Senior UX/UI Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Product Designer (UX/UI)

Company: VML Enterprise Solutions

Location: Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

Job Type: Full-time

Category: UX/UI Design, Product Design, Digital Experience

Date Posted: 2026-05-29T09:06:11

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the end-to-end design of digital products and services for a major automotive client, ensuring a user-centric approach from discovery to high-fidelity UI execution.

• Craft exceptional user experiences and interfaces for diverse applications, including in-car infotainment systems, companion mobile apps, digital customer portals, and online retail experiences.

• Collaborate within dynamic, cross-functional "flex teams" to deliver best-in-class digital solutions that drive engagement, enhance customer journeys, and foster loyalty within the automotive sector.

• Leverage advanced Figma proficiency and a deep understanding of complex, tokenized design systems to create scalable, well-structured design files and ensure consistent brand experiences across multiple platforms and devices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role explicitly mentions embedding within a leading automotive client and working on in-car infotainment and companion apps. This indicates a focus on automotive-specific UX challenges, which should be highlighted in candidate preparation. The emphasis on "flex team" and "hybrid role" suggests a need for adaptability and strong remote collaboration skills.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Drive the complete design lifecycle for digital products and services, from initial user research and experience definition to detailed interaction design and polished UI execution.

• Develop intuitive user journeys, interaction models, and wireframes for complex automotive features like vehicle configuration tools and connected services.

• Translate user research findings and data analytics into actionable design insights, informing product direction and building stakeholder confidence.

• Design and refine visual elements, micro-interactions, and component behaviors for digital interfaces, ensuring consistency and adherence to brand guidelines across web, mobile apps, and in-car displays.

• Create high-quality design artifacts, including interactive prototypes, compelling presentations, and visual assets for stakeholder alignment, internal communication, and user research validation.

• Work with and contribute to complex, tokenized design systems, ensuring component architecture, variants, and properties are well-defined and scalable for consistent brand experiences.

• Apply responsive and adaptive design principles to guarantee seamless and high-quality user experiences across various devices, platforms, and screen sizes.

• Effectively manage stakeholder relationships, challenging assumptions, influencing decisions, and aligning senior stakeholders from product, marketing, engineering, and brand teams.

• Operate autonomously within fast-paced, complex environments, often navigating evolving requirements typical of large enterprise projects within the automotive sector.

• Adapt design approaches to accommodate multiple brands and visual identities within an automotive group, maintaining quality and brand alignment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities section is expanded to detail the scope of work, from user research to UI execution, and specifically calls out automotive-specific digital touchpoints. The emphasis on stakeholder management and autonomous operation within complex environments is crucial for a senior-level role.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While not explicitly stated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, or a related field is typically expected for a Senior UX/UI Product Designer. Exceptional portfolios with equivalent experience will also be considered.

Experience: A minimum of 5-10 years of professional experience in UX/UI design, with a significant portion focused on product design and digital experience creation.

Required Skills:

• Advanced proficiency in Figma, including creating scalable, well-structured design files for collaborative workflows and developer handover.

• Deep expertise in working with complex, tokenized design systems, understanding component architecture, variants, properties, and scalable design patterns.

• Proven ability to operate as an end-to-end product designer, seamlessly transitioning between UX strategy, interaction design, and high-fidelity UI execution.

• Strong experience in translating user research and data into actionable insights to drive informed design decisions.

• Demonstrated ability to frame complex problems, define clear opportunities, and actively shape product direction.

• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and align senior stakeholders across diverse disciplines.

• Strong communication and storytelling abilities, effectively articulating design rationale, trade-offs, and recommendations to technical and non-technical audiences.

• Solid understanding of responsive design principles and behavior logic across diverse devices and platforms.

• Experience working across multiple brands and visual identities, adapting design approach while maintaining consistency and quality.

Preferred Skills:

• Specific experience within the automotive sector, demonstrating domain understanding and adaptability to industry-specific design maturity and stakeholder expectations.

• Experience operating within flexible delivery models (project-based, retained) and managing multiple workstreams in client-embedded teams.

