Senior UX/UI Designer (Bulgaria based)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior UX/UI Designer

Company: Sutherland

Location: Sofia, Bulgaria

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Product & Design Operations

Date Posted: 2026-05-12

Experience Level: Mid-Senior Level (6-10+ years)

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the design and execution of complex, multi-surface user experiences, demonstrating end-to-end ownership from concept to completion.

• Drive overall experience strategy, ensuring a harmonious balance between user needs, business objectives, and technical feasibility, leveraging systems thinking.

• Act as a strategic partner to Product, Engineering, and Leadership teams, actively contributing to the definition of product vision and roadmap.

• Champion user advocacy by planning and executing user research and usability evaluations to inform and validate design decisions.

• Own, maintain, and evolve comprehensive design systems, patterns, and experience frameworks to ensure consistency and scalability across products.

• Mentor and guide junior UX/UI designers, fostering a culture of design excellence and elevating the overall quality of design output.

• Influence key stakeholders through compelling storytelling, data-driven insights, and clear, well-reasoned design rationale.

• Proactively identify and implement improvements to design processes, workflows, and cross-team collaboration to enhance operational efficiency.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the input title is "Senior UX/UI Designer," the responsibilities and requirements, particularly "Lead the design of complex, multi-surface user experiences," "Drive experience strategy," and "Mentor and provide feedback to UX/UI Designers," clearly indicate a role that requires significant operational oversight within the design function. This includes process improvement, stakeholder management, and strategic product influence, aligning it with a "Product & Design Operations" category. The emphasis on design systems and cross-functional collaboration also points to an operational aspect of ensuring design consistency and efficiency.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Spearhead the design process for intricate, multi-platform user experiences, taking full ownership from initial ideation through to final implementation, ensuring alignment with strategic goals.

• Develop and articulate comprehensive experience strategies that effectively integrate user-centric principles with critical business goals and technical limitations, ensuring a holistic approach to product development.

• Cultivate deep, collaborative partnerships with Product Management, Engineering, and executive leadership to collaboratively define and refine the product vision, roadmap, and strategic priorities.

• Proactively plan, execute, and analyze user research initiatives and usability evaluations, translating findings into actionable design recommendations and improvements.

• Manage, maintain, and advance robust design systems, establishing and enforcing consistent design patterns, components, and overall experience frameworks to promote scalability and efficiency.

• Provide direct mentorship, constructive feedback, and guidance to junior UX/UI designers, fostering their professional growth and elevating the collective design capabilities of the team.

• Effectively communicate and advocate for design decisions to senior leadership and cross-functional teams, utilizing clear storytelling, compelling data, and well-articulated design rationale to build consensus and drive adoption.

• Continuously assess and optimize internal design processes, workflows, and collaboration methodologies, identifying opportunities for enhanced efficiency, consistency, and cross-team synergy within the product development lifecycle.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities listed are comprehensive and indicate a senior-level role. The emphasis on "complex, multi-surface user experiences," "experience strategy," and "design systems" points towards a need for strong operational thinking in managing design projects and standards. The "mentor" aspect also implies an operational role in team development and quality assurance.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong foundation in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Computer Science, or a related field is typically expected for this level of role. Equivalent practical experience is often considered.

Experience: A minimum of 6 to 10+ years of progressive experience in User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), or Product Design roles, with a proven track record of leading and delivering successful design projects. Experience designing for enterprise-level or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms is highly preferred.

Required Skills:

• Design Leadership & Mentorship: Demonstrated ability to guide and inspire design teams, foster talent, and elevate design quality through effective mentorship.

• Strategic Thinking & Product Influence: Capacity to understand business objectives, user needs, and technical constraints to shape product strategy and influence roadmap decisions.

• Systems Thinking & Scalability: Proficiency in designing scalable solutions and understanding how individual components contribute to a larger, cohesive system, particularly within design systems.

• Stakeholder Communication: Exceptional ability to articulate design concepts, rationale, and impact to diverse audiences, including senior leadership, across technical and non-technical domains.

• User Advocacy & Data-Informed Decision Making: Commitment to championing the user through research and data, using insights to drive design decisions and measure impact.

• Interaction Design: Deep understanding of user flows, information architecture, and creating intuitive and efficient user interactions.

