Senior UX Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior UX Designer

Company: Expel

Location: Ireland Remote

Job Type: Full-time

Category: User Experience (UX) Design / Product Design

Date Posted: June 15, 2026

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

Remote Status: Fully Remote (within Ireland)

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead UX design initiatives to enhance Expel's core product, Workbench, focusing on clarity, decision-making, and user efficiency within a technically complex domain.

• Drive user research, from discovery to synthesis, to deeply understand customer needs, personas, and jobs-to-be-done, influencing product strategy and feature definition.

• Design and execute lean experiments to test hypotheses, measure outcomes, and rapidly iterate on design solutions, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including product management, engineering, and Secure Operations leadership, to ensure alignment on product vision and scalable solutions.

• Champion user-centric design principles at all stages of the product lifecycle, from concept and development to rollout and adoption.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role is explicitly for a Senior UX Designer, implying a significant level of autonomy and leadership in design strategy and execution. The mention of "champions at the highest levels" and a "defined promotion path" suggests a strong commitment from Expel to the UX function and career development within the design team. The focus on "technically complex domains" and "Workbench" product indicates a need for designers comfortable with intricate systems and data-driven products, common in cybersecurity or enterprise SaaS.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Conduct comprehensive user and market research to identify and articulate customer personas, key use cases, and jobs-to-be-done relevant to the Workbench platform.

• Synthesize complex research findings into actionable insights and compelling presentations for team members, stakeholders, and leadership to inform product decisions.

• Partner closely with engineering teams to gain a thorough understanding of technical constraints and explore opportunities for innovative design experimentation.

• Design and implement lean experiments to validate design hypotheses, measure their impact on user behavior and product metrics, and drive iterative design improvements.

• Contribute to the overarching product vision by thinking strategically and collaborating with product management, engineering, UX, and Secure Operations leadership.

• Ensure the development of scalable and effective solutions by collaborating with product management to prioritize problems and define optimal user workflows.

• Facilitate design workshops and critique sessions to gather feedback, foster collaboration, and ensure alignment across the product development lifecycle.

• Translate complex technical information and data into intuitive interfaces and clear workflows that empower users to make informed decisions quickly.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic thinking and hands-on execution. The emphasis on "lean experiments" and "iterating rapidly" suggests a dynamic, agile product development environment. The direct involvement in "discovery, research, and feature definition" and collaboration with "Secure Operations leadership" indicates that UX at Expel plays a critical role in problem-solving and strategic product direction, not just visual design.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience.

Experience: Minimum 4 years of experience working on a cross-functional product team, collaborating closely with product managers and engineers.

Required Skills:

• Demonstrated proficiency in core UX design practices, including user research methodologies, prototyping (low-fi and high-fi), interaction design, and design system development.

• Strong experience in workshop facilitation to drive collaborative design thinking and problem-solving sessions.

• Proven ability to design effective workflows and clearly communicate complex information to users, enabling informed decision-making.

• Skill in rapid prototyping and sketching (low-fidelity) to quickly gather feedback and iterate on design concepts.

• Capacity to articulate design problems, explain tradeoffs made in solutions, and discuss the impact of different design approaches.

• High comfort level with making decisions with incomplete information and learning from mistakes.

• Excellent communication skills to keep product partners informed about project direction, upcoming deliverables, and long-term vision.

• Proficiency with a popular UX design tool, with a strong preference for Figma. Preferred Skills:

• Experience within the cybersecurity domain.

• Experience designing for SaaS, e-commerce, productivity software, or industrial applications.

• Experience experimenting with and adopting AI tools and methodologies within a design workflow.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "4 years' experience on a cross-functional product team" combined with a "Senior" title suggests an expectation of significant autonomy and ability to influence product direction. The mention of "Figma" as the preferred tool, while acknowledging Adobe XD, indicates a specific technology stack preference. The preference for cybersecurity domain experience is a key differentiator, suggesting that familiarity with this complex industry will be highly valued. The emphasis on comfort with ambiguity and learning from mistakes points to a culture that embraces experimentation and iteration.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a minimum of 2-3 comprehensive case studies demonstrating your end-to-end UX design process, from research and ideation to final design and iteration.