• Familiarity with user research methodologies and the ability to conduct or interpret user studies.

• Experience with adaptive design principles beyond standard responsive layouts.

• Knowledge of front-end development principles to facilitate effective collaboration with engineering teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirements have been structured to clearly delineate required versus preferred skills, with a strong emphasis on Figma mastery, design system expertise, and end-to-end product design capabilities. Automotive sector acumen is highlighted as a preferred but significant advantage.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase end-to-end product design case studies demonstrating your ability to tackle complex problems from discovery through to polished UI.

• Include projects that highlight your expertise in crafting user journeys, interaction models, and comprehensive UI designs for digital products.

• Present work that demonstrates your proficiency with Figma, including well-structured files, component libraries, and effective developer handoff.

• Feature examples of your work with complex or tokenized design systems, illustrating how you maintain consistency and scalability across different brand identities or platforms.

Process Documentation:

• Detail your approach to user research and how you translate findings into actionable design strategies and product direction.

• Illustrate your workflow for creating and refining interaction designs, including wireframes, user flows, and interactive prototypes.

• Demonstrate your methods for developing and implementing UI designs, ensuring visual consistency, adherence to design systems, and responsiveness across devices.

• Explain how you collaborate with cross-functional teams (product managers, engineers, marketers) throughout the design and development process.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are tailored for a senior design role, emphasizing end-to-end case studies, proficiency in Figma and design systems, and the ability to demonstrate impact. Process documentation focuses on structured design workflows and cross-functional collaboration.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: For a Senior UX/UI Product Designer with 5-10 years of experience in Lisbon, Portugal, the estimated annual salary range is approximately €45,000 - €65,000. This range is based on industry benchmarks for senior design roles in major European tech hubs, considering the cost of living in Lisbon and the specialized nature of the automotive sector.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive training opportunities to foster continuous skill development.

• Medical insurance coverage for employees and potentially dependents.

• Dental insurance for comprehensive oral healthcare.

• Meal cards to assist with daily food expenses.

• Regular social events to build team cohesion and networking opportunities.

• Family-friendly policies to support work-life balance and parental needs.

• Discounts with hundreds of retailers, offering savings on various goods and services.

• Opportunities to work with globally recognized automotive brands.

Working Hours: The role is full-time, typically aligning with standard business hours in Portugal (e.g., 9 AM to 6 PM CET), with a 40-hour work week. The hybrid nature of the role allows for flexibility in balancing on-site and remote workdays.

📝 Enhancement Note: A specific salary range has been estimated for Lisbon, Portugal, based on industry standards for senior UX/UI roles. The listed benefits have been expanded with context relevant to operations professionals and employees.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: The company operates within the Marketing & Advertising industry, with a specialized division, VML Enterprise Solutions, focusing on digital experience and commerce solutions for large enterprises. The client is in the Automotive sector, indicating a blend of agency and client-side industry dynamics.

Company Size: VML is a large global company, part of WPP, with 26,000 employees worldwide. VML Enterprise Solutions specifically houses over 4,200 experts across 55 operational centers in 34 countries, signifying a substantial and globally distributed organization.

Founded: VML was founded in 1992, and WPP's history dates back to 1971. This long-standing presence suggests a stable and established corporate environment with deep industry experience.

Team Structure:

• The role is part of VML Enterprise Solutions, a division focused on delivering digital experiences across various routes to market.

• The Senior UX/UI Designer will be embedded directly with a leading automotive client, working within a "dynamic, flexible team" or "flex team." This implies a matrixed reporting structure where the designer reports functionally to VML leadership but operationally to client project leads.

Methodology:

• VML Enterprise Solutions works with global brands to deliver digital experiences across marketplaces, online retailers, D2C, B2B, and social platforms, indicating a focus on omni-channel commerce strategies.

• The team leverages data analytics, user research, and strategic consulting to drive multi-channel growth and deliver exceptional digital experiences.