• Visual Design Systems: Expertise in creating and applying consistent visual elements, typography, color palettes, and component libraries that support brand identity and usability.

• Accessibility: Thorough knowledge of accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG) and best practices to ensure inclusive design for all users.

• Usability: Strong grasp of usability principles and methodologies to evaluate and improve the user-friendliness of interfaces.

• Prototyping: Expert proficiency with modern design and prototyping tools, such as Figma, for creating high-fidelity mockups and interactive prototypes.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing complex enterprise software or SaaS platforms.

• Familiarity with agile development methodologies and cross-functional team collaboration within an agile framework.

• Experience with user research methodologies beyond basic usability testing (e.g., ethnographic research, journey mapping).

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Required Qualifications" section explicitly mentions "6–10+ years of experience" and "Expert proficiency in modern design and prototyping tools (e.g., Figma)". The "Key Skills & Competencies" further detail the senior-level expectations. The "enterprise, SaaS, or complex digital products" preference suggests a need for understanding complex business logic and user workflows, which is common in operations-focused technology.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• End-to-End Ownership: Showcase projects where you led the complete design lifecycle, from initial problem definition and user research through to final implementation and post-launch analysis.

• Strategic Impact: Demonstrate how your design contributions directly influenced product strategy, user adoption, business metrics, or key performance indicators (KPIs).

• Systems Thinking & Design Systems: Include examples of how you contributed to, maintained, or evolved design systems, illustrating your understanding of scalability, consistency, and component-based design.

• Problem-Solving & Rationale: Clearly articulate the design challenges faced, the rationale behind your design decisions, and the iterative process used to arrive at the final solution.

• Collaboration & Influence: Highlight instances where you effectively collaborated with cross-functional teams (Product, Engineering, Marketing) and influenced stakeholders with data and strong design arguments.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design & Optimization: Examples of how you mapped out user journeys, designed efficient workflows, and identified bottlenecks for improvement.

• System Implementation & Standards: Evidence of your experience in implementing and adhering to design system guidelines, ensuring consistency and quality across product releases.

• Measurement & Performance Analysis: Showcase how you leveraged user research, analytics, and A/B testing to measure the effectiveness of your designs and drive iterative improvements.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for a "Strong portfolio demonstrating end-to-end ownership, strategic thinking, and impact" is a direct call for showcasing operational proficiency in design. The emphasis on "design systems" and "usability" also points to the operational aspect of standardization and quality assurance within the design function.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for Senior UX/UI Designers in Sofia, Bulgaria, with 6-10+ years of experience and expertise in enterprise/SaaS design, a competitive annual salary range is estimated between BGN 80,000 - BGN 120,000. This estimate considers the cost of living in Sofia, the demand for skilled UX/UI professionals, and the senior level of the role, factoring in potential bonuses and performance incentives.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health Insurance: Medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and potentially dependents.

• Retirement Savings Plan: Contributions to a pension or retirement savings scheme.

• Paid Time Off: Generous vacation days, public holidays, and sick leave.

• Professional Development Support: Budget for training, conferences, workshops, and certifications relevant to UX/UI design and product development.

• Flexible Work Arrangements: Hybrid work model offering a balance between in-office collaboration and remote flexibility.

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Confidential counseling and support services for personal and professional challenges.

• Performance Bonuses: Potential for annual bonuses based on individual and company performance.

Working Hours: A standard full-time work schedule of approximately 40 hours per week. The hybrid work arrangement allows for flexibility in structuring these hours, with core collaboration times typically expected during business hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is an estimate based on typical compensation for a Senior UX/UI Designer in Bulgaria, considering the specified experience level and industry. The benefits are standard for a global company like Sutherland, tailored towards professionals in a tech/design role.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Sutherland operates within the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Digital Transformation services sector, serving a wide array of industries including Healthcare, Insurance, Banking and Financial Services, Communications, Media and Entertainment, Technology, Travel and Logistics, and Retail. This diverse industry exposure means the UX/UI team will likely work on projects with varied business complexities and user bases.

Company Size: Sutherland is a large, global organization with a significant employee count. This implies a well-established structure, potentially robust internal processes, and opportunities for cross-departmental collaboration on a large scale. For operations professionals, this can mean access to extensive resources but also a need to navigate larger organizational frameworks.