• Clearly articulate the problem statement, your role and contributions, the research methodologies employed, design decisions, and the impact of your work on users and business metrics.

• Highlight examples of designing complex workflows and translating technical information into user-friendly interfaces.

• Include evidence of rapid prototyping and iterative design, demonstrating how you used feedback and data to refine solutions.

• Showcase experience with design systems and collaboration with engineering teams, illustrating how you ensure design consistency and feasibility. Process Documentation:

• Demonstrate proficiency in documenting user research findings, including personas, journey maps, and usability test results.

• Provide examples of how you have mapped out and optimized complex user workflows, illustrating the iterative process of improvement.

• Showcase your approach to designing and implementing lean experiments, including hypothesis formulation, measurement strategies, and outcome analysis.

• Illustrate your collaboration process with product managers and engineers, detailing how you contribute to shared understanding and decision-making.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the emphasis on "lean experiments," "prototyping," and "iterating rapidly," a portfolio that clearly documents this iterative process, including failed experiments and lessons learned, will be highly valued. The requirement to "turn a complicated problem into a simple workflow" and design for "technically complex domains" means case studies should explicitly address how complexity was managed and simplified for the end-user.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: €77,600.00 - €112,500.00 per year.

Benefits:

• Bonus eligibility, providing an opportunity for performance-based financial rewards.

• Equity in the company, offering a stake in Expel's success and growth.

• Generous yearly conference and training budget, supporting continuous professional development and skill enhancement.

• Defined promotion path, offering clear opportunities for career advancement as a people manager or technical leader.

• Access to regular feedback through weekly 1:1s, 6-month performance reviews, and formal/informal critique sessions with the UX team.

• Opportunities for direct customer interaction and high-quality user research.

• Support from a collaborative team of developers eager to experiment with design vision.

Working Hours: Standard full-time working hours, with the understanding that flexibility may be required to accommodate collaborative efforts and project deadlines within the remote team structure. The role is within Ireland, suggesting alignment with local working norms.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is competitive for a Senior UX Designer in Ireland, particularly for a remote role. The inclusion of bonus and equity, alongside a strong emphasis on professional development (conference/training budget) and clear career progression, signals a company invested in retaining and growing its talent. The "Hybrid" AI classification likely refers to the company's overall approach, but this specific role is stated as "fully remote within Ireland," with in-person team gatherings in Dublin.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Cybersecurity. Expel provides a managed security operations platform that automates threat detection, investigation, and response, distinguishing itself through its unique approach to security operations (SecOps). This industry context implies a need for designers who can grapple with complex, high-stakes information and user needs.

Company Size: Expel is a growing company, indicated by the need for new roles and its global presence. This size suggests a dynamic environment where individuals can have a significant impact, but also one that requires adaptability and a proactive approach to process and collaboration.

Founded: Expel was founded with a mission to simplify and improve security operations. This founding principle likely permeates the company culture, emphasizing clarity, efficiency, and customer-centricity, which are core to Expel's UX philosophy.

Team Structure:

• The UX team operates with a high degree of autonomy and influence, with "champions at the highest levels" and designers taking "a lead role in discovery, research, and feature definition."

• Designers are embedded within cross-functional product teams, working closely with product managers and engineers on specific product areas, such as the Workbench platform.

• There is a clear reporting structure with regular feedback mechanisms (1:1s, performance reviews) and opportunities for both people management and technical leadership career paths. Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: Emphasis on user research, user analytics, and lean experiments to inform design decisions and measure impact.

• Iterative Development: A culture that encourages rapid experimentation, learning from mistakes, and continuous refinement of solutions.

• Collaborative Innovation: Close partnerships between UX, product management, and engineering to tackle complex problems and drive product vision.

• Customer Focus: Direct engagement with customers to ensure the product meets real-world needs and improves user experience.