• The company emphasizes a human-first, connected approach, blending brand experience, customer experience, and commerce.

• Design thinking and user-centric methodologies are core to their approach in solving complex challenges.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company context emphasizes VML's global scale, its specialization in enterprise digital solutions, and the client-embedded nature of this role within the automotive industry. The "flex team" structure is highlighted as a key aspect of the operational environment.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior-level Product Designer position, indicating a role with significant autonomy, strategic input, and responsibility for leading design initiatives. It signifies a transition from executing design tasks to shaping product direction and influencing stakeholders.

Reporting Structure: The designer will be part of VML Enterprise Solutions but embedded within a client's "flex team." This means reporting both to VML leadership for career development and performance management, and to client project leads for day-to-day task management and project delivery. Collaboration will be extensive with client-side product managers, engineers, and brand teams.

Operations Impact: The Senior UX/UI Designer's work will directly impact the automotive client's digital presence, customer engagement, and potentially sales conversion rates. By crafting intuitive and compelling user experiences for critical touchpoints like in-car systems and customer portals, the role contributes significantly to brand perception, customer loyalty, and overall business growth in the digital automotive space.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Develop deep expertise in automotive UX/UI design, becoming a go-to specialist within VML's automotive client portfolio.

• Leadership: Progress into Lead Designer or Design Manager roles, overseeing multiple projects, mentoring junior designers, and contributing to design strategy at a higher level.

• Cross-functional Acumen: Broaden understanding of product management, engineering workflows, and marketing strategies through close collaboration, enabling a more holistic approach to digital product development.

• Client Relationship Management: Enhance skills in managing senior client stakeholders, consulting, and driving strategic design initiatives within enterprise environments.

• Continuous Learning: Access VML's extensive training opportunities, industry conferences, and internal knowledge-sharing sessions to stay abreast of emerging design trends and technologies.

📝 Enhancement Note: The career analysis focuses on the senior-level responsibilities, the unique client-embedded reporting structure, and specific growth paths relevant to a design professional within a large agency and enterprise client context.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is hybrid, meaning it combines remote work with on-site presence at the client's location or a VML office in Lisbon. This offers a balance between focused individual work and collaborative team interaction.

Office Location(s): The primary work location is Lisbon, Portugal. While specific office details aren't provided, VML has a global network, suggesting access to professional office spaces when required for client meetings, team workshops, or collaborative design sprints.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: Expect a dynamic and collaborative atmosphere within the client-embedded flex team, requiring strong communication and teamwork skills.

• Tools and Technology: Access to industry-standard design tools, particularly advanced Figma capabilities, and potentially other collaboration and project management software.

• Team Interaction: Regular interaction with a diverse group of professionals, including VML colleagues and client-side counterparts from product, engineering, and brand departments. This fosters cross-pollination of ideas and a shared understanding of project goals.

Work Schedule: The work schedule is typically full-time (40 hours/week) with flexibility inherent in a hybrid model. While core hours may apply for team synchronization, the hybrid arrangement allows for some autonomy in managing the workday, balancing personal needs with project demands.

📝 Enhancement Note: The work environment description clarifies the hybrid nature and the collaborative, cross-functional context of the client-embedded team, emphasizing the need for strong communication and adaptability.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A brief call with a recruiter to assess basic qualifications, cultural fit, and interest in the role and company.

• Portfolio Review & Design Challenge: A deeper dive into your portfolio, focusing on relevant case studies. This may be followed by a design exercise or a presentation of a past project, assessing your problem-solving approach, design thinking, and ability to articulate your rationale.

• Team/Stakeholder Interviews: Meetings with potential team members and senior stakeholders (both from VML and the client) to evaluate collaboration style, communication skills, and strategic thinking. This stage will likely assess your ability to influence and lead within a complex client environment.

• Final Interview: A discussion with senior leadership to finalize the decision, focusing on overall fit, long-term potential, and alignment with company values.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 of your most relevant and impactful case studies, prioritizing those that demonstrate end-to-end product design, automotive sector experience (if applicable), complex design system work, and strong stakeholder collaboration.

• Structure for Impact: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem statement, your specific role and contributions, the design process you followed (research, ideation, iteration, testing), the solutions developed, and the measurable results or impact achieved. Use visuals effectively to showcase your design thinking.

• Highlight Figma & Design Systems: Explicitly demonstrate your advanced Figma skills and your experience with complex, tokenized design systems. Showcase how you've contributed to or utilized them for scalability and consistency.

• Storytelling: Frame your portfolio as a narrative. Explain the "why" behind your design decisions and how you navigated challenges. Be prepared to discuss trade-offs and your rationale for making them.

• Prepare for Questions: Anticipate questions about your design process, how you handle feedback, your approach to ambiguity, and how you collaborate with engineers and product managers.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Context: If a design challenge is provided, thoroughly understand the brief, the target audience, and the business objectives. If it's a hypothetical automotive scenario, leverage your domain knowledge or quickly research relevant aspects.

• Focus on Process: Demonstrate your thought process. It's not just about the final solution but how you arrive at it. Show your problem-framing, ideation techniques, and how you'd validate your design.

• Time Management: Be mindful of any time constraints. Prioritize key aspects of the design process that you can showcase effectively.

• Presentation Skills: Practice presenting your work concisely and clearly. Be ready to defend your design decisions and discuss alternative approaches.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview and portfolio review sections provide specific, actionable advice tailored to a Senior UX/UI Designer role, emphasizing case study selection, demonstration of Figma and design system skills, and preparation for client-specific challenges.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Advanced proficiency is a mandatory requirement for creating scalable design files, prototypes, and supporting collaborative workflows.

• Prototyping Tools: While Figma offers robust prototyping, familiarity with other tools like InVision, Axure, or Adobe XD might be beneficial for certain project needs or past experience.

• Design System Management Tools: Experience with tools or frameworks that support the creation, maintenance, and documentation of complex, tokenized design systems.

Analytics & Reporting:

• User Research Platforms: Familiarity with tools used for user interviews, usability testing, and surveys (e.g., UserTesting.com, Lookback, Maze).

• Analytics Platforms (Conceptual understanding): While not a primary responsibility, understanding how to interpret data from platforms like Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, or client-specific automotive analytics tools is crucial for data-driven design decisions.

CRM & Automation:

• Project Management Software: Proficiency in tools like Jira, Asana, Trello, or Monday.com for managing tasks, workflows, and collaborating with cross-functional teams.

• Collaboration Platforms: Expertise in tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Confluence for communication, documentation, and knowledge sharing.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section highlights Figma as the primary tool and expands on other relevant software categories, emphasizing the importance of design system management and data-driven decision-making.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Heart: Empathy and trust are foundational, fostering genuine connections and human-centric work. This translates to understanding user needs deeply and collaborating with colleagues respectfully.

• Brains: Relentless curiosity and collaborative intelligence are valued for solving complex challenges. This means a proactive approach to learning, sharing insights, and seeking innovative solutions.

• Courage: Encouraging individuals to speak up, embrace experimentation, and advocate for bold solutions is key. This implies a culture where constructive feedback is welcomed, and design choices are defended with strong rationale.

• Impact-Driven: A focus on delivering tangible results and driving growth for clients, particularly within the enterprise and automotive sectors.

• Human-First: Prioritizing user needs and employee well-being in all aspects of work.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Seamless collaboration with product managers, engineers, marketers, and brand specialists is essential. This involves clear communication, shared understanding of goals, and mutual respect for different disciplines.

• Process Review & Feedback: An open culture for reviewing design processes and providing constructive feedback to continuously improve outcomes.

• Knowledge Sharing: Encouraging the sharing of best practices, learnings, and innovative approaches within the team and across the wider VML network.

• Agile & Iterative: Working within flexible delivery models and embracing iterative design processes to adapt to evolving client needs and market dynamics.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture and values are directly extracted from the job description, with an added layer of interpretation on how these might manifest in the daily work of a Senior UX/UI Designer within a client-embedded team.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Automotive Complexity: The automotive sector has unique design considerations (e.g., safety, in-car distractions, long product cycles, complex brand hierarchies). Adapting to these specific constraints and opportunities will be a key challenge.

• Managing Stakeholder Expectations: Aligning diverse senior stakeholders with potentially conflicting priorities within a large enterprise client can be demanding.

• Balancing Pace and Quality: Operating within a "flex team" and potentially fast-paced delivery models requires efficiently balancing speed with the high-quality output expected of a senior designer.

• Evolving Technology: Staying current with advancements in automotive technology (e.g., EVs, autonomous driving, connected car features) and their UX implications.

• Ambiguous Requirements: Working with evolving or incomplete requirements typical of large enterprise projects requires strong problem-framing and proactive clarification.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Automotive Design Specialization: Deepen expertise in UX/UI for connected vehicles, infotainment systems, and automotive retail experiences.

• Design Leadership: Develop skills in mentoring junior designers, leading design sprints, and contributing to the strategic vision of VML's design practice.

• Enterprise Client Engagement: Gain extensive experience in managing complex client relationships, consulting, and driving digital transformation initiatives within large organizations.

• Cross-Disciplinary Learning: Expand knowledge in areas like product management, business strategy, and emerging technologies through exposure to diverse teams and projects.

• Access to VML Resources: Utilize VML's extensive training programs, workshops, and internal knowledge-sharing platforms to enhance technical skills and industry knowledge.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section identifies specific challenges inherent to the role and industry, coupled with concrete growth opportunities within VML's framework.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a complex automotive digital product you've designed. What were the unique challenges, and how did you ensure a user-centric and brand-aligned solution?" (Focus on problem framing, process, and automotive specifics.)

• "How do you approach stakeholder management when dealing with conflicting opinions or priorities from different departments (e.g., Product vs. Brand vs. Engineering) within a large enterprise client?" (Highlight your negotiation, influence, and communication strategies.)

• "Walk us through your process for translating user research and data into actionable design decisions. Provide an example where data significantly shifted your initial design direction." (Emphasize data-driven design and iterative refinement.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Based on your understanding of VML's values (Heart, Brains, Courage), how would you embody these in your daily work as a Senior UX/UI Designer embedded with a client?" (Connect your approach to their stated values.)

• "What are your expectations for collaboration within a hybrid, client-embedded 'flex team' environment?" (Discuss your preferred communication methods, autonomy, and teamwork approach.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Tell a Story: For each case study, begin with the "why" – the problem or opportunity. Clearly define your role and scope.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use high-fidelity visuals, interactive prototypes, and clear diagrams to illustrate your design process and solutions.

• Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, present metrics or outcomes that demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., increased engagement, conversion rates, improved user satisfaction).

• Discuss Trade-offs: Be prepared to explain the decisions you made and the trade-offs you considered, especially when balancing user needs with business goals or technical constraints.

• Figma & Design System Mastery: Have specific examples ready to demonstrate your advanced Figma skills and your deep understanding of design system principles.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section provides targeted interview preparation questions and portfolio presentation strategies, focusing on the specific requirements and context of this Senior UX/UI Designer role within the automotive and enterprise solutions space.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior UX/UI Product Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the VML Enterprise Solutions careers page.

• Tailor your Resume: Highlight your experience with end-to-end product design, Figma proficiency, design system work, and any relevant automotive sector experience. Use keywords from the job description.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 strong case studies that best represent your skills in UX strategy, interaction design, UI execution, and your ability to work with design systems. Ensure each case study clearly articulates the problem, your process, your solutions, and the impact.

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice walking through your portfolio case studies concisely, focusing on your design thinking, problem-solving approach, and how you deliver measurable results. Be ready to discuss your experience with stakeholder management and client-embedded teams.

• Research VML & the Automotive Sector: Familiarize yourself with VML's work, their values (Heart, Brains, Courage), and recent trends or challenges in the automotive digital experience landscape.

⚠️ 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.