Founded: Founded over 35 years ago, Sutherland has a long history of experience in business transformation. This longevity suggests stability, a deep understanding of market evolution, and a proven ability to adapt to technological advancements, including cognitive AI and intelligent automation.

Team Structure:

• Design Team: Likely a dedicated Product & Design department, comprising UX/UI designers, potentially researchers, and design operations specialists, reporting to a Design Director or Head of Product Design.

• Reporting Hierarchy: This Senior role reports to the Design Director/Head of Product Design, indicating a clear line of leadership and strategic direction.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Design team members are expected to partner deeply with Product Management, Engineering, and Leadership, forming core product teams where design is integrated from the outset.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: Emphasis on using user research, usability evaluations, and potentially analytics to inform design decisions, aligning with Sutherland's broader focus on advanced analytics.

• Process Optimization: The role actively seeks to "improve design processes, workflows, and cross-team collaboration," indicating a culture that values operational efficiency within creative functions.

• Agile & Iterative Development: While not explicitly stated for design, the nature of digital transformation and product development generally implies an agile or iterative approach to design and development.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: Sutherland's description highlights its global leadership in business and digital transformation, emphasizing people, processes, and platforms including AI and analytics. For a Senior UX/UI Designer, this means working in a tech-forward environment with a strong operational backbone, likely on complex, enterprise-grade solutions.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned at a Mid-Senior to Senior level within the UX/UI design discipline. It requires not only expert execution skills but also strategic thinking, leadership in mentorship, and the ability to influence product direction. The "Senior" title implies a level of autonomy and responsibility for complex projects and team development. The operational aspect involves driving process improvements and ensuring design quality across initiatives.

Reporting Structure: The Senior UX/UI Designer reports to the Design Director / Head of Product Design. This indicates a direct line of communication with senior leadership within the design function, providing opportunities for strategic alignment and visibility.

Operations Impact: The role has a significant impact on the operational success of products by ensuring user-centricity, usability, and efficiency in digital experiences. By leading design strategy and mentoring junior designers, this role contributes to the overall quality and scalability of Sutherland’s digital offerings, directly influencing customer satisfaction and business outcomes through well-designed, user-friendly interfaces.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Leadership Progression: Potential to advance into a Lead UX/UI Designer, Design Manager, or specialized UX roles (e.g., Design Systems Lead) within Sutherland's global structure.

• Cross-Industry Expertise: Opportunity to gain experience and develop specialized knowledge across Sutherland's diverse client industries, broadening career applicability and market value.

• Process Improvement Leadership: Potential to take on more formal roles in driving design operations, establishing best practices, and leading design process initiatives across larger teams or projects.

• Strategic Product Input: Enhanced opportunities to influence product strategy at a higher level, working on more impactful and complex digital transformation initiatives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" designation combined with "leading complex design initiatives," "mentors junior designers," and "influences product direction" clearly points to a role with significant operational responsibilities and growth potential within design leadership and strategic product contribution.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The job listing mentions "Flexible / Hybrid / Remote" with a specific location in "Sofia, Bulgaria." This suggests a modern work environment that embraces a hybrid model, offering employees the choice to work from a physical office, remotely, or a combination of both, prioritizing flexibility.

Office Location(s): The primary specified location is Sofia, Bulgaria. As a global company, Sutherland may have multiple office locations, but this role is anchored to Sofia, with hybrid flexibility.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The hybrid model is designed to foster collaboration, likely with designated co-working spaces or team days in the office for design sprints, brainstorming sessions, and team syncs.

• Tools & Technology: Access to industry-standard design and prototyping tools (e.g., Figma) is expected, along with other collaborative software for remote and hybrid work.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for regular interaction with design colleagues, product managers, engineers, and leadership, both virtually and in person, depending on the chosen work arrangement.

Work Schedule: A standard full-time schedule of approximately 40 hours per week, with flexibility in daily hours to accommodate hybrid work and individual preferences, provided core collaboration needs are met.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Flexible / Hybrid / Remote" designation, combined with a specific office location, indicates a company that has adapted its work environment to modern expectations, which is crucial for attracting and retaining talent in design and operations roles.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio by a recruiter to assess basic qualifications and fit. Be prepared to articulate your most relevant experience and highlight your "end-to-end ownership" and "strategic impact."

• Design Challenge/Portfolio Review: A deeper dive into your portfolio with hiring managers or senior designers. Expect to present 2-3 key projects, discussing your process, rationale, challenges, and the impact of your work. Focus on demonstrating "systems thinking," "user advocacy," and "stakeholder communication."

• Cross-functional Interviews: Meetings with Product Managers, Engineers, and potentially other stakeholders to assess collaboration style, technical understanding, and ability to influence. Prepare examples of how you've worked with these teams to drive product decisions.

• Leadership Interview: A final conversation with the Design Director or Head of Product Design to discuss your leadership potential, mentorship approach, and strategic vision for design within Sutherland.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select projects that best showcase your end-to-end ownership, strategic thinking, and quantifiable impact. Prioritize enterprise/SaaS or complex digital product examples if available.

• Storytelling is Key: For each project, clearly define the problem, your role, the process you followed (research, ideation, iteration, testing), your specific contributions, the design solutions, and the measurable outcomes.

• Highlight Operational Aspects: Emphasize how you managed complex design initiatives, improved workflows, contributed to design systems, and collaborated effectively with cross-functional teams. Use data and metrics to support your claims.

• Prepare for Questions: Anticipate questions about your design philosophy, how you handle feedback, your experience with mentorship, and how you approach balancing user needs with business goals.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Context: If given a design challenge, ensure you fully understand the problem statement, target users, and business objectives. Ask clarifying questions.

• Structure Your Approach: Outline your thought process for tackling the challenge, including research, ideation, decision-making, and user validation steps.

• Communicate Your Rationale: Clearly articulate why you made certain design choices, referencing UX principles, user data, and business considerations.

• Focus on Impact: Frame your solution in terms of its potential impact on users and the business.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process description is inferred based on typical senior-level design roles. The emphasis on portfolio review and design challenges is standard for UX/UI positions, and the advice is tailored to highlight the operational aspects of the role, such as process, strategy, and collaboration.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Expert proficiency is explicitly required for design and prototyping. This tool is central to collaborative design, component management, and creating interactive user flows.

• Prototyping Tools: Beyond Figma, experience with other advanced prototyping tools may be beneficial for complex interactions or specific project needs.

• User Research & Usability Testing Platforms: Familiarity with tools for conducting user interviews, surveys, and remote usability tests (e.g., userzoom, Lookback, Maze) is implied by the responsibilities.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics Tools: Experience interpreting data from tools like Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, Mixpanel, or Amplitude to understand user behavior and identify areas for design improvement.

• Data Visualization Tools: While not explicit, the ability to interpret and potentially contribute to dashboards (e.g., Tableau, Power BI) to understand product performance and user engagement metrics.

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly a UX/UI tool, understanding how designs integrate with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) and automation platforms (e.g., Marketo, HubSpot) can be advantageous for enterprise/SaaS product design, especially in understanding business workflows.

• Design System Management Tools: Tools or methodologies for managing design system libraries, documentation, and version control (e.g., Storybook, Zeroheight, or Figma's own capabilities).

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of "Figma" as an expert proficiency requirement is a critical detail. The other tools are inferred based on the responsibilities related to user research, data-informed decision-making, and the nature of enterprise/SaaS product design in a digital transformation context.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Agile & Outside-the-Box Thinking: A core value mentioned for Sutherland, encouraging innovative solutions and adaptability in design processes and product development.

• Uncompromising Integrity: Upholding ethical standards in design, data handling, and user interactions, ensuring trustworthy user experiences.

• Flawless Execution: A commitment to high-quality design output, meticulous attention to detail, and reliable implementation of design solutions.

• User-Centricity & Data-Informed Decisions: A strong emphasis on understanding and advocating for user needs, backed by research and analytics, which is a cornerstone of effective design operations.

• Collaboration & Efficiency: Valuing teamwork across functions and continuously seeking ways to optimize design workflows and processes for greater efficiency.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Design is expected to be deeply integrated with Product and Engineering, fostering a collaborative environment where ideas are shared freely and decisions are made collectively.

• Feedback-Driven: A culture that encourages constructive feedback, both giving and receiving, to foster continuous improvement in design quality and team performance.

• Knowledge Sharing: Encouraging the sharing of best practices, learnings from research, and innovative design techniques to elevate the entire team's capabilities.

📝 Enhancement Note: Sutherland's stated core values (agile, outside-the-box thinking, integrity, flawless execution) provide a strong framework for understanding the expected operational and cultural ethos. For a Senior UX/UI Designer, this translates to a blend of creative problem-solving and disciplined execution within a collaborative, data-informed framework.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Diverse Stakeholder Needs: Navigating complex requirements from various business units and client needs across Sutherland's diverse industry portfolio, while maintaining a consistent user experience.

• Scaling Design Systems: Ensuring design systems remain robust, scalable, and adopted across a wide range of products and evolving business needs within a large organization.

• Driving Adoption of Best Practices: Influencing and embedding advanced UX/UI practices and design thinking across teams that may have varying levels of design maturity.

• Managing Ambiguity: Working on complex, multi-surface experiences where requirements may evolve, requiring strong adaptability and problem-solving skills.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Design Methodologies: Opportunities to deepen expertise in areas like service design, UX strategy, and advanced interaction design.

• Industry Exposure: Learning about the unique challenges and user needs within Sutherland's diverse client industries (Healthcare, Finance, Retail, etc.).

• Leadership & Mentorship Skills: Developing formal leadership and mentorship capabilities through guiding junior designers and contributing to team process improvements.

• Digital Transformation Technologies: Gaining exposure to and understanding how UX/UI integrates with cutting-edge technologies like AI, intelligent automation, and advanced analytics.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges and growth opportunities are framed to reflect the senior operational aspects of the role, focusing on strategic influence, process scaling, and leadership development within a large, complex organization.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a complex, multi-surface user experience you designed from concept to execution. What were the key challenges, your strategic approach, and the measurable impact?" (Focus on demonstrating end-to-end ownership, strategic thinking, and data-informed decision-making.)

• "How do you approach building and maintaining design systems? Provide an example of how you've contributed to or evolved one, and how you ensured its adoption." (Highlight systems thinking, scalability, and process optimization.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Based on your understanding of Sutherland, how do you see your design expertise contributing to our goal of driving business and digital transformation?" (Show research into Sutherland's mission and connect your skills to their objectives.)

• "How do you approach mentoring junior designers? What's your philosophy on fostering a high-quality design culture?" (Demonstrate leadership potential and alignment with team development values.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: For each case study, clearly outline the problem, your role, the process, your specific contributions, design solutions, and quantifiable results. Use visuals effectively.

• Emphasize Operational Skills: When discussing your process, highlight how you managed complex projects, collaborated with teams, iterated based on feedback, and contributed to efficiency or scalability.

• Be Ready to Defend Decisions: Articulate the rationale behind your design choices, demonstrating a deep understanding of UX principles, business goals, and user needs.

• Engage Your Audience: Make it a conversation, not a monologue. Be prepared to answer questions about your work, your process, and your approach to design challenges.

📝 Enhancement Note: These interview questions are crafted to probe the core responsibilities and qualifications of a Senior UX/UI Designer, with a specific emphasis on the operational aspects of leadership, strategy, and process that are critical for this role.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior UX/UI Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on SmartRecruiters.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest projects that best demonstrate end-to-end ownership, strategic impact, and systems thinking. Ensure each case study clearly outlines the problem, your role, process, solutions, and quantifiable results.

• Optimize Your Resume: Tailor your resume to highlight your 6-10+ years of experience in UX/UI/Product Design, emphasizing leadership, mentorship, strategic influence, and experience with enterprise/SaaS products. Integrate keywords naturally, such as "design systems," "user research," "interaction design," and "stakeholder management."

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice walking through your portfolio with a focus on clear storytelling, articulating your design rationale, and highlighting the operational aspects of your work (e.g., process improvements, collaboration strategies). Be ready to discuss your approach to mentorship and influencing stakeholders.

• Research Sutherland: Familiarize yourself with Sutherland's mission, client industries, and core values. Understand how their focus on business and digital transformation aligns with your own career aspirations and design philosophy.

⚠️ 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.