS) and how you approach making quick, impactful changes.

• Ambiguity & Novelty: Prepare to discuss how you approach problems where established patterns don't exist, demonstrating your ability to invent and iterate.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on code contributions and a "block-shaped" designer profile means the interview process will likely probe deeply into your technical capabilities and your ability to integrate design seamlessly with engineering. Be ready to demonstrate practical skills, not just theoretical knowledge.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (for general design and collaboration), alongside advanced prototyping tools or direct coding environments (e.g., React, Vue, HTML/CSS/JS frameworks) for creating runnable prototypes and last-mile polish.

• AI Tools: Active daily use of AI tools such as Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor for research, ideation, and prototyping workflows is a requirement.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While specific tools aren't listed, expect to work with analytics platforms (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel) to understand user behavior, feature adoption, and the impact of AI features.

• Data visualization tools may be used for presenting findings and performance metrics to stakeholders. CRM & Automation:

• Not directly relevant to the design role, but understanding how the procurement platform integrates with CRM or other enterprise systems might be beneficial. The product itself is an AI-powered procurement intelligence platform, implying sophisticated internal systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma is a baseline, but the key differentiator is the ability to prototype and implement directly in code. Familiarity with modern JavaScript frameworks and an active, demonstrable use of AI tools in the design process are critical requirements.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Craftsmanship & Quality: A commitment to high-quality design, visual polish, and robust, well-implemented user experiences, extending to code-level details.

• Trust & Transparency: A core value in how AI is designed and presented to users, ensuring they understand and trust the technology's capabilities and outputs.

• Collaboration & Integration: Deep partnerships between design, product, and engineering, working as a unified team to solve complex problems.

• Innovation & Experimentation: A willingness to explore new frontiers in AI product design, invent novel patterns, and operate comfortably in ambiguous spaces.

• User-Centricity: A relentless focus on understanding and serving the needs of non-technical procurement professionals, translating complex AI into genuinely useful tools.

Collaboration Style:

• Embedded & Integrated: Designers are part of product teams, working daily alongside PMs and engineers, not in a silo.

• Iterative & Feedback-Driven: A culture of rapid iteration, continuous feedback loops, and open communication to refine designs and product direction.

• Outcome-Oriented: Focus on delivering tangible business value and cost savings for customers through effective AI product design.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's emphasis on making AI "natural, trustworthy, and genuinely useful" will likely permeate all aspects of its culture and design philosophy. Expect a team that values deep problem-solving and pragmatic execution over theoretical design.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for AI Trust: Creating interfaces that build user confidence in autonomous AI agents, especially for non-technical users who may be wary of "black box" technology.

• Complexity Management: Translating highly complex, data-intensive procurement workflows and AI outputs into simple, intuitive user experiences.

• Bridging Design & Code: Effectively contributing to the codebase and collaborating on PRs requires a strong blend of design and technical skills, which can be a steep learning curve for some.

• Inventing New Patterns: Working at the frontier of agentic AI means there are few established design patterns, requiring significant creativity and problem-solving.

• On-site Requirement: For candidates not already in Munich, the need for daily on-site work presents a relocation challenge.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Frontier AI Design: Gain unparalleled experience in designing for cutting-edge agentic AI and human-in-the-loop systems.

• Technical Skill Enhancement: Deepen expertise in front-end development and coding practices relevant to product design.

• Domain Specialization: Develop in-depth knowledge of procurement and industrial sector challenges, becoming a go-to expert in this niche.

• Strategic Influence: As a Senior/Staff designer, influence product strategy and contribute to the company's long-term vision.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary challenge lies in the novelty of designing for agentic AI in a practical, B2B context and the requirement for direct code contributions. Success will depend on a candidate's adaptability, technical aptitude, and willingness to push design boundaries.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to design for a complex, data-heavy B2B workflow. What were the challenges, and how did you simplify it for the user?" (Focus on process, user empathy, and outcome.)

• "How do you approach building trust and transparency in AI-powered features? Walk us through an example from your portfolio or a hypothetical scenario." (Highlight your understanding of AI ethics and user psychology.)

• "Tell us about a situation where you contributed to the codebase or made code-level adjustments to a feature before shipping. What was the impact?" (Be ready to discuss your technical contribution and its value.)

• "Imagine an AI agent completes a complex procurement analysis. How would you design the interface to present its findings and recommendations to a non-technical procurement manager?" (Focus on clarity, actionability, and trust.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What are your thoughts on the current landscape of AI in B2B software, and how do you see agentic AI evolving procurement?" (Show your industry awareness and forward-thinking.)

• "How do you balance the need for rapid iteration in a startup environment with maintaining high design craft and user experience quality?" (Demonstrate pragmatism and commitment to quality.)

• "What is your experience working in cross-functional teams with product managers and engineers? How do you ensure alignment?" (Highlight collaboration skills.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure is Key: For each case study, clearly define the problem, your role, the process, the solution, and the results.

• Quantify Impact: Use metrics whenever possible (e.g., increased adoption, reduced error rates, cost savings).

• Highlight AI & Code: Specifically call out your contributions to AI interaction design and any code-level work. Be prepared to discuss the technical aspects of your prototypes and contributions.

• Engage Your Audience: Be interactive, ask questions, and be ready to discuss your design decisions in depth.

📝 Enhancement Note: Be prepared for the interview to heavily scrutinize your ability to prototype in code and your understanding of AI interaction design principles. Your portfolio should directly support these requirements, and your answers should reflect practical experience in these areas.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior / Staff Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided Ashby link.

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features B2B SaaS projects, complex data workflows, and any experience with AI or advanced interactive prototypes. Tailor your project selection to highlight your "block-shaped" design capabilities and code contribution experience.

• Resume Optimization: Clearly articulate your years of experience and specific accomplishments relevant to product design, interaction design, prototyping in code, and AI product development. Use keywords like "agentic AI," "B2B SaaS," "interaction patterns," and "code-level polish."

• Prepare for Code Discussion: Be ready to discuss your technical proficiency, preferred coding languages/frameworks for prototyping, and specific examples of how you've contributed to code or reviewed PRs.

• Research Clera: Understand their product, target market (industrial sector procurement), and their stated mission of making AI "natural, trustworthy, and genuinely useful." Consider how your design philosophy aligns with these goals.

⚠️ 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.