Company Website: https://expel.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: Expel's focus on cybersecurity and its mission to simplify complex operations strongly influences its company culture. The emphasis on UX as a "critical differentiator" suggests that design thinking is integrated into the core business strategy, not just seen as a support function. The mention of "no politics, no BS" indicates a desire for a direct, efficient, and transparent work environment.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is classified as a Senior UX Designer, indicating a mid-to-senior level position. It demands a strong foundation in UX principles, significant experience in cross-functional product development, and the ability to lead design efforts with autonomy. The role requires not just execution but also strategic input into product vision and problem definition.

Reporting Structure: Senior UX Designers report into a UX leadership structure, likely a Design Manager or Director. They work within cross-functional product teams, reporting to their respective product leads for project direction while maintaining a dotted line to UX leadership for career development, mentorship, and design practice standards.

Operations Impact: The UX team's impact is directly tied to the usability, efficiency, and customer satisfaction of Expel's products, particularly the Workbench platform. By improving decision-making and workflows for analysts and customers, UX contributes significantly to customer retention, operational efficiency for clients, and Expel's competitive advantage in the cybersecurity market.

Growth Opportunities:

• Technical Leadership Track: Deepen expertise in UX design, potentially specializing in areas like interaction design, research, or design systems, becoming a go-to expert and mentor within the UX team.

• People Management Track: Develop leadership skills to manage and mentor junior designers, lead UX initiatives, and potentially build and grow a design team.

• Cross-Functional Influence: Expand influence by taking on more strategic product initiatives, contributing to broader company goals, and becoming a key voice in product strategy.

• Industry Specialization: Further develop expertise in the cybersecurity domain, becoming a valuable asset for designing complex, mission-critical applications.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of a "defined promotion path, as a people manager or technical leader" is a significant indicator of Expel's commitment to career development. This provides clarity for ambitious designers on potential career trajectories within the company. The "Senior" title and the responsibilities outlined suggest that candidates are expected to be self-starters capable of driving projects forward with minimal supervision.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Expel operates on a fully remote model within Ireland. While the company has a headquarters in Herndon, Virginia, the day-to-day work for this role is remote. However, the company fosters in-person collaboration through organized team gatherings in Dublin, typically once per month, and larger "team touchdowns" three to four times per year.

Office Location(s): While the role is remote, regular in-person collaboration occurs in Dublin, Ireland. This suggests that candidates should be located within Ireland and willing to travel to Dublin for these scheduled events.

Workspace Context:

• Remote-First Culture: Designed to support productive work from home, leveraging online tools for collaboration and communication.

• Collaborative Hubs: Scheduled in-person meetings in Dublin provide opportunities for focused collaboration, team building, and networking with colleagues from various Expel locations.

• Tech-Enabled Environment: Reliance on digital tools designed for remote teamwork, ensuring seamless communication and project management for distributed teams.

Work Schedule: Standard full-time working hours are expected, aligned with typical business operations in Ireland. The remote nature allows for some flexibility, but active participation in team meetings and collaboration sessions is crucial. The company emphasizes a "humane, collaborative team culture," suggesting a balance between productivity and well-being.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Hybrid" work arrangement noted in the AI data likely refers to the company's overall hybrid approach which includes remote work supplemented by periodic in-person gatherings. For this specific role, it's "fully remote within Ireland," with the caveat of mandatory in-person team events in Dublin. This model aims to combine the benefits of remote flexibility with the advantages of face-to-face collaboration.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will likely conduct an initial call to assess basic qualifications, cultural fit, and interest in the role and Expel.

• Portfolio Review & UX Deep Dive: Expect a session where you present your portfolio, walking through 1-2 key case studies. This will involve discussing your design process, decision-making, research methodologies, and the impact of your work. Be prepared to answer detailed questions about your contributions and challenges.

• Cross-Functional Interview: You may meet with potential collaborators from Product Management and Engineering. This interview will focus on your ability to work effectively in a cross-functional team, your understanding of technical constraints, and your communication style.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A final interview with the hiring manager to discuss career aspirations, leadership potential, and alignment with Expel's culture and values.

• Potential Design Challenge: While not explicitly stated, some companies may include a take-home design exercise or a live design problem-solving session, focusing on your ability to tackle a specific UX challenge.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Storytelling: Frame your case studies as compelling narratives. Clearly define the problem, your approach, the solutions you devised, and the measurable outcomes.

• Process Over Polish: While polished visuals are good, the depth of your process, your reasoning, and your ability to iterate are more critical. Show your thinking.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, use data and metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs. How did your work improve user engagement, conversion, efficiency, or task completion?

• Highlight Collaboration: Showcase how you've worked with engineers and product managers, demonstrating your ability to integrate feedback and navigate technical constraints.

• Tailor to Expel: Emphasize projects that align with Expel's domain (cybersecurity, SaaS, complex workflows) and highlight your experience with Figma and lean experimentation.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Domain: Familiarize yourself with cybersecurity concepts, common user roles (analysts, SOC teams), and the challenges they face. Research Expel's products and competitors.

• Problem-Solving Framework: Be ready to articulate your approach to solving a new UX problem. This might involve defining the problem, identifying users, brainstorming solutions, and outlining a testing strategy.

• Showcase Iteration: If presented with a challenge, demonstrate how you would iterate on an initial idea based on feedback or new information.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "lean experiments" and "turning complicated problems into simple workflows" means interviewers will likely probe deeply into how you approach ambiguity and use data to validate design decisions. Be prepared to discuss trade-offs and demonstrate a pragmatic approach to design within technical limitations.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: The primary UX design tool used at Expel. Proficiency in Figma for wireframing, prototyping, and high-fidelity design is essential.

• Prototyping Tools: Beyond Figma's capabilities, experience with other prototyping tools for rapid iteration and user testing may be beneficial.

• Design Systems: Experience creating or contributing to design systems to ensure consistency and scalability across products.

Analytics & Reporting:

• User Analytics Platforms: Familiarity with tools used to track user behavior, identify pain points, and measure the impact of design changes (specific tools not listed, but common in SaaS).

• Data Visualization Tools: Ability to interpret and present data insights, potentially using tools that integrate with analytics platforms.

CRM & Automation:

• While not a direct UX tool, understanding how design decisions impact CRM data and automated workflows within a SaaS product like Workbench can be beneficial. Experience with SaaS product environments is preferred.

• AI Integration: Experience experimenting with and adopting AI in design workflows is a preferred skill, indicating Expel's forward-thinking approach to technology.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Figma as the preferred tool is a key technical requirement. The emphasis on "experimenting and adopting AI in your workflow" suggests that Expel is looking for designers who are not only skilled in traditional UX but also open to leveraging emerging technologies to enhance their process and deliverables.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Clarity and Simplicity: A core value reflected in the mission to make complex domains understandable and actionable for users. Designers are expected to champion this by simplifying intricate workflows and information.

• Customer-Centricity: Prioritizing the user experience and ensuring that design decisions directly address customer needs and improve their ability to perform critical tasks.

• Collaboration and Transparency: Fostering an open environment where ideas are shared freely, feedback is constructively given and received, and teams work together across disciplines. The "no politics, no BS" ethos supports this.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Relying on research, analytics, and experimentation to validate design choices and measure their impact, rather than solely on intuition.

• Continuous Learning and Experimentation: Encouraging a proactive approach to skill development and a willingness to try new approaches, experiment with new tools (like AI), and learn from both successes and failures.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: UX designers are integral members of cross-functional product teams, working hand-in-hand with Product Management and Engineering on a daily basis.

• Open Communication: Encouraging direct and honest communication, with regular critiques and feedback sessions within the UX team and with product partners.

• Shared Ownership: A culture where teams collectively own the success of the product, with UX playing a crucial role in shaping the user's journey and overall experience.

📝 Enhancement Note: Expel's values, particularly "clarity," "customer-centricity," and "collaboration," are directly aligned with strong UX principles. The emphasis on "no politics, no BS" suggests a culture that values directness, efficiency, and mutual respect. Designers are expected to embody these values in their work and interactions.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Designing for Technical Complexity: The core product, Workbench, operates within the cybersecurity domain, which is inherently complex. Designers must be able to grasp technical details and translate them into intuitive user experiences.

• Balancing User Needs with Technical Constraints: Effectively collaborating with engineers to understand technical limitations while advocating for user needs and pushing for innovative solutions.

• Rapid Iteration and Experimentation: Adapting to a fast-paced environment that requires quick design cycles, lean experimentation, and a willingness to iterate based on data and feedback.

• Remote Collaboration: Maintaining strong relationships and effective communication within a fully remote team, while also navigating periodic in-person team gatherings.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Specialized UX Skill Development: Opportunities to deepen expertise in areas such as advanced interaction design, user research techniques, or establishing robust design systems.

• Industry Knowledge Acquisition: Gaining in-depth understanding of the cybersecurity industry, its challenges, and user needs, which can be a significant career differentiator.

• AI in Design Exploration: Experimenting with and integrating AI tools into the design workflow, staying at the forefront of technological advancements in UX.

• Leadership Training: Access to development programs for those interested in pursuing people management or technical leadership paths within the UX team.

📝 Enhancement Note: The combination of a complex domain (cybersecurity) and a dynamic, experimental approach to product development presents both challenges and significant growth opportunities. Designers who thrive in ambiguity, are eager to learn, and can effectively communicate complex ideas will find ample room for professional development.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to design a complex workflow for users. How did you approach it, what were the key challenges, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on process, simplification, and impact.)

• "How do you incorporate user research and analytics into your design process, especially when facing technical constraints?" (Highlight your research methodology, data synthesis, and negotiation skills.)

• "Expel's mission is to simplify security operations. How would you apply this principle to designing features for our Workbench product?" (Demonstrate understanding of the company's mission and how UX can drive it.)

• "Tell me about an experiment you designed and ran. What was the hypothesis, how did you measure success, and what did you learn?" (Showcase your lean experimentation skills and ability to iterate.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Expel and our mission in cybersecurity?" (Research Expel's products, values, and market position.)

• "How do you handle receiving constructive criticism on your designs, especially from engineers or product managers?" (Emphasize your openness to feedback and collaborative problem-solving.)

• "Describe your ideal remote work environment and how you maintain productivity and connection with your team." (Align with Expel's remote-first culture and collaboration tools.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly state the problem, your role, the goals, your process, the solution, and the results (quantified if possible).

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals, wireframes, prototypes, and user flows to illustrate your design thinking.

• Focus on Decision-Making: Explain why you made certain design choices, the trade-offs you considered, and how you validated those decisions.

• Highlight Collaboration: Mention specific instances of working with engineers and product managers and how you navigated those relationships.

• Be Ready for Questions: Anticipate questions about your process, challenges, and the impact of your work. Be honest about what you learned, even from failures.

📝 Enhancement Note: Be prepared to discuss how you would approach designing for a technically complex domain like cybersecurity, and how you would translate that complexity into a user-friendly experience. Emphasize your ability to prototype quickly and iterate based on feedback, as this is a core part of Expel's design philosophy.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior UX Designer position:

• Submit your application through the Expel careers portal via the provided link.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest case studies that best showcase your end-to-end UX process, particularly those involving complex workflows, technical domains, or lean experimentation. Ensure each case study clearly articulates the problem, your role, your process, your solutions, and the measurable impact.

• Optimize Your Resume: Tailor your resume to highlight your 4+ years of experience in cross-functional product teams, your proficiency with Figma, and any relevant experience in SaaS or cybersecurity. Use keywords from the job description such as "User Research," "Prototyping," "Interaction Design," "Design Systems," and "Lean Experiments."

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice walking through your portfolio case studies. Be ready to discuss your design decisions, the trade-offs you made, and the results achieved. Prepare to answer questions about your experience with remote collaboration and your approach to problem-solving in complex environments.

• Research Expel: Familiarize yourself with Expel's mission, products (especially Workbench), company culture, and their approach to cybersecurity. Understand their "no politics, no BS" ethos and how UX contributes to their overall strategy.

⚠️ 